This morning we were up very early to check out of our hotel and catch our bus to the Santorini Airport. We took off around 7:00 AM for our flight to Athens.
Leaving SantoriniVouliagmeni is a seaside suburbVari, a southern suburb of AthensLooking down on a quarryLanding at the Athens Airport
Our second flight was from Athens to JFK airport in New York City. It was almost an 11 hour flight. It seemed to go by faster than we expected. Of course we watched movies and read! The flight was smooth and no issues occurred. People kept their masks on and the flight attendants didn’t have to deal with unruly passengers.
On a side note, a gluten free meal that is made by the European crews are so much better than the gluten free meals made in the United States.
Gluten Free Meal
Looking out the airplane window we watched the sunset as we descended for landing in New York City.
NYC is in the distance!
Our last flight of the day was to our home airport in Columbus. Our plane left on time and we had a fantastic trip with the Hilliard Chamber of Commerce in Greece but it’s always good to get home! We can’t wait for our next adventure as long as COVID doesn’t shut down much of the world again!
Today we visited the Acropolis Museum. It was really interesting because when the city excavated the land they found an entire neighborhood beneath the museum.
The Acropolis MuseumAcropolis Museum and Below
From the second floor of the museum you can see the Acropolis.
The Acropolis from the Museum
We weren’t permitted to take pictures of the Archaic Acropolis Gallery in the museum. You can look up this gallery online and see photos of the collection.
Models of the Acropolis in the Acropolis Museum
In the background of the picture below are pieces of the Parthenon from the archaic period.
Parthenon pieces up the stairs
A pair of Nikes from the 3rd century AD. In ancient Greek religion Nike was the goddess of victory.
Nikes
Statue of Papposilenus
The Statue of Papposilenus is carrying the infant Dionysos, the god of wine and theater. It was discovered in 1832 at the Theater of Dionysos. It was made of marble and sculpted in the 2nd century BC. Papposilenus was considered to be the wisest of the Sileni (mythical demons that followed Dionysos) and tutor of Dionysos.
The Caryatids, female columns from the Erechtheion on the Acropolis of Athens. The Erechteion is an ancient Greek Temple and has also been referred to as the Temple of Athens.
Caryatids
A reconstruction of the west pediment of the Parthenon is pictured below.
Metopes are rectangular plaques. Fourteen metopes decorated the east side of the Parthenon.
Metopes
Below are original metopes and recreated as to what they believe the original ones looked like. It gives you an idea of how colorful the temples once were!
After the museum we walked in the Platka for lunch and to shop! The Plaka is the oldest section of Athens. Most of the area is pedestrian only! It is filled with restaurants, jewelry stores, tourist shops and cafes.
The monument to Lysicrates was erected by a wealthy patron of musical performances in the Theater of Dionysus.
Monument to Lysicrates
As we were walking toward our bus we past the base of the Theater of Dionysus remains of ancient marble statue remnants and other pieces.
Today was our last day in Athens and with our guide Marina! What a beautiful parting shot of the Acropolis!
After two days of traveling our morning was relaxing! We didn’t need to set an alarm but we were still awake early. Below are pictures from our resort as we explored the grounds!
One of the views from our balconyKinetta Beach ResortOrangesFresh orangeslime treePart of the coastlineBeach along the Aegean SeaOne of the pool areasOlive tree
It is olive harvesting time in Greece!
Harvesting olives by our hotel.
Short Clip Harvesting Olives.
We attended a lecture on the relationships within the European Union and Greece. The talk was very informative and interesting. The lecturer gave a brief history of Greece (it’s official name is Helenic Republic or Hellas in Greek) and also discussed the education of the children. Greece has immigrants coming from the East: Syria, Pakistan, and some Turkish people.
Lecture on Relationships within EU and Greece
After the lecture we enjoyed relaxing in the chairs by the beach!
Enjoying some sun before our excursion into Athens!
This afternoon we left the Kinetta Beach Hotel. Our first stop was the Acropolis. Our local guide for our time in Athens was a beautiful woman named Marina. She has been a guide for a very long time and was a wealth of information. It was wonderful at the Acropolis because it wasn’t packed with visitors. We did have to show our ID, vaccination card and have on our mask to get in with our ticket. It was comforting that individuals must be fully vaccinated or have a negative PCR test within the last 72 hours or a rapid test within 42 hours! The wind that was blowing dust over Athens from the Sahara Desert let up so we had a beautiful, clear sky.
Our first view of the Acropolis
The Acropolis is located on a rocky outcrop looking out at the city of Athens. The Parthenon is the most famous of the remains of the ancient buildings. It was a former temple built around 450 BC and stands about 490 feet above sea level and stands on the highest spot on the Acropolis. The Parthenon is the largest Doric temple in Greece and was a temple to Athena.
The Parthenon
The Parthenon faces East to West and was completed in 9 years! Pheidias who was a master architect and sculptor supervised its building. The British Museum in London has many of the Parthenon’s sculptures and reliefs, the Acropolis museum has a few and others have just eroded away.
