Day 3: June 8, 2023
Day 3 of our trip is the first day that started and ended in Greece, and Oh what a day it was.
Before I get into the details, let me say this. When you plan a trip of this magnitude, you don't end up getting to do everything you planned. One example of this is that we both wanted to take a side trip to Corinth. Corinth is about an hour by bus from Athens and is a city where the Apostle Paul penned at least two letters to the local church. I say at least 2, because 2 of them became books of the Bible. In the end there was so much to do in Athens while still heavily jet lagged that we didn't make it to Corinth.
All of our accommodations provide breakfast for us. The place in Athens was your standard breakfast buffet with a Greek twist. We ate breakfast and ventured out into the city. The first thing we did was get a sim card for Amy's phone that allowed us to navigate Greece better. The only form of transportation we used that day was walking, and clocked over 22000 steps.
We exchanged money at an ATM and found like we had been told that exchanging at an ATM was better than exchanging at banks or currency exchanges. There were many shops, restaurants, open markets, and street vendors and it was quite a sight to behold. We did a little shopping and then went to Hadrian's Library. It was created by the Roman Emperor Hadrian in A.D. 132 so accolades to him for his construction are long overdue. I know, a library joke. It was either that or go Yo! Hadrian!
We purchase a multi-site pass at Hadrian's Library. This also granted us admission to The Parthenon, and the Ancient Agora. We had been told that if you but a multi-site pass to do it at a location other than the Parthenon to avoid the long lines there and we were very glad we did.
After Hadrian's library we had our first meal at a restaurant in Greece. I think this was the only time we ate inside other than at our hotel. We tried many new foods while in Greece and Amy really loved all the Greek salads.
After lunch we walked up the acropolis and we climbed up the Areopagus Hill also know as Mars Hill, I just posted a little about the significance of Mar's Hill on Thursday here is the link.
Seeing these ancient structures and walking where they walked (the old people) was a bit overwhelming, and the significance was not lost on us. It was a reminder of God's greatness!