Day 13: Day of Blood of Olympus and Weird Gift Shops

Second and sadly last day in Athens Greece. So we decided to make the most of it and did a lot today.

First we went to the Temple of Zeus, the Acropolis and Athena Parthenon. Dream come true! When I was walking up to the Acropolis, I couldn’t stop thinking about Percy Jackson: Blood of Olympus; where they woke Gaea in the Acropolis and returned the Athena Parthenon to Camp Half-Blood. I know, I’m such a nerd, but Percy Jackson nerds are the best kind. Anyway, we finally got up there and it was super crowded and sadly we couldn’t actually enter the Athena Parthenon, because it was under construction and stuff. Although I think even if it wasn’t under construction, we would wouldn’t be allowed in. So sad. After we saw the awesome view and walked around a little, we started heading down but were blocked off by a dude aggressively blowing a whistle and yelling. At first Dad and I thought he was some crazy loud tour guide (like if Sydney was a tour guide), but saw he was actually clearing a path for some fancy, old timing dressed soldiers that were walking down the hill too. Once all the soldiers were down and in their bus, we walked down to go to the Temple of Hephaestus. It was a bit of a walk, but we had google maps and nice weather so it worked out okay.

The temple was in pretty good condition. Honestly the signs weren’t too clear, so the place we were, we think is the temple and google maps wasn’t too clear if that was it or not; we just said it was and took some photos and enjoyed the weather and view. It was in a lot better shape than any of the other temples and stuff that we went to. This one had a ceiling and walls and everything. It actually looked like it used to be a building people could enter. Mind blowing. Although, we actually weren’t allowed to enter when visiting.

After the maybe Temple of Hephaestus, we walked down to go souvenir shopping. If I’m in Athens, Greece I am getting as many souvenirs as possible. We went to a really fancy part of town that is a street full of souvenir/tourists shops. So, we were strolling down the street window shopping, just chillin, and then we pass this shop with these weird looking things on a spinny rack thing shops usually have for jewelry. I can’t tell what it is so I go up for a closer look. At first I have a suspicion of what it is but I’m thinking “they would never sell something like this in public.” Welp they do. I am not allowed to actually say what it is on the blog so I’ll give a hint. If you’ve watched Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and have a good memory you will definitely understand the clue. Clue: doinker. Anyway, after that weird thing, we went to a really nice shop and I bought some presents for my close friends, which I hope they like, and I got a super snazzy T-shirt. I was pretty satisfied with my purchases. I know Sydney is thinking “she went shopping voluntarily without me?!” Yes, Sydney, I did because I’m in Greece!

Once we finished shopping and had a decent lunch, we went on a tram to another beach. Dad was super excited for the tram; he fell asleep 10 minutes in. When we arrived at the beach, I was totally pumped to hang out after experiencing the fancy private beach. Unfortunate let down when we arrived. Expected since it was a public beach, first world problems; “ugh this public beach is so not as nice as the private one, where is my coconut drink!” Anyway, we stuck our feet in the freezing cold water and then went to sit in the shade and relax while we waited for the tram back.

On our way back we decided to make one more stop at the Central Market. Took a bit of time to walk there, but when we finally arrived, we walked through this hall which we quickly realized was the meat section. Luckily, this part was not fully set up, so I only had to worry about the smell and not avoiding the bloody meat. We walked around for a little and were amazed by the many different types of olives and their prices. Once we walked in circles a few times, Dad decided to walk down another hall that to me was clearly the meat hall, but to he was convinced that these halls inside this warehouse weren’t all meat. He was wrong. This time though everyone was set up and ready to pester customers. I, being smart, breathed through my mouth and stared at the ground. I refused to look at the swinging animal organs and intestines. Unfortunately, the floor was slipper and also had bloody animal parts laying on the edges of the road as well as blood covering parts of the floor. I almost threw up, again. Overall not a fun experience. We walked around a little more to enjoy the beautiful Greek weather, and so I was sure I wasn’t gonna throw up in the taxi. Once I didn’t throw up, we took a taxi back to the hotel so we could take a van to the airport. Our next destination is Morocco. I’m going to Africa baby!!! I like to move it move it ( Madagascar movies). Sutton if I see a king Julian I’ll take a picture! And Sydney I’ll look for a hippo. Maybe it’ll be Gloria’s sister or brother. I’m so excited! I’ve never been to Africa.



Acropolis



Olives



Temple of Zeus



Sea




Acropolis









Market Hoarder