Our first day in Athens

Having spent an entire semester studying classical Greece as part of my first year Humanities program at Reed College, Greece has long been on my bucket list of places to see during my lifetime, and this summer we are gathering with our family in Greece, planning to spend roughly a week in each of Athens, Crete and Naxos.  We arrived in Athens this afternoon after a flight in on Scandinavian Airlines by way of Copenhagen.  We have taken a three bedroom apartment near Syntagma Square; after unpacking and winding down for am hour or so, we set out to get our first taste of the city.

We strolled out along Mitropoleos, pausing for an ice cream near the Syntagma Square and getting directions for a grocery store where we could stock up for the next few days’ breakfasts.  Proceeding back in the direction of the Acropolis, we came upon the 19th Century Athens Cathedral

Athens Cathedral with Acropolis in rear

Athens Cathedral

Square in front of Athens Cathedral

and the 12th Century Church of Agios Eleftherios

Church of Agios Eleftherios interior

Church of Agios Eleftherios interior

Church of Agios Eleftherios dome

Church of Agios Eleftherios exterior

Church of Agios Elyftheris

We looked inside the Cathedral

but were soon chased out.  I assumed it was because the church was closing for the day (it seemed a bit early!), but when we returned from our grocery shopping we could see the real reason – there are a bunch of dressed up people lining up outside, because a wedding party was about to begin.  We watched as they gathered, applauding as the bride got out of the car that had parked in the square in front of the church, and finally headed on in after her.

We dropped off our groceries and headed out to see how close we could get to the Acropolis without actually going in, because we were getting hungry for dinner. It ws only a few bStreet art in AThenss alon Odos Thespidaslocks from oour apartment before we were heading uphill on Odos Thespidas, past some squares filled with restaurants, not to speak of these nice street art

Street art in Athens along Odos Thespidas

We reached a street called Thessalou which ran along the base of the Acropolis

 

while in the other direction we could see Mount Lycabettus, the highest point in Athens

before giving way to winding path that ducked between houses, getting closer and closer to the Acropolis

We heard that it was only another 500 meters to an entrance to the Acropolis, but at at that point, we decided to head back down for dinner, becuase we were not yet ready to tour the Acropolis -- we were hungry!  We opted for a place we had noticed on the way up, on Odos Thespidas just as it reached Thessalou.  I was worried that such a touristy location would  thrive by its vistas rather than its cuisine, but we were pleasantly surprised:  We had a nice dinner, accompanied by a pair of guitar players and a singer, at the Cave of the Acropolis Restaurant.    Our appetizers were an excellent traditional sausage stuffed with herbs and feta, and “Talagani from Messinia”,  a grilled slice of cheese with figs and red wine; for main courses we had a mushroom-risotto style orzo and Beef Cooked in a Clay Pot (with a heavy dose of paprika, but maybe a tad more salty than we would have liked)

The place was nearly empty when we sat down at 6:30, but by the time we left at 8, it was packed.  On our way back down, we passed plenty of other restaurants with nice views down the hills, not to speak of in the squares along Thespidas.
                                               
There was a fine view of the acropolis in the fading sunset as we reached our apartment

After dusk, the Acropolis was illuminated