Arriving in Athens

What a looooooong day.  We woke up in Dublin at a quarter to four and didn't check into our hotel in Athens until almost nine at night. It didn't seem real until we saw this:

Walking from the metro to our hotel, we suddenly notice...The Acropolis!

Next morning, the view of an adjacent building from our balcony. (Every place has a balcony in Athens. Love it!)

 We are absolutely loving Athens. It is a city of many juxtapositions - archaeological sites next door to new construction, tavernas, graffiti everywhere, marble sidewalks, and this thing whatever it is:

Hadrian's Library

 For Day 2 we moved to a pension - much nicer lodgings with a homier and more authentic feel.

 Needless to say, the food in Greece does not disappoint. This was our lunch - a simple Greek salad. In fact it was a bowl bursting with tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, olives, a huge hunk of Feta cheese, drenched in olive oil. We could get used to this. You can't see it, but our table overlooked an active archaeological dig. Wow!

While checking out the Parliament building for demonstrations (there were none), Donica noticed these strangely clad soldiers.  Turns out these are the Presidential Guard (called "evzones") and one of their duties is to stand watch at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  The guard changes every hour and we were on hand to watch.

Ceremonial high-stepping

Tomorrow we tackle the real touristing - monuments. Stay tuned.