Tuesday, October 23, 2018--Athens

Our third day in Athens was low key, and we'll share with you a few observations about Athens. When we first planned this trip, we thought we'd want five days in Athens. A dear friend suggested that we cut that in half, which made sense since we (a) weren't going to make a lot of day trips out of Athens, (b) didn't plan to do the many antiquity museums, and (c) are going to visit plenty of temples and other ruins on the way to Venice. Thanks, Sherry!

Our observation of the Athens architecture is that it's relatively boring, unless it's 2000 years old. One fun thing is that many of the apartments have extensive gardens (forests, sometimes) on the balconies. And we saw a few grand houses--but many of the municipal buildings (even Parliament) have a lot to learn from other European cities. It's really neat, though, to see the ruin of Hadrian's library, for example, right in the middle of a bustling neighborhood. And there's a temple or other ruin around every corner, it seems. Like in Vienna or Paris or other former Roman territories, lots of antiquities are discovered when the city starts digging for a subway.

Ruins of Hadrian's library, with the Acropolis in the background.

Athens is a foodie town--we didn't get to the market while it was at its busiest, but found lots of other food trends in the streets. And the dinner we had at Tudor Hall atop our hotel was one of the best in recent memory.

Produce stands on the streets were full of lovely fruit--just look at the size of these chestnuts. They were huge!

The gyros here can be made from many meats--lamb, of course, but also beef, chicken, or pork. We think that might be chicken on the spit behind the server.

Lots of other tasty options--fanciful gelato cones and all sorts of pastries. There are very few Starbucks here, but the Greeks do love their coffee. There must be a coffee shop & bakery around every corner.

If there's a spice from somewhere in the world, it's either in these bags or in the jars inside the shop.

And, finally, the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns under Parliament was a special sight--visible from our hotel window.

Tomorrow we board Riviera.