We both suffered a bout of jet-lag, but managed to get through it! The hotel has a restaurant with an all inclusive breakfast, it is open from 7AM to noon! Even better, although there is a buffet, they will also cook meals to order (full English included!)
Our day today included just one activity, but a new one to us.
We chose a Segway tour of the Acropolis area. Having never tried this before we were a little apprehensive! We arrived at the pickup point only to find no sign of any Segway activity. We went into a store and asked for help. It turns out that the road the pickup point was on was closed to traffic and the Uber dropped us off at the other end! Three minutes walking saw us at the right place. Fortunately we were given a brief lesson on driving a Segway. Once you get used to it, driving the beast isn’t too bad. Lean forward to go, lean further forward to go faster. Leaning back slows you down, then takes you backwards. Turning is accomplished by pushing the vertical pole in the direction you want to go. We were expecting a larger group, but there were only 3 of us.
We headed out down the back streets, of which there are hundreds in Athens. We got our first view of the Parthenon.
I’ll let you look up details on the Acropolis and Parthenon should you so desire! Suffice it to say, it is old (the Parthenon was completed around 459BC), but the acoustics are such that they still hold concerts there. A few more pictures:
Overshadowed by the Parthenon is the temple of Athena-Nike
Below, the larger building is the Stoa of Altos, originally a shopping mall built in the 1950’s. The smaller building is the Church of the Holy Apostles, the oldest Christian church in Athens dating back to the 10th Century.
By now the Segway was beginning to realize who was the boss, and mostly did what I wanted it to. This was good news for there were hordes of crowds who tried valiantly to dismount us!
Below is a general view of Athens, note the mount to the right with a white speck at the top. This is the Chapel of Saint George.
The Chapel of Saint George in a little more detail.
Yet another temple, this time the Temple of Hephaestus. This is probably the best preserved temple in Athens.
The Tzistarakis Mosque was completed in 1759. It is no longer used for religious purposes, it has become museum.
As we came closer to the end of the tour my “natural” control of the Segway faded, and it required more attention to keep it under control!
Below are a couple of pictures of the Mitropoli (Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens) completed in 1862. It is built of marble that came from 72 demolished churches.
This is the Little Metropolis, completed in the 12th Century.
Now it was time to give the Segway back. We walked around the area looking for a late lunch, then it was back to the hotel.
In the evening we went to a (very) local restaurant recommended by a friend of our daughter-in-law. It was right next to the hotel and was very good.
Hopefully jet-lag won’t be a problem tonight.