Gyros galore!!!!

HI everyone from Athens! We are sitting in a teeny internet cafe; Bobby currently has his head down resting on his arms and will probably take a small nap whilst I write this. Our flights over here went very well; there was a slight panic when we got onto Alitalia and we thought we were not going to have any movies, but thankfully this was not the case. Transferring from Rome to Athens proved to be quite a hassle; two security points where there really did not seem to be a line for 500 people as well as passport control. Luckily we got to our gate on time, and I was able to enjoy authentic Italian Gelato...mmmmm.

We are staying in the Amazon Hotel in Plaka, the ancient part of Athens. We are right on the foothill of the Acropolis, the perfect location! We are surrounded by small, quaint streets with heaps of stores, cafes, and restaurants. Right after we got to our hotel we ventured out and ate delicious gyros with tzatsiki sauce. Most people seem to speak english and are very nice helping us when we get lost (which has happened twice in the two days...whoops). We went to bed super early so we'd be energized for our 8am full day tour with GEORGE!

Our tour the second day was awesome. We started out with brekkie at the hotel and then headed over to the highest point in Athens, where George told us all about Greek ancient history, the Acropolis, and the other ancient sites in the city. It was absolutely gorgeous up there! We then proceeded to the Acropolis, where we spent almost two hours exploring the ruins. The Acropolis was unbelievable, but really crowded. The city also has many wild dogs running around, and they are also in all the ancient sites sleeping and hanging around. But these dogs are FAT! All the restaurants feed them, and they truly are living the life. It was hilarious watching these dogs walk across the sites, where no humans are allowed to wander.
After the Acropolis we headed along the coast to see the Temple of Poseidon. We ate at a cute taverna along the way, and enjoyed the hour scenic drive along the beautiful coast. The temple was also beautiful, and much less crowded since it seems to be out of the way. It is on a big hill overlooking the water, and is very intact. There were also a bunch of cool partridges running around with babies (obviously I enjoyed this much more than Bobby).
After getting back to Athens we visited other ruins in Plaka including the Agora and the Temple of Hephaestus. We finished our day at another tavern close to hotel, and two bottles of white wine...perfecto!
This city is absolutely amazing; it is the perfect mix of modern and ancient, the old and the new. We are relaxing more today after all the walking yesterday, and just enjoying being here. Tomorrow we leave by ferry to the beautiful island of Mykonos, woohoo!
Oh, and apparently there is a public transportation strike today. lame!
TTFN!
Love Sam (and Bobby)