Sunday: Does vacation start when we leave the house? or the airport? For me, the real excitement began as our plane approached Athens and we could see the blue sea and the mountains. So this is Greece. So this is vacation. We got to the hotel around 6:30pm and fell asleep. 8/9 Monday: We had a beautiful breakfast on the roof of the St. George hotel then took a half-day tour around Athens. We spent a lot of time at the Acropolis, and this photo was taken there in front of the Parthenon. Today, we also saw the Temple of Zeus, the University and Academy, the Olympic stadium, the ancient agora, Hadian's Library, the meat market, several beautiful churches, and a gorgeous sunrise from the top of our hotel. 8/10
Tuesday: We took at three hour bus ride to Delphi with the same guide we had yesterday at Athens. Once we were there, we toured the Temple of Apollo and surrounding area, then went through the museum. We checked into the hotel, rested, then took a stroll into town. The evening was lovely even after a quick rain, and we were blessed to see a vibrant rainbow over the valley. The air here is crisp and clean, and without the tourists that are packed in during the day, it is so very peaceful. 8/11
Wednesday: We enjoyed another beautiful day at Delphi. After breakfast, Allen and I walked to the Temple of Athena and the ruins of the gymnasium. We were back in our room by late morning, then enjoyed lunch in town. We rode back to Athens in the afternoon and ate dinner at a large outdoor restaurant near Lycabettus Square. We walked around 8.2 miles today. 8/10
Thursday: We had our final day of Athens and walked a lot. We passed the palace and watched the dramatic changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (see the photo), the we meandered through parts of the National Gardens, then went to the New Acropolis Museum which was awesome! After spending several hours there, we found a place to have gyros for lunch then hiked across the city to the Archaeological Museum. At the end of the day, we had walked nearly 14 miles, according to my pedometer. 8/13 Friday: Today was a fairly lazy day compared to the last few. We didn't set an alarm and just woke up when we were ready. We got to the ship around 1:00pm, wandered around learning where things were, checked into our room, then did some laundry. This photo is of our room, which I loved. I am so glad we got one with a balcony since it turned out to be my favorite place to be at the beginning and end of each day. 8/14
Saturday: Today we woke up at Navplion, Greece. We watched the sun rise over the mountains and listened to church bells ring in the morning. We toured the Palamidis Fortress, ancient Mycenae and Tiryns. This photo of the "castle on the water" was taken from the ship as the sun was setting. We left port around 10:00 pm and sat on our balcony listening to the music coming from celebrations in Navplion and the sounds of the sea. 8/15
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