Directionally challenged, but never lost

I sat up wide awake at 4 am this morning, only to hear Will in the other room whisper, "Are you awake, too?" The time change basically permitted us 2-4 hour increments of sleep. We decided to give in to it and try to find a good place to watch the sunrise. The streets of Athens were dark still and we were surprised by the empty streets that had been brimming with people the night before.

We walked down the stone path that encircles the Plaka neighborhood, past the shiny Acropolis Museum, and hiked the Filopappou Hill to the very top. A stone ledge stretched at the top and we set up Will's tripod to watch the sunrise behind the Acropolis. The whole city was a reflection of the stars with lights dotting the landscape. The sky began to lighten at 5:45 and at about 6:30 am the bells of every church rang and brought the city to life.

Will and I continued exploring the area, and hiked one of the three highest hills west of the Acropolis and found statues of the Muses and a dainty church.

We began to walk back towards town to prepare for the morning tour I booked to view the Acropolis, Theatre of Dionysius, and Old Olympic Stadium. Fresko was our first stop, a yogurt shop with traditional Greek yogurt that was amazing! Coffee was priority #2.

Our tour guide, Joy, was actually not quite a joy, but kept Will and I laughing the whole time. We boarded an air-conditioned bus with a variety of older couples from all over the world. Joy was immediately passive aggressive at the pace people were moving and every time we stopped at a historical sight, our fellow tourists would race to get off the bus like they were about to pee their pants. It was wonderful

We split from the group at the top of the Acropolis and were awestruck at the architecture and detail of the columns and statues. We were also struck by the obsession with selfie sticks that has seemed to consume every individual traveling to Greece. We participated...sarcastically.


We rejoined the group before heading to the New Acropolis Museum, which was truly spectacular. The ground of the museum is clear glass, so that visitors can view the archeological site that they uncovered below the museum.

After a quick nap, Will and I took our chances at finding the Agora. We got lost. I was under the impression that the Agora was one physical building, little did I know, it is a large stretch of land signifying the historical meeting place for the Athenians for political and religious gatherings. We took some standard tourist pics before continuing to explore the flee market that occurs only on Sundays in Greece.
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Miss everyone!
xoxo,
Emma

Will and I arrived at the airport for our 1:55 pm to find out that it didn't leave until 4:55 pm, but we were excited to have extra time with the family!

We fought sleep and prepared ourselves for the 10 hour flight to Frankfurt and connecting 3 hour flight to Athens. It was one of the more painful flights I've ever been on just trying to get comfortable. Will claimed his muscles had atrophied by the time we got off the flight.

I was thrilled when we got off the flight in Athens to 80 degree weather and a wonderful Airbnb host who gave us a tour of the neighborhood we are staying in, the Plaka. The Plaka is the historical district of Athens and, in my opinion, the best location to be staying in. We can actually see the Acropolis and Agora from our balcony and it's a 10 minute walk from our apartment!

We ended the day at a cute cafe and walking through the stone-paved streets before readily falling asleep at our apartment. Unfortunately, it didn't last long...

The countdown has begun. Will and I leave on Friday afternoon to travel Greece for a couple weeks. The contents of my suitcase are still scattered around my room as I assume they will stay until the last minute. We've spent the last three weeks shopping for everything we could possibly need. There's been a couple last minute purchases that I am mildly ashamed of including, a selfie stick, every piece of phone technology that you could use abroad, a pair of Birkenstocks for Will, and a pair of shortalls for me. We are basically trying to get in every trend of 2015 before we leave. Looking forward to historical beauty and sandy beaches!

Xoxo,
Emma