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Today we had a cruise to Poros, Hydra, and Aegina. We had to get up early, at 6:30, and breakfast was cut short by the early arrival of the bus. It was raining pretty hard, so we were all anxious.

The ship was huge, nearly the size of the ferry, and luckily there was plenty of indoor seating. We played rummy pretty much our entire trip, and you'll be proud to know that I whooped them at 1035 to 7-- to 5--.

It rained on Poros, and though we climbed to the clock tower, I was not that impressed with the view. I was happy to have my umbrella, though.

Hydra was equally disappointing. Though Margaret and I walked around quite a bit, I found it smelly, from donkey droppings. We were also unable to find a way to the top of the hill.

Our lunch was fabulous. I really enjoyed the many appetizers we got to sample, and it was good to finally get some vegetables.

The curise also provided a Greek folk dancing show, but the comic interludes were so bad that we left.

My favorite stop was Aegina. They had optional tours, but we abstained and finally got a chance to go to a beach! It was a real beach, with real sand, even out in the ocean. The water was very clear, and I had fun with my goggles. The water was awfully cold, but we splashed around for a good half hour.

The sun kept peeking behind the clouds, so we made a giant drip sand castle instead of sunbathing. It was a nice, relaxing day, and I'm glad we had it.

We chatted for a long while and now everyone's asleep, so I'll make it quick.

First we saw Keramekos, the ancient cemetary. The general plan for the day was to walk together between sights, and go our own separate ways at each sight, with specific meeting times and places. It actually kept tempers in check, contrived as it may sound. The other theme was rain. I made good use of my new umbrella.

Our second stop was the Agora. Afterward we all went to see the Roman Forum and the Tower of the Winds. Then Becky and I detoured through Monastiraki to pick up take-away gyros.

We did the Acropolis separately. I was disappointed because there was so much renovation going on. The Temple of Athena Nike had been completely dismantled. I liked the Temple of Hephaestos from the Agora better. While the Acropolis had great views of the city, there was no exploring at all. I was really excited to see the Porch of the Caryatids, though. The Parthenon also had some beautiful friezes.

A huge storm caught us off guard in the museum, and we ended up waiting out the torrential downpour in the ladies' room, of all places.

Fourth we visited the Theater of Dionysis and the South side of the Acropolis. The Theater of Herodes Atticus was much more impressive; it would be terrific to see a show there.

Finally we split up, Becky to go shopping and Margaret and I to climb the hills south of the Agora and the Acropolis. We made it to the monument on Filopapos Hill, and around to the modern theater of Pnyx Hill. We couldn't make the Hill of the Nymphs, but we did pass Agios Dimitrios on our way down.

We had dinner at Thanasis in Monastirki, an excellent choice from the guide book. I really enjoyed the souvlaki kebobs Margaret and I shared, as well as my Greek salad, which I think they seasoned with basil or oregano.

We got home pretty early, so I called Mom and finally got ahold of her.

Today we did North Athens. I got up before the alarm, and decided to leave early to see the churck Kapnikarea. I woke up Margaret, too, by accident, and she caught the tail end of my breakfast, so we went down together. We couldn't go in because we were wearing shorts.

Then we split up, I to see the Gennaidon. I got a bit lost after stopping to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Plateia Syntagmatos. The guards wear a really cute uniform with little poms on their shoes. I ended up detouring around the National Gardens.

The library was quite different from what I expected. I had to give a guard my passport before he would open the gate. Inside the mansion, the main reading room was lovely. I found the Byron memorabilia right away, but when I tried to go up the spiral staircase to look for the Edward Lear sketches, another guard stopped me. I explained that my book said the sketches were publicly accessible. He told me to wait. Eventually a lady librarian came and told me they were no longer there, save four decorating the walls. She gave me permission to go see them, though.

I got lost again on the way to the Museum of Cycladic Art, our meeting place. The museum itself I really enjoyed. We weren't allowed to take photos, but it was mostly just variations on the canonical white marble, 2-D figurine. They did have one really nice 3-D piece, though.

Next we walked to the Benaki Museum. It was enormous, and we didn't allocate nearly enough time to see the entire collection. There was some really fun stuff, including an interesting Christian collection and many antique garments.

We split up for lunch. Becky and I tried for a recommended restaurant in Exarcheia, but I'm not sure if we went to the right one. We both tried a very good ham, cheese, and mushroom casserole.

Afterward, we continued on to the National Museum. I like the Mask of Agammemnon and several of the famous bronze pieces. However, I was bitterly disappointed that they were remodeling a significant portion and the Thira Frescoes were not on display.

Before viewing the museum, we agreed to just meet back at the hotel, as Becky's ankle was bothering her. So I went on my own to Lykavittos Hill. It had a beautiful view, but my feet were already hurting and I was a bit lonely.

To kill time, I decided to walk to Strefi Hill. On the way, I passed the modern theater. I ended up climbing above it because I saw people there, but they turned out to be squatters waiting for a concert. I was a bit nervous all the way down, and ended up on the totally wrong side of the Hill. I had to make a big loop back.

But the area around Strefi was peaceful and pretty and I finally stopped feeling on edge and enjoyed myself. I bought a spinach pie for dinner on the way up, and then sat at the top to eat it. This hill also had a stunning view of the Acropolis, as well as of Lykavittos Hill.

Finally I headed back to the hotel. After getting directions from Margaret and Becky, I walked to the bakery to pick up dessert. I was so busy trying not to look nervous on the way out (even though it was only 8) that I went the wrong way and had to circle back to the Internet cafe.

Well, we're pretty much done with our last day in Greece.

We had free time again this morning, and I took advantage of my last opportunity to shower for over 48 hours.

I decided to go to the Hill of the Nymphs and I actually found Pnyx Hill, which was pretty nice, actually. Hardly anyone was there, save the maintenance crew, and I had a nice view of Filopappos and Strefi Hills as well as of the Acropolis.

The day went pretty much down hill from there, no pun intended. Hill of the Nymphs was a major disappointment, and I had a couple of scares with people walking their dogs unleashed. My feet were already sore, and I had two raw spots. Maybe these sandals aren't so great after all.

In character, I took a wrong turn on the way to meet the girls at the Temple of Olympian Zeus, and ended up going the long way round. I enjoyed the site itself, though.

The First Cemetary of Athens calmed me quite a bit. It was a huge relief to get some by myself time, and it was sunny. It was peaceful, with flowers and huge marble monuments everywhere, and birds chirping and feral cats left and right. I had lightened up quite a bit by the time we left.

We stopped by the Olympic Stadium, which used to be Kallimar or the Panathenaic Stadium, but we couldn't go in.

On our way back to the Plaka, we cut through the National Gardens. When we arrived we found a place for lunch. I had a really excellent lamb with artichokes. It started pouring during our meal, so we stayed put as long as possible. Our waiter was really nice and brought us a plate of fruit on the house.

Finally we had to go. We spent the rest of the day shopping around. I got Dad some Ouzo in a pretty bottle, and Mom some pistachios. Myself I got the Athens hard rock cafe pin.

We stopped for gelato once, and I tried pistachio. We also stopped and played two hands of rummy.

At last we settled down for dinner at a cafe near the Agora, with a view of the Acropolis. We ate very slowly to make it through sunset and nightfall to see the lights. It was pretty, but Margaret went nuts over it all.

At full dark, we took the metro back to the hotel to pick up our luggage. Then we took the metro to the airport. It's now midnight, and we're going to sit and wait for our 6:50 flight. As you can tell, I'm cross. So now, since all the chairs have arms, I'm going to see how a towel on the floor goes.