We had read generally negative things about Athens. Most travel guides suggest spending no more than a day or two here to see the Acropolis and Agora and then get out to the islands. We had read that the city is dirty and covered in graffiti and generally not a nice place to be. After 3 nights there, we humbly disagree with these travel guides. We really enjoyed it. I already posted about the incredible food. That was a big part of it. The history and spectacular ruins – especially the Acropolis towering over the city – is another big part and probably the most unique thing I’ve ever seen/experienced. But, the Plaka neighborhood where we stayed was also really fun and energetic to wander around. The Greek people have been incredible friendly and while it’s true there is some graffiti and that the architecture is nothing special, there is a really good vibe to the place. I don’t think we’d prioritize future trips to Athens, but we’d definitely come back and would highly recommend anyone going at least once. We spent one day exploring the Acropolis and their museum, a lot of time wandering around (and eating) and also did a day trip to Delphi which is about a 2.5 hour drive each way.
Some pictures of Athens:
Delphi was also a cool day trip. It was nice to see more of the extremely beautiful Grecian countryside. The story about Delphi is that Zeus supposedly sent two eagles in opposite directions with the idea that wherever they met up would be the center of the world – that ended up being Delphi. The children have pointed out several flaws in this eagle-based approach to navigation, but we have suggested they not anger Zeus, especially while we are on his turf. Anyway… the eagles met at Delphi and Zeus decided to make that a special temple with an Oracle who could see the future. Apparently it was a sacred place for a long time where Greek leaders would ask very important questions about future outcomes of wars, harvests, things like that. Then the Romans came and according to our driver, they started asking stupid questions about who they were going to marry and stuff and things went down hill from there. It was a cool place to visit. The natural beauty was stunning; the eagles chose well. Some photos:
