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As most of you know, I made a decision earlier this summer to try a two week Rick Steves tour of Greece. Due to Hurricane Helene, my flight to Greece was canceled and I had to reschedule24 hours later. When I arrived in Athens I called Niki, the tour leader, and I was able to meet up with the group at the Acropolis.

The Acropolis was built in 450 BC by Pericles, the king of Athens to honor Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom. This is the second acropolis, an earlier one was destroyed by the Persians.

The Acropolis was a little disappointing because it is a big construction site. The Greek government decided to restore the entire site all at once.

After touring the Acropolis, the group toured the Acropolis museum. On display are the Pantheon sculptures. They used to frame the entire exterior of the building. In1803 Lord Elgin removed most of the sculptures and sold them to the British museum where they are on display today. The Greek government has protested repeatedly for years that the sculptures were stolen and must be returned. In protest the sculptures that are white are duplicates and the darker ones are original. This is the Greek governments way of showing the magnitude of the theft.

After touring the museum we had an opportunity to do our own thing so I wandered the city and checked out a few sites. This is the Greek Parliament building and the burial site of the unknown soldier in front.

Athens is amazing, there are Roman and Greek ruins everywhere. While wandering the city I cam across this arch build by the Roman Emperor Hadrian.

While wandering, I came across a large archeological site. The first photo was a home belonging to a wealthy Roman. Notice the two drains. One was for drainage from the kitchen and the other was for private latrine in the home. The second photo was a public restroom that had eight seats. What I found interesting is the women and men did not use the restroom at the same time. Time slots were assigned for men and women,