The Parthenon is also being renovated and this is an ongoing project. The Greeks are trying to save the Parthenon from the destruction caused by pollution and acid rain. They began this in 1976. When I was there in 1983, there was scaffolding! When the construction is finished the Parthenon won’t be rebuilt but a reinforced ruin.
The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is located on the south side of the Acropolis slope has been rebuilt three different times, and was renovated in 1950. It was used for music concerts. It is still used today as the main venue of the Athens Festival!
The Odean of Herodes Atticus
The Erechtheion was constructed between 421 and 406 BC. It was named after the demi-god Erechtheus and was built from marble. On the south side was the Porch of the Caryatids which is its most famous feature. There were six Caryatids which were women and they acted as columns holding up the roof. This is also the spot where supposedly Athena and Poseidon fought for the rights to name the city.
Erechtheion
The Propylaea serves as the entrance to the Acropolis and has a doric and classical architecture. Its construction began in 432 BC. It served as the grand gate to enter the Acropolis.
The last building we talked about was the Athena Nike. It was located on the southwest edge of the Acropolis and was a small temple of the Ionic style.
Temple of Athena Nike
We looked down at the Theater of Dionysus. It was built on the southern slope of the Acropolis. It is considered to be the start of theater! The first orchestra terrace was built in the mid to late sixth century BC. By the 4th century BC it was finished and had a capacity of 17,000 with stone seats.
The Theater of Dionysus
Located on the east end of the Acropolis stands the flag of Greece with great views of the city.
After our visit to the Acropolis we made a stop at the Panathenaic Stadium which can hold 60,000 and is located on the site of an ancient stadium. It is the only stadium in the world made of marble. It was built in the 6th century BC and was renovated in 1896. It hosted the first modern Olympic games. The stadium was used again as an Olympic venue in 2004 for archery and the finish for the marathon for both men and women.
We watched the changing of the guard in front of the tomb of the Unknown Soldier which is located outside of the Hellenic Parliament. It was fascinating to watch the guards precision and balance. Watch the video below to see a good portion of the ceremony.
Marina, our guide, took us down into the metro subway station. As the city excavated for the subway they found many artifacts. So at the Syntagma Station these amazing artifacts dating back to the 5th century BC are displayed in the station. It’s like a city below the city that has a museum of glass-filled cases! It was very interesting.
Some of the artifacts that we saw in the metro station.
After our tour of Athens we headed back to Kinetta and our hotel.
Saturday, November 6th and Sunday, November 7th, 2021
This was our first International trip since the first week of March, 2020. We had to rethink what we would need and what documents we would need to have for our flights and for the government of Greece. If you thought that flying was a hassle since 2001, then you really don’t know what a hassle is, thanks to COVID! First, check with the airlines that you will be flying on and also the country(or countries) that you will be visiting. This is a must. You don’t want to get to the airport and not have the documentation, forms, etc… that you will need to fly! It isn’t just your passport and boarding pass to get on a flight.
We felt confident traveling with the Hilliard Chamber of Commerce. This is our fifth trip with them! They prepare us and the travel company lets us know what we will need. They require everyone to be fully vaccinated which for us was an important requirement. To get on the plane we needed our passport, vaccination card, and our Passenger Locator Form that Greece required!
We ordered waterproof card holders for our vaccination cards. Also, have with you a supply of face masks because you will need them! The face masks are mandatory for the plane, in the airports, and also inside all establishments! Our best advice is to be organized and be prepared.
Forty two hours before our flight we took a COVID-19 test to make sure we were negative.
We left Columbus, OH Saturday afternoon and flew to Atlanta. Our connection was only a little over a couple of hours. In Atlanta we boarded a flight for Paris, France. This was our overnight flight where we were to try to sleep. There were six of us in our “sub group” of the full chamber group.
Atlanta AirportTaxiing for takeoffJeff & LindaUs
Sunday morning we arrived in Paris, France for a very quick layover to board our plane for Athens. Paris TSA was nasty to many passengers on our flight! We won’t go into details but many of us were lucky to make our flight. When you are tired from a long flight with little sleep, this was not a good experience!
The Air France pilot pointed out the Alps when we flew over them. It was majestic to see these snow-covered mountains.
The AlpsFlying over GreeceFlying over Greecde
We arrived in Athens and met our tour director. We all went through customs, gathered our luggage, and boarded our bus to take us to our hotel in Kinetta, Greece. The hotel was located about an hour from Athens. The check-in process for the hotel was easy and we went to our room. It was great to freshen up, change clothes and head for the beach at the hotel.
Kinetta Beach HotelOne of the pools on the propertyThe view from our room patioThe Aegean SeaOur group relaxing after 2 days of travel!
Kinetta Beach Hotel was our home away from home while we explored Athens and the surrounding areas. It was an all inclusive hotel and because it was the end of the season, almost all of the guests were with the three Chambers of Commerce that were on this trip.
