This trip was a great time to reconnect with old friends from Florida.   After leaving Rhodes they flew back to Athens and spent a few days there exploring.  "Athínai", is the capital of Greece, east central Greece is located on the plain of Attica, between the Kifisós and Ilissus rivers, near the Saronic Gulf. Mt. Aigáleos (1,534 ft/468 m), Mt. Parnis (4,633 ft/1,412 m), Mt. Pendelikón (3,638 ft/1,109 m), and Mt. Hymettus (3,370 ft/1,027 m) rise in a semicircle around the city. The capital of Attica prefecture, Athens is Greece's largest city and its administrative, economic, and cultural center.

 Bob is now walking towards the Acropolis (the site where ancient Greeks lived on it because of it's superb natural defense) but first passed by Hadrian's Arch and then paused for a picture in front of the Parthenon (after first dropping someone's camera on the rocks on the way up).  He should have paused longer at Zeus' Temple to admire the view...

The site of the current Olympic Stadium (last used in the 2004) Olympics.  The Acropolis and the Parthenon (dedicated to the Athena Parthenos (the virgin) patron goddess of Athens) were amazing to see in real life.

 The view from the Belvedere on the Acropolis over the plain of Attica and the city of Athens was spectacular. The Erechtheion is located on the north of the hill of the Acropolis. It is an elaborate building in the Ionic style, constructed between 421 and 405 BC.  Here is the famous porch of the Caryatids on the south. The main temple was divided into two sections, dedicated to the worship of the two principal gods of Attica, Athena and Poseidon-Erechtheus.  The Odeum of Herodes Atticus is familiar to "Yanni" fans as the site of his live concert a few years ago.

    Below the Acropolis is the Odeum of Herodes Atticus built by the Romans in 161 AD and  still used today for classical concerts, ballet, and performances of high cultural value.  Further on is the Theater of Dionysious the first stone theater and home to Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides and Aristophanes.  Another view of the Parthenon and its continuing restoration.