Akropolis, Day 1

Tuesday

Akropolis and Akropolis Museum, Day 1

We got an early start and made it to the top of The Akropolis before it got too excruciatingly hot. We looked at The Propelya, entrance to The Akropolis, and The Parthenon, talking about their various architectural features. I won't bore you with the details, though.

The Parthenon

We spent the second half of the morning in the New Akropolis Museum. Fun Fact: The Museum just opened 2-3 years ago. They had originally planned for the museum to open in time for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens but when they started construction, they dug up an ancient Roman bath...so building took a bit longer than expected. They are still working on uncovering the ruins but have incorporated the project into the museum. Part of the entryway to the museum is open in the middle and the surrounding floor is glass so you can see down into the site they uncovered and can even watch people digging and polishing mosaics. The whole museum is really well done (much better than The National Museum...most likely because it's much newer) and I loved how they integrated the Roman Bath archaeological project into it. The Museum houses many of the original fragments of the Parthenon, but parts of what are is on display are merely plaster casts because the real deal is in the British Museum in London. Most of what is on the Akropolis is a casted copy for preservation reasons.

My dad has a Greek colleague who is currently traveling in Greece with his wife. I have never met him but we have been in touch over e-mail and Tuesday afternoon he called me saying he was in Athens! I met him and his wife in the later afternoon, but his wife was visiting with another friend so he showed me around the Plaka area of Athens and gave me a few history lessons (many of which I already knew from class so I was able to comment and contribute which was exciting). We sat in a cafe with a nice view and had saganaki and grilled octopus while chatting about life in Florence, Athens, the islands and Charlottesville. Even though I had never met him before, it was nice to see a pseudo-familiar face as well as to interact with someone outside of my program. Both my mom and dad have always spoken highly of him and now I know why! It was such a refreshing afternoon :)

It was the first time I had octopus, and the first time since leaving Florence that I've tried a new food! I really liked it...much more than calimari and sepia. I found that it tasted much less like the sea and had a significantly better texture--more tender and less chewy, melted in my mouth (in a good way!)

Grilled Octopus and Saganaki

Tonight I procrastinated writing my descriptive paper for class by helping my friend edit his Dental School essays! Much more fun to read other people's papers than to write my own!! :)

Lesson of the Day

I like to walk around at dusk. The weather is comfortable and the lighting is beautiful.

The Count

Glasses of wine drinken: 88

People from Charlottesville seen: 1 + the 2 students on my program who go to UVA

Number of times eaten out in Athens: 3

Photos taken: 2706