On Saturday we woke up later than planned and enjoyed a lovely breakfast in our hotel with Baklava and other tasty Greek treats. Elisabeth tried lots of new foods and devoured the sweets. Kate wasn't very interested although she did try dried apricots!
Acropolis & Acropolis Museum
We walked out of the hotel and turned right to walk up to the Acropolis. We hiked to the top that morning and enjoyed a 40 minute tour by Miss Maria. Not many tourists there at 9:30am. After the Acropolis, we walked to Mars Hill. Kate and I sat and looked out over Mars Hill while Rich and Elisabeth explored. After climbing down from Mars Hill we let the girls run on the paths down the Acropolis to the Roman Amphitheatre. Around noon we headed down the Acropolis to the new Acropolis museum for lunch.
The Acropolis Museum opened recently in 2009. At the Acropolis museum we enjoyed a lovely lunch with panoramic views of the Acropolis. The girls especially enjoyed their Lemon Fanta! After lunch we strolled through the museum admiring the sculptures from the Acropolis. Elisabeth especially enjoyed a historical video about the Acropolis. Kate just wanted to sleep so we pushed two chairs together and created a crib for her during the movie. We piled on our coats as blankets for Kate. She was tired!
Train Ride & Greek Agora
After the museum we enjoyed a one hour mini-tourist train ride around the Acropolis. Just what Elisabeth and Kate needed after a long morning of walking. A beautiful day - lots of Greeks enjoying coffee in the local cafes.
After the train ride we walked to the Greek Agora, however it was closed. Luckily for us, restaurants were open for dinner at 5pm (many Greeks eat lunch at 1-2pm and dinner at 9-10pm!). We ate dinner at a local restaurant and then went back to our hotel to put the girls to bed.
Sunday: The Greek Agora & Hadrian's Library
On Sunday we awoke again to vibrant blue skies and warm weather (our third beautiful day!). After a delicious breakfast in our hotel with Baklava and other tasty treats we walked to the Greek Agora, a former marketplace and meeting place. The girls were ready to stretch their legs and run along the paths while Rich and I enjoyed reading our books and appreciated the sculptures and architecture. Elisabeth and Kate were not interested in the museum so we stayed outside (where they wouldn't knock anything over!). They did enjoy seeing the Temple of Hephaistos, the most prominent and better preserved monument of the Agora. After visiting the Greek Agora, we visited Hadrian's Library, enjoyed another train ride through Athens, and ate lunch at a local Greek restaurant. We were sad to leave Athens, but we had a 4:30pm flight Sunday afternoon We walked back to our hotel, we picked up our luggage and took a cab to the airport.
