Athens Micro Day: Day 8

The only way to know exactly when you’ll get somewhere is to take the metro.

Today we said ciao to Italy and headed for Greece. We had a pretty early morning to make sure that we all made it on time for our flight to Athens. We made it to Fumicino with plenty of time to spare. Sam and I contemplated buying some big ole Milka bars but decided against it because they were like €15. I did however buy a little hairbrush since I LEFT MINE IN MY CAR IN TEXAS??! I’ve been using my teeny mirror brush and borrowing Alyssa’s brush for the last 7 days.
They moved our gate at some point and everyone panicked and ran to the new gate. I did not. I strolled and when I got there, guess what happened? Flight delayed and no plane in sight.
Eventually we got on the plane and sat on the tarmac for quite a while (like 30 minutes or so) but I slept the whole time. I woke as we were picking up speed and actively taking off. I slept basically the entire flight. I woke up about 20 minutes before we landed and right as we were coming down below the clouds. I was lucky enough to have a window seat, and all I could think when I looked down was “wow. I can’t believe that I’ve been missing this”. The water was very blue and there were small islands and little mountains speckled throughout the sea. I even saw a sailboat out on the water. We landed safely in Athens and had to get off the plane by stairs and take a shuttle to the main terminal. When we got inside, we bought snacks at the airport shop. I got a pomegranate sparkling water and a bag of rice chips that were “Aegean Seasoning” flavored. Both were delicious. We got on our charter and headed to inner city Athens, where we were going to go to the Acropolis and the Parthenon.
Now let me tell you- this was my favorite tour that we’ve been on so far. I’m not sure if it was the tour guide or the fact that I am officially in a country where I know none of the language, customs, etc. I’ve already been to Italy and I knew enough Spanish in Spain to feel comfortable, but I’m totally lost here except for the very small amount of things that I remember about Greek mythology. The Parthenon and slopes were VERY busy. Our tour guide did a great job explaining everything and even asked us if we had any questions.
Did you know that Athens, Greece was founded 4000 B.C? We’re in the 2000’s A.C. We’re only half way through the entire span of Athens B.C.

Did you also know that the “Acropolis” refers to the entire area of monumental buildings, not any one particular building? It is simply a name for the highest building in the area (to be closer to the gods, of course) and many different areas in Greece have one.

The famous Parthenon was a temple to Athena, built somewhere in the 1200’ B.C. It only took them 50 years to build.
Now, they try to keep a ratio of 70% original structure and materials and 30% new materials for presentation and preservation purposes. Renovations and preservations are mostly paid for through the European Union and UNESO, as the Acropolis area is a UNESCO world heritage site.
The entire Acropolis area was stunning, and it really is humbling to look down at your own feet and thing about how you’re following in the path of those who came before you 3000+ years before you.

After leaving the Acropolis, we went on a little bus tour of the city of Athens with our tour guide. We got to see the place where the Olympic stadium is and where they light the Olympic torch.
She told us about how the Greek flag is blue for the ocean, white for the sky, and depicts a cross as the majority of the country is orthodox Christian and are baptized by the time they are 1 year old.
I also learned that Greece has their own tomb of the unknown soldier.
We got to explore the Placa (little town square area) for a little while and I bought a magnet, a sticker, and a pretty necklace.

Once our tour was over, we got back on the bus and made our way to the airport to catch another flight to a different area in Greece!

I thoroughly enjoyed Athens and would love to go back and explore for more than just a few hours.Read more