The Acropolis and Mars Hill

Our day began with breakfast, and then getting on a bus to the metro. Some of us experienced the metro yesterday but not all of us. So, we learned how to use this system. There are tickets, escalators, gates, the metro itself, and some cultural things to be aware of. The first cultural thing to know is when taking the escalators, standers need to stand to the right so that walkers can walk on the left. I experienced this firsthand yesterday and Greeks will move you if you are in their way. The second cultural thing to know is to move very quickly in any aspect of transportation while in Greece. After the escalators there are gates and one must have their card ready to scan, to the right of the gate, to proceed to the platform (not 9 3/4 for you Harry Potter fans out there). From the platform, we got on the metro, very quickly, and then once we were at our destination we got off the metro, very quickly. Once we arrived at The Acropolis, we received tickets and got scanned in. This was a truly massive site to behold! So much to see, so much history, so much marble, so much water because it was so hot. 

   

After visiting the Acropolis, we walked, and there was a lot of walking, to a snack area that had slushies, cold water, ice cream, chips, beer, etc. All of us welcomed the opportunity to sit, relax, have something cool to drink, and engage in conversation. Once we were all ready to go, we headed over to Mars Hill. On the way, a news cameraman, and anchor, were out and about. Dr. Lawson got to be on the news, just by going up to them and telling the anchor how much he loves Greece. We all thought that was really cool. After the interview, we headed up to Mars Hill. Once there Dr. Lawson read the inscription at the base of the hill. 

At the top of the hill, it was slick from all of the marble so we had to tread carefully. The views at the top of this hill were amazing! We could see all of Athens and beyond to the neighboring mountain ranges. I learned a couple of things about Mars Hill. One was that it was supper slippery. Two, it can get vandalized as there is no charge to enter, and is open to the public 24/7. Third, I learned that the planet Mars rules Aries.

 

 After Mars Hill, we walked into downtown Athens where we had lunch at BYZANTINO. We were treated so well, as with all restaurants in Greece, with a vast variety of foods. I tried calamari, for the first time. 

    

After lunch, we split up into two groups. I went with the group that went shopping. 

  

After buying some souvenirs, we parted into even smaller groups. Here in lies the challenging part of the day, because we got lost. We accepted the challenge, put our heads together, and conquered the challenge by determination and supporting each other. After figuring out which metro line(s) to take and bus number to catch, we were on our way back to home base. This taught me that it is ok to fail in life, as long as we learn something from it. We now are very confident in using the metro, and the bus system, here in Athens. Thanks so much for tuning in. 

-David