Athens (Piraeus), Greece

Wednesday March 30

There are many cruise ships docked in Piraeus (Pie-Ray-us).  Makes for lots of people everywhere.  First, our tour took us for a drive through the port city of Piraeus where we saw the small harbour of Zea (Zee-ah) whose 5th Century BC docks still survive.

We decided a 5 hour tour which goes to the Acropolis and the Parthenon would help us personally experience the Acropolis and its ruins.  It was crazy busy here.  Apparently there is an average of 5,000 visitors each day.  Most of these visits occur in the cooler morning hours.  We also had a little free time to shop in old downtown Athens.  Bob managed to find a few caches.  We also stopped at the Panathenaic Stadium, the venue where the first Olympic Games of the modern era took place in 1896.  It was also a great spot to see the Parthenon in the distance atop the Acropolis.  At the Tomb of the Unknown soldier, we momentarily saw the Presidential Guard, known as the Evzones, in their distinctive dress uniform of cotton kilts and pompons.  They move as if in slow motion.  

Tonight we witnessed our first Sammenkomst (a Norwegian gathering).  Our Norwegian Captain, General Manager and Cruise Director made a mad dash from deck 8 to deck 3 to see how many hands they could shake along the way.  Wine and canapés were served.  Crazy party in the hallway!  Great way to meet our neighbours.