Our last day in Athens, we visited the Central Market and the National Archeological Museum. The Central Market sold both wholesale and retail. There were 3 blocks occupied just by butchers. I couldn't get anyone to check that out. There was a place selling boxes of sunglasses. I'm pretty sure you could get a box of Ray Ban knockoffs for the price of a pair in the Plaka.
The archeological museum was interesting, lots of stone and bronze. I especially liked the bronze work. We saw the Antikythera mechanism, the earliest known computer thought to be an astronomical device. We also learned a great deal from the Egyptian exhibit. While in Egypt, we relied on guides, books and the internet; the exhibits were not well documented. I've come to the conclusion that all you really need to do is visit the British Museum to see the world's greatest antiquities. Everywhere we go, replicas are displayed with a note that the original is in the British Museum. We'll see in July.
In the evening, Jack and I caught subways to go see Avengers Age of Ultron, something Jack has been pining to do for the past month and 4 countries. No movies in Athens until after 6 pm. The theater had a full bar and a 15 minute intermission.
The food in Athens was great. Tied for second with Thailand. Istanbul was first.
In Athens we are finally in the Eurozone. No more changing money or dealing with passports for a while.
From what we saw of Greece, the ground is rocky with only a thin veneer of soil. One of our taxi drivers raised grapes, but said he wanted to plant Kalamata olives. Olives require less than one month of work each year and olive oil pays a premium.
An olive stand at the Central Market
A statue of Zeus throwing a lightning bolt (or Poseidon throwing a trident, they're not sure) at the National Archeological Museum
Remnants of the Antikythera mechanism at the National Archeological Museum
The archeological museum was interesting, lots of stone and bronze. I especially liked the bronze work. We saw the Antikythera mechanism, the earliest known computer thought to be an astronomical device. We also learned a great deal from the Egyptian exhibit. While in Egypt, we relied on guides, books and the internet; the exhibits were not well documented. I've come to the conclusion that all you really need to do is visit the British Museum to see the world's greatest antiquities. Everywhere we go, replicas are displayed with a note that the original is in the British Museum. We'll see in July.
In the evening, Jack and I caught subways to go see Avengers Age of Ultron, something Jack has been pining to do for the past month and 4 countries. No movies in Athens until after 6 pm. The theater had a full bar and a 15 minute intermission.
The food in Athens was great. Tied for second with Thailand. Istanbul was first.
In Athens we are finally in the Eurozone. No more changing money or dealing with passports for a while.
From what we saw of Greece, the ground is rocky with only a thin veneer of soil. One of our taxi drivers raised grapes, but said he wanted to plant Kalamata olives. Olives require less than one month of work each year and olive oil pays a premium.
An olive stand at the Central Market
A statue of Zeus throwing a lightning bolt (or Poseidon throwing a trident, they're not sure) at the National Archeological Museum
Remnants of the Antikythera mechanism at the National Archeological Museum
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