Summer Holidays 2011, Part I

We just got back from our holidays in Greece and I have to say we had an amazing time there! It was exceeding expectations. All went according to plan (airplanes, hotels, ferries) and we had no problems at all! The selected destinations were proven to be perfectly combined as well.

The first part of our trip was Athens! We stayed there for a couple of days, at my brother’s place. I did find it a bit surreal that I was staying with my boyfriend at his place. I know I’ve come a long way since my closeted adolescent days but it felt very good to be all together like that. They also went along quite well. The four of us, including his girlfriend, we spent all evenings together after they finished work for dinner and drinks.

The first day we were in Athens, I took JJ up the ‘Acropolis’. I hadn’t been there in years and it was very nice to see the Parthenon again. It’s amazing to think that it’s a building more than 2500 years old! Of course it changed and was reconstructed through the years but I always feel astounded looking at it. It was very nice to reread about the area and its significance. I was also happy to see that JJ wanted to visit the site and learn about it.

The Parthenon

The Parthenon

The Erechtheum

The Temple of Athena Nike (410BC)

The Propylea (entrance to the site) full of tourists

After the Acropolis, we visited the new ‘Acropolis Museum’. I was amazed at the work they’ve done. The museum looks very professional and well designed. The ground floor is transparent and the visitor is able to see the ancient city underneath the museum! There are many items and statues of the site and projections and models reconstructing the site through the years.

The entrance of the museum

The many levels

That's how the lower level was visible from above and yours truly (I am now more tan)

There’s an incident that happened there which still makes me laugh. On the museum ground floor, there are quite a few items like urns, pots and cooking utensils on display. Underneath each item there is the description of their construction date and translation of any inscription displayed. So, I naturally went through them. I was looking at an ancient urn and I read underneath it: ‘3rd century BC, scene of a dedication to the Goddess Athena’ and I heard a comment behind me:
‘Do you see that? They write about Jesus! If the Ancients Greeks knew that Christ was coming, then it means that He must be real!’
It took me a while to understand what that woman meant but when I did, my jaw dropped. Apparently she confused the ‘BC’ on the caption and she thought that Greeks knew about the coming of Christ! I couldn’t but burst into laughter and walk away!

The visit to the museum was impressive. After that though, reality hit us when we went back to the city centre and the ‘Syntagma Square’. There are people now permanently living there, protesting for the current economic situation. Some of the people I talked to agree with the protest and every night join them peacefully to shout their disapproval, strike or march when agreed. Others believe that these people only create problems for those trying to get to work and earn their living.


The second and final day of our visit to Athens, we drove to ‘Sounion’. That’s the tip of the Attica peninsula where an amazing temple dedicated to Poseidon was built around 440 BC. The temple is built right on the top of the hill and the view of the sea surrounding it is amazing. On our way back to Athens we went swimming to a nearby beach.


The next morning we took the ferry to the island of Naxos.