Acropolis and Corinth Tour

Saturday, November 8, on our Athens Adventure, we loaded onto a private tour bus at 8am for a full day of touring!

Let me back up a moment to say we thoroughly enjoyed our breakfasts at the hotel, and I really miss that daily spread...coffee, amazing Greek yogurt (kind of the consistency of Cool Whip but much better tasting), feta cheese, olives, breads, meats cheeses, boiled eggs...I skipped the mini hot-dogs, but everything else I had was amazing. Mmmm.

Our tour took us first to the Acropolis before the crowds hit. First stop, Mars Hill! So incredible to stand on the place where the Apostle Paul spoke to the Athenians about the "Unknown God." We read that portion of Acts 17 while looking over the city. Chill-inducing!

Next up, the Acropolis, where our tour guide gave us more info about the structure itself, the myths behind the temples, and some insight into the culture of the Golden Age of Greece. I'm so excited that our whole family will return here before we move away from Italy, as we have planned a cruise in the future!

On what would have been the ramp entryway for animals to be led up for sacrifice.

The Parthenon! I'm actually here! And yes, it was raining at this point!

To the left, in the clump of trees, is the stadium where the marathon ended.
Lower right are the remains of the temple of Zeus.

Shauna and I

Temple of Poseidon, also located in the Acropolis area

After a lovely time exploring the Acropolis, we began the drive to Corinth, stopping partway for a snack and potty break and the opportunity to see the canal.

On to Ancient Corinth! More chill-inducing moments as we saw the Bema area where Paul was dragged when the Jews were angry with him for stirring up trouble, as usual, ha! We read 2 Corinthians 4 out loud there, having seen one of the latter verses carved on a stone. So. Incredible.

You can see the difference between this temple and the structures at the Acropolis, which were built from marble hauled from a mountain we could see in the distance.

I loved the pottery!

Samples of columns. Test: Can you identify the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns?!

Standing on the Bema

We ended this beautiful day with another wonderful restaurant experience. We all ended up sampling each other's food, and I can't remember everything we tried, but it was all fabulous. Tirzah and I especially enjoyed our iced coffees!

Next blog entry: RACE DAY!! This day of touring ended with us going back to the hotel and attempting to get some sleep...after such a huge and late lunch, none of us felt like eating much for dinner, so we snacked a bit and tried to settle in for some rest. (HA!)