Farewell to Greece

Sadly it was time to say goodbye to Athens & to Greece today.
We had a very early start this morning - wake-up call at 3:00am, breakfast at 3:45am, on the bus at 4:00am!  Everybody was up & ready on time, & despite a few technical difficulties checking-in everyone made it to the gate in plenty of time for the first flight to Paris.

We had a great time in Greece - seeing some amazing sites, eating delicious food, stretching our legs more than usual, & enjoying good weather (almost) all the time.
A big thank you as always to Mr. Bittle for making this trip happen - what begins every year as casual discussions over where to go next then takes a lot of work to come to fruition.
What's next:

• July 2014 - "Europe's Low Countries", a tour of the Netherlands & Belgium

• Spring Break 2015:  "Imperial China" (Beijing, Shanghai & Hong Kong)

• Summer 2015:  "Venice & Croatia" (Venice, Trieste, & Croatia's Dalmatian Coast including Split & Dubrovnik) 

Athens at Leisure

Our final day in Athens, & in Greece, had been deliberately left largely free for everyone to choose how to spend the day.  But to begin we had a few more things to see as a group.

We met after a late breakfast, walking via Hadrian's Arch to see the remains of what was once the Greek world's largest temple - the Temple of Olympian Zeus.  Even with just 15 columns still standing it is an impressive sight & has great views up to the Acropolis.

From there we walked to nearby Syntagma Square, heart of Athens & home of the Parliament (once the royal palace) & Greece's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  We arrived at the perfect time to see the 11:00 changing of the guard ceremony, then were able to take our photos with the guards.
The rest of the day was free, to sightsee, to shop, to take in the views, or to enjoy a relaxed Greek lunch.
A small group met up later to ride the metro, hike up a hill, then ride a funicular (cog railway) up the highest hill in Athens, Lycabettus Hill, for the views.  Despite it being a grey afternoon we were able to see over the entire city & clear to the sea.
Finally we ended the day with dinner at a nearby hotel, enjoying good food & amazing views towards the illuminated Acropolis - a great way to end our trip.

Ancient Athens

This morning we began our exploration of the city of Athens, birthplace of western democracy, in the company of our expert local guide Faye.

We began with a short walk through the Plaka district to the foot of the Acropolis hill, learning about the area as we made several stops on the way.  But our main focus of course was the Acropolis itself & especially the Parthenon, the huge temple atop the hill.

After our tour there was free time for lunch which the group took in the Plaka district, splitting into smaller groups & choosing restaurants or cafes they liked.  After lunch & some free time we all met-up again & rode the efficient & clean Athens metro (subway) system to the National Archaeological Museum where we met our guide again for an afternoon tour of the museum, seeing some of the most famous ancient Greek artifacts.  Amongst the treasures we saw were the fabulous golden mask, the so-called 'Mask of Agamemnon' from Mycenae.  We visited the site where it was found on our second day in Greece & saw photos of it so it was great to see & even better to see the reaction of many of the students - they'd clearly been paying attention & were excited to see it in person.

This evening we enjoyed an evening of Greek food, music & dancing.  As well as many tastes of the country that we've become familiar with (stuffed vine leaves, moussaka, etc) we experience Greek folk songs & dances, & were invited to join in at various times.  Some of our group even got to fulfill their ambition to smash plates!  It was fun night for all.  Opa!

Delphi & Athens

We bade farewell to Olympia this morning as we boarded the bus for our longest travel day.  

After a couple of hours we passed through the port town of Patras & left the Peloponnese as we crossed the spectacular new bridge that links with 'mainland' Greece.  After a pit-stop we continued our journey, finally arriving in Delphi at lunchtime.  

We took time to enjoy the views & eat lunch before walking to the famous archaeological site of Delphi, considered in ancient times to be the center of the earth & thus the site of the most famous oracle.

Our guide Georgia explained the site to us, then showed us the most important artifacts in the site's museum, including the renowned 'charioteer'.

From Delphi we continued on to Athens, arriving late after battling our way through the traffic.  From our hotel we walked into the Plaka district where we enjoyed a fun 'pick what you like' dinner.  After dinner we took a walk around the Acropolis to Mars Hill to enjoy the nighttime view over the city.

Ancient Olympia

Today we visited the site of the ancient Olympic Games.
A huge buffet breakfast was followed by a short bus ride to the entrance to the archaeological site where we met our expert local guide, Marietta.  She was quite a character & we enjoyed her colorful descriptions of the the ancient games.
After visiting the beautiful site itself, including competing in our own sprint races in the historic stadium, we visited the site museum to see the most precious artifacts found here.
The afternoon was free to enjoy the sunshine by the pool, to shop in the small modern town, or to take a nap!