Athens, Greece

Piraeus for Athens, Greece
Today we made port in Piraeus, Greece…the cruise ship’s stop for entry to Athens. Piraeus is 6 miles southwest of Athens’ city center and is actually the third largest city in Greece.
Athens, named for the Greek goddess Athena (goddess of wisdom), is the largest city (about 4 million) in Greece with over a third of the country’s population. It is often referred to as the cradle of Western civilization with a tradition of democracy, philosophy drama and comedy. The birthplace of a Greek who’s who….Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the remains of the temples of the Acropolis, hundreds of ancient statues, and the host city of the first modern day Olympic Games (1896), there is no shortage of things to do and explore in Athens. This city is one of the oldest in the world with a recorded history of at least 3,000 years.
Having visited Athens on a prior trip, we decided to take a relaxed approach to enjoying the city and avoided the main tourist attractions already seen. We spent most of our day walking Athens’ oldest quarter, the Plaka and the adjacent Agora which was the center of ancient city life.. The Plaka is just below the Acropolis and was a delight to explore. It is a maze of narrow pedestrian thoroughfares with many neoclassical mansions along side humble houses. There are numerous shops, cafes and we were lucky to come across a hand turned barrel organ being played by a local citizen. As evening approached, the tavernas set tables covered in brightly colored linens out into the narrow lanes and café owners beckoned evening strollers to stop, relax and enjoy a fine meal. As dusk fell, it was a very pretty sight with the votive candles on all the tables and the wonderful smells of traditional Greek food in the air. We spent our evening with 10 other cruise friends at a local taverna known to one of our traveling companions. It was a great meal, enjoyed on a roof top garden room, alfresco. After several courses of traditional Greek food, wine and oozo (sp?), we walked through the ancient city back to the ship for a late sail away. Next stop, Naples!