On top of the world (well, Athens)…

Today we hit perhaps the most iconic symbol of modern day Athens – and ancient Greece. The Acropolis. Wow! But more of that in a moment…

We had a lie-in this morning, and we’d like to say that the children looked refreshed, but the long sleep left them looking even more disheveled than they did last night before retiring! We did have our own bit of drama last night – poor Iman took a tumble on the boat and twisted her ankle. With a swelling the size of an egg, she got an extra bit of sightseeing with a visit to a very efficient Greek hospital. Fortunately, nothing was broken (despite the reports we’ve heard back from Saudi!) although she does have a cast on and is using crutches to assist her!

Talking of eggs, great achievement this morning. Amr was a little perplexed as to how to eat a hard boiled egg – he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it! He did say he wanted one like Mr Suter’s, but he was actually eating a fried egg at the time. Watch out for more cookery lessons on our curriculum!

And so to the Acropolis. As soon as we sighted it, cameras were clicking away, although wallets were also taking a hit as the first path side vendors selling some kind of toy also proved a great attraction. We were slightly worried that Iman might not be able to make it to the top, but had a practical solution – Mr Gikas and Mr Suter took turns to carry her, piggy back style, up to the top. And to think that if Iman had taken a donkey ride on the islands yesterday she would have had to pay €10.

Our guide Rebecca explained all about the Acropolis, and all the surrounding ancient monuments we could see. The children proved eager to capture all on film – one particular hole in the rock held great attraction, until Mr Gikas explained that it was an extremely recent one and probably the product of renovation work!

But it is stunning on the top. The views themselves are breathtaking – you could almost take yourself back in time and imagine the horror the Athenians felt as they saw the Persian fleet in the distance on the blue sea. Old and new buildings merge with stunning effect and you peer down over the Athenian rooftops. The photos don’t do it justice, but you’ll get something of an idea of what it’s like.

From there we visited the new Parthenon Museum, where the original remains of the porticoes and frescoes are displayed. Mr Suter felt somewhat under pressure with all the references to the Elgin Marbles being held in the British Museum in London and not returned – Max wanted to know why didn’t we organize a trip to London for our ancient Greek history so we could see more of them! The joy of this museum is that all the artifacts are not hidden behind glass, but are out of display – but with a plethora of accompanying security staff. “Don’t touch” seemed to be a phrase that our students didn’t really grasp – we certainly attracted a lot of nervous attention from them.

From there, we returned via the Olympic stadium – Mazyad wanted to know why we couldn’t go in and try to whisper up to the audience, but was soon put right that we’ll be able to do that at Epidauros in the theatre there – he was a day or two too soon! A rooftop lunch looking out over the city followed – we’ve been blessed with the weather again and once more the sun has been shining high!

We move on tomorrow, but are out for a Greek folk night tonight. The girls are putting on all their finery – the boys are claiming that spraying themselves with smell wells will have just as good effect as showering and putting on clean clothes! Your laundry bills won’t be too high this month when they return! More anon when we get to Tolon!

Antio yah tora!