Philopappos Hill

Not only does the walk up Philopappos Hill award the climber with great views of the Acropolis and surrounding area, the monument itself has it's own unique history which sets it apart from the other ancient monuments surrounding it. This monument is actually an ancient Greek mausoleum and monument dedicated to Gaius Julius Antiochus Epiphanes Philopappos. Philopappos came from a wealthy Athenian family and at his death his sister commissioned this structure to honor his memory in 115 AD.

Crowded?

Have you ever wondered how crowded the Acropolis can get in the Summer? Take a look at this photo. It's definitely worth scheduling your trip to Athens during the "shoulder" and off seasons. Not only is the place packed, it was also 90+ degrees when I took this pictures. Yikes. I hope they were all wearing their sunscreen.

The structure you are viewing is called the Propylaea. This served as the monumental gateway or entrance to the Acropolis. The Propylaea had been covered in scaffolding for restorations for a number of years, but it was finished in 2009 just in time for our first trip to Greece.

Great View

This morning I took a 45 minute walk/climb to the Philopappos Monument (of which I will talk about in a later post) for the magnificent views. In this photo you can see the Acropolis with it's Parthenon, Erechtheum (just to the left/north of the Parthenon), and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus (below the Acropolis). It's important to note that the word 'Acropolis' means "high city" and includes remnants of many ancient structures of which the Parthenon is the most famous. (You can see these more clearly if you click the photo to enlarge the image).

On a side note: The hill in the distance behind the Acropolis is called Lycavittos and is the highest point in the city. Rob and I live just below where the line of pine trees ends and the apartment blocks begin on the right side of Lycavittos pictured in the photo.

Arrival in Athens

Hello from Athens. Rob and I have been in the city for about three days now and are finally settling in. We haven't had the chance to visit any of our favorite places with our camera, so stay tuned for pictures. I've been challenged to post one picture each day from Athens with a few comments and will begin this assignment soon!

Fun with Johnboy

Only about a week left until takeoff. We've been busy with last minute appointments and spending lots of time with friends and family in Omaha. This afternoon we took John (our nephew) to the Old Market slides and for ice cream at Ted and Wally's.

Greece Part Deux

Gas from Bloomington to Chicago = $80
Student Visa application fees = $108
Chicago deep dish pizza = $30
Beer on Navy Pier = $12
Parking Garage bill = $28

Total: $258

An unproblematic trip to the Greek Consulate = Priceless!

R&R with Ryan and Rachael

Last week Rob and I had our friends Ryan and Rachael in town! We were so excited to have them visit and we planned an action packed 8 day adventure. I must admit though that some of these pictures are not mine, but Ryan's...I'm going to have to make him teach me everything he knows when I get home!

Ryan is always looking for the best shot!

We spent the first two and a half days touring Athens. We saw all of the major sites and museums including: Acropolis, Greek Agora, Roman Agora, Keramikos, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian's Library, Tower of the Winds, Temple of Hephaestus, Mt. Lycabettus, Pan Athenaic Stadium, many churches, National Archeological museum, Acropolis museum, Byzantine museum, Folk Instrument Museum, etc. We also had many wonderful dinners along the way, and Ryan and Rachael had the opportunity to try almost all of the traditional Greek foods.

Ryan, Rachael and Rob at the Acropolis.

Our dinner in Psyrri at a Greek-Turkish taverna.

After we completely wore Ryan and Rachael out we decided to give them a bit of a break and take them to Rhodes! We took a 45 minute flight over to the island and spent four wonderful days exploring it. Our hotel was in the Medieval city and had fantastic views from its rooftop where we ate our daily breakfast. During our first day in Rhodes we explored the Medieval city and relaxed by the harbor.

The entrance for our hotel, Via Via, was on this narrow alleyway.

The rooftop was full of colorful flowers and plants
and had a terrific view of the city and sea!

One of the major squares in Rhodes town with the
Palace of the Knight's of St. John in the background.

Ryan's creativity shows as we pose for fun pictures at the harbor.

Beautiful view towards Turkey as we watched the cruise ships leave for the day.

Day two in Rhodes was a bit more eventful as we decided to rent a car and explore the island. Thanks be to Ryan who volunteered to drive the manual transmission Kia that got us around! We explored Filerimos Monastery, the ancient sites of Ialyssos, Kameiros, and Lindos, and even had time for some wine tasting, road side honey tasting, and a quick dip in the Aegean Sea.

This was our car. Ryan has his foot to the floor most of the
time as we were going through the hillside. Oh, and if you see Ryan
ask him about the Bee Incident in the car.

Our 'almost private' beach. The water was chilly but the views were amazing!

The four of us at Monolithos Fortress on the southwest side of the island.

Rob poses on a ship carved into the rock side at the entrance to the ancient site of Lindos.

The rest of us pose at the entrance of Lindos. This site was one of our favorites because of its location and the ability of the visitor to visualize what the site would have looked like.

A view of the sea beyond the propylaia of the Lindos acropolis.

Two different views of the partially-reconstructed temple of Athena Lindia.

White-washed houses of the modern city of Lindos.

On the third and fourth day in Rhodes we stuck a bit closer to Rhodes City. We took a nice walk along the medieval walls of the city, visited a few museums and took advantage of two beaches, one in Rhodes town and another in Kallithea.

A view of Rhodes Town from the Medieval walls.

Our beach in Kallithea was situated in the quarries
where the stone for Medieval walls originated.

After an amazing four days in Rhodes we said goodbye and made our way back to Athens. We didn't stay long, however, because the next morning we took the train to the ancient site of Corinth! Our American School friends who are excavating in Corinth were having a BBQ so we had lunch with them and gave Ryan and Rachael a tour of the site, museum, and current excavations.

Rachael gets a hands-on lesson in pottery reading at the pot sheds.

A view of the current excavations in Corinth.

A great shot of Ryan and Rachael in front of the ancient temple of Apollo and the Acrocorinth.

We finished our day in Corinth by climbing the Acrocorinth (the mountain you see in the pic above, just behind the temple of Apollo) so Ryan and Rachael got to see some amazing views of the Corinthian Gulf, Saronic Gulf, and the isthmus that connects the Peloponnese with the rest of Greece.

We had so much fun during Ryan and Rachael's visit to Greece! Our trip to Rhodes was the first time that Rob and I have vacationed with friends and we created memories that will last a lifetime!