Day 8: ATHENS!

Our visit to Athens was yet another adventure. We docked in Piraeus and got a couple of taxis to head to the Acropolis. Cheri, Dawn, Kailey, Shelby and Claire were in one taxi. Danny, Jake, Emery, Madison and I were in the other one. We were planning on meeting at the base of the Acropolis. Well this sounds easier than it actually is. There are a ton of places where we could have met up, but our two groups did NOT find each other! We walked around by where all of the taxis were and couldn’t find the girl contingent. I told Jake to pray that we would be able to find Grandma, Dawnie and the girls. We went to get our tickets hoping that they would be waiting for us. No luck. Then we went up the hill a ways and overlooked the Odeon Theatre (where Yanni’s Concert was filmed) and still- no girls.

So we continued up the hill. We got to the base of the marble stairs that actually lead into the Acropolis and we could not find them. These stairs were literally packed with people. There were a few different cruise ships with lots of people in tours- plus everyone else who wanted to see the sights of Athens. It was crazy! By this point, I was praying in earnest that we would be able to find my girls and Cheri and Dawn. We got onto the actual Acropolis and no girls. I was so sad, because I wanted to be able to see all of this with all of my family. I wanted pictures of all of us together! Plus- I worried about the girls being too much for Dawn and Cheri especially if someone got overly emotional (it’s been known to happen). Anyway, Danny, Jake, Emery, Madison and I walked all around the Parthenon (the huge temple at the top of the Acropolis) and started to head back down the steps. I hadn’t stopped praying and was madly looking for the rest of our group. As we started the descent down the stairs- I spotted Cheri. Hooray! I can’t tell you what a relief that was! I was so excited to see them. I was also so extremely grateful for yet another reminder that the Lord really does hear and answer our prayers. So, we turned around and headed back to the top of the Acropolis.

The Acropolis is the top of this really large hill in the very center of Athens. At the base of the hill is the Odeon of Herodes Atticus (that I’ve already mentioned of Yanni fame) and farther around the other side is the Theater of Dionysus (that we didn’t really even see). On top of the Acropolis there are a few different buildings. There is a small temple that you pass through (after you go up all of the stairs) and they are working on restoring that. Then there is the Erechtheion (the building that has a porch with 6 women who seem to be holding up the building) and the Parthenon (the huge Temple that was built for the Goddess Athena). When I was in Athens in 1990- they were working on restoring the Parthenon. They are still working on it! The view of Athens from the Acropolis is amazing (it would be even more incredible if there was no smog in Athens) and you can see the whole city. I am glad I could experience it with my whole family. It is truly something that I have wanted to do for years.

Then, Jake, Shelby and I (henceforth to be called the brave explorers) went over to Mars Hill. This is a hill very close to the Acropolis where the ancient philosophers (think Aristotle, Socrates, etc.) would sit and chat. This is also the place where the Apostle Paul gave the sermon of the Unknown God. (Look it up in your New Testament!) The brave explorers took the old, very slippery marble stairs up to the top of the hill. I told Shelby and Jake of my previous experience on the hill, we wandered around it, took pictures and then had a race to the bottom. (I took the new stairs, Shelby took the old stairs and Jake took the wilderness route- all rocks.)

We felt we had the seen the best of Athens and didn’t want to mess around with the rest- so we headed back to the ship. (Plus- most of us had seen enough history for a bit.) Athens was the first really big city I had ever visited and I still have the same impressions of it. It’s big, polluted and stinky- but very interesting.