101 Things To Do*

* before I die

History and Culture

Visit the Athenian Acropolis

My visit to the Acropolis was in the middle of my Worst 72 Hours - which appears in the Best and Worst section of the Book of Lists.  I arrived in Athens just in time for a strike by all public workers - bus drivers, postal workers, and, yes, even those who operate museums and ancient sites - including, of course, the Acropolis.

However, since I don't read newspapers or watch TV as I travel (and wouldn't have been able to understand a newspaper even if I had seen one), I was clueless.  I walked all the way up the hill, and all around the Acropolis looking for the main entrance (when all the gates are closed, it's not that obvious which one is the main entrance).  I finally asked one of the few passers-by and found out about the strike.  So the above photo is as close as I got to the Acropolis...

Well... not really.  The strike only lasted 24 hours, so I got to pay the exorbitant fee and go inside the next day.  That presented two more problems...  First, all the tourists that didn't get to see it the previous day (like me) were there in droves.  Second, due to major restoration work in-progress, there was scaffolding all around and in the Parthenon, and a rather prominent crane right in the middle of it - making it quite difficult to get any decent photos.  But here are a few of my attempts...