Mia's 5th grade teacher Mr. Brown would be proud! As we wandered around Greece, Mia would give us tidbits of Greek god information, which is what they learned in Mr. Brown's class.
Our stay in Athens was questionable, and our first night walking back from the grocery store we saw a guy lighting up a crack-pipe. Yikes. We also saw discarded needles on the ground as we walked through the city, which isn't unlike SF. As you would expect from a large city, it was loud and bustling. Luckily, we felt safe in our place and during the day, and we didn't wander at night.
We thought the ruins would be more preserved and interesting, but the presentation lacked depth. For example, there were broken chunks of columns randomly stacked, sparse signage of the history, and a thin rope blocking off sections. Coming from Rome, we'd just seen many ruins, so maybe we were also "ruined" out. We walked through the Plaka area, which was the oldest and prettiest neighborhood in Athens. If we'd stayed there, we might have had a different overall impression of Athens. The Acropolis was definitely a must see, and the highlight of the visit. To observe the architecture of the time is mind boggling.
Then we took a ferry to Hydra to get a feel of Greek Island life, and we're glad we did. Although it was cold and windy, we stayed at Hydra Hospitality Port Apartment which was classically Greek. It was white, of course, and cavelike but modern while maintaining its history. We loved it. There's no cars allowed on the island and many, many cats. We could have easily stayed much longer.
After Hydra, we spend one more night in the town of Artemida, an eastern suburb of Athens, which was close to the airport. We walked along the beach, had delicious veggie burgers at Artemidas Bistro, and saw the statue of Artemis. It was a lovely stay to the end of our Greece trip.
More pics here.

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