Athens
By the time we hit Athens, we were getting a bit tired of lugging the camera out all the time. Not to mention the fact that most of the monuments were under restoration work, meaning that getting a shot without a crane, piece of scaffold, etc. was impossible. Still, we managed to get some good photos.
This was a lot of fun in Athens -- open air rooftop theatres! As with all theatres we went to, you could drink during the movie (in this place, you could bring in your own booze). The views of the Acropolis (below) were AMAZING while watching the show.
Acropolis at night.
Theatre of Dionysious.
Theatre of Herod Atticus. This one has been fully restored and is actually used today for such things like Yanni concerts.
This is the Temple of Athena. When we were there, it was being COMPLETELY dismantled, stone by stone, and then put back in place to correct previous restoration errors.
The Erechtheion (both of the above pictures) was one of the very few monuments with no construction equipment set up to repair it.
The Parthenon (a.k.a. the grand daddy of all Greek Monuments). It was amazing seeing so many "wonders of the world" this trip. One fact that I did not know about the Parthenon was that during 1687, the Venetians bombarded Turkish troops stationed in Greece. An errant cannon ball hit a ton of gun powder stored in the Parthenon, causing significant damage!
There was a museum at the Acropolis. Half of it was shut down when we were there, but it holds some of the finer pieces of stone work from the site -- like this scene of a lion devouring a bull.
It's not tough to see what impacts the monuments and why they need to be constantly restored. The Acropolis is a high hill that is constantly exposed to wind. With the fine sand on top of the Acropolis, wind erosion has GOT to be a huge factor.
You were actually very close to the marble structures on the Acropolis. It was only AFTER Cori had touched these columns that we saw the "do not touch the marble" signage.
This is the Temple of Olympian Zeus. It's not as big of a draw as the acropolis (featured in the back ground).
We ran into our ten billionth "time share vendors" just outside the gates...although at the time we didn't know it. This chick had us do a survey and she asked what we DIDN'T like about Athens -- and we said "all those people at the bus stop that harrass you". That line shut her up and we got to leave scot-free. Sadly, others would be much more persistent -- and since there was absolutely NO hiding the fact that we were tourists, we had to grin and bear it any time we walked by Syntagma Square.
This is the old olympic stadium.
These four photos were taken at the Archeological Museum in Athens. It's one of the worlds best museums if you are into that kind of stuff. But to be honest with you, my mind glazed over looking at vase after statue after tombstone carving.
Santorini
I LOVED Greece. Our time on Santorini was much more relaxed and their weren't as many people. Plus, we went to a topless beach...so, you know... : )
Santorini is THE Greek Holiday destination with good reason. The weather is amazing, the people are friendly, and the views spectacular. The history of Santorini is amazing. Santorini was formed as the result of volcanic activity.
In 1500 B.C. the single largest recorded volcanic explosion in the history of mankind occurred which completely destroyed the Minoan culture living on the island. Part of Santorini fell into the ocean and the resulting tidal waves were 100 meters high! Our tour guide on the volcano tour stated that the explosion was heard 3 times around the world! The submerged portion of the island is called the caldera, and almost every single restaurant / hotel overlooks this stunning landscape.
These four pictures are a great way to demonstrate why we loved Santorini. It's just like every postcard of the Mediteranian you've ever seen.
Partial view of the Caldera below.
And here's how you can get up / down to the Old Port. The climb from Fira (the main town on the island) is 600+ steps. If walking and donkey's aren't your thing, you can take a cable car ride.
Here is me at the summit of the volcano. It is still slightly active -- there were gas vents that you could see the steam rising from. The Greeks on the island do not fear the volcano -- there is a tracking station on the volcano which would give them plenty of time to leave.
Instead, they are more afraid of earthquakes! In the 50's, an earthquake hit the island and nearly leveled every home and shop.
