I Have a New Love

I have a new love and it's not another man.  My plate is already full with Charlie, the love of my life.  However, I've fallen in love with Greece again.  It all started when I found Fage Greek yogurt at Costco.  You know, it's the kind that is so thick your spoon will actually stand straight up in it.  I love it with with a few blueberries or strawberries mixed in and honey on top. 
Every morning when I'm having my yogurt for breakfast, my mind wanders back to our journeys to Greece, particularly Athens, and the first time we saw the Parthenon in Athens.  We had been on our first Mediterranean cruise and Athens was our last port-of-call.  I was so excited because we were spending a couple of nights there after the cruise and could get out in the city and experience some of the local Greek cuisine.

When we left the ship, we had a sightseeing tour of Athens before going to our hotel.  When we got into the city from Pireaus, the port nearest Athens, we immediately saw Acropolis Hill and the Parthenon.  It was breathtaking.  We have our own Parthenon in Nashville, but to see the original was truly amazing.  Regardless where you are in Athens, you can see the Parthenon.  It is on the highest point in the city, and at night it is illuminated so all can see it.  It is spectacular!!
Of course, on our tour, we climbed the Acropolis.  However, on the day we got there Greece was experiencing a heat wave, and it was 105 degrees.  There are approximately 150 steps from the bottom of the hill to the Parthenon.  However, they are not steep.  Each step is about 4 feet deep so you step up and then take a couple of steps before you step up again. 
We had a guide who trained at the university in Athens for four years before he could become a licensed tour guide.  He would stop periodically on our climb to give us facts about Athens, the Acropolis and the Parthenon.  We saw Mars Hill where Paul preached and was the site of the council of elders, like the Roman senate.  Our friend, Jim, had another description that Mars Hill was where Snickers, Mars bars and Milky Ways were invented.  On one stop, we saw Hadrian's Arch, and the Placa, a wonderful shopping district in Athens.

As we neared the Parthenon, a member of our group happened to mention to our guide that we were from Nashville, TN, and that we had an exact replica of the Parthenon in our Centennial Park.  Without missing a beat, he told her that was not true.  However, he would be wrong.  We do have one, it is an exact replica, and ours is complete with the statue of Athena inside just as the original had. 
One other thing - the Greek cuisine.  I couldn't wait to get to Greece to have a real Greek salad.  We went to a little restaurant in Athens for lunch that first day.  Of course, I ordered my Greek salad.  Expecting a bowl of greens with cucumbers, tomatoes, feta cheese, and kalamata olives, was I ever surprised when I got actually got no greens, wonderful cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers, onions, feta cheese, kalamata olives, some oregano and the most incredible olive oil and vinegar to top it I've ever had.  The spanikopita, the dolmades, the tzatziki, pitas with hummus, the baklava.......

My mind and my tastebuds take me back to one of my favorite places on earth.  Maybe I should try a Greek salad with some Greek yogurt on top.  Hmmmmmmmm.....