Day 27: October 1.

We sat around breakfast this morning trying to figure out what to do with our day. We decided to walk first to Likavittos Hill to ride the funicular to the top and see the view. We did just that.

Although the day was hazy, the view from the top was great. We stayed up there about half an hour, getting a feel for the layout of Athens, and stopping in the little church on the top of the hill.

We rode the funicular back down, then walked toward the center of town. Our next stop was the complex of the Temple of Zeus, the Roman baths and Hadrian's Arch. The temple was quite impressive: first of all, it's HUGE, and second, there's a great view of the Acropolis through the columns that remain standing. The Arch was pretty, and it was funny to think of it as one man's monument to himself (which is exactly what it is). And the baths, although not much remains of them, are still my favorite to look at. I've always been fascinated by the culture of the Roman bath.

Soon we were walking toward Hadrian's library (it's all about him today!) and stopped along the way for lunch. Karla and I felt quite at home eating the Anatolian cuisine (read: Turkish food), although Abigail struggled to pick something she liked from the menu. But I think she ended up happy.

Along the way to the library, we did some shopping in the Plaka marketplace. I was looking for some capris - to replace the ones I brought which unfortunately ripped - Karla was looking for a gift for our next hostess, and Aba wanted. a scarf. All having succeeded, we finally made it to Hadrian's library. What made this site unique was the fact that a church had been built over the library, but the the church was destroyed in the 1800's to try to uncover the library. So there was two eras of ruins right on top of each other.

The next stop was supposed to be the National Archaeological Museum. But we got there and decided that we were all a little museum-ed out, so we stopped to rest at a small cafe instead. I tried 'Greek coffee' which is kind of like a frappacino, except much stronger and less icy. And more delicious.

Caffinated and rejuvinated, we went for round 2 of shopping, before finding our way to the old Olympic stadium. This was where the first modern Games were held in the 1800's, right on the site of the ancient games. Unfortunately, they were setting up for a performance of some kind, so we couldn't go in. But we got to see it, and got to see a beautiful sunset over the Acropolis right behind us.

Soon we were hungry for dinner, so we went to a pleasant restaurant in the Plaka district, before walking back to our hotel for the night. Tomorrow we say goodbye to my family and move on to more adventures in a new country. Egypt, here we come!
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