We lollygagged for half the morning yesterday, cooking breakfast and writing and making arrangements for a car in Italy. We finally organized our day pack and headed by foot to the Acropolis. When we saw the line of tourists weaving through rocks and trees waiting to get tickets, we changed our itinerary quickly. We walked back down the hill to the Acropolis Museum and were glad to get inside without much of a wait.
The museum is brand new and is quite a spectacle in its own right. It is built over excavations of ancient Athens. Many of the museum floors are glass, allowing you to look down at the old streets and houses. It took a while for me to get used to the odd sensation of walking on clear glass! The several floors of the museum contain statues and other items that originated on the Acropolis and are being preserved in the weather and temperature-controlled indoors. The top floor is the same size as the Parthenon and has metal pillars representing the tall, fluted columns that can be seen through the glass walls that look toward the Acropolis. Piece of the "frieze" (carved artwork surrounding the Parthenon above the columns) are displayed. Exact replicas have replaced them on the Parthenon itself. It was fascinating to hear the history of the Acropolis, including the fact that the Parthenon had been converted into a Christian cathedral and then a mosque before it was mostly destroyed by a Venetian attack in the late 1600s.
When we arrived again at the Acropolis, the wave of cruise boat tourists was mostly gone. We purchased tickets and climbed the stone steps to enter the hilltop sanctuary of ancient Greek worship. The Parthenon was built as a temple to Athena. I had my camera ready (it's pretty much always around my neck, ready for a good shot) and was disappointed that the entire western facade was covered with scaffolding and tall metal cranes. We worked our way around the colossal structure, though, and thankfully the eastern end was scaffold-free. It, along with the other beautiful temples on the Acropolis, is truly remarkable in its proportions and classic beauty.
In the late afternoon, we went to the "fish spa" that is owned by our host in Athens. I have never seen a fish spa in the U.S., but I guess they must exist. There are many in the Mediterranean region, especially in tourist areas and airports. Our apartment rental came with a coupon for a free "fish pedicure." We stuck our feet in a large fish tank for thirty minutes. Little fish eagerly nibbled our feet to exfoliate them of dry skin. The fish tanks are positioned in front of a large window so we were visible to persons walking down the pedestrian street. A three-legged Persian cat paced back and forth inside the spa and was surprisingly uninterested in the fish. All in all, the fish spa was a very odd experience, but since it was free I didn't want to miss it!
We ate last night at a cafe near our apartment and ordered the "Tandori Chicken Souvlaki." It tasted the way it sounds - an suprising but delicious fusion of Indian and Greek flavors! We wandered the many walking streets that were filled with energetic people (mostly quite young) even on a weeknight. Street musicians were everywhere; each corner seemd to have someone singing or playing a saxophone or mandolin or nicolodian (a wild-haired man is playing a ukelele with a violin bow below our window as I write this the next morning.) We were glad to see that gelato is less expensive here than on the islands, so we indulged in three-scoop cones and called it a day!
The museum is brand new and is quite a spectacle in its own right. It is built over excavations of ancient Athens. Many of the museum floors are glass, allowing you to look down at the old streets and houses. It took a while for me to get used to the odd sensation of walking on clear glass! The several floors of the museum contain statues and other items that originated on the Acropolis and are being preserved in the weather and temperature-controlled indoors. The top floor is the same size as the Parthenon and has metal pillars representing the tall, fluted columns that can be seen through the glass walls that look toward the Acropolis. Piece of the "frieze" (carved artwork surrounding the Parthenon above the columns) are displayed. Exact replicas have replaced them on the Parthenon itself. It was fascinating to hear the history of the Acropolis, including the fact that the Parthenon had been converted into a Christian cathedral and then a mosque before it was mostly destroyed by a Venetian attack in the late 1600s. 
When we arrived again at the Acropolis, the wave of cruise boat tourists was mostly gone. We purchased tickets and climbed the stone steps to enter the hilltop sanctuary of ancient Greek worship. The Parthenon was built as a temple to Athena. I had my camera ready (it's pretty much always around my neck, ready for a good shot) and was disappointed that the entire western facade was covered with scaffolding and tall metal cranes. We worked our way around the colossal structure, though, and thankfully the eastern end was scaffold-free. It, along with the other beautiful temples on the Acropolis, is truly remarkable in its proportions and classic beauty.
In the late afternoon, we went to the "fish spa" that is owned by our host in Athens. I have never seen a fish spa in the U.S., but I guess they must exist. There are many in the Mediterranean region, especially in tourist areas and airports. Our apartment rental came with a coupon for a free "fish pedicure." We stuck our feet in a large fish tank for thirty minutes. Little fish eagerly nibbled our feet to exfoliate them of dry skin. The fish tanks are positioned in front of a large window so we were visible to persons walking down the pedestrian street. A three-legged Persian cat paced back and forth inside the spa and was surprisingly uninterested in the fish. All in all, the fish spa was a very odd experience, but since it was free I didn't want to miss it!
We ate last night at a cafe near our apartment and ordered the "Tandori Chicken Souvlaki." It tasted the way it sounds - an suprising but delicious fusion of Indian and Greek flavors! We wandered the many walking streets that were filled with energetic people (mostly quite young) even on a weeknight. Street musicians were everywhere; each corner seemd to have someone singing or playing a saxophone or mandolin or nicolodian (a wild-haired man is playing a ukelele with a violin bow below our window as I write this the next morning.) We were glad to see that gelato is less expensive here than on the islands, so we indulged in three-scoop cones and called it a day!