This is our last night of vacation and we are listening to a street band out in the plaza through our open window. Three weeks is a long time. It already feels like a lifetime ago that we were in Istanbul. We decided not to cram a lot more into the last day, and that was a wise decision.
We got up early this morning with the intent of visiting the Acropolis again. It wasn't open when we got there at 7:10 or so, so we decided to explore the hills around it. We climbed the Hill of the Muses; which seemed to be the highest spot in Athens. We could see the entire city of Athens from there, including the southwest side of the Acropolis – an entirely different view. And it helped us coin the new name for this vacation: the trip of ten thousand steps (which I think is a huge underestimate). The top of the hill has a funeral stone for Filopapou, a royal from Syria who was a patron of Athens. We also saw Socrates' prison cell and a beautiful little church, and were glad we made the trip. We went back to the Acropolis at 7:50; and waited for 10 minutes; only to find out that our ticket was no longer any good. Oh well, it was a lovely walk and we had already seen the Acropolis anew.
After breakfast we found a street cafe that had free wi-fi. We got coffees and milked our time for all it was worth. We lounged in their cushioned chairs for almost three hours. I read, Jan loaded pictures and Jim checked his email.
Did I tell you about the frappes here? They are all the rage and I have become addicted. They whip instant coffee, milk and sugar with ice. It is wonderful on a hot day. And it had been hot here. I'll definitely be making these at home.
Jan and I did some more shopping today. The highlight was a jewelry store run by father and his daughter. The father was the third generation of metal workers. His daughter was working with beads and leather, but had not yet learned to mold metal. They were delightful. We then meandered around the Plaka (old town). At ten till the hour we realized we were a block away from the tomb of the unknown soldier and decided we wanted to see the elite guard get it right this time (after one fell two days ago). Our same two soldiers and their tassel man were there. They successfully completed the exchange today; except that one of them kicked with the wrong foot as they started marching away. (I can't even describe how they march. It looks like a combination of River Dance and the long jump.) I was glad that no one fell today.
We sat on the roof of our hotel looking at the Acropolis for a few hours and then got organized to go out for our last supper. We went back to the neighborhood we were in last night on the slopes of the Northeast side of the Acropolis. It was a perfect finale. Greek salad, broad beans in tomato sauce, spanikopita, zucchini balls, bread, lamb stew and fried snapper. For dessert, they gave us the best baklava we've had on our trip – full of whole cloves and wonderfully spicy.
We wandered around a little more, reluctant to return to the hotel. But here we are. We are all packing and each trying to trick someone else into carrying some of the extra weight we've picked up. Jim and Pat have a 5am flight and thus are being picked up by the taxi at 2:30am. Our flight is not until 9am, so we can easily walk to Syntagma Square to catch a 6:30am bus to the airport. Heading west is so odd. We'll get home at 6:30pm after traveling for 20 hours. Just look for the zombies at the airport – that will be us.
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