Day 8: All roads come from Athens

Last night's blog post had a fairly unoriginal title, but in retrospect, I am glad I chose such a simple message.  It was a travel day and we were headed to Athens...and so, All roads lead to Athens.

Tonight's title is equally unoriginal, but comes from a more retrospective thought.  As we woke for breakfast and gathered our things for a day in one of the world's oldest cities, I couldn't help but think of how much influence Greece and Athens has been on our nation.  As we boarded our bus, it furthermore dawned on me that today would be our last night at a hotel....our last night in Greece.

We will wake tomorrow morning and finish our packing.  We will board the bus and head to the cruise terminal.  We will board the boat.  Our adventure will continue for three more days and we will see more of Greece, but ultimately, we will wake on Monday morning and be at sea.  We will make port, board a bus, and head to the airport.  Today is our last full day in Greece.  We are taking a cruise that symbolizes our return to home and our return to normalcy.

Greece's influence on us is prevalent in so much of our society.  Many of our words are Greek in origin.  Many of our political systems are Greek by birth. Many of our customs, folktales, and stories are born from Greek thought, ideology, and practice.  I feel as though this trip was full of these influences, even in Italy, and I will be trying to incorporate some of these thoughts as I provide a recap of our day.  I hope you don't mind my indulgences into philosophy.  I also hope, by the end of this post, that you have a better understanding of what I mean.

Our tour, today, started on our bus with a tour guide names Georgia.  Our bus was filled to the max and I had to sit in the very front with her, and so, I had a much different perspective on what we saw.  Georgia was friendly and personable.  She was with us for the entire morning and eventually led us to the Acropolis.

Our first stop, where we could get out and take some photos was the Olympic stadium.  It is at this place that the first "marathoner" reached his capital city to announce "Nike" or victory to the Athenians.  This city is known by its marathon.  The culmination of hard work and perseverance.  Their marathon is in November and it is marked by its hills.  I am sure that many runners find them to be heartbreaking.

Ms. Alongi's shoe...she doesn't know I took this photo, lol

It was also at this stadium that the Olympic torch was lit yesterday.  It will be lit each day in the customary fashion until it reaches Brazil this summer.  This city, of the ancient Olympic games, enters our houses every two years when we watch the winter and summer games.  Our sports come from Athens.

I think this is most of the group in front of the stadium. 

Checking out my selfie-stick with Nick and Darian...Mrs. Morando snuck in too.

From the stadium you could see the Acropolis.  

Another selfie-stick experiment.  You can see how confused I am by this technology in my face, lol.

Patrick, Kerri, and I.  I love the lighting and the Greek flags waving in the background.

We boarded on our bus and continued our tour.  We passed by the parliament building.  In our word, the parliament building is the Congress and it is made of the House of Representatives and the Senate...no doubt because of the Roman influence.  In Athens, the Parliament building also houses a tomb to an unknown soldier...and a changing of the guard ceremony.  I didn't see the changing of the guards, but we did see an exercise in which the guards stretch their legs.

Their Parliament from the bus...sorry for the glare.

A ceremonial guard at his post.

The unique movements by the guards helps keep them fresh for their one hour duty station.

The visit here was really cool.  We didn't expect it.  In addition, their uniforms are really unique.  It got me thinking about past travels.  As a high school teacher, I am fortunate to be able to attend the 8th grade trip to DC every once in a while.  I am slated to go this year, too.  I blog on those trips and I am always impressed with our changing of the guard at the Arlington National Cemetery.  While I'm sure the Greek ceremony is much different, seeing these guys "stretching their legs" with such pomp and circumstance, reminded me of those moments with kids who I didn't know...but who might actually be at the Hotel Savoy with me now.  I don't think that Greece invented this practice, but it definitely reminded me that I'd be headed home soon.

The next few places are a little lost to me now. I know that Georgia explained what these buildings were, but I don't remember all of the details....we just saw too much and I don't take notes while touring.  I do remember that she taught the kids how to tell the different styles of columns that are prevalent in classical architecture.

The two columns flanking this building are built in the Corinthian style.  They are the most elaborate.  The statues are of Athena and Apollo, I believe.

Ionic columns are the style of choice for this building, an Art museum, I believe.  The simple curve at the top is the showcase of this style.

The oldest style, shown here on the library, I think, is the Doric column.  Simple but effective.

These three buildings also reminded me of home, but here, there is a direct influence.  A quick visit to this website will show that the neo-classical approach to buildings is alive and well in Washington DC.  I vaguely remember chatting with some 8th graders about column style and name on previous trips.  The buildings of ancient Greece employing these columns are from 500 BCE.  The capital buildings are not that old, lol.  Seeing these old ones, made me think of the new ones. I hope the visit resonated with the kids too.  I know most of them have been to DC (with the Middle School, another school, or on a family trip).  We need to see the world to understand who we are and how we got there.  It is the very embodiment of the travel philosophy I've adopted, "One Must Travel To Learn."

