Hey, it's Bullet Sunday from sunny and beautiful Greece today!
• Cotters... Dustin over at Cotters in my Tummy has put down his tater tots long enough to finally add me to his blogroll. I guess I can stop regretting that I didn't kick him out onto the street during TequilaCon now.
• Review... Last week, Avitable selected me as one of the blogs appearing in his first ever Week In Review. Even more exciting than this honor was that he drew up his very own rendition of a DaveToon for the occasion...
The real reason that I traveled to Greece this week was that I was trying to make some kind of grand gesture that would assure me of another appearance in his "Week In Review II" today. Apparently traveling half-way around the world just isn't good enough, so now I'm open to suggestions as to what I should do this week that would guarantee me an appearance in "Week in Review III" next Sunday.
• Acropolis... Hoping to beat both the crowds and the heat, I decided to wake early and visit The Acropolis right as it opened up. Along with The Great Wall of China and the Pyramids of Egypt, this is one of those places that I've dreamed of visiting for as far back as I remember. It did not disappoint, even though it was partially obstructed in scaffolding...
So much of the finer details have been destroyed or taken, but the maiden statues on the Porch of the Caryatids are still there...
One of the nice things about showing up early was being treated to a procession of guardsmen marching through the Acropolis, their uniforms beautifully appointed. These are the same guards who stand watch at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 24-7 at the Parliament Building that I saw yesterday...
• Architectural... One of the treasures of Athens is their Architectural Museum, which is a bit out of the way but well worth the trip. Most of the statues have significant damage to them (I lost count of the number of poor statue dudes missing their penis), but on occasion there's a piece that's miraculously intact... no missing noses or anything, which is quite remarkable to see...
• Poseidon... The weather was simply too beautiful to stick around the city all day, so I paid a taxi driver to run down the coast to the south-most point of the Athenian peninsula, which is where the Temple of Poseidon resides...
After an hour-and-a-half of beautiful scenery, you arrive at an outcropping overlooking the Mediterranean where the temple was built for the god of the seas. It's survived a little better than most, but is still only a shadow of what it once was...
If only there was a way to travel back in time and see these magnificent structures when they were new.
And so ends my last day in Athens and another installment of Bullet Sunday.
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While it’s not my cuppa, the photos are awesome. And I responded to you in my comments. To get into Week in Review III, all you have to do is ass to mouth.
Remember how one of the Popes had all the penises removed from the statues in Italy? Or the Vatican? I can’t remember. Now it’s considered a travesty that that was done but back then they considered it obscene. I wonder if the same thing held true for Greece.
Either that or someone has a very nice stone penis collection. Besides me.
The thing I like reading most about your trips Dave is the appreciation you show other cultures. You make an effort to see the beauty surrounding you, rather than a lot of tourists who like to compare their cultures and countries. Like you, more people should embrace the differences that make people unique.
Now there is some serious history. Serious age old shit.
Oooh, where are you headed now? I guess we shall just have to see.
Listen, you know I love you but… you are the ONLY person I know that can be all the way in Greece and STILL have people clamoring over you! It’s like you have some sort of freaky super power of coolness or something ;).
We were in Athens exactly ten years ago, the end destination of a wonderful cruise. Hired a guy with a Mercedes who took us to many sights, and he drove us right up to the Acropolis. Generally we are not much into museums but the National Archaeological Museum is stunning given the three thousand year old artifacts, statues, and gold. It has the Golden mask of Agamemnon.
Enjoy yourself Dave and appreciate the pics and commentary.
Why you lucky dog you. Beautiful weather and neat sights.
I hope you’re planning a visit to Santorini. The ruins there were one of the most amazing things that I’ve ever seen. To see that in 1600 BC there were town squares, houses with levels, pipes with running water is beyond amazing!
Enjoy your trip. Greece is out of this world!
So long as you’re in Greece I think you should head to Thermopylae and hold off an invading army. That should pretty much guarantee you getting into ‘Week in Review III’. Especially if you do so wearing only red briefs and a cape.
Those photos are amazing. It just blows my mind that those structures are still there.
For what it’s worth, I have you on my Blogroll page under “The Gentlemen” 🙂
Such gorgeous things to see! The acropolis is absolutely on my list of places to go before I die… I’m glad to hear that it’s worth it!
That soldier third from the end at the front of the line… is that a Bad Monkey shirt??
You travel to some very cool places and those are great pictures. What a wonderful blue sky day you had.
Beautiful pictures! Oh yeah and the ones of Greece, too. I LOL’d at Avi’s drawing. He’s so cute.
Avitable… I’ll work on that. 🙂
Suzy… Yes, it does beg the question as to what happened to all those penises. One day somebody is going to be digging a hole for a tree and run across a statue-penis graveyard.
Jacki… It’s the only reason to travel, really. If people go abroad expecting everything to be exactly like it is back home and are disappointed when it’s not… then they should do the world a favor and just stay home and go to Disneyland or something. 🙂
Lewis… Indeed. It boggles the mind how such things were even created. What’s even more curious… why aren’t things made like this today?
Hilly… Yes, that’s it… freaky power of coolness. A pity that I choose to use my power for evil instead of good!
Bogup… I plan on enjoying myself… it’s hard not to when you see stuff like this. 🙂
James… The weather has never really been a factor in enjoying myself unless I’m going to a beach or something. I don’t mind the rain, because it’s just another experience to enjoy. It always amazes me how people can be standing in front of a work of art or a world landmark and not be happy because it’s raining. 🙂
Stephanie… It is another world… and one I am loving every minute exploring!
Iron Fist… Well, I’ve been wearing red leather shorts and a cape since I got here, so we’ll see how it goes…
Elizabeth… Gentlemen, eh? Well, I’m not sure I qualify, but it’s flattering nevertheless! 🙂
Bre… It really is. It’s made even better if you’ve got a book on the area as you are walking it. The history is pretty incredible.
RW… Yes, I tossed it to him as he marched by, saw my Bad Monkey shirt and said “ωραίος ποκάμισο!” which I think means “nice shirt!”
Yellojkt… Once you get out of the Athens smog, it’s quite nice!
Kentucky Girl… Yeah, Avitable is downright adorable! 🙂
two words: insanely cool.
Breathtaking as always.
And I believe the proper response to Avitable (thanks Kevin Smith) is that sometimes in the heat of the moment it’s forgivable to go ass to mouth.
Awesome, Dave!
Very cool. It’s starting to look like those 18 hours of madness really paid off. Thanks for the vicarious travel.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I am green with envy. I think the reason all the statues are missing noses and penisessesesee, penii? whatever, was due to invaders who “cut off” the nose or the wedding tackle as an insult, I’m googling to see if I remember anything from my educational semester in Europe besides lots of drinking and crazy discos….well, my googling didn’t turn much up, mostly because I started reading about souvlaki, got hungry and went out for a gyro, which is sorta close…
A few members of my group decided that it was necessary to step past the “do not pass” rope at the Temple of Poseiden and went on to a little ledge. I think they were trying to see how far down the fall would be if they slipped off the ledge.