Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

I want to go everywhere I haven't been, and back to everywhere I have been.

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

TRAVEL THROWBACK 2007: ANCIENT ATHENS & TRAVEL "FIRSTS"




 
Athens, Greece: Ms. Toody Goo Shoes
Temple of Hephaestus: Construction began 450 BCE, and opened in 415 BCE.


When was the first time you went on a major vacation?

Thinking back on my travel "firsts,"
 
my maiden voyage outside the US was when I was 15 years old.
Granted, it was by bus, but that teen tour to Montreal and Quebec City 
made such an impression on me, 
I can pinpoint it as the exact moment I was bitten by the wanderlust bug.

The first time I flew the friendly skies was at 22 years old,
when a friend and I jetted down to Florida
to frolic with Mickey and Minnie. 

That's me, on the left, in Disney World.

The first tropical vacation I took
was to Acapulco with my sister, when I was 23 years old.

Me, in Acapulco, Mexico

It took me 34 years to cross the pond to Europe,
when I tagged along on a friend's business trip to London.
Looking back, why oh WHY did I wait so long?!?
 
Me and the Queen's Guard, outside Buckingham Palace in London (OMG, my HAIR! I could have flown to Europe on those wings!)

In contrast, Junior Goo Shoes was 6 years old 
when we took him to Italy for his first European adventure.
And, two months before his eighth birthday, in 2007,
we vacationed in Greece for 10 days,
which brings me to this Travel Throwback.

Our journey began in Athens.
We had no idea when we got off the plane 
that we would be there for record-breaking temperatures.
 The "European Heat Wave of 2007" literally arrived in Greece the same day we did.
Temperatures soared to 111F° and didn't stop there.
Three days later, the mercury hit 115°.
I have never been so hot in my life.

Athens, Greece: Ms. Toody Goo Shoes
The Old Royal Palace, completed in 1843, has housed the Parliament since 1934.

The plan was to spend our first jet-lagged day in Athens at the Acropolis.
We had a perfect view of this ancient landmark from our hotel,
and it beckoned us to its summit.
But, as luck would have it, the workers were on strike,
and access to the site was closed.
This was a huge disappointment, since we were leaving for Mykonos the next morning,
and the only other time we'd have in Athens was the afternoon of our last day in Greece.
This turned out to be a blessing in disguise,
because I'm sure at least one of us -- perhaps all of us --
would have passed out atop the Acropolis in the heat of the mid day sun.
With our plans foiled, we spent the first sweltering day in Athens at the rooftop pool,
and inside our air-conditioned hotel room.

Athens, Greece: Ms. Toody Goo Shoes
View of Acropolis from our hotel -- so close, yet unreachable.

In the evening, when it cooled down to about 100°,
we took a stroll to a lovely pedestrian area called the Plaka district.
I took a peek inside Brettos Bar,
which was truly the most beautiful bar I'd ever seen.
Too bad my photography skills were not that terrific back then,
but I did manage to get this photo.
 
Athens, Greece: Ms. Toody Goo Shoes
Brettos Bar, the oldest distillery in Athens, opened in 1909.


Nine days later, at the end of our time in Mykonos and Santorini,
we were coming back to Athens.
Our flight was to leave Santorini in the morning, 
leaving us the entire afternoon to visit the Acropolis. 
But.......our plane was delayed........
and delayed..........
and delayed.

We didn't land in Athens till almost 6pm. 
Our Acropolis window was shrinking by the minute.
How could we have come all this way,
and go home without seeing the Parthenon?

We got a taxi at the airport, and asked the driver to wait at our hotel 
while we dropped off our luggage, and then take us up to the Acropolis.
He was insistent that we wouldn't make it --
it closed at 7:30pm.
We insisted that he try.........
and we made it just in the nick of time.


Athens, Greece: Ms. Toody Goo Shoes
Parthenon, built between 447 and 432 BCE.


We got there at 7:00pm, and literally had just 30 minutes to take it all in.


Athens, Greece: Ms. Toody Goo Shoes
Erechtheion, constructed between 421 and 406 BCE.


Athens, Greece: Ms. Toody Goo Shoes
Caryatids - architectural columns in the form of standing female figures.


Athens, Greece: Ms. Toody Goo Shoes
Junior GS and me, circa 2007, at Erechtheion.


Athens, Greece: Ms. Toody Goo Shoes
Another side of the Erechtheion......


Athens, Greece: Ms. Toody Goo Shoes
And another -- I think!


Athens, Greece: Ms. Toody Goo Shoes
Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a magnificent open-air theater built between 160 and 174 A.D.
that is still used today.


Granted, we felt a bit rushed,
but we were so happy to have had even a little bit of time.......
just enough to take our requisite photos,
and go home with the satisfaction of seeing 
one of the world's most famous archeological sites.

I guess you could say our trip ended in ruins.......
and that was a good thing!

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8 comments:

  1. Hi Amy,

    Beautiful photos of your trip to Athens and especially the Acropolis! I do remember that heat wave; we had to escape to coastal comforts almost every weekend, since our house here in the breezy mountains was not ready then!

    It feels wonderful to have read that your first trek out of NY to Quebec (Canada) and your last trip mentioned here, today, are places that have made me who I am.:)

    Poppy
    P.S.: I love your hair in that photo! I, too, had that feathered, a la Farrah look going on - who didn't?!

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  2. Greece is most definitely on my bucket list, as everyone I know who has been raves of it's beauty. My first overseas adventure was the summer after high school graduation. Me and my bestie took a tour of Europe for a little over three weeks. Best vacay ever!

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  3. So gorgeous! I did not know Greece got that hot! It is one of the places after seeing these pictures and all the ones Poppy from Poppy View posts.

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  4. Great to see your photo's here Amy.

    All the best Jan

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  5. We spent two weeks in Greece last year---Athens for several days and then sailing in the Aegean to Mykonos and Santorini and Rhodes and a few other islands. I believe we must have stayed in the same hotel as you as Parliament was to our left upon exiting the hotel and the Acropolis was also visible from our hotel. Work was still being done on the Parthenon but all the construction was inside the columns. It was by far one of the most memorable trips we have ever taken. I would go back in a heartbeat. Akrotiri on Santorini was absolutely amazing---an entire ancient village being excavated
    Barb

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  6. My first major vacation was a 2 month solo trip to Europe at 23. I was planning on going with a friend but she had to back out at the last minute so I went anyway. It was very scary but at the same time an amazing trip. I did go to Greece but had to leave before I could get to Athens because of illness. Going back and seeing the Acropolis is on my bucket list (and Santorini and Crete too).

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  7. I remember that dreadful heat wave... I was living in Paris then and a huge city was definitely not the place to be with those temperatures!

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  8. I can't wait starting traveling again. I love so much Greece. I am planning to visit Athens on April. I have already looked for activities that I would like to do, like this tailor made guided tour https://www.discovergreekculture.com/tailor-made-tours/ as I want to see specific things.

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