Last Day in Athens, on to Sounio

This morning we headed out to a café to get some coffee and walk around the botanical gardens. Maxwell desperately wanted to show the girls the turtles he'd found. That wasn't all the wildlife we saw either. There was a duck pond, a koi pond, and we saw more of those green birds we saw at the Temple of Zeus earlier in the in the trip.

Our next stop was the Lyceum of Aristotle, where Greek philosphy was taught by Plato and Aristotle. We walked the same ground as these giants of western thought walked over two millenia ago. It was a truly humbling experience. Maxwell was especially excited about the old plumbing and saw the similarities with the Roman baths of a few centuries later by the Temple of Zeus.

Then we split up and while Cara and Zara went shopping, Maxwell and I climbed Mount Lycabattus. It offers a truly breathtaking view of the city. One can see the mountain ranges that protect Athens to the north and south and east, as well as down to Piraeus and the Aegean Sea beyond. There's a church and restaurant at the top, and an ampitheater on the back side of the hill. One wonders if they were trying to curry favor with the British when it was constructed, because it features prominently St. George slaying a dragon in several places.

After a drink atop Mount Lycabattus, Maxwell and I headed down to meet the girls in shopping land. Cara bought ALL the souvenirs, of course. Maxwell was also able to find a little bronze turtle. Then it was time to leave Athens, for which we picked up a rental car. Cara was nervous about driving the streets of Athens with mopeds and motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic all about, so I took the wheel and decided we should head for the coast and drive down 91. As expected, it was much like the drive down route 1 in California where you are cliffside with the water below. We stopped in a nice fish tavern for lunch and ordered way too much food. Apparently portions outside Athens are much larger!

Upon arrival in Sounio, we checked into our hotel and I headed out for a run to the Temple of Poseidon. After that I joined Cara and the kids down at the beach in the setting sun. The Aegean waters are so clear! We must really find a good place to go tidepooling while we're here. I think we might swim out to a nearby island tomorrow. After the beach we hit up the indoor heated pool, which was more like a giant jacuzzi. With marble columns situated throughout it felt very Greek. Now we're hanging out back at the room and getting ready for bed.