PIRAEUS (ATHENS),

GREECE

ACROPOLIS, PARTHENON &

IKEA!

Saturday, April 19, 2025, Temperature 61 Degrees, Humidity 62%, W-NW 11.5 mph

This is the second time this cruise that the temperatures in Fahrenheit and Celsius have been the inverse of each other. On April 1st, the temperature was 82 Degrees F and 28 Degrees C. Today it happened again, 61 Degrees F and 16 Degrees C.

We’ve been traveling in the Mediterranean during Holy Week. Last week in Cartagena, we saw a parade on the Square. In Malta, there were flags and another parade. We arrived in Piraeus/Athens on the Saturday before Easter. We’d already had one Excursion cancelled because of the Holiday, so we’re now scheduled on Panoramic Athens, primarily a driving tour with only two scheduled photo stops. We expected the city to be crowded with people coming into the city to celebrate the holiday, but it was just the opposite – relatively quiet and, according to our Guide, considerably less traffic than usual. She said that of the 10,000,000 people who live in Greece, five million live in Athens, and four million have left the city for the holiday! She also said that although Greece's countryside is beautiful, there are limited opportunities there – if you want a career, education, or medical treatment, you need to come to Athens.

Our first stop was the Stadium for the 1896 Olympics (Games of the I Olympiad), the first international Olympic Games in modern history. It is the only stadium in the world made entirely of marble. Fourteen nations and 241 athletes (all male) participated (65% were Greek). American James Connolly became the first Olympic medalist in more than 1500 years when he won the triple jump. The Marathon for the 2004 Greek Olympics ended at this stadium. The Closing Ceremony was held here as well. We also passed a number of the other Olympic venues, but it is impossible to photograph from our moving bus!

We stopped at the Acropolis of Athens (acropolis is a generic term that means the highest point; there are many other acropolises in Greece). Walking through an olive grove on our way to the Acropolis, we passed a surprising statue – Maria Callas. Callas was a world-renowned opera star born in the US to Greek emigrant parents. She was one of the most influential opera singers in the 20thcentury. When John asked who she was, I said she was a famous opera star and Aristotle Onassis’s girlfriend. Our guide corrected me – she was the love of his life; he just married that Kennedy woman. John took pictures at the site and later was able to get a photo of the Parthenon as we drove past.

We toured downtown Athens. There are two obvious architectural styles, the old town and the area built/rebuilt after WWII. The buildings in the old town were about four stories high, with commercial space on the ground floor and residential space above. The streets were very narrow, some treelined (many were narrower than the picture included), but all were beautiful and charming. Downside, only on street parking and none of that “assigned”. Whether shopping, going out to dinner, or coming home at the end of the day, you have to drive around until you find a space – no, thank you! They have electric trolley cars and a good bus system, but our Guide said most people prefer to have their own car, even though there’s no place to park! Definitely a more prosperous and appealing city than some we’ve visited (except for the parking). We were used to seeing McDonald's and KFC on the trip, but were surprised to see an IKEA store in downtown Athens. The other one we saw was in Arrecife, the Canary Islands.

We're back at the port; our neighbor is the Princess Sun. She followed us this morning and will leave right behind us!