Olliver Wood

After touching down in Athens, we boarded a bus to go to Syntagma Square. It was a real shock to the system feeling the 35 degree heat that was probably going to be standard throughout the whole trip. We saw the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in Syntagma Square, which was a rather unusual ritual of guards marching and tapping their pom pom topped shoes. The next day the temperature climbed to 38 degrees, and this meant we were all drenched in sweat from the moment we stepped out of the air conditioned hotel. We visited the National Archaeological Museum, where there were some amazing statues, then the Acropolis, where the Temple of Athena had once stood, and even from the ruined building you could get a sense of just how amazing it must have been when it was once intact, over 2000 years ago. We also visited the New Acropolis museum, which displayed statues and friezes from the Acropolis, most of these being replicas, as most had been stolen long ago, and are now displayed in galleries such as the Louvre, although there was the odd original piece mixed in.
The following day, we boarded a coach headed to Delphi to see the ancient ruins, which included the Temple Apollo, and a gymnasion or exercise area. Apparently the gods did not approve of our visit, and the heavens opened. We just managed to run for shelter under some cafe umbrellas.
Overall my time in Athens had been incredibly enjoyable, although for the rest of the trip, I'm sure that everyone on the tour would appreciate the temperature to drop at least a little bit.