Day 12, Athens Sightseeing Day

As it was a 'rest' day, we had a bit of a lie in. Went for brekkie, then hit the pavement. 10 minutes down the road is the metro. According to the travel website, over 65s can get a 90 minute ticket for 50 cents, instead of €1.20. The woman at the ticket counter wasn't having any of that though, so we paid the full fare. It's about six stops on M3 (Green) to Monistiraki, which is basically where the ascent to the Acrpolis begins. There's a tiny 13th century church opposite. It's beautiful inside. The man in there gave Grizzly a tissue so he could wipe the sweat from his brow. How christian. Grizzly gave him some change and lit a candle, as he tends to do. Probably praying he'll win the euro lottery!

Slowly, we made our way up the hill to the entrance to the Acropolis. I'd purchased our timed tickets yesterday. We were very early, so we found some shade and watched the world go by. There was a guy in Spartan style costume who was suddenly inundated with people wanting to pay €5 to have photos taken with him, after an American woman had chased after him. Up till then it looked like he was going down the hill. Lucky him.

When the time came to go in, Grizzly nearly ended up going in with a tour group. I had to call him back. It was a bit of a palaver, but we were finally though and started the long, steep, hot trek up to the top and the Parthenon. Disappointingly, part of it was covered in scaffolding but it seems there's a big program of refurbishment going on. Grizzly took loads of photos, me not so, as I've been there before with Catherine on a football trip.

Going down was somewhat easier though the marble floor can be very slippery, so care was needed. Once down we headed for the south slopes, passed the 2 theatres and out of the south gate. By this time it was lunch time. We were going to try and find a taverna away from the throng but spotted a McDs, so went in there instead.

After lunch, we made our way passed Hadrians Arch to the 'new' Olympic stadium/arena. This has stone seating around it, so a step up from Olympia. I remember Catherine and I could walk in, as it was open. Not now, you have to pay to do that. We didn't.

Next up, was the memorial to the fallen soldier at Syntagma Square and the changing of the guard. They change guards on the hour, every hour, 24 hours a day. I don't recall seeing it before. Catherine would remember. It's a highly dramatic routine and something you aren't likely to forget (I might have though) but we both agreed it is one of the most ridiculous ceremonies you will ever witness. Picture, chaps in short dresses, tights, with curly tipped footwear, topped with a pompom, wearing on there heads a fez like hat with a big long tassel. Then imagine John Cleese in that costume doing his Ministry of Silly Walks walk (google it) and you just about have the guard changing process spot on. It's certainly different.

When that had finished, we jumped on the metro back 'home'. We'd had a good day. Grizzly really enjoyed it and I did to, despite retracing old steps. As we passed our gyros place, we popped in for a refreshing beer. After freshening up, we were back there for dinner. Grizzly had another crack at the small folded pitta. I couldn't face that again and had chicken skewers, souvlaki by another name. Beers, yes, 2 more. Count now 26?

Just a few pics of the day.