Greeting Greece: Athens I

Our last port was Athens. We had L with us, who had done this cruise before. She advised that we get up early, grab a quick breakfast, and hit the road. Seeing Athens in 3 hours was a must!

We had the dearest cabbie. Having lived in Turkey awhile, I can negotiate prices. The first cabbie wanted far more than the going rate. We walked away. Then we found "Kostas." He was an older man, nearly retired, who took us under his wing and shared his country and his obvious strong patriotism for it. He was just what 3 American girls needed. Not fresh, no marriage proposals, just a grandpa for the day. He would not let L, on her crutch, even open a door by herself. He had the tour down pat. He first took us to the first Olympic stadium. The original, built on this site, was from 359BC. It was later remodelled for modern games in the late 1800's. Then Kostos turned us around and pointed at this....the temple to Zues, right behind us and high up.

He really wanted us to see the changing of the guards, something that I enjoy seeing in any country.

 As we drove, I spotted this!

Kostos wanted me to have my picture made by the parliament guard. I was a little nervous to stand closer and could not stop laughing.

 And then we jumped back in the cab and headed to the Parthenon!