The Sun is Shining!

The last half of Spring Break turned out to be absolutely lovely. The sun shone bright in a vivid blue sky while a slight breeze kept everything comfortable (and the Greeks a little chilly!). We loved it...even Mr. Foltz took off his sweater!

We meandered over towards the edge of the Plaka where you can get a good view of the Acropolis. I was intent on getting a photo of the exact spot in that painting we saw a few days ago in that cool gallery. 

Chuck is scoping out exactly the location and angle while we wait for our coffees

sitting right beside the Ancient Roman Agora

now, here's a handsome man!

the view from the other side of the Agora...we were sitting under those umbrellas you can see 

this is remains of the ancient Roman Library

Here it is - my shot! And, here is the painting, just for comparison...

cool, huh?

A Few Personal Snaps

The sky here is dramatic most of the time. This is right outside the CYA campus building (on the left)

Chuck captured the sun in a brief appearance - it has been raining, raining, raining all day long,
and is forecast to continue into the week. Boo.

a fire dancer in Monastiraki Square during our evening walk celebrating the end of mid-terms

silhouettes in front of the Parliament Building facing Syntagma Square

favorite :-)

trip to the post office on this rainy Friday -
found another lovely cafe with fun staff!

Random Things to Remember

The grocery list

The sky just opened up and dumped rain! This forecast wasn't lying!

the heat controller in our apartment - it is called
a heat exchanger, and I frankly don't recommend them

and this is the heat-exchange unit - it blows warm-ish air for a bit,
then blows cold air :-(

check out the size of those tablets! 400mg each - yep, that sez Brufen

another type of komboloi - these are in olive wood

my favorite- tuna salad without tomatoes...um, does anyone see a problem with this? haha!
actually, Chuck says the tomatoes are the best here - ripened naturally

Odeion of Herodes Atticus

checkin' out ruins is always a surprise - you never know what you are going to find

this is at the foot of the Acropolis

wow!

this reminded us of the aquaduct in Cesarea, Israel

what is left of a Roman cistern

and here is the amphitheater - didn't even know it was there until I peeked through this arch!

I can easily imagine vendors set up in each of these arch-niches to sell their wares...

A very hazy day today...

yes, that is the sun (back in front of Kalimarmaro, the marble stadium)

Local Ruins

In  the last walk-about post, I shared a pic of some ruins that are in the heart of one of shopping districts. They are very similar to me to the ruins in Israel - foundations/outlines of homes and narrow streets. Here are some more fascinating ruins we saw just in passing. Hopefully, we will have more opportunity to investigate fully.

the Acropolis, of course - you can see it from almost everywhere in Athens;
can't wait to get up there in person!

I apologize for the small type, but this is the explanation
of some of the ruins at the foot of the Acropolis nearby
the mosaic floor of the remnants of a Roman home

a Roman home

the amazing mosaic floor

Hadrian's Gate (Arch)

The Arch of Hadrian (Greek: Αψίδα του Αδριανού Apsida tou Adrianou), most commonly known in Greek as Hadrian's Gate (Πύλη του Αδριανού Pyli tou Adrianou), is a monumental gateway resembling – in some respects – a Roman triumphal arch. It spanned an ancient road from the center of Athens, Greece, to the complex of structures on the eastern side of the city that included the Temple of Olympian Zeus. It has been proposed that the arch was built to celebrate the adventus (arrival) of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and to honor him for his many benefactions to the city, on the occasion of the dedication of the nearby temple complex in 131 or 132 AD.[1] It is not certain who commissioned the arch, although it is probable that the citizens of Athens or another Greek group were responsible for its construction and design. There were two inscriptions on the arch, facing in opposite directions, naming both Theseus and Hadrian as founders of Athens. While it is clear that the inscriptions honor Hadrian, it is uncertain whether they refer to the city as a whole or to the city in two parts: one old and one new. The early idea, however, that the arch marked the line of the ancient city wall, and thus the division between the old and the new regions of the city, has been shown to be false by further excavation. The arch is located 325m southeast of the Acropolis. ~wiki

I wish I knew more about these amazing things we are seeing - but, when I know more, you will read more! This columns were gated off (since it was getting dark when we were there), but they demand a closer look. In the daylight, and when we can get closer, you will get more of the story, I promise!

I love the sky in the above photo. The weather here has been rather extreme from what I'm accustomed - bright, intense sunshine with vivid blue skies, then quickly blowing in big puffy clouds which turn to threatening dark, rain clouds in such a short time. What starts out as a sunny morning can be very loud thunder and amazing lightning by a wet mid-afternoon. The locals take it in stride and continue on with their daily tasks, but us foreigners are amazed at the intensity.

"It sounds like the Olympian gods are bowling tonite! Massive lightning and thunder and rain has just started to fall. Glad we are close to the school! The thunder claps are amazing!"
~excerpt from Chuck's journal