Athens, Greece

We were told that only one day was necessary to see everything you would want to see and more in Athens. However we would have liked at least two days to spend in the city.

^^Panathenaic Stadium^^

^^Breakfast outside a street bakery while Lizzy take a nap. During our trip she was taking 4 naps a day. In order to accommodate her sleep with our travel we bought a cheep stroller from Toys-R-Us that fully reclined. I then altered a fitted sheet as a cover. It worked perfectly and we still use this setup when we are on the go during nap time. Some thought a stroller would not last through the cobble stone streets of Europe, but we did not find that to be the case.^^

^^ Arch Of Hadrian^^

Athens was a much more crowded city than we had anticipated, with narrow sidewalks and a hilly terrain (not good for strollers).  We reserved the perfect airbnb which was in walking distance from all the historical sights. Our one day to tour the city turned out to be National monument day in Athens, meaning all sights and museums we wanted to visit were free! We were able to walk in and out of any national sight throughout the day.
We spent a lot of our time at Temple of Zeus. Out of everything we saw it had the least repairs which to us made it the most impressive. 

Our day in Athens was beautiful, with not a cloud in the sky, which made it a little hot. So at mid-day we spent our time in the museums to get away from the heat. 

After a full after noon in the sun and on our feet we decided to go back to our apartment to rest while Lizzy took a nap (and to ditch the the stroller). At this point we had not yet made the hike up to the Acropolis to see the Parthenon. We waited for the blazing sun to set a little so we could get pictures around golden hour. They close the gates to the Acropolis at 7:30pm to give everyone time to make it down the large, steep hill by closing time at 8. So the plan was to get there an hour before closing.

After a little nap, we slowly made our way back to the base of the Acropolis, getting a gelato along the way. However when we reached the gates, at 6:34 we were informed that the park had already closed... WHAT?!!!!!!!! was this a joke?!!!

It only took us a second to realized the man was not joking and we had unknowingly gone through a time change from Hungary to Greece. I went from a chill traveler to a  hyperventilating, hysterical mess is a second. We had spent the whole day at the base of this hill touring around, waiting for the perfect time for our chance to go to the top and see the Parthenon. Now a stupid mistake and two guards were blocking our way...

As it was only 7:34, they had not yet closed the gate. So after a failed attempt of begging the men to let us pass, I took it into my own hands and ran passed them, through the gate, and started up the path. Thankfully we had ditched the stroller. Blake (with Lizzy in the ergo baby) followed right behind meas we ran and ran and ran. Passing two more guards along the way, ignoring their commands to stop. This large hill turned into what felt like running up a mountain, but we followed the steep, switch back path all the way to the top. Panting, we came into view of the Parthenon, and the last gate with accompanying guard. She was not as easy to pass, so at this desperate time I told her we left a baby bottle at the top.... without a thought she let us pass the final gate. As we came to the top however were encountered more guards who were corralling visitors away from the views and down the path. 



After recounting the true story of not knowing about the time change, and it being our only day in Athens, one guard took pity on us and let us catch our breath and snap a few pictures, while they made everyone else leave. This gave us a pretty rare moment of solidarity at the most popular attraction in Athens. 

After leaving the main sight, we climbed a smaller hill to watch the sunset. As far as the eyes could see there were rolling hills of white buildings. These landscapes of while structures will always remind me of Greece. 

After watching the sun set over the city we walked through narrow streets filled with people shopping and eating. It has a certain charm to walk down ancient streets that have been turned into modern night life. 

We grabbed some fresh yogurt and berries on our way to a local restaurant away from the crowds, that our host had suggested. 

Early the next morning we were on our way to the Island of Santorini.