Nick's Birthday July 6th ~ Happy Birthday Nico! Seeing the Acropolis!

This morning was a special day...Yes...Nico's Birthday today!  Happy Birthday Nico!!!

We celebrated his Birthday last year in Thailand  on the island of Ko Samui and now we are in Athens - we feel spoiled!  Have we been gone that long Nico???



We had some oatmeal & fruit in the room...and then we headed out for the day!  It was of course great weather out...probably up in the 90's!  We headed to the metro subway......There's my Birthday boy!!!  Happy Birthday Vent!

Hey look at this sign...Ellin & niko....way cool huh?!!  All the way here in Greece...how do you like that??!!!

Nick's Birthday goodie! So where is the candle??

....again...and this time we figured out how to get to the Acropolis...so again we did a change from train to train & that went well...we arrived in the area of the Acropolis! 
So exciting!                            We decided to stop for a cup of coffee.  There were so' many cute little terraces to sit at...and so' many people did just that!  How I love this...just taking a little break and having a drink of coffee...or a cold drink!  People enjoy that everywhere in the World!  It is such a cozy thing to do...and I love to sit and watch people go by!

Oh Nick lookie...here is the sign...we are here!!!!

We then walked on to the biggest sight ever!!!! Oh my Nick...look up there....way up there....do you see the Acropolis....oh my Nick....can you believe it????  It is fantastic and so enormous!!!!

We walked towards the ticket counter and was approached by "Mark" who had Segway's to rent...and oh I was so tempted!!!! Mark is from Michigan and here in Greece doing this!  How fun is that??!!!

Well we decided we better go climb that Acropolis first while we have the energy to do so in this heat!  Because it looked like quite a hike up there!

We enjoyed reading the signs regarding the sights here and there on our walk up to the sight...and so' many people everywhere!  This is definitely the vacation season!  And hearing the different languages all around us....we love it!

Oh the sights were marvelous...they were overwhelming...they were so'  BIG and fall built so' VERY long ago!  How can people have built things so BIG back then???... how did they do that???  With only manpower and hardly any really good tools??????  It always astonishes me!  We both looked in awe at those pillars...all made of marble...just amazing how this solid rock can be chiseled into those big round pieces & stacked up so high????

We just walked around in awe...like so many people around us!  We saw the sights and still I couldn't believe what we did see right in front of our eyes...truly incredible!

Keep walking Nick....we are getting higher and higher....

You can tell it is a climb right?

 I know we are sharing a whole lot of pictures with you...but it was truly so' large and it was truly such an amazing sight...to see it ......for real!  

I hope this way we can give you a good impression?

This one tree standing on its own...a neat shot!

Almost on the top.....

.....last flight of stairs????

 The steps were all made of Marble...it was hot and sometime slippery!  VERY smooth!  Then I saw a lady with heels and thought "oh my girl...be careful!!!"

Cute huh the two gals walking under the umbrella....smart! 

More stairs to climb...it was worth all the effort to see this amazing historical sight...built high in the center of the city of Athens!

Wow Nick....look there it is!

There were these really big cranes there....and we found out they have been working for years to restore and rebuild this~

Not sure if you can see how LOW the City is down there and all the rows of houses...

See the statues...over there? 

 Do you see the white patches?  They are renovating the pillars and filling the areas with new marble.

 It was done so well....fitting in the new with the old.....an amazing work of restoration! Such detail! 

The Grecian flag has a Cross on it!

 In the past there had been some restoration done but not accurately - so they are redoing some parts of it.  Here and there are parts & pieces of the structure...all lined up....what a puzzle & process......glad someone knows what their doing....ha! 

 We offered to take a picture for another couple & they in turn took a few for us!  Nice!

Ellen and the Birthday Boy! My Nico! 

                                The view was amazing.....and the city of Athens is so spread out!

Nick went to sit under the tree...yes a smart thing to do!  But my camera kept clicking..ha!

Are you getting a good impression?????  I hope so because even now blogging all this - I too stand in awe of it again!  BIG huh?

                           Acropolis of Athens Click Here!

More pieces to the "puzzle"......

 Here is one round part of a  pillar -...it had a hole in the middle...you wonder...is that how they lined it up so' perfectly?

 I still don't understand how the people made them so high?

What could they possibly have used in those days to do that?  Those circles weigh so heavy...solid marble!!!!

Well it was really really HOT up here...with everything ROCK...you could feel the heat ricochet  back!

                                                So we headed down again.....!

 What an very interesting and educational day!  So much history to take in! 


We headed toward toward the subway & then decided to get on a City Bus and ride a full route with him....to see a bit of the City! The Bus driver was concerned and twice he came back to ask these "foreigners" where we were going???  We made a circle with our hand...trying to explain we wanted to see the City on his route!  When we actually realized we were in the vicinity of our hotel...we got off...and finished the last part by taking the subway again and down down down we went.....

 .....can't believe how low these subway tunnels are under the city....can you see how far down....it is WAY down there! 

See the step-in.... how nice it is?  Great for the suitcases when we used the subway to get to our hotel...yes.... very nice indeed!

 We had a bite to eat late this evening....... 8:30 and still light out! Nice to have it be later now...for in Indonesia everything is dark by 6 pm all year round.  But we are a bit higher above the Equator here in Greece....that makes the difference!  I recall in Holland being even more north...it stays light up to 10 pm +!!  Nice for those Summer nights!
 OK...we so liked this place from the previous evening - lets do it again!  Their salads are so good! 

And there was a Birthday celebration going on  ....hey was all those decorations done up for Nico????

How nice huh Nick????

 As we headed back to the hotel we noticed other cute little eating places along the sidewalks - really cute....right there in the neighborhoods & everywhere through out the town...it makes each area cozy & intimate and personal! Sure is fun to walk to the corner of your street & get-together with friends huh?