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| We had fun recreating the Virgin ad! |
In the fall of 2024, I received an ad for a cruise - I get a lot of them! This time it was for Virgin, and they had a few itineraries that matched some of our bucket list (Greece and Croatia). I started digging into the options and how much the trip would be, including the airfare, and pre-cruise, post-cruise stays. It was really starting to come together, and we decided to go for it.
We decided to spend 48 hours in Athens before the cruise, and it was just about right. So much to see and so much more to learn! While we attempted to study Greek history before we arrived, we really learned the most by being immersed in the culture.
Our hotel was close to Pittaki Street, which gets all lit up at night, and near Little Kook, which started as a tiny Snow White themed bookstore, and now takes up almost a full block.
On our first full day, we scheduled a guided walking tour of the iconic Acropolis and Parthenon. Before heading to the sites surrounding the Acropolis, we learned about Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, adjacent to the south slope of the Acropolis. It is named after Dionysius the Areopagite, the first Athenian convert to Christianity after Apostle Paul's sermon, according to the Acts of the Apostles, and patron saint of the city of Athens. Our guide also noted that he was the first to use a Neoplatonic philosophical framework, which itself was influenced by Greek thought, to articulate a Christian understanding of God and mystical experience. Yeah, that's from Wikipedia. Basically, the first one to discuss Christianity and how it, in fact, was in sync with the Greek Gods and philosophy.
I didn't realize there were different sections of the Acropolis, not just the Parthenon. The largest other structure is the Erechtheion, a Greek temple dedicated to the goddess Athena and the god Poseidon (the temple with the maidens). After the tour, we walked and looped around some of the famous areas, including the Arch of Hadrian, the Ancient Agora, and several churches. They are EVERYWHERE.
The second full day was spent wandering the neighborhoods of Plaka, Psirri, and Monastiraki, which has a huge flea market on Sunday. We stopped in during a mass at The Church of Panagia Kapnikarea in Athens, Greece, which is a Byzantine church located in the middle of the busy Ermou shopping street. It's one of the oldest churches in Athens, built sometime in the 11th century, over an ancient Greek pagan temple. The next day, we would board the Resilient Lady!
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