This is a shot from an underground wine museum we took. Greek wine is unique in that the grapes have VERY low yeilds due to lack of water. So, if you are wondering why Greek wine is more expensive, that's why.
There is a funny story about this day, we had to take a bus to the wine museum but it wasn't a dedicated stop. The bus driver flew by the museum (even though I asked him ahead of time to stop) and it took me some time to try to explain to this guy (who did not, apparently, speak a word of English; nor I any Greek) to stop the bus so me and Cori could get off the bus.
Corinna orders the large drink from Franco's bar!
This is Murphy's pub...a great bar to visit in Santorini. They play mainly hits from the 80's (yesss....) and you meet all sorts of people. The drinks are cheap (9 Euro each) but the good news is that they free pour! Happy hour prices were 2-for-1 (so we went to town) and our waitress kept giving us free shots on the house 'cause we were tipping her.
Rome in a day
We only had one day in Rome and had to make the most of it. Here we go!
These aren't that significant; but it just shows you some of the stuff that you see all over Rome.
This is the base of the Spanish Steps. Famed for being (at the time of completion) the widest and longest staircase in all of Europe.
Here are the steps themselves. Personally, I didn't see what made them SO special, but I'm not a history buff so maybe their significance is lost on me. In any event, the point of the Steps was to allow people a convenient way to reach the church (pictured at the top).
Pagan Temple (pre-Christianity).
These two photos are of the STUNNING Trevi Fountain. It's very difficult (with the crowds and the space) to get in all of the magnificence of these fountains.
This is the Pantheon -- it is nearly 100% intact from the time it was built (125 AD -- reconstructed after a fire in 80 AD destroyed it). It is simply the best preserved Roman building in all of the city and means "Temple of all the Gods".
Here is one quick photo we snapped inside the Pantheon. There are many people buried there from many different time periods (such as Rapheal - the famous painter). It is now used as a church, with masses and WEDDINGS (if you can believe it) held there regularly.
Next to St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, this Basilica -- St. Paul's -- is the next largest.
I'm not certain if this is meant to be a statue OF St. Paul, but you'll notice the ominous way he is carrying that sword.
These two photo's are NOT paintings. These are actually mosaics with individually laid stone / gem. I don't know how long it took to creat these master pieces, but they were amazing!
Michealangelo was commissioned to do 40 statues for St. Paul's cathedral. Unfortunately, he only completed this one -- a statue of Moses. A number of the other uncompleted works are found in the Effuzi Museum in Florence.
Finally, I found this to be a bit macabre -- I'm not certain what it depicts (our tour guide -- the only one we booked during our whole trip) did not elaborate on it, nor was he even allowed to speak inside the church!
Here is what I REALLY wanted to see in Rome -- the Colliseum! You'll no doubt recognize this ancient wonder of the world (if only from the movie Gladiator). The building was amazing to behold...but tough to take a picture, again because of the crowds. Cori and I would have loved to enter the building, but the line ups were hours long and we just didn't have time.
This is Emporer Titus' Arc of Triumph and is actually a historical document. The detail in the arch depicts a scene of slavery of Jewish individuals (in the time of the Old Testament). While that arc is spectacular, it pales in comparison to this one:
This is Emperor Constantine's Arc of Triumph. Much larger and more ornate than the first one, it was erected AFTER Constantine converted to Christianity (thanks to his mother). This led the way for the introduction of Catholicism in Rome and the real establishment of the Church. Finally, Christians were no longer persecuted for their beliefs!
This was a lot of fun in Athens -- open air rooftop theatres! As with all theatres we went to, you could drink during the movie (in this place, you could bring in your own booze). The views of the Acropolis (below) were AMAZING while watching the show.
Theatre of Dionysious.
You were actually very close to the marble structures on the Acropolis. It was only AFTER Cori had touched these columns that we saw the "do not touch the marble" signage.
This is the Temple of Olympian Zeus. It's not as big of a draw as the acropolis (featured in the back ground).
This is the old olympic stadium.
