Athens Trip: Temple of Poseidon, Agora, What Else?

Hey there folks, I know you've been anxiously waiting for my next post so here it is! My first two posts I did after writing a "rough draft" on paper. I realized that this takes a bit of free time, time that we really don't have over here. That being said, this is being written off the top of my head with my verious papers here to aid me in the process. Hope you still enjoy!

Tuesday started with the four of us students, our professor Dick, and our tour guide/archaeological expert for the trip Iris making our way to the Acropolis. Like I said in my last post, this time we went for educational purposes instead of merely as tourists. We were able to see it in a bit of a different light, of course learning the whole time. Among the many buildings on the Acropolis we saw were the Erechtheion and the well-known Parthenon. This was the religous heart of Ancient Athens where the Athenians went to worship the Goddess Athena and in later years the God Poseidon. At the the bottom of the Acropolis is the Theater of Dionysos where many plays performed. Nobody needs to worry this time, no whistle-bearing ladies were there to stop any of our picture-taking this time.

After the Acropolis, we went down to Monastiraki Square where we got some lunch as we waited to get on the train. Monastiraki is pretty much the tourist hub of Athens with a flea market and plenty of plenty of places to eat. I had some souvlaki, I can't remember if it was pork or chicken but it was really good. I must say that I could really get fat off of Greek food. Maybe it's just because I'm not used to the food so I find it that much more appealing, but it seems like they put so much more care into the preparation of the food here than they do in the United States. I even had what I could literally say are the best strawberries I have EVER had in my life before we got on the train. They were so naturally sweet that I think Jesus Christ plucked them and personally put them on that fruit stand. Anyways, back to the rest of the day...

We got on the train and went to Egyptou Square where we waited for our bus ride to Sounion. At this point we were all pretty tired, and that hour and 40 minute bus ride was the perfect remedy. The buses that took us out to Sounion were pretty nice, the equivalent of coach buses in the U.S. except it was for public transportation. Think something like Greyhound, but much more frequent and with way nicer buses. As fast as I could sit down and turn my iPod on, I was knocked out. When we got there, I felt as good as I had all day.

When we got to Sounion, we saw the Temple of Poseidon. It wasn't nearly as big as the Parthenon, but the view of the Aegean Sea was still amazing nonetheless. There's not too much to say about this place, I'll have to let the pictures do the talking for me. You will be alerted when they're up!

We sat down to get a drink before we had to get on the bus. Once again, we had a long drive but this time I was able to catch up on some reading AND take a nap. That's how you become efficient with your time. So what that the trip back was longer than the trip there, that's a minor detail.

When we got back, we took a taxi from a part of downtown Athens back to the apartment. Later that night we walked around, but it wasn't much to scream about. All in all, our day was tiring but fun. We're busy, but what else would you want to be in Athens!!!!

P.S.- I have four postcards I'm looking to send off soon. If you want one let me know. That means you would have read all the way too, which would make me pleased. Until next time....