June 28, 2015

We made it to Europe…YAY!!! We have just finished our second day in Athens and we are loving Greece. It’s only been 2 days, but I think this is pretty close to the top of the list on places that I would like to live. The food is outstanding, the coastline is beautiful and the historical monuments are really cool.

We got here yesterday morning at about 6:00 am. By the time we got through customs and found the train, it was about 7:30 am, so we decided to go straight to our campsite and hope for an open spot. After a long train ride and an even longer walk (about 3 km), we made it and were able to set up and get settled. About 30 seconds after the tent was set up, I was asleep. We got up around noon and figured we had better get moving if we wanted to get into town. The camp ground is right on the main bus line, so it only takes about 30 minutes to get in to the center of town. We went straight to the Acropolis to visit the Parthenon and all of the sites around the area. Lots of really cool stuff to see!! Right near the same area was the Temple of Zeus, which was also very cool.

After a full afternoon of touring, we were STARVING!! We got a little off of the main tourist route and found a spot to sit down and eat…the food was fantastic. We had pita bread with Tsaziki, a Greek salad, Lamb, potatoes, rice and Hayden had a margarita pizza. Everything was really great. We were stuffed and decided to make our way back to our campsite before it got dark.

We got up this morning and got ready a little early so that we could catch the bus down to Sounion where the Temple of Poseidon is located. The bus ride was about 2 hours, but we drove along the coast line, so there was a beautiful view the entire way down. The temple itself is mostly destroyed, but a few of the columns are remaining standing, but the view from the top is totally worth the bus ride! We walked around the area that used to be a town back in the 3^rd – 2^nd century BC. Those people certainly knew how to pick a spot for their town…I think the view alone would make those million dollar properties now-a-days!

We caught the bus back to town and hung out in Athens for another couple of hours so that we could go to the Archeological Museum and to see the Agora where there were more temple ruins located. Hayden has decided that he is going to be an archeologist, so he was enjoying the museum. He has decided that he’s going to live in either Egypt or Greece when he grows up so that he can discover treasure! J   The temple of Hephaestus inside of the Agora was probably one of the best that we visited here so far. It was in pretty good shape and even still had most of the columns and the roof intact. Many of the statues have been moved to museums, but a few are still in place.

Now we’re sitting at the campground and hiding out in the restaurant to stay out of the rain, but I think that tomorrow we are going to catch the ferry and go to Santorini for a few days. We found a campsite that looks really nice and we are all looking forward to some beach time!!