Athens- walking in ancient footsteps

Today we went to the Acropolis (which is the hill in the centre of Athens) it is less than 20 minutes walk from where we are staying. We were lucky to easily get the tickets. We are in the Plaka district which is close to most of the historic sights (but also incredibly busy).
The Parthenon is the ancient citadel on the Acropolis, it dates back to 5 BC and is constantly being strengthened, hence the scaffolding. There is also the Herod Atticus Odeon which was built under Roman rule, it was lost under debris during the Byzantine Era and then uncovered in the 19th century. It is used today as the main venue for the Athens Festival which runs during the summer months.
Another beautiful building is the Temple of Athena Nike, built 420 BC, a lot of the friezes and sculptures that were in here are now in Museums, but it is also constantly being repaired and strengthened. Near the entry is the Pedestal of Agrippa which was built (178 BC) to honour Marcus Agrippas victory in a chariot race in the Panathenaic games, it used to have a bronze, life-sized chariot on top.
It was great to see these buildings and to walk on the flagstones that are highly polished by thousands of years of use.

We had Mousaka and Nastitsoi for a late lunch then visited the Roman Agora ruins back down the hill in the city centre. This was a forum built by the Romans to house the commercial centre of Athens (31 BC).
A gelato (pistachio, and lemon pie flavours) and a beer to finish the day.Read more