WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5
AWED BY THE ACROPOLIS
For me, walking through the Acropolis creates a sensation that comes directly from the stones worn smooth over the centuries, by citizens, warriors, intellects, visitors. It is as if the voice of people long gone speak through the marble and limestone into the dry air like an invisible mist, touching skin, sinking into bone and heart and muscle, shaking the soul. It is an engulfing experience from foot to vibrating brain; the impact intense, powerful, primordial and hallowed. I remember this same sensation from when I visited at the age of 21. I watched it overtake Chloe as well.
The Acropolis was begun in the 5th century BC (2,600 years ago) but there is evidence people inhabited the rocky hill (in Greek, acropolis means city on a summit) in the Neolithic period, 6,000 years ago. It is not only the overwhelmingly beautiful grandeur and elegance of the temples and layout of the structures, or the knowledge that western civilization, democracy, theater, philosophy, and poetry started here, but also a sense of an ancient space that has drawn humans to it because it holds some inherent sacredness that we intuit.
Simply put, awed by the Acropolis.
FREE TOUR
Before visiting the Acropolis, we went on a free tour, hoping to get historical background that would enlighten our visit to the monuments. Unfortunately it was a lightweight tour, by Athens Free Tour. We were herded from place to place with 18 others (a third of the people who showed up for the tour; the company ran three tours simultaneously, a real thriving business!).
The upside was that we walked to quite a few locations and sites…starting at the archaeological site of Olympia (Zeus) and Hadrian’s Arch, through the 19th C. gardens created by the Germans, to the stadium built for the first Athenian Olympics where the torch is handed off after a runner arrives from Mt. Olympus, nearly 300 kilometers away, with the flame. Two guards dressed in traditional (very hot) garb marched in front of the Prime Minister’s office building. Downtown, we passed Hadrian’s Library (132 AD) then took the oldest street in Athens through the Plaka, ending up in a tiny park, facing the Acropolis. The guide never talked about the Acropolis. That was another tour…that you had to pay for.
A PLAKA KIND OF LUNCH
A very Athenian, two-hour lunch at Yiasemi in the Plaka was next. It was so yummy and relaxing; and the food was exceptional. I had moussaka that was as good as the lasgna I ate nearly every day from the restaurant down stairs in Milan. Chloe had a Greek salad and mushroom tart (vegan). The restaurant is on the narrow, table-crowded street with steep stairs and little terraces, and is very pretty. Cushions cover the stone steps, tables are painted green, and plants and flowers drip and dangle all around.
IT’S EXPENSIVE TO SEE THE MONUMENTS
We bought the recommended “combined” pass to the monuments, which does not include any museums (the Acropolis museum is an addition 10 euros). With it, we visited the temple of Olympia and the Acropolis.
When we visited the Acropolis in the late afternoon, I dropped our expensive combination tickets on the stone. They probably made it to some lucky tourists pocket. “Dumb bum” is what Chloe called me.
A TAKEAWAY
I wish we had spent our money not on the “combined” pass and a free walking tour (we always pay at least 15 euros), but instead on the a tour of the Acropolis. This is the center of the Athens experience and deserves the deep dive.
