Hadrian’s Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Hadrian’s Arch was built by the Roman emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century B.C., which marked the boundary between the ancient quarter of the city and the new Athens, or Adrianople.
	The Presidential Palace. Their I got a glimpse of the evzones’ changing-the-guard ceremony. It was nothing like the ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
	The National Garden, which they claim grows trees and plants, many of which are centuries old.
	The Panathenaic Stadium is the Stadium built on the site of an ancient 4th century BC stadium where the first modern Olympic games were held in 1896.
	The monument of "The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" located in Syntagma Square in front of the Parliament Building offered a full-dress changing of the guard. The guards called evzones are the ceremonial Greek military sentries whose fanciest getups ("Tsolias") include pleated white kilts; off-white woolen stockings; red leather shoes with black pompoms on the toes; an embroidered vest over a white, balmacaan-sleeve blouse; and a red skull hat with a waist-length black tassel. Since it was Sunday, I was lucky to see 48 Evzones show up, accompanied by a military band. They put on an elaborate ballet with many exaggerated positions, long goose-step pauses with one leg held in the air, and other unnatural movements of the legs. The big sleeves of the blouses flap as arms are raised high; pleated skirts twirl merrily; the red shoes flap and scuff, black knee tassels swinging, hobnails clacking.
	Plaka, the old neighborhood of Athens, stretched around Acropolis. The oldest and most picturesque part of Athens. Narrow streets and alleys, single story houses, neoclassical villas, tavernas, bouzouki clubs and cafes and where many tourist shops. One unusual thing most shops sell are sponges. These natural sponges fetched out of the nearby sea by hardy divers. I found it very expensive - but I found it several times more the amount back home.
	Acropolis. I found out that on Sunday, the entrance is free and even though it will part of tomorrow’s tour, I could not hold my excitement of seeing it for the first time. Too many tourists (free entrance!). Tower of Babel, an international ant colony, 5,000 ants! Guides, speaking different languages. I came for the sights not the history lesson. That’s tomorrow. I got a glimpse of the Odeon of Herod Atticus. This is where Yanni held his concert, "Live at the Acropolis".

Walked back to the hotel. Vehicular traffic reminds me of Manila. If you don’t watch it, it will kill you. When pedestrian WALK sign flash green, don’t you believe it! There will always be one more taxi or motorcycle that roars through the red light.

That evening, the Contiki group (6 guys to 22 girls) met for the first time with our Welsh tour director. Dinner was served at a local taverna at Plaka. There I also met my roommate, Rupert, from England.

June 10 - We began the morning with a half day Athens sightseeing tour to the Acropolis, Temple of Zeus and the Olympic Stadium with a local guide. For sentimental reasons, I did one lap around the track oval at the Olympic Stadium.

>Lisa, Rupert, Susan and I decided to go to the National Archaeological Museum during our afternoon free time. All the treasures from Mycenae are here as well as finds from Santorini. Santorini was an island civilization that flourished at the same time as the Minoan, back in the second millennium B.C. The islanders build luxurious homes and decorated them with gorgeous murals and pottery. But one day, as legend has it, "Enceladus in the bowels of the Earth was roused with undescribable fury," and the ensuing earthquake wiped out Santorini.

That evening, we all went out for a dinner at a local taverna at Plaka which featured traditional Greek dancing and music. First time to taste tzatziki (yogurt-cucumber-garlic dip). Dinner included dolmadakia (stuffed meat wrapped in vine leaves), keftedes (fried meatballs), souvlaki (lamb on skewer) and moussaka (meat and eggplant). After which we went club dancing at Lava Bore until the early hours.