For many years, Greece was at the top of our travel bucket list.  Specifically, we wanted to go to Athens to see the Acropolis and the Parthenon.  The economic downturn hit Greece hard and we put our plans on hold.  But dreaming became reality in 2017.

Athens is everything we thought it would be.  There is so much history around every corner, but nowhere is more impressive than the rocky outcrop of the Acropolis, the UNESCO World Heritage Site in the center of the city.  Over 3,000 years ago, this massive rock became the religious center of Ancient Greece.

And at the center, the Parthenon stands over the city.  This temple dedicated to Athena was completed in 438 BC and much of the Doric structure still stands today – albeit under scaffolding.  We were shocked to learn that Greece started the preservation project in 1975 and it is still going to this day!

One of our favorite things to do in Greece was to sit in one of the cafés at the bottom of the Acropolis and look up at it illuminated at night.  The building is just so beautiful.

We’re not museum people, however, we were really pleased we visited the Acropolis Museum at the base of the rock.  All of the important artwork from the Acropolis that wasn’t looted is now preserved here.  There are sculptures and friezes, but we were shocked to see the number of vases, figurines and other artifacts that were discovered at the site by archaeologists.