We had heard that the Acropolis is over run by tourists by about 9:30-10am so we had planned an early morning, but didn’t hear the alarm, opps! We did however manage to be down for breakfast at 8am and out and up to the Acropolis by 8:30 and thank goodness! The rumors’ were correct, the whole hill side was overrun by 10am. It was difficult to walk some of the paths let alone get good photos, luckily we were just ahead of the masses. We were disappointed by the information sign’s at the acropolis, as it only explained about the restorations that took place rather than why the various monuments were built and how they were used. Also the fact that most of it is covered in scaffolding and roped off was disappointing. Luckily Damien decided to lug around the Lonely Planet so we had a short story time in front of each monument. It is a very cool place, despite the crowds and scaffolds. We found the best way to enjoy it was by picturing ourselves in toga’s and sandals, walking around when it was all looking pretty and being peeled grapes by our servants and slaves. 
We are also glad that we visited the British Museum to see all of the stones that have been removed from the site. Despite the Greeks wanting their stones back, I am glad the English took them and looked after them. If it had been left in Greece chances are that they would also be in a state of ruin. The Acropolis ticket includes some of the other archeological sights around the city so we planned our day around what we could get into for free. Our first stop was Hadrian’s Arch (one of our favourite Romans, he built the wall in England) and The temple of Olympic Zeus. The arch was dedicated to a Roman guy named Hadrian for all the public buildings he contracted around the city. It was a gateway between the old Greek part and new Roman sections of the city and represented this with a large arch for Rome topped by a three square Greek arches. The temple of Olympic Zeus was huge but not much remains of it. The frontage was very impressive but most of the rest of it has fallen, one column which is lying on it’s side was actually topped by the wind. This was very interesting as you could see how all the pieces of marble are stacked to form each column. 
From there we headed through the Gardens towards the main square for a Greek style of the Changing of the guards. We were a bit early so we found a cheap souvlaki for lunch then headed back to enjoy the show. It is very different to the English changing of the guards and looks a bit like dancing but without music. They would hold their legs up in the air and touch pom poms which were attached to their shoes, hilarious. 
Once we had finished lunch we had a walk through side streets trying to follow a walking tour from the lonely planet. This was a bit tricky but we did manage to find a small village of white washed houses behind the Acropolis. These were built by workers who were employed from one of the islands to make one of the temples. It was a maze of tiny alley ways, some as narrow as about 40cm. We made our way to the Roman Angora, another archeological site then headed for the Ancient Angora site only to be told it closed at 3pm which was a bit annoying. 
Our touristy day had finished early with the sites closing at 3pm, so we headed to the tourist information to get our ferry tickets to Milo’s organized only to discover it was closed. We managed to book tickets at a travel office then started to head home. We stumbled across cheap coffee and felt this opportunity had to be embraced. Just as we sat to enjoy, we spotted some lost Frenchies without a map or accommodation. In true backpacker style we had Samual and Marie follow us back to our hostel. After some down time in our room we headed to the flea market which was like a flea market anywhere and then had a fantastic cheap Greek salad. To finish our day we met our new friends Samual and Marie in the roof top bar at the hostel for happy hour and were soon joined by Jordi from Canada. 
Our ferry ride did not depart until 2pm so we had the morning to have a last look around Athens. We had a look around the Ancient Angora site along with the museum which was quite good as it ran through some of the basic developments of Greek art. Gyros for lunch, picked up some fruit for the ride and we were on our way. I am currently sitting in one of the deck lounges, scoffing a half kilo of fresh cherries, as Damien has a nanna nap trying to think of things to do for the next 3 and a half of the 7 hour trip to Milos. I might have to play Solitaire. 
We are also glad that we visited the British Museum to see all of the stones that have been removed from the site. Despite the Greeks wanting their stones back, I am glad the English took them and looked after them. If it had been left in Greece chances are that they would also be in a state of ruin. The Acropolis ticket includes some of the other archeological sights around the city so we planned our day around what we could get into for free. Our first stop was Hadrian’s Arch (one of our favourite Romans, he built the wall in England) and The temple of Olympic Zeus. The arch was dedicated to a Roman guy named Hadrian for all the public buildings he contracted around the city. It was a gateway between the old Greek part and new Roman sections of the city and represented this with a large arch for Rome topped by a three square Greek arches. The temple of Olympic Zeus was huge but not much remains of it. The frontage was very impressive but most of the rest of it has fallen, one column which is lying on it’s side was actually topped by the wind. This was very interesting as you could see how all the pieces of marble are stacked to form each column. From there we headed through the Gardens towards the main square for a Greek style of the Changing of the guards. We were a bit early so we found a cheap souvlaki for lunch then headed back to enjoy the show. It is very different to the English changing of the guards and looks a bit like dancing but without music. They would hold their legs up in the air and touch pom poms which were attached to their shoes, hilarious. Once we had finished lunch we had a walk through side streets trying to follow a walking tour from the lonely planet. This was a bit tricky but we did manage to find a small village of white washed houses behind the Acropolis. These were built by workers who were employed from one of the islands to make one of the temples. It was a maze of tiny alley ways, some as narrow as about 40cm. We made our way to the Roman Angora, another archeological site then headed for the Ancient Angora site only to be told it closed at 3pm which was a bit annoying. Our touristy day had finished early with the sites closing at 3pm, so we headed to the tourist information to get our ferry tickets to Milo’s organized only to discover it was closed. We managed to book tickets at a travel office then started to head home. We stumbled across cheap coffee and felt this opportunity had to be embraced. Just as we sat to enjoy, we spotted some lost Frenchies without a map or accommodation. In true backpacker style we had Samual and Marie follow us back to our hostel. After some down time in our room we headed to the flea market which was like a flea market anywhere and then had a fantastic cheap Greek salad. To finish our day we met our new friends Samual and Marie in the roof top bar at the hostel for happy hour and were soon joined by Jordi from Canada. Our ferry ride did not depart until 2pm so we had the morning to have a last look around Athens. We had a look around the Ancient Angora site along with the museum which was quite good as it ran through some of the basic developments of Greek art. Gyros for lunch, picked up some fruit for the ride and we were on our way. I am currently sitting in one of the deck lounges, scoffing a half kilo of fresh cherries, as Damien has a nanna nap trying to think of things to do for the next 3 and a half of the 7 hour trip to Milos. I might have to play Solitaire. 
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