First Weekend in Athens

The photo to the left is of the olive man from the farmer's market on Friday mornings two blocks from my apartment.

Friday the girls and my apartment made our first try for a true Athenian night, meaning going out to dinner at around 10 or 11. We decided to walk to a restaurant that we had passed by during our previous excursion the Acropolis. The restaurant is located pretty close to the base of the Acropolis and is located on top of a little hill so you can look over the lower parts of the city. We ordered a little bit of everything, basically a tasting menu of Greek food, pretty similar to our taverna dinner earlier in the week. Our dinner, in typical Greek fashion lasted until about 1:30 am. On the walk back we were joined by one of the many stray dogs that literally walked the length of the walk back with us. However, once a couple blocks from our apartment we stumbled upon a very busy/happening bar street only two blocks from our apartment, who knew. We ran into a couple other people from the program, and soaked up the atmosphere among the locals for another hour or so. Sleep came around 4/5ish, with an unwelcome 7:30 wake up call the next morning. We had to get up so early, because on Saturday we had our first field trip to Braron and Sounion, two towns outside the city of Athens. The first place we went to was where the temple of Artemis is, which marked my first “classroom” visit to ruins. Next to the ruins was a small museum, which had a really nice pottery/vase collection. Then we went to the Temple of Poseidon, which you can walk up pretty close to, however, you can’t walk on it since people before began to write all over it. The most famous signature actually is that of Lord Byron. After touring the temple, we went to the beach. The beaches here are not sandy, but rather rocky. The water is the perfect temperature, and is crystal clear. The water could not be more beautiful.

Last night (Sunday night) we went to an open air theater a couple blocks down from our apartment, which is known as one of the most beautiful outdoor theaters in Athens. It was wonderful. You walk up these stairs into a little area that resembles a garden patio. The walls are covered in ivy like plants. To the side is a wine and food bar, and the seats (which look like director's chairs) are lined up in front of the screen. We saw "The Soloist," however, the only downside was that it rained at the start and the end, but that didn't prevent the night from being wonderful. While watching the movie you could hear the city noise in the background, which only added to the experience.

Also, I'm going to Santorini this weekend. I cannot wait.