Acro (meaning "highest point") + Polis (meaning "city")

Yes, we visited the Acropolis and the Plaka District during our Athens excursion today. As our tour guide, who was wonderful, would take apart many of the Greek words all I could think about was the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, when the father of the bride would always explain how so many of the words we use today are of Greek origin! Hence, the title of today's blog!

Quick funny story of the day: Our tour group leader led us to the bus, located right near the port where the ship is docked. When we boarded the bus, there were 3 people already onboard. Prior to leaving, these 3 folks indicated to the tour guide that they were not actually on our tour - they just wanted us to drop them downtown???  Did they even know if we were heading "downtown"? People are crazy - there was a bus indicated for that but these folks had somehow missed the memo. Needless to say, they were asked to leave our bus and were pointed in the right direction. 

Our bus driver took us slowly through many areas of the city of Athens. It's a mix of old and new, modern and ancient, and the Greek people are proud of their history and are so happy to welcome tourists back after 2 long years of minimal traveling. The day we arrived was Greek Easter, so traffic was non-existent and today, Monday, continues the holiday so, again, we did not have to deal with any traffic jams and our guide was excited for that. 

We arrived at the Acropolis along with a lot of other buses carrying tourists! The most people I'd seen in one place since we arrived - guess traveling is back. This was a walking event and Ed didn't do bad, even though he admitted he's a bit out of shape after having his knee replacement. But he made it as we climbed up the bumpy walkways and steps of marble, which can be slippery. We had to queue to actually enter so we kept our masks on for that. But when we were free of crowds and in the fresh air, they came off. 

It's so amazing to see the Acropolis - this amazing ancient structure standing amidst this modern metropolis (from the Greek "metro" meaning modern +  "Polis" meaning city). And of course Greece, like many other countries, was invaded by many civilizations and peoples on its way to become its own country. The Ottomans and the Romans to name a few. So it was interesting to hear about how some of these other civilizations used the Acropolis - fortunately most of them did not destroy it. 

Parts of The Acropolis are surrounded by scaffolding as they've been working on a restoration project for 25 years! And it only took the Greeks 9 years to build it. 

We learned about the Goddess, Athena, among others - I really must now revisit my Greek Mythology. 

But what a view from up on that hill - with lots of Olive trees, planted to honor Athena, and a lovely breeze as you look out over the city of Athens.

The Plaka District sits below The Acropolis and has been there since ancient times. Today it's full of restaurants and shops and we had time to spend at an outside restaurant enjoying Zucchini Balls with katiki cheese dip and a chicken salad with parmesana, sun-dried tomatoes, cashews and truffle dressing + a small bowl of olives! Guess what? I actually tasted an olive and had 2 or 3 more. They were good - salty, but I liked them. I'm getting braver as I get older. And of course, I also enjoyed a glass of Rose wine. 

No real time to shop but that will come at future stops. Back to the ship with time to wander the outer decks and relax in the beautiful sunshine and warmth - near 80 degrees today.

As I finish this blog, we have just set sail for our next port, Volos. Time for a drink!!