So far, Athens has been good to us. =]

Today, we first took a Free Walking Tour (for all those planning to travel Europe, this is a really awesome concept- most of the major cities on the continent have a totally free walking tour! So just google whatever city you're planning on going to and find the free tour!). Our guide, George, gave us a really brief outline of the city and it's major, mostly historical, landmarks. The tour ended at the acropolis, after we had seen sites like the Roman Agora, Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Zeus; we proceeded to explore the acropolis, taking in the Parthenon, the Temple of Nike, and other relics.

We were sitting at the top of the acropolis, looking at the remains of ancient Greece with modern Greece sprawling past the horizon behind it, when we started to wonder just how much this is costing the country and how they're preserving these relics when they're in such a deep recession. As well, the Greeks are petitioning the British- who have a large, very well preserved piece of the Parthenon on display the at British Museum (that we're going to see!!)- for the part of the Parthenon they took many years ago. However, the British Museum has provided a many number of reasons for why they can't return it. This has led to Greece building newer research facilities and museums so that they could better house the missing pieces. Is it possible though, that Britain could use Greece's current economic strain as another reason to not return one of their largest exhibits? Someday, when I can get internet with enough "umph" to actually download videos, I'll show you guys some bits of conversations we've been having about Greece.

Graffiti close to Monastiraki Station.

The Parthenon on the Acropolis.

A view of the city of Athens (ancient and modern cites!).