Opa!
After a day at sea on Saturday, we spent today in Athens.
We had a crazy Greek tour guide who was straight out of My Big Fat Greek Wedding -- or maybe she herself had seen that movie too many times. She was very much, "If you can speak English, you can speak Greek, because all English words come from Greek words!" And then she'd list all the words she could think of with Greek roots.
We started out at the Acropolis, which was every bit as fantastic as I'd imagined. I couldn't actually believe that I was there. I still don't, even as I look through the pictures to decide which one to post.
It's also a bit of a treacherous climb...the kind of climb you'd never see in lawsuit-happy-and-thank-God-for-my-sake-it's-so America. Lots of marble slabs that have been polished shiny-slick by millions of feet passing over them.
Then we drove for a couple of hours along the coast to Cape Sounion. Lovely sights. I was amazed once again at the European parameters for luxury. As in, the high-rent, beach-front district boasts dreary little condos with cheap plastic chairs on tiny, dingy balconies crowded by drying laundry. And those people have more money than I could ever dream of. I think they should all move to my town and buy villas with their millions. And bring their food with them. More saganaki, please!
In Cape Sounion we saw the Temple of Poseidon, which isn't as grand as the Parthenon but felt somehow more majestic. I think the difference is that the Acropolis is swarming with tourists and guards and scaffolding for renovation, whereas we were the only tour group at the Temple of Poseidon. It stands silently atop a rocky bluff overlooking the sea. I really felt a sense of reverence...I could imagine Ancient Greeks walking the same paths I did in a way it was hard to at the Acropolis.
(Um, and I could imagine Lord Byron there too. The Greeks love him, I guess. He carved his name into a column in the temple. That's supposed to be really cool now, but I say it's just graffiti. He's a goober.)
