Today was the day. Ever since elementary school, what has picturesquely defined Greece and specifically Athens has been this day. While our group prepared for this trip – while we knew of and anticipated many places, stories, buildings (and pottery-shmottery) – this was the day that was foremost in our minds.

This morning we met at 08:00 and walked down Ermou street, through the Plaka and down the pedestrian walkways and entered the gates at last to the Acropolis of Athens.

Along the way we passed countless groups comprised of seemingly countless people, sheepishly following a numbed sign held high above an anonymous tour leader, who plodded the Sacred Way, looked at the Parthenon, and walked back down to board their cruise ships or clamber aboard their massive tour busses. On to the next thing. So that was it, eh?

We did things a little differently. We did things the right way (necessarily!).

Starting at the South Slope of the Acropolis, we saw the Theater of Dionysos where the ancient playwrights competed for recognition in a culture who valued and yearned for that catharsis. We stared at the massive Odeon of Herodes Atticus where, to this day, concerts and plays are held for the city of Athena. We saw the stoas and gaped at the incredible views of modern Athens.

Then we arrived! Here before us was the Propylaea, the covered marble entrance that separated the holy turf from the dingy streets. There stood the delicate Temple to Athena Nike; beyond was the graceful Erechtheum, and there rose the powerful Parthenon. The audio guides took us around each of the three ancient buildings and we learned all about the history and technicalities that made these such a wonder. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

After we sandwiched in a public park, we headed on to the Agora. Here we strode the same walkways as such figures as Socrates and the Apostle Paul. We saw the Hephesteon, the shop of Simon the Cobbler, and the site where scholars surmise Socrates spent his last days before refusing to flee the justice of the city and took the deadly drink of hemlock. We entered the Stoa of Attalos and went through the Agora Museum where we saw among yet more pottery and saw the ostraka of Themistocles and others, as well as an ancient jury selector and a prize Spartan shield.

Our weary and dust-caked feet took a few hours to rest and wash up before we had our Sunday communion and went off to dinner for our last night in the beautiful city. Tomorrow we head through Thermopylae before stopping in Vergina. Til then…

Today’s video:

Day 3: Acropolis and Agora from Sarah Rossey on Vimeo.

Click on the link below to view the video from the day:

Delphi from Sarah Rossey on Vimeo.

The drive from Vergina to Delphi is rather long and difficult. Winding roads, steep grades, trucks and goats. We left after a good breakfast and a hearty send-off by Costas and Roula. South on the national road, past Mount Olympus, through Larissa and Lamia, up the mountainous  pass to Amphisa and Delphi. Sandwiches and almond cookies. Howard Polk making wise-cracks the whole way. Sara Johnson and Valerie Collins not feeling well. Tiffany showing remarkable restraint on the steep roads. Ed Johnson driving like a formula-One racer.

We arrived in Delphi and went straight to the site. Up the Sacred Way, past the Treasury of Athens and the Marathon Memorial to the Temple of Apollo. A nod to the Oracle. Beverly is a trooper. Past the theater to the upper Stadium—unexpected and spectacular. Everyone oohhing  and ahhing. One of the most dramatic and spectacular sights in Greece.

This was a “free afternoon” and everyone hit the shops and restaurants. Jewelry. Pottery. Coffee. Gyros. A magical evening looking over the incredible sights of the lights of Itea.

Tomorrow we head back down the mountain to drive the costal roads to AnriRhion and the longest Cable-anchored bridge in the world. We are bound for Olympia. See you there.