It was strange for me to be having these thoughts at that moment.  Tucked into the same square, we saw two statues.  The men are familiar to you all, they are among the greatest thinkers in all of history.  On the left, I believe is Socrates...and across from him, Plato.  Philosophy starts from within, but some of the first to reason, from a different view than religion, were these men.  Their thoughts have been influencing ours from the times they roamed these streets until we roamed these streets, and their thoughts will continue influencing people long after Eurotrip16 has completed.  As philosophers, however, these statues carry meaning, but they weren't just amazing thinkers.  As the simplest explanation, the man on the left is a teacher.  To the right, a student.  They represent the things that are possible when teachers and students explore their world together. 

Socrates and Plato

Our bus tour came to an end and we took off on foot.  Our next stop was the ancient acropolis.  I've mentioned before that I am more than a little afraid of heights, but I have another common fear...that of large crowds.  As we got off the bus and headed to the Acropolis.  I recognized that my two fears were about to collide.  The Acropolis sits on the highest point in Athens.  To get to it, one would have walked through the ancient Agora, or marketplace.  As we left the safety of the bus behind us [Side note: I'll probably be embellishing a bit from here on out...no one was in danger] and headed up the hill.  There were hundreds of other groups on site with us.  Little Greek kids, Japanese tourists, passengers of mixed heritage from ample cruise ships, and thousands more...all piling up on a little path towards a giant hill.  As we marched like ants up the winding path, I couldn't help but remember that the name for being afraid of crowds is Agoraphobia...fear of the marketplace.  As we reached higher and higher elevations, I couldn't help but remember that the name for being afraid of heights is Acrophobia....fear of the Acropolis?

As with most vertical challenges I face, I grin and bear it.  As with most crowded situations, I put one foot in front of the other and move forward. The Acropolis was no different and my discomfort shortly subsided to awe when I reached the tops.  I've reminded parents to check out their kids pictures many times on this trip...and this is no exception.  Here are some that I took along the way:

It's spring.  New olives are growing. 

Ms. Alongi getting the perfect panoramic pic.

Like Pompeii, an ancient theater revamped and ready for new performances.

Georgia chatting with us about what we are seeing and we were headed

The long and winded path filled with other Eurotrippers hoping not to trip.

The Parthenon.  

Even the Conga line started in Ancient Greece.

Mr. Bemis proudly representing his Pittsburg Steelers...even though their last season was ruined, much like these buildings

Lexi and I...traveling from DC, to Normandy, to Baltimore, and Greece.  

Nice photobomb Dalia!!!

After the tour, we made our way down into the city.  We broke off for lunch and for shopping.  As we walked through the markets looking at all of the trinkets and t-shirts, I kept on bumping into kids. I usually ask them if they are having a good time, but it was clear that they were.  Their smiles were radiant.  We've been so very fortunate to have this group of kids on this tour.  They are bonded together and lent a helping hand whenever needed, mostly without prompting.  One of my first posts reminded how good it was to be a Sachem...and today, it was a good day.

After lunch, we went to the Archaeology museum. Pictures weren't allowed in most places, but it was pretty cool to walk through the place, built above a recently discovered part of the Ancient city.  The floors are glass and you can see the dig site developing.  History is all around this city.  Wherever you walk and even some places you can't.  I was reminded again of Boston, home...and that walkability of that city.  I take kids to the Freedom Trail every year (mostly) and I try to remind them that history is everywhere.  As we walked the trail, I show them local connections to Saugus and I try to emphasize how old everything is.  The stuff we are looking at in Athens is 2000 years older than the oldest things we see in Boston.  It is baffling even to me.  The time is not truly comprehensible.

Here, at the Hotel Savoy, the time is comprehensible.  It is just about 1 am.  The hotel lays in a city called Pireas.  It is about 8-10 miles away from Athens, but with traffic it can take about an hour to travel.  It has a large commercial section and a small seafront.  We arrived from the city and had dinner about 7:30.  I don't have pictures, but I don't think you are missing anything.  Don't get me wrong, it was a fine meal, but it wasn't spectacular.  Some of the chaperons and kids took a little excursion to the port.  While there, they stopped at a little restaurant and rearranged the tables.  Roughly 16 of them sat, chatted, and ate.  They remembered their favorite places on this trip and they shared some laughs.  The commonality among them is that they are all Saugonians...which makes them, kind of like, family.

This tour is wrapping up and we will soon be headed home, to our real families.  We will sit, and eat, and share our favorite memories.  We will tell tales of faraway places and mystical islands.  We will chat about signs in foreign tongues and confusing conversions of currencies.  We will discuss how this trip changed our outlook on life and ourselves.  We will recognize how much we appreciate the comforts of home.  We will be glad to be home...but, from a different viewpoint, we will also realize that while the language and money are different, this place is much more like home than we have ever thought.  We will realize that even though some parts were strange, or even uncomfortable, we will long to come back...come back to where it all started.  All roads come from Athens.


Mr. Lavoie, half expecting the desk clerk to ask me to go to my room...at least he hasn't asked me to turn off the lights for him.