view-from-the-acropolisOn the plane home from Athens, it’s hard to imagine our lovely Greek vacation wasn’t a dream. Yesterday at this time, we were climbing the Acropolis to see the Parthenon, Greece’s symbol of western civilization. We had slept in that morning in our posh hotel room and got to the Acropolis close to noon only to find long line ups to enter the site. The rain was threatening, so we decided to visit the Acropolis Museum first. By now, we knew the original artifacts would be found in the museum whereas the actual sites contain very convincing reproductions. Not surprisingly, the elements are so hard on the ancient structures that any effort preserve these treasures has to include removing them to a secure, controlled environment. Our friend told us that a few years ago the Acropolis was actually quite covered in soot so that the buildings appeared black. They are now a soft yellow tint, looking like the aged marble they were meant to be.

After touring the area, we met up with our friends George and Julia who drove us to the temple of Poseidon in Sounion. We didn’t really visit, having arrived at dusk and frankly having seen enough old rocks for one day. But the countryside was pretty and Julia described some of the neighbourhoods we passed as we drove along the seaside.  

For dinner, George had selected his favourite restaurant so we could have a wonderful meal of grilled lamb. Some of their friends, also from Langley, had dinner with us. It was a wonderful ending to our Greek holiday!last-night-in-greece