Linda, unfortunately, was still feeling poorly, but took a few cold/flu meds and toughed it out.
We met Jamie and Josh for breakfast at the rooftop. As beautiful as it was the night before, it was a stunning way to start your first full day in Athens.
The view was of our first destination of the day - the Acropolis.
But first, breakfast. What a smorgasbord. Meats, eggs, cereals, yogurt (Greek!). I ate too much, but it was delish.
Josh had woke up at some ungodly time to get the NBA a Finals feed. We asked around, but there was no way to watch it live. So, Josh looked a little worse for wear this AM.
We soon took off on our trek to the Acropolis.
From our hotel, the entrance was a 10 minute walk. We passed many of the shops in the Plaka that we saw the previous day.
We took the Southern Entrance, as suggested by Jamie. Jamie and Josh made the great decision to run and get water for all of us - it was quite hot at the top. There was basically no line for tickets when we arrived. As we walked in, we soon realized that this journey would probably work off our breakfasts! All steep uphill.
We first passed the ruins of an ancient amphitheater. The Herodium. As we passed that one, we saw a much larger one that had been renovated for use! The Theater of Dionissos. They were hanging lights and a sound system!
Our climb continued. Zig zagging up the steep face, we finally made it to the steps of the remains of the Temple of Athena - the entrance to the summit. The crowds up here were massive. Dozens of tour groups all around.
As we passed between the columns, it was truly awe inspiring. Walking around the peak, we traded the offer to take photos of others for them taking pictures of us. However, there was no shortage of "selfie sticks" in use.
We strolled the top, walking in and out of the ruins, and made our way out, and down the east side past the ancient city of Agora - making out way down to the Plaka area once again.
We were hot, tired, and thirsty - so we stopped into a wine bar for a refreshing glass of rosé!
We then wandered a bit more, and stopped into the Jewish Musum of Athens. No doorknob on the front. We had to ring the bell, and an armed guard escorted us in. He asked us all for ID, and kept it until we departed. A bit sad that it required such high security.
The museum was interesting, and a bit depressing at times - discussing the atrocities that did not miss Greece during WWII. As we exited, there was a nice outdoor restaurant across the street, so we went in and had a light meal.
At this point, we all were fairly exhasuted - so we made our way back to the hotel - and napped. Jamie and Linda sat poolside for a bit, but Josh and I went up to our rooms.
Dinner was at Strofi - by far our best meal in Athens. A 15 minute walk from our hotel, the rooftop setting was directly under the Parthenon.
The waiter poured us 4 shots of anacet. What a way to end our stay in Athens. Rooftop sipping anacet looking up at the sun setting over the Acropolis.
We had a bottle of Rosé to start, and had 3 salads amongst the four of us. Josh made the good call to order the 3rd salad of tomatoes and cucumbers.
(We will miss the Greek tomatoes, they are out of this world. )
Dinner was great - Josh had lamb chops. I had kid goat and potatoes baked in parchment paper. One of the tastiest dishes I have EVER eaten.
The girls both had grouper.
We all LOVED our dishes.
For dessert, Josh and I split a Milk Cake, served with ice cream. There are no words to describe this. It was an orgasm of taste!
The waiter then poured us 4 glasses of limoncello. Mmmmmmmm good!
We walked back to the hotel and, again, ascended to the rooftop bar. One last drink under the Acropolis....
We descended to our rooms, not so sad that our stay in Athens was ending - as the cruise was just about to start.
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