Our Introduction to Athens

Bryan and I are now home from our longed-for trip to Greece.

Since I couldn't share pictures with you while we were in

Greece I feel compelled to add some now. I took over 1,000 pictures. I promise not to share all of them.

Bryan went to Greece for an abroad experience while attending school at the University of La Verne. It had always been our hope to go there together. We just never guessed it would take us 33 years. It was fun to have Bryan serve as travel guide, although some things had changed since he was last in Greece.

We stayed at Central Hotel, close to the Plaka. A little Byzantine Church was located right under our window and

above it was a view of the Acropolis. We were too excited to be in Athens and so we took off on a walk. We arrived at the Acropolis too late to get in and so we walked over to the New Acropolis Museum. It is built over an excavation site. Much of the floor is glass so that you can see what is below. We ate dinner in the Plaka and returned back to our hotel after dark. We sat on the roof to stare at the Acropolis. It is mesmerizing.

I woke up at 4 a.m. Unable to sleep I eventually gave up and went to the rooftop to stare at the

Acropolis some more. It was a Sunday morning and the city was still. A parachutist flew over the Parthenon. Because I woke up in the middle of the night we got to the Acropolis early. Already the place was crowded with other visitors. It is mind boggling to imagine what these temples must have looked like when they were whole. We would have stayed longer and taken even more pictures but the heat and the need for water forced us back down the steps.

We stopped for something cool to drink at Syntagma Square. Across the street is the Parliament building. The Evzoni guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of Parliament. There is a changing of the guard every hour but on Sundays at 11 a.m. it is a more elaborate affair. We happened to arrive for this special event.

We headed to the National Archeology Museum. It is a place that Bryan didn't go 33 years ago and always wished he had. They have many of the treasures found at Mycenae and other places. I found myself eager to begin our bus tour of the Peloponnese and central Greece to see these sites.