Athens! Starting with the Parthenon 😊

By Martha -


It feels like a good time to resurrect the blog and share some adventures now that we're in Athens. When it comes to Athens, where better to start than with the Acropolis? A couple of weeks after we arrived, I learned that the Acropolis would be open to the public until midnight on the night of the August full moon. I decided that we needed to go! So we headed out in the Volvo (stay tuned for a post dedicated to the Volvo) and got there around 8:30 pm. We walked the path up the hill and found three beautifully lit up white marble buildings with the full moon rising behind them. So gorgeous! However, I soon realized I didn't even know what exactly I was looking at. Humanities emergency! (On a girls trip with my mom and sisters earlier this year, my sister Melba (humanities professor) lamented to my sister Liza (ER doctor) that she doesn't feel quite as useful as Liza since no one ever calls her with a humanities emergency. Well Melba, I feel like I'm living one big humanities emergency and am in desperate need of your help. I'm living in the land of ancient amazingness and don't know what any of it is!) Anyway, right away I googled "what buildings are on the Acropolis?" to figure out what I was looking at and found that, in addition to the Parthenon, there is the Temple of Athena Nike, the Propylea, and the Erectheion on the top of the Acropolis, with more structures on the side of the hill. We weren't able to go to the top/up close to the buildings but enjoyed the amazing view of them lit up with the full moon rising behind them. Our best view was actually of the Propylea--the bigger building to the left and the "monumental gateway that serves as the grand western entrance to the Acropolis" (thanks AI), built between 437 and 432 BC--and the Temple of Athena Nike--the small square one on the right, built between 427 and 421 BC. (In case you're wondering which you're probably not...we couldn't see the Erectheion. It's tucked behind the other structures.)




On the other side of the hill we found the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. Apparently live performances still happen there but it's closed for restoration July 2026-2029. 


This was about the best view we got of the Parthenon


 Photo shoot with the backdrop of the Parthenon lit up




I love Eve's face in the crook of my elbow! 


I'm excited to go back to go to the top of the Acropolis and tour the Parthenon! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Emily

By Adam Birk -
Image
When in the course of human biological events it becomes necessary for one person to dissolve the umbilical bands which have connected her with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle her, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that I, the father, should declare the statistics and condition of such individuals so separated....... so here is my post: Sunday morning: 0330: Martha, who has been contracting, wakes Adam. 0330: Adam, who is happy to hear that contractions are coming, is nevertheless content to lie in bed for a little longer. 0330-0350: Adam and Martha time contractions at 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes apart. 0400: Contractions increasing in strength. 0410: Joe arrives to watch Marian. 0415: Martha is not enjoying contractions which are strong and consistent by now. 0416: Joe's expression shows that he's never seen a woman in labor. 0420: Adam and Martha leav...
Read more

#27 and #2

By Martha -
Last week was an exciting week for us! On Wednesday I turned 27 ! Wow, that actually sounds a lot older than 26. I am now in my late 20s and don't know how I feel about that. It was a fun day though. Thank you to everyone who called, emailed, posted a comment, or came over! Adam took good care of me, of course. He made breakfast and dinner for me. And Mom came down and took me shopping and to lunch, so I didn't have to cook at all! Friday night Adam took me on a date, which was so nice. Earlier in the week he'd asked what my favorite restaurant was and I said I didn't know because I like bits and pieces: Olive Garden's salad and breadsticks but not their meals, Training Table's turkey sandwich, etc. I didn't know how carefully he listened until Friday when he showed up with Olive Garden salad and breadsticks for me and a Table Training turkey sandwich! We ate at the Tanner Building then went to the BYU basketball game. It's amazing how nice a couple hour...
Read more

And we're having...

By Martha -
another GIRL!!! We are really excited. She was so cute on the ultrasound--my favorite part was her little foot (measuring 3.5 cm right now). She wasn't doing flips and cartwheels like Mini was on her ultrasound so maybe she'll be a little mellower, more like Emmy. Most importantly, she looks healthy and her growth is right on. The only disappointment is that they didn't move my due date up at all. I was hoping to be moved up a week--away from Halloween. That's OK. The tech said she's actually measuring for November 1 so maybe I'll try to hold out for November 2 or 3. Seeing her made me so excited to get to meet her! As much as I don't love being pregnant, I'm so excited to have another little bundle to hold!
Read more