Athens Eye Candy - Part 1

Honestly, I don't know if words can accurately describe the bliss of Athens.  So...

Day 1:

Breakfast - those are little olive trees on our table, and those ruins in the background are part of the Parthenon structure.

It rained most of the day, but we did some exploring and shopping in the back streets.

Nutcrackers!

Day 2: New Year's Day

On New Year's Day Chris and I went to the top of Lykavittos Hill.  We rode a train-like thing called the funicular.  I know I didn't want to climb to the top of the hill!  We ate lunch on top of the hill in the restaurant there.  The food was amazing - it was also not cheap, but it was worth the splurge, particularly since these pictures were our view during lunch.

It was quite fabulous to see the Parthenon from above!

One of the absolute best things about being in civilization was the ability to stop for a beer or wine whenever we wanted.  The best thing about stopping for a drink?  Everywhere we went we were served chips or some other small snack with our drinks.  Woot!

This picture is for sister dear - this particular place looked normal on the outside...each room was decorated slightly differently, and we ended up in a room with hot pink paint and purple velour chairs.  

Day 3:

Ruins of Hadrian's Library

This first set of pictures are from the ruins at Hadrian's Library.  The entrance was practically across the street from where we ate breakfast the first day.  We may or may not have gone back there for breakfast on the 2nd...

Mosaics that were still on the ground in the ruins.

Ancient Agora:

Temple of Hephaestus at the Ancient Agora

A full side-view of the Temple.  It's actually one of the best preserved ancient temples around! 

You couldn't go into the Temple, but you could peek inside!

Odeion of Agrippa - It used to be a large auditorium, but all that's left now are those giant pillars / statues of Giants and Titans that were salvaged from the ruins.

Panathenaic Way

Church of the Holy Apostles - it's from the Byzantine era