Athens, Acropolis, Plaka

We started our second day in Athens with a 45 minute walk to the Acropolis. We left our backpacks with the manager of the hostel and just took small day packs. We found a gate on to the Acropolis and snuck in only to be politely escorted out again and around the mountain to the official entrance where we had to pay. We paid and continued up the hill. It is very rocky with short green plants growing between the rocks like a thick mat. The Acropolis is the name of the mountain and it used to be a fort, it was once called the high city. There are two amphitheatres on the sides of the mountain and then the entrance to the high city is through a temple of columns on top of the mountain. The Parthenon sits onto in the centre together with a museum, a toilet out house and a temple commemorating the victory of Athens.
Paz and I both studied Classical Civilizations so it all had a lot of meaning to us, finally seeing things up close which we had once studied in books. Paz has definitely been here before in a previous life - probably as a high priestess or something - I even have her admitting it. She has feelings for Greece, the way I do for Israel.
There was a lot of construction going on - cranes, scaffolding etc. but it didn't detract from the experience. The smaller temple is the more famous one, with the columns that look like women. In the museum we met some Argentineans we had met on the ferry over. One of them said that they would only be staying in Athens for one day as it was so boring, because there was a curfew on the disco area! They walked through the museum in minutes and were off. On top of the Acropolis and they are worried about disco curfews!
We descended to the Agora or market place of Athens. We were in the oldest area of Athens, the Plaka. It has little ally ways threaded among shops, stalls and restaurants and is also the location of the Monistiraki flea market.
We went to a restaurant called Eden on the corner of Misicleos and Lissiou for lunch/dinner. It was vegetarian and warm! We spent slightly over our budget ($10 each). I had Greek salad, spinach and feta cheese pie (Spanakopita), and apple pie made with honey and nuts. Then we took the long slow walk back to the hostel.
The hostel people thought we had checked out so they had not kept us a place. They didn't kick us out though. They gave us the attic, which was cold but for the price of a dorm we had a room all to ourselves. Ah luxury!