Athens Adventure

We left Santorini on Saturday morning and took the ferry into Athens. It was a long, four hour ride. Probably not the best choice for two sea sick prone travelers, but we were pretty exhausted and managed to sleep most of the way. Linc loaded up on some Greek Dramamine and I made my own sea bands to try and combat the effects of the boat.

When we arrived at the port we waited at the taxi station for someone to pick us up. We finally secured a taxi and drove the twenty minutes to our hotel (we later learned the darn driver ripped us off). After checking in, we headed upstairs to check out our view! The Athens Gate Hotel is right at the base of the Acropolis and from our room we could see the Temple of Zeus. My one complaint was that our patio door did not shut properly, and being that we were on the main road it was difficult to get used to the traffic noise after the peaceful silence of Santorini. That night we headed up to our hotel restaurant and enjoyed some good food, great views, and even better company!

The balcony of our room the the Athens Gate Hotel.
A little different view than Santorini!

We looked right into the Temple of Olympian Zeus!

View from dinner on the rooftop terrace- sunset over the Acropolis.

Yup, more little shrimp eyes staring at me. This was tasty though!

The Temple at night. Not as impressive as it looked in real life.

Traffic! There wasn't much compared to Atlanta,
but we heard the cars honking ALL night long!

Sunday brought with it a heat wave and a stomach bug! I have a very sensitive stomach and after eating all sorts of foreign food, it had finally caught up with me. I was left running to the bathroom a few times an hour so it did not make for a very fun time. I was disappointed because this really limited what we could do, but we still managed to go to the New Acropolis Museum (where I snapped a few pics before being yelled at) and climb the Acropolis.

The New Acropolis Museum- which had just opened in June!

There was a ton of natural light and the floors in the hallways
were Plexiglas so you could see all the way through to the ground!

Right before I got yelled at! Apparently you
cannot take photos inside the museum. Oops!

Outside and on our way to the Parthenon.

We spent the day touring around the Parthenon, seeing the temple of Athena, enjoying some frozen lemonade, and even managed to hike over to McDonalds for dinner! We were seriously craving some American food and good ol' Micky D's did not disappoint. Again, probably not the smartest choice for someone with a stomach bug, but I could not handle another Gyro or Souvlaki!

The Auditorium of the Theater of Dionysos at the base of the Acropolis.

The Temple of Athena Nike on the way up to the Parthenon.

The view of Athens from the top of the Acropolis.

The mighty Parthenon (currently being partially restored).

The Erechtheion- a temple dedicated to Athena, Poseidon, and Erechtheus.

Looking back at our hotel and the Temple of Zeus from the Parthenon!

Monday morning we slept in late and then found a small Chinese restaurant to have lunch. It was not as good as the one in Crete and since I was still sick, I did not really enjoy it. We left there and went to the Temple of Zeus to tour around and take pictures. I did not last long before we headed back to the hotel so I could take a nap. After a few hours, Linc managed to get me up and we went into town for dinner. We took the long way home and bought some souvenirs on our way back to the hotel. I got a beautifully decorated handmade ceramic plate to hang in our bedroom and Linc got a shot glass. We picked up a few items for our family and then headed back to pack our bags.

Hadrian's Arch- near the entrance to the Temple.

The Temple of Olympian Zeus- also known as the Olympieion.

Right before running back to the hotel! Not feeling so hot =(

My beautiful plate! It has already found a home on the shelf outside our bedroom!

We left for the airport bright and early on Tuesday morning and had to wait a while since our flight was delayed an hour. After a nearly 12 hour flight, where they showed three movies and we still had 5 hours left to go, we touched down in Atlanta!! I could not have been happier! We had such a great time in Greece but I was ready to be home, see my family and the pups, sleep in my own bed, and drink my delicious water! What an incredible trip with my sweet husband, and one I will never forget. I am so thankful we were able to go on this excursion together before school started up again and have this time to get away from the world. Thank you Linc for working so hard to make this all possible and for surprising me with the greatest anniversary gift I could ever have hoped for! I love you with all of my heart!