June 22, 2002 - Athens

Nina and I spent the morning hiking up to the Acropolis, taking lots of pictures, visiting the Acropolis museum, and then hiking back down around lunchtime.  There was so much to see throughout the entire journey.  After getting together a picnic lunch, we headed to the National Gardens for a leisurely stroll and then went back into the city for dining, drinking, and dancing on the wonderful Mnisikleous Street.  The street is lined from top to bottom with little tavernas that have rooftop seating with excellent views of the city and the Acropolis.

Statues of horses in the Acropolis Museum.

A mockup of an ancient temple.

Remnants of a woman leading an animal.

Statue of women dancing at the Acropolis Museum.

A man eating, I think?

Men and women carrying food.

Statue of soldiers preparing for battle.

You can get an idea from this photo of how hard it would have been to assault the Acropolis.

Nina taking a quick break on the steps. Athens was seriously hot in June!

Farther down near the base of the hill.

A lower level entrance used to lead into a large tomb.

The Theatre of Dionysius on the grounds of the Acropolis.

A closer view of the Theatre of Dionysius.

When we left the Acropolis, we walked back through the Agora (oldest neighborhood in Athens) and got much closer views of the things we saw in the morning...like the Agia Apostoli.

Another view of the Agia Apostoli.

The ruins of the ancient Agora neighborhood. Agora means "a place of gathering" in Greek, and it was the heart of Athenian life in ancient times.

Remnants of columns in the Agora.

The Temple of Hyphaestus is one of the best preserved doric temples.

Both of us posing for a picture with the Acropolis in the distance.

Well preserved columns of the Temple of Hyphaestus.

Closer view of craftsmanship that went into the temple.

An opened crypt outside the temple.

The Monstisteraki Flea Market in downtown Athens.

The market offers a wide variety of antiques and curios.

The entrance to the National Gardens of Athens.

Nina stopped for a picturesque photo of a vine covered gazebo.

Strange looking trees were the norm in the National Gardens.

Nina taking a quick break to have a picnic lunch.

These ducks would swarm around anybody who dared to get close to them!

Nina risks life and limb to feed ducks in the National Garden.

A nice shady spot...perfect for a photo break and escape from the heat.

Likavitos Hill in the distance as Nina and I sat down to a great dinner at Aleka's rooftop taverna.

Enjoying our dinner at Aleka's.

As the night wore on, we were entertained by authentic Greek music and dancing.

Stella (our table neighbor) showing Nina how to get her Greek groove on!

Nina and the women from the next table having a great time dancing to traditional Rembetika music.

Nina and her new, (very drunk), Greek friends.