We made sure we set our alarms nice and early today as we wanted to make it to the Parthenon right when it opened. We all got up around 7:00 so we could make it to breakfast by 7:30 and then be on our way by 8:00. This was the only other day we had in Athens as our ferry was departing at 5:00 for Hydra. We wanted to make sure we made the best of our time there since it was so short. We had all been told by various people that you only need one day in Athens and it was easy to understand why. The only part of Athens there really is to see is the ara around the Parthenon. Everything else, at least from our experience, should be avoided. If I were to ever go back I would make sure my hotel was located in that area.
But anyway we woke up and got our bags all packed and went to breakfast. On the way down the steps I got the privilege of seeing my very first cockroach. Anyone who knows me probably thinks I completely flipped out. Quite on the contrary I walked past it and said “oh my gosh” calmly and proceeded to convince myself that the moment hasn’t really happened. Now if we had not been checking out that morning I would have promptly found myself another hotel but fortunately we were. The other good news about the little bugger was that it was flipped with its little legs flailing in the air so it had no chance of moving which was comforting to me. My solution to the bug was to just use the lift from then on to avoid it. Jeana did walk up once and said it was still there but its legs had stopped moving. So that was my little adventure for the morning.
We ate a nice little breakfast, stores our luggage in the basement, checked out and headed for the Parthenon. It took us a little while to figure out how to get our tickets to the Parthenon but of course we eventually did. The ticket included entry to the Parthenon as well as six other grounds. We wanted to see the Parthenon the most so we began our climb to the top. As we walked we heard some clinking sounds. They were actually working on one of the other buildings but it made for quite the authentic experience. It was like we were back in the day while they were building it.
Getting to see the Parthenon was an amazing experience. The building is quite astounding. What made it even sweeter was that we had seen the majority of it in the British Museum already. So we got to see many of the pieces in London and then the entire building as a whole in Athens. Having some knowledge on the building prior to seeing it made the experience all the better. Some of the things Phillipa showed us at the British Museum we were able to see on the real thing so that was pretty neat. The location alone makes the Parthenon remarkable, let alone all the detail and hard work that went into constructing such an incredible building. We were all in awe of it. The views of Athens from the Parthenon were pretty impressive as well. We took our time exploring all around the Parthenon and taking in the views. Along with the Parthenon there are a couple smaller buildings up there with it.
When we left that area we went to go find more of the six other locations we could explore. Along the way we did a little souvenir/gift shopping. The next place we went to was the Archeological Site of Olympieion. It was another really pretty sight of the ruins. The fun part about this one was that we got to see a turtle just walking among the ruins! Next Tyra really wanted to see the Olympic grounds so we went in search of those. They offered an audio guide tour of the stadium so we did that. It was a really incredible stadium to get to be in. It has been redone sine the first Olympics but the structure remains the same. It is also completely made out of marble which makes it extremely beautiful. We had a good time walking around. I wish I had paid more attention to my audio guide but I was semi distracted by taking pictures and looking around!
We had ourselves some fun while we were there though. First off there were special front row seats for the King and Queen so we sat there. Then we got to walk in to the tunnel the athletes walk down to get into the stadium. When we came back down the hallway we got to enter the stadium and look out like the athletes would have. On top of this our audio guide played the sounds of a cheering crown so you really could imagine it! After that we sort of stopped listening to our guides because we wanted to run a lap around the stadium. I have to say I felt pretty special being able to run that lap. I thought it would kill me to run it but I was hardly out of breath afterwards. I think the excitement of getting to run an Olympic track made me forget I was actually running! To finish off our run in the first Olympic stadium we took turns standing on the gold medal platform. Such a fun experience overall. The best part was we didn’t even know we were going to get to see the Olympic grounds so it was a really fun discovery.
Afterwards we split up…Jeana and I went and ate our lunch in the park while the other girls went to find some food. We had decided to meet up at the metro station at two so with the rest of our time Jeana and I finished our shopping. When we met up we headed back to the hotel to pick up our bags and went on our way to catch our ferry for Hydra! We ended up leaving earlier than we had planned which ended up being a blessing. From the tube station we were supposed to be able to get directly to our port but there was construction on the line. After much confusion and stress we asked a guard and he told us a way we could get there. It required a couple metro changes but we got to the right place in the end so it all worked out. He did freak us out a little bit because he kept telling us to watch our belongings and to beware of pick pocketers. We had no problems thankfully but we are constantly on the lookout.
We did have one little scare on our last train though. One man began shouting really loud and caused quite a disturbance. He was speaking in Greek so we had no idea what he was saying. It was funny because when we all talked about it later we all thought he had a bomb and was planning on blowing up the train. Most likely our imaginations were running to wild from the stress of making it to our port on time. The good news is he got off at the next stop and we didn’t have to worry about him anymore. We also ended up making it to the port with tons of time to spare. The reason we were so worried about time was that we had to pick up our tickets from a specific place at least one hour prior to our departure. Honestly the rule makes no sense but we got there on time, got our tickets and got to sit and enjoy the beautiful weather while we waited for our ferry to arrive.
Once the ferry got there we boarded and left at exactly 5:00. Once we got on the ferry we all felt a huge sigh of relief at not having to worry about getting anywhere at any specific time for the next few days. The ferry ride was really relaxing. I enjoyed looking out the window at the beautiful scenery. We stopped at one port before we finally reached Hydra! Once we got there it really felt like we were living in a dream. Hydra is one of the most beautiful places. To make it even more serene no cars or mopeds are allowed. This gives you an idea about how small the island is but it was exactly what we were looking for!
We had been from one big city to another and were all ready for a change of pace. I really don’t know of any better place you could go to relax than a place like Hydra. We got to the island at 6:45. We didn’t have a map or anything so we really just started walking to find our hotel. Luckily there were signs all around pointing the way to the various hotels. We had no problem finding it. The hotel was by far the most adorable hotel I have ever stayed in. The lady who runs it was extremely helpful. She even made her son carry our suitcases to our rooms, which I felt bad about because they were pretty heavy since we only had one for two people. That was just the type of hospitality we got the entire time though. It seems that I am constantly saying we headed out to go eat but we really did eat a lot this break!
Jordan and Trya made Jeana and I pick a place to eat since they were staying on the island one night longer than us. It took us forever to choose but we finally picked one. We sat there for about ten minutes and no one came up to us. Then we noticed no one else had food just drinks so we thought the best idea would be to find another place. We went back to one we passed earlier we thought was really cute (because that’s what matters most) and ate there. I got some pasta with broccoli, corn, chicken, and crème sauce. Obviously I did not get enough pasta in Italy. Really I just wanted the vegi’s through! Dinner was lots of fun as always. When it was over we headed back to our hotel for some rest and recovery to be fully energized for our only full day in Hydra the next day. We ran into the owner and she asked us what time we wanted breakfast in the morning. We decided on 9:30 and then went up to our rooms to crash after yet another long but fantastic day!
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