(My apologies for the feature photo - I think it’s the “Athens Effect”)

That was such a whirlwind cruise, we’d hardly found our way around the ship when it was time to start packing again! But good things come in small packages and this was good…very good indeed. Though we are now home again, I’m still catching up and so, for today at least, I’m still in Athens.

To begin with, we wondered about using the additional day in the city to really savour the ship. After all, we’d hardly seen all the nooks and crannies and hadn’t really had time to experience some of the sweet luxuries we enjoy. But we saw the tour to the Acropolis and thought we should take the chance whilst it’s there. We had been to Athens previously, but never to explore in depth as we were mostly just passing through.

We were blessed with a really good guide. Gabrielle kept up the pace but had time for questions and explanations. My word, did she know her stuff! I was glad to see a solid, even pathway with no cobbles or rocky surprises to trip over. Gabrielle’s first warnings were of the super-smooth stone pathway though, which was indeed quite slippery in places.

Oh my word, it was pretty high though! I was glad of a fresh day - not cold, but just nicely warm. There was a brisk breeze keeping things comfortable too. I wondered how many steps there would be today…

Looking closely, I could see it was going to be worth it!

We stopped at short intervals to look closely at features such as the Temple of Nike, perched on the edge of the Acropolis site, beautifully reconstructed and something Gabrielle would refer to several times during the day.

We peered down into the theatre, where concerts and plays were held in classical times but where Sting recently played his 70th birthday concert too.

From here there were more steps to the Propylaea, but solid, evenly spaced ones, with the occasional handrail too, even if that one in the picture is only a tape barrier.

Once up at that next level, we stopped to take more photographs and to gaze at the view. Looking at my photos now, I find myself thinking that I didn’t quite capture that wall, did I? Except that I now realise I was focusing on those two observatories, from where the early astronomers would have gazed at the stars in a deep blue sky. No longer, sadly, as the light pollution from the city makes them less effective, but how interesting to see how many green spaces there are in the city.

We were now on the other side of the Temple of Nike, from where we could see how a stone balustrade would have been placed along that wall to prevent anyone falling over!

Next stop was the Erechtheum where those Caryatids looked familiar - one of our local towns, Cheltenham, has an historic shopping street with reproductions of these figures between each shop front.

Around here, there was ongoing work to improve access to the site. The pathways here were smooth concrete with no ridges or steps making the site fully accessible for wheelchair users, for whom a lift had been installed too. Once up here, we were suddenly more aware of the wind as well. It was no longer a stiff breeze but had developed into gale force proportions!

A walk around the Erechtheum proved interesting and we listened carefully as Gabrielle explained all the details.

We think she said the hole in the roof was left so that Poseidon could supply water, which I believe was collected in a pit beneath. Don’t quote me on that though please…and any clarifications or explanation from my knowledgeable friends would be welcome in the comments - thank you!

Last but far from least was the main event and both my Hero and I looked at one another and said “Nashville?” (Sorry, you’ll have to scroll right down to the foot of that blog post to get the reference!) Gabrielle pointed out so many small details, enabled us to see that the pillars have a slight inward lean, for example. Definitely one of those places where had there been a bench and we’d had the whole afternoon, we’d have sat and gazed for hours. As it was, we did our best to stay upright in the face of the gale and held onto everything tight in case it blew away.

Turning around now to make our way down again, Gabrielle pointed out the Theatre of Dionysius below, in front of the rather curious modern building behind it. That is the New Acropolis Museum, where we were headed next. It had been built in the form of the Acropolis itself, with the top floor representing the Parthenon. How fascinating!

I’ll share that story in my next post.