May all to Athens back again repair...

The seat of reason, knowledge, wisdom--it's Athens in spectacular fashion. We have perfect weather, no crowds (just funny looks and comments from people wondering why our children are not in school), but too little time! Even so, this post will be a little more detailed than the others because we know our friends the Bourotoglous are reading and wondering how we're finding this city they love and know very well.

First things first: last night, as I was sitting in our private jacuzzi, pondering the outlines of the Acropolis in the distance, I was remembering how Shakespeare uses Athens as a setting in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Oh, I'll spare you the lecture. I just wanted to write a sentence like that and for it to be true! And it is, gloriously so. We're staying in the Periscope, a very small boutique hotel, so small that we have the entire top floor, its roof-deck hot tub, and a full-on view of the Acropolis. It's a place for the poet, the lunatic, and the lover, as Theseus says in AMSND. Well, we all five of us are sleeping in the same room, so maybe more the poet and lunatic than the lover.

But I should focus on Ancient Greece, not Shakespeare. Because of large protests over the new austerity measures of the Greek government, we walked to the Acropolis this morning, through the National Gardens (past some Greek soldiers all geared up and high-stepping in fine style). When we got across the park, we realized that, due to the protests, only one gate was open (the one whereby we entered), so we did what seemed right--we squeezed the children through the fencing and climbed over the top ourselves. As one fellow fence-jumper said, "welcome to Greece."

From there we walked by the Temple of Zeus (see second photo) and then around the Acropolis mound to its entrance and into the hallowed grounds of the various temples and theaters. Wow. To see where the Ancient Greeks performed Oedipus and Lysistrata, to see where Athena and Poseidon supposedly battled it out for "patron god," and to see the Agora where Socrates and later, St. Paul spoke all within a few kilometers is an unparalleled experience. It's like seeing Stonehenge, Westminster Abbey, The Globe, and Buckingham Palace all in the same space. We soaked it in--noting the crevice where Poseidon drew salt water for the mortals but was beaten by Athena's more apt olive tree (the Erechtheion), the ingenius Doric columns of the Parthenon, and the seats of the Odeon. We took in the views of Athens framed by the columns all around--the masses of white houses, the sea, and the mountains. What a spot.

To top it off, we had lunch at the perfect Greek cafe outdoors in the shade in the area known as the Plaka--lots of cafes and shops and we could hear the vociferous protest in the background. Everything here is much cheaper than in the rest of Europe, and you can bargain. Philip negotiated a rate for us to get from the airport to the hotel--at one point the driver walked away, but he came running back when Philip called his bluff.

After the Acropolis and lunch, we took a tour of the new Acropolis Museum where the more precious original bits of the ruins are better protected. Here we saw 5 of the 6 Caryatids (gorgeous female figures that were sculpted 2400 years ago--no biggie) that hold up part of the Erechtheion. The missing one is in the British Museum with the infamous Elgin Marbles, other bits of the Acropolis that were taken out of Greece and rediscovered in the UK. Lord Elgin is responsible for the removal, some would say kidnapping, of the Caryatid as well as the Marbles. It's a very sore topic here in Athens since the British Government has refused to return anything. Clare, for one, is particularly outraged. I know that the original Winnie-the Pooh and Friends stuffed animals reside in the New York Public Library--and the British Government wants them back. But A.A. Milne gave them to his editor, who happened to be American, and the NYPL is keeping them. But old stuffed animals compared to a 6-foot ancient statue and parts of ancient government buildings and temples?

Anyway, the museum objets are ancient and priceless and very carefully and lovingly preserved and displayed. The museum itself is a marvel with its windowed facade looking directly up at the Acropolis, so you can imagine the friezes and statues in their intended context. Plus it's air-conditioned, which must be a relief for the tourists in June, July, and August.

We did some souvenir shopping; Emmett is very keen on Poseidon, so he got a little statue of the water god, and Isabella got some worry beads (no comment necessary), but we found that the shopkeepers did not like us touching the wares, even super cheap kitschy things. We got yelled at twice. We also suspect that Greeks do not think of chicken as meat. Clare the vegetarian twice ordered vegetarian pasta and got, both times, a concotion with bits of chicken. This after we urged them to double-check and noted the dish had to be vego. Conclusion: chicken is not meat in Greece. John B., is this true?

We ended up back at the hotel in the late afternoon and watched the sun set behind those huge and glorious Doric columns. Tomorrow is an early rise as we take the boat to Santorini and live for 4 days on a volcano!