It's all Greek to me ... or "Please pass the Ouzo" ...

*ATHENS!! *... a city of 5.5 million friendly, bustling people that are
anxious to show tourists their beautiful city and the truly amazing
ancient artifacts.

When we disembarked this morning in the port city of Piraeus we
essentially had a very sketchy plan of "somehow" getting into Athens and
then on to the Acropolis, walk around the Acropolis for a while, then
find some way to get to the Palaka (the old shopping area of Athens -
picture a really BIG flea market with hundreds and hundreds of stalls
and shops - pictures will eventually find their way to the gallery I
promise) and then try to get back to the ship before it sails.

For people that know me well this sort of nebulous plan doesn't really
work for me ... as in it drives me quite insane. So ... as we exited
the terminal building and were thinking about the 30 minute to the train
that would take us "somewhere in Athens" we were accosted by several men
offering "taxi tours". Now usually I would be leery of hopping in a
"taxi" agreeing to pay 30 euro per person and hoping we weren't being
kidnapped by an ax murderer ... but my fear of not really having a plan
that offered surety of getting back to the ship before it sailed won out
and we agreed to at least take the taxi to the Acropolis (which was
basically a hell of a long way from the port) for the fee of $25 euro .
At this point we were "turned over" to "Visillas" a big burly man of
about 60 years old (visions of ax murder still popping in my mind) and
he led us over to his "taxi" ... a brand spanking new screaming canary
yellow Mercedes Benz ... a big one ... pretty nice ride for an ax
murderer in my mind. As it turns out the car costs 50,000 euro and the
taxi medallion cost 220,000 euro ...

As we motor to the Acropolis "Visillas" begins to describe the service
we would get for 30 euro per person (vs the one way trip) ... basically
for 120 euro we have hired him and his very nice taxi for the day ... he
will take us wherever we want to go, wait for us while we see the sites
or shop and deliver us back to the ship whenever we want. *SOLD!! *This
same "tour" purchased from Princess as an excursion is $799 ... if it's
for real we have scored big time.

As it turned out it was exactly as he promised, we went to the
Acropolis, the President's palace, the Olympic stadium built in the
1800's for the first modern olympic games, Jupiter's temple and then
shopping in the Palaka and finally to a wonderful restaurant on the
waterfront ... then back to the ship. The "tour" was perfect and the
weather was clear and comfortable.

If you've ever seen pictures of Athens you have seen the Parthenon on
Acropolis ... it is a *HUGE *columned structure way up on a hill top
overlooking the city. The construction of this temple of the Goddess
Athena is incredible ... the views of Athens from this vantage point are
breathtaking ... you see the massive size of the city and can just
imagine the goddess overlooking her "people" down below, From every
vantage point you can see some other ancient columned temple to another
Greek god or goddess. The fact that these structures were built by mere
mortals without benefit of powered tools and machines is mind boggling
and the artistry of these structures made mostly of chiseled and carved
marble is simply more than I can comprehend.

After we made our way down from the Acropolis we were all relieved to
actually find Visillas patiently waiting to take us to our next point of
interest. (it was at this point in time that I mentally "unclinched" and
decided we were very possibly going to survive the day after all)

Next we made quick photo stops at the Olympic Stadium and the
President's palace.

Next we visited the Temple of Jupiter, another columned structure (most
of these things are around here) but its sheer size is astounding (pics
in gallery) only a few columns are still standing but it is easy to
imagine what it must have looked like. At this stop we also reviewed the
Roman Baths.

Visillas then drove us down several impossibly narrow, crooked streets
that were overflowing with parked cars and people (did I mention the
"taxi" was a *large* vehicle? We "missed" lottsa cars and people by
well less than two inches on both sides) ... once again I'm pretty sure
I owe someone a new car seat. We were released to visit the "Agora" and
the "Palaka".

We walked around the "Agora" (sort of a Greek forum) where we saw an
amazing temple where a young kitten had taken up residence and basically
claimed the temple as her own ... she had several tourists (including
us) taking her picture as she posed for us.

Next we entered the "Palaka" ... the old shopping area ... basically
this place is a huge flea market ... purchases were made, money was
spent ... and after walking around the Agora and the Palaka for a little
over two hours we miraculously found our way back to our drop off point
to find Visillas patiently waiting ,,, *I love this man like a brother!
I am very likely going to see the ship again after all ... *

Carolyn ALMOST put us in the poor house when she discovered a stunning
handmade silk rug (about 4' x 6') for a mere $1800 ,,, she *REALLY
*wanted that rug ... it was beautiful ... but common sense, and the
realization that Igit, Belle, and Balam would also LOVE this rug,
prevailed and the shop still has it. Linda did purchase a lovely table
cloth from a very aged (and persistent) lady just as we were approaching
the taxi ... to Linda's credit she did haggle down to a good price.

At about 2PM now Visillas (once again through impossibly narrow and
crowded streets) took us to a waterside restaurant where besides a
lovely traditional Greek meal we ordered and drank Ouzo ... a licorice
flavored liquid fire ... it leaves a "glow" (ok a searing burn) in one's
throat and stomach and a smile on your face!

After a "late lunch" Visillas drove us directly to the ship ...
bypassing the lengthy shuttle ride from the terminal we had endured in
the morning.

All in all ... a picture perfect day in Athens ... guided by a wonderful
man in a beautiful taxi ... nary an ax in site

Bade