We had made reservations for a bus to drive us seven miles from the port of Piraeus to The Acropolis in central Athens so we could visit the historic site on our own. \u00a0The bus stopped at an Olympic stadium which the guide explained was built for the Olympic Games of 1896. We all got off the bus to take pictures.<\/p>\n The traffic was unbelievably slow. \u00a0Our “panoramic tour” of Athens took an hour and a half and we finally arrived at the Melina Mercouri statue which marks the pedestrian street to the Acropolis. \u00a0Our guide led the group part way to the Acropolis and set us free to climb up to the ‘high city.’<\/p>\n We located the very long line to buy tickets and queued up and waited. \u00a0Jeff overheard a man say there was a “cash only booth” without a line so I went over to take a look while Jeff held our place in line. \u00a0Sure enough I found a very short line and bought tickets: 20 euros each. \u00a0We walked up, and I do mean UP, to the top of the Acropolis.<\/p>\n The Parthenon is the largest structure on the Acropolis. \u00a0Another interesting ruin is the Erechtheion<\/em> which was another temple dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon.<\/p>\n Construction of the Parthenon began in the 5th century BC by Pericles, who was a prominent Athenian general during the Golden Age of Greece. \u00a0It was a former temple dedicated to the goddess, Athena.<\/p>\n Our ascent up to the ancient land of the gods – with thousands of other tourists, was very crowded. \u00a0Of course there was scaffolding on the Parthenon but we were there! We finally made it to the top! \u00a0It was so exciting to finally be standing right there on the ancient Acropolis overlooking Athens, Greece!!!<\/p>\n From the top of the Acropolis, there are spectacular 360 degree views of the beautiful city below. \u00a0It was a thrilling experience to be standing above Athens and see the city spread out like a magnificent multicolored carpet.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/DSC_6813.jpg\")
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