On our final day in this bustling city, we caught the changing of the guard at the Parliament building and enjoyed a stroll through the National Garden to the Temple of Zeus. The huge temple now has only fifteen columns that remain in place, but they convey a sense of how incredibly impressive the Temple must have been.
We spent the afternoon strolling and shopping, enjoying an espresso and absorbing the ambiance of the city. While we did not visit the National Archeological Museum on this occasion, I highly recommend the museum for its expansive collection of Greek antiquities, including the impossibly moving bronze statute, the Jockey of Artemision.
Our final evening was spent enjoying a cocktail (okay, three) with friends, then proceeding to dinner in the Grande Bretagne's excellent restaurant and its view, of course, of the Acropolis. Our table enjoyed seafood and lamb and each dish was expertly prepared. The lamb took top honors.
We packed reluctantly, not anxious to bring such an incredible trip to an end. However, travelling with friends, old and new, affords us the opportunity to meet and revel once more in our adventures. To recall evenings of sea bream and sardines, of laughter and wine and ouzo and raki. Oh, and vodka, always vodka. May we sail together again, my friends, and never forget the days when we made the lovely country of Greece our own.
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