An Amazing Day in Athens city

a bit more of delphi area
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This morning I slept in a little because of aslight case of insomnia.  By the way, my typing will have errors because this keyboard is difficult to use and even more dificult to correct when errors are already made so I've decided to just leave the minor ones in.  Okay, so I set out today at 1000.  My first stop was a restaurant because Let's Go highly recommended their food.  I got to the place but they were closed until 12 PM so I couldn't get food there.  Instead I stopped into a little bakery shop where I bought pastry thingie that had a chocoolate top and a cream filling.  It aws like a cream-filled donut really.  It was very tasty along with my carton of milk!  But that wasn't nearly enought o have a good breakfast and suffice for not have dinner last night so I stopped by another place to have a good old gyro wrap.  It tasted fantastic and it was soo cheap, less than 2 euros!  I say cheap in comparison to the pound, compared to the dollar I suppose that's right on par.  Anyway, the point is was that it was good!

typical house in aegina...supposedly all are like this in Cyclades.
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I walked around for a bit trying to find my way to Acropolis.  It was easily visible throughout the city but I just didn't know where the main entrance was.  I found the Roman Agora and also found out that all arhcealogical sites are free for EU students!  That means me!  So I headed into the ruins of the Roman Agora.  I can't remember what it was used for to be honest but I was just taken away by the marble structures that were left.  It felt like being transported back in time.  There was the tower of the winds which had a relief at all of the 8 directions.  It was beautiful!  *side note* There were stray dogs roaming all over the city.  I must have seen at least 40 today!  They were all homeless and looked so sad.  I didn't want to feed them though because I thought that the locals would get pissed off at me.  Turns out that they were more pissed that I didn't feed them!  So tomorrow I willd efinitely give a part of my wrap to some of the dogs *end side note*.  I finished up at the Roman Agora and started in the general direction of the Acropolis.  It really towered over the rest of athens so it was easy to see where to go.  *another side note* I still can't upload pictures to this computer so there are no pictures for this blog...you'll have to wait until tomorrow when I go to an internet cafe.  I took roughly 200 pictures today! *end note*.  Before hitting Acropolis I found a huge rock that tons of tourists were climbing so I followed the crowd.  It was a marble rock (very slippery to walk on) that had an AMAZING view of the city.  I hung out there for a good 30 minutes just sitting and relaxing.  The weather was beautiful, not a cloud in sky!  It was warm enough by then that I had taken off my jacket and stuffed it into the bag that Sacha gave me a couple of days ago, cheers mate!

sanctuary for afaia the nymph. This was my favorite ruin because it was so empty of tourists.
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Having my fill of the city I climbed a bit higher to get to Acropolis, again free for all EU students.  I hiked up a bit and stopped off at the Theater of Dionysus and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus (another reconstructed theater).  Then at the top I got to see Parthenon, Temple of Athena Nike, Erechtheion, and the Acropolis Museum.  All were breath-taking, especially Parthenon.  You feel so miniscule when standing next to it, not only because it is large in scale but just because it's architecture commands respect from the feeble tourists walking about.  There was a Greek flag waving nearby and it was nice to walk around the perimeter of Acropolis to take in the views.

sitting on afaia's sanctuary beyond the rope...what you gonna do about it eh?
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While in Acropolis I met a group of American girls, one who was from Mililani!  We all chatted and got along well and ended up hanging out for a good portion of the day.  We got our fill of Acropolis and headed back into Plaka to find a place to eat.

I have no clue what the restaurant's name was but it was right on the corner of Mitropoleos and Athinas.  They had live music going on and a friendly atmosphere so of course we al stopped in!  I had a kebab and it was soooo delicious.  They also gave us complimentary bottled water and wine that wasn't half bad.  The owner was bragging to us that it had been open for 130 years when his great grandfather staretd it, and now is son runs the restaurant.  Food was delicious and the people were great!

beach in afaia marina
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Having our fill we set off again into Plaka to see the flea market and check out the touristy shops.  I think I'm going to buy a Greek national football jersey tomorrow, not sure though.  The girls went to an internet cafe but I kept going on to Agora.

There, I saw Hephaesteion , the Stoa of Attalos (reconstructed now), Agora Museum, and more ruins.  The ruins have been turned into more of a garden so I ust strolled through, snapping pictures here and there of good scenes.  I got tons of people to take pictures of me so be patient and they will come!  Hephaesteion was so beautiful and so well preserved.  I love all of the ruins because they're surrounded by greenery now, so they seem to be peaking out of hiding spots...just treasures to stumble upon!  I had agreed to meet the girls at Lycavittos Hill, which is higher than Acropolis.  There lies the Chapel of St. George and a great lookout point for a Greek sunset and seeing Athens light up at night!

aegina sunset on pier
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On the way to Lycavittos HIll I stopped off at Parliament where I saw a guard change.  It was interesting, not very exciting though.  Two guards basically did an elaborate 20-minute salute to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  The way they walked was funny...ask me for a demonstration later!  I got there (top of Lycavittos) around 1700 and didn't leave until 1930.  The hike up was tiring so I wanted to make sure I got a lot out of it.  The sunset was gorgeous, the views of athens were amazing (all panoramic and no obstructions), and Athens at night is beautiful as well!  The chapel was small and there was a small old greek lady constantly sweeping and dusting to keep it presentable.  We all left and ate dinner at My Sushi.  I had chicken katsu and it was really tasty!  Don't worry, I'll get tons of greek food tomorrow!  Then we decided to go to Daily, a pub nearby where Let's Go recommended.

temple of poseidon at cape of sounion
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I don't recommend Daily.  A bottle of beer was 6 euros!  The place was small and the atmosphere wasn't all that great.  We watched Greece lose to Turkey 1-4 because the keeper had an off game.  Greece in general was lacking talent and composure, but oh well. After the game it was a 40 minute walk home through the city again.  I must have walked a dozen miles today and my dogs are barking!

I met a girl in the hostel named Amanda who went to Aegina, a 20-euro ferry ride away.  she highly recommends that I go.  I can't decide between Aegina or Delphi tomorrow.  Anyway, I'll figure that out tomorrow.

i crossed the rope again...this is a pic from within the temple woo hoo!
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I'm still safe and healthy.  Love you all....pictures to come...hopefully tomorrow I suppose.  Dependson how long I stay in Delphi/Aegian island.  Bye!