Time to Say Goodbye

I hate goodbyes.

I hate them so much that I didn't attend the farewell dinner - it just is too much for me. I have a hard time with transitions, anyway...but saying goodbye knowing I will never be in this place again with these beautiful souls is emotional overload. I will miss so much.

I will miss strolling Thissio and looking for my favorite wheelchair buddy. I will miss people watching, the tourists, and shopping handmade treasures. I will miss feeding the taverna cats and the special treat at the end of the meal. I will miss the honey, the wine, and the incredible olive oil...and, of course, the lamb.

I will miss my favorite teacher, Despina, and I will miss my fellow students. I will miss the constant presence of ancient ruins and the chaos of broken sidewalks, taxis and motorcycles. I will miss the opportunity to just go sit in an incense-tinged church and walk through the National Gardens with my love. I will miss hearing the buskers along Ermou, and the sweet, welcoming smile of the waitress at Poco Poco. I will miss the Greek people - both the strangers on the street and the ones we have befriended. I will miss the clang of the church bells and the wave of the crane operator across the street. I will miss breakfast on the balcony in the morning sunshine.

The only one I have really said goodbye to has been Emma, but only because she was leaving this morning for an early flight. But, just because I don't have the strength to say goodbye doesn't mean I don't care. I care deeply and will miss all who have come across my path during this adventure in Greece. They will never know how much.

I hate goodbyes. Truly.

But I will always treasure all that I have seen, heard, learned, 

experienced, and embraced while here in beautiful and amazing Greece. 

Until we meet again.

No Regrets.

What do you do on your last day in Athens?

The one thing that I didn't do when I was there the first two times...

take pictures of the beautiful statues that graced the Erechtheion, 

the Caryatids that now reside in the Acropolis Museum.

Aren't they amazing? There were six of then originally, and all individual. 

So Much to Remember...

An Evening Stroll Home

It was a lovely evening for a stroll...

On Syntagma Square, this periptero, aka kiosk, is open for business (as usual)

I really like these color changing fountains on either side of the Square

and the lovely fountain

and, then through the National Gardens

a short stop to cross the busy avenue in front of the Kalimarmaro, the Marble Stadium

and, finally back to campus where we can see folks studying for finals

Unforgettable Postcards from Athens

view from the balcony

in the apartment

the best gyros from Quick Pitta

this little guy is the pet of one of the kiosk owners - how funny!

morning coffee on the balcony

selfies in the park

catchin' the sunlight

while they all catch the sunset from Mars Hill, we enjoy the last of our time in Greece

view from the rooftop garden restaurant

More for the Scrapbook

 

Everyday view

for the record

We love these guys at Maiandros, our favorite taverna!

reflection of Greece

The Deserted Flea Market

A

Above is a photo I took of the Athens Flea Market right off of Monastiraki Square back in January when we were first here in Athens. Below are pics snapped of the amazingly empty Flea Market when all the shops are closed - usually late Sunday evenings. If I remember correctly, these were taken on Easter Sunday. Yeah...all the shops were closed. 

people like to walk through the Flea Market when it is clossed...as you can see,
there is artwork that you can only appreciate when the doors are closed

this is looking from inside the Market out onto Monastiraki Square - a lot of the
tavernas and cafes were open, even on Easter. Tourist business is always worthwhile.

And, this was a shot of Ermou Street - the major shopping street. Usually, it is so crowded you can hardly walk
without either getting bumped or being in someone's way. The city is eerily peaceful when the streets are mostly deserted.

The University of Athens and the National Library

After getting a glimpse of these fabulous buildings from our tour bus, we decided to take a stroll uptown a bit to check out the University of Athens. On one website I was looking at, it stated that this is surely what ancient Greece looked like. Impressive!

Beautiful Apollo

The Goddess Athena

the smell of the orange blossoms is heavenly

this can be none other than Socrates

and his pupil Aristotle

incredible pediment statuary - with Zeus and Athena

this pediment features Athena in the middle

Photos just can't express how grand this architecture truly is.

And, then we went inside...

what a room!

We wandered to the next building, which is another impressive Greco-Roman building. However, there was a protest/hunger-strike gathering going on there, so I snapped this young man below, and we kept going onto the National Library.

that is the Library with the sweeping staircase

no wonder the US adopted this style of architecture for its government buildings -
they are very authoritative and impressive

We couldn't take photos inside the library, nor could we browse through the titles. This library boasts books and codex that go back to the 9th century, so you can imagine that they don't want people just poking through them! What we could see, though, was impressive enough - very old books and bindings from floor to ceiling. The really old books were behind the shelves we could see. In order to look at a book, one has to request the book and be approved. Then, you come at your appointed time to sit with the book - no lending here. Very impressive.