5:15am: taxi to fumicino airport.

7:45am: flight to greece.

10:45am: flight arrives in athens, greece.

fact:

Athens, the capital of Greece, holds the distinction of being one of the oldest cities of the world. Apart from being the economic, financial, industrial, political and cultural center of Greece, the city is also rapidly becoming a leading business centre in the European Union. The rich heritage and cultural legacy of Athens, evident in the form of its ancient monuments and works of art, is what drives tourists to the city. Here, you will find a beautiful amalgam of various architectural styles, ranging from Greco-Roman and Neo-Classical to Contemporary. In case you want to explore more about the city, make use of the information given below.

:along with being the capital of Greece, Athens is also the capital of the Attica Periphery and the Athens Prefecture.

:Athens is the largest city of Greece, apart from being one of the oldest cities of the world.

:the Athens Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) is said to be the 8th most populated LUZ in the European Union.

:the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, in the year 1896. In 2004, Athens again played host to Olympic Games.

:Athens became the first Cultural Capital of Europe in 1985.

:the evidence of the first settlement around the Acropolis dates back to 3000 BC.

:Athens is widely referred to as the ‘Cradle of Western civilization’ and the ‘Birthplace of Democracy’.

:being continuously inhabited for at least 3,000 years, Athens boasts of being one of the cities with the longest history in the world.

:Athens became the leading city of the ancient Greece, in the first millennium BC.

:it was in 1834 that Athens succeeded Nafplion, the city that was provisional capital during the Greek War of Independence ending in 1832, as the capital of Greece.

:the Greater Athens area stands divided into 55 municipalities, the largest being the Municipality of Athens or Dimos Athinaion.

:Athens is one of the world's main centres of archaeological research.

:Omonia Square is the oldest square in Athens.

:Syntagma Square, adjacent to Parliament and a number of significant hotels, is the central square of Athens.

:Athens was the birthplace of many prominent philosophers, writers and politicians of the ancient world, including Socrates, Pericles & Sophocles.

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{i've never fully immersed myself in a country's culture like i did this past weekend. five of us traveled to athens, greece and loved every minute of it. we stayed at backpackers studio apartments only a short 3 minute walk from the historical acropolis. the acropolis of athens or titadel of athens is the best known acropolis in the world. the acropolis is a flat-topped rock that rises 490 ft above sea level in the city of Athens, with a surface area of about 3 hectares. it was also known as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Cecrops, the first Athenian king. 

the first thing on our minds to do when we got to athens was to have lunch. we met a girl from New Zealand who decided to backpack through Europe on her own for a few months and meet people as she went. lucky girl, she ran into the five of us and spent her first hours in athens tagging along with us (and then there were six). we all had an amazing, healthy, no pasta/pizza, lunch at:

LuLin (I think), Brittany, and I at Lunch

Street Band at Lunch

Greek Salad (my favorite)

{after lunch we walked around the many streets situated around the acropolis. one thing i'll know i'll miss once i return to the states is the small alley's with ma and pop shops and little family owned cafes and restaurants. }

Athens, Greece Alley

{after having to design and build my own lighting fixture last spring in peek's studio, stumbling upon these homemade, leather and various material, light fixtures was amazing. very 'jamie krywicki'!}

{when in greece, we thought we had to absolutely see the gorgeous beaches, adorned with those beautiful white and blue houses build up the mountain sides (mama mia style)...well, athens isn't where you go to see the beautiful or anything beautiful except for the ancient ruins, but that's okay, honeymoon possibility: the greek islands.}

at the beach: olympic monument

{after the beach and a great hour nap, we hit a wall: rain, a down pour, but it turned out for the best. [life motto: everything happens for a reason] we went to one of the first places we saw for dinner: 

it was like going to dinner straight out of My Big Fat Greek Wedding...i think an entire family was having dinner together at Plakiotissa and we were placed alone upstairs to wine and dine our american selves with authentic greek dishes. our entertainment: traditional greek dancing and music!}

Baklava: Greek Dessert

Ouzo: Greek Liquor: deadly

Traditional Greek Dance: Opa!

Live Band

{saturday we woke up early, had free breakfast (thanks backpackers) and began our site seeing. starting with the acropolis, theather of dionysos, temple of zeus, greek gardens, and eventually ending that night at the temple of argon:}

Parthenon: me

Alex and I: on our way up the acropolis

Theater of Dionysos

Propyla

Temple of Athena

Temple of Zeus

Lettering: i love this!

Statue in the Gardens

{after site seeing, cappucino, lunch, and shopping; we went to a 2nd authentic greek dinner. the name who knows, the food was great of course. free wine. free dessert, free ouzo. free water. that was our bribe to go to this restaurant instead of the one next door. literaly every place is owned by the same family. they compete with each other to have people sit in their place instead of the brothers, cousins, or fathers. we asked for tomato sauce for the calamari...ketchup came first then a tomato soup...from next door. after a few bottles of wine and ouzo it was about time to check out what else athens had to offer.}

{we checked out the local 'bar' scene, but ended up in a high class area below the acropolis at a local restaurant, once again. free wine once again, greek dancing, and some crazy entertainment.}

Traditional Greek Dancing

Crazy Entertainment:
where this guy came from?
no idea, hilarious. 

11:45: flight departs for italy.

1:45am: flight arrives in rome, italy.

references:

http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/facts-about-athens-1904.html