#AtoZChallenge: “A” is for ACROPOLIS in ATHENS

77 Comments#AtoZChallenge 2014, History, Travel, Writing/Blogging

acropolis and parthenon

Welcome everyone, to the #AtoZChallenge Blogging Extravaganza, where hundreds of bloggers publish 26 posts in 26 days – one for each letter of the alphabet – covering a myriad of topics!  
“Travel & Culture” is my theme.  Click HERE to see all posts.  Please support our efforts by visiting, sharing and commenting. We have all worked long and hard on this project. Have fun and thanks for reading!
#AtoZChallenge follow me on Twitter @DebbieDoglady
Day 1: April 1

Did you ever have a life-long dream come true?

Did you want to pinch yourself, to make sure it was real?

This is where I was in September 2013.  From the time I could read, it was my wish to one day visit Greece, experience the ancient history, culture and ambience.  To be at the heart of Greek mythology!  First day in Athens, I couldn’t wait to get up to the hotel’s rooftop restaurant and look around.  There it was, in all its glory!

THE ACROPOLIS!

#AtoZChallenge 2014: A is for ACROPOLIS in ATHENS #dogladysden Click To Tweet

acropolis
Acropolis and Parthenon ©D.D.B. 2013

Dating back to the 5th Century B.C., The Acropolis was proclaimed as the preeminent monument on the European Cultural Heritage list in 2007.  Perched at the top is the Parthenon, most famous of all the remaining structures in Classical Greece.

The day we climbed our way to the top was a huge milestone for me.  I thought that day would never come and now, here we were!

My eyes glistened with happy tears.

Parthenon
Dream come true! ©D.D.B. 2013

 The Acropolis has several other buildings, all of them impressive.

This is the Temple of Athena Nike, which means “Victory” in Greek. Athena was worshipped here, as goddess of victory in war and wisdom.

Athena Nike
Temple of Athena Nike ©D.D.B. 2013

This theatre, aka “Odeon” was built by a rich man named Herodes Atticus in 161 AD to honour his late wife.  It’s still in use today.

Odean of Herodes Atticus
Odeon of Herodes Atticus ©D.D.B. 2013

There’s lots to see and do in Athens and I’d love to go back someday.

γεια σας!

[Yassas means Cheers in English.  Alternatively, hello or goodbye]

 Read more about our Greek Odyssey HERE.

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History of Athens

What’s your dream destination?

Looking forward to your comments!

atozbanner 2014

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77 thoughts on “#AtoZChallenge: “A” is for ACROPOLIS in ATHENS

  1. Beautiful! 🙂 I had very profound experience when I visited the Acropolis. Greece is a marvelous place for history lovers.

    With great respect! A.

  2. Hi Debbie,

    Living in your dreams 😉 That must be a wordless feeling!

    This topic taking me back to your series, Debbie ~ Greek Odyssey. Wish if we could go back in time, and see their lives back then and how advanced the ancient civilizations were. Isn’t it? 🙂

    Witnessing such a huge and majestic architectures is awesome indeed. Did you witness Pyramids too? 🙂 I’d love to see ’em and especially the ones in the list of “Wonders of the World”. Glorious!

    Have fun with the challenge and enjoy your week, Debbie 🙂

    Cheers…

    1. Hi Mayura; Sorry for the late reply. This AtoZ Challenge is so hectic! LOL Yes, it was a magical trip and I’ll remember it for the rest of my life. No pyramids in Greece and Turkey, but I hope to visit them one day in Egypt. Thanks for visiting and have a great week. 🙂

  3. How wonderful that you got to make a dream come true, Debbie. Greece is a marvelous country. Like you, I was a big fan from very, very early on–probably had to do with an art historian mom. We were there when I was around 8, and it was an experience I’ll never forget. We got lucky, too: Nurejev was performing at the Odeon and we were able to get tickets. I think my mom might have shed a tear or two 🙂

    Thanks for the great post!

    1. Nurejev at the Odeon – Wow! There would have been tears, for sure Guilie! 😀 Ancient history has been a major passion all my life and to finally get to Greece was just mind-blowing. Hard to top that. Thanks for visiting.

    1. Hi Holly; We thought about going to Istanbul, because there was a cruise that included it, but due to time constraints, we chose the shorter one that only had Ephesus, which is absolutely magnificent! 🙂 In hindsight…….Sigh. Greece and Italy are fabulous too. Thanks for visiting and good luck with the challenge.

  4. Greece – With so many friends from the country and on top of it posts from you guys!!! Damn, I wanna yell “Greece, here I come”. I should start saving!

    1. Oh yeah; you’ll definitely need to save. Greece is not cheap and we actually went into debt for the trip, because we hadn’t saved enough, but it was well worth it! 🙂

  5. I was there almost exactly 41 years earlier than you…June 1972…and oh, I remember it well. Thank you for the words and pictures that helped me relive some wonderful moments of my mis-spent youth. 🙂

  6. Debbie, Dreams and the Acropolis seem to go hand in hand, lovely post, looking fwd to the rest I love history, travel, food and everything sunshiny about life, all the best.

  7. Such an amazing feeling when our dreams come true! The Acropolis is one of those places you read about with awe and grab a chance to visit when you can. I’m glad you did.

  8. China – various areas. Their history fascinates me.
    I enjoyed reading about your experience – your enthusiasm comes through. 🙂

    1. China would be fascinating too! Yes, I was completely thrilled to be in Greece – it had been my life-long dream. 🙂 Thanks for visiting.

    1. I bet you enjoyed it Sandra, even at that age. 🙂 I still have great memories of a trip to Paris when I was 11. Thanks for visiting.

  9. The Acropolis looks awesome! I have never been to Greece but there is so much history and really cool architecture there that I would love to get there sometime soon to explore further. We are looking forward to following you on the A to Z Challenge and hope you will take time to head over to our site and follow our theme of #DreamDestinations. Maybe our paths will cross on some of our travel posts throughout the month 🙂

    1. Welcome to The Den, Chris. 🙂 I love your theme and will definitely be visiting! Greece was my lifelong dream come true and it was everything I expected and more. Thanks for coming over and see you around the Blogosphere.

  10. Gorgeous photos! Went with the family when the kids were small. would love to return with just Hubby and see it a bit differently!

    1. Welcome to The Den, Gail! 🙂 You’d have a wonderful time in Greece, for sure. I hope to go back one day, as well. Thanks for visiting.

  11. I still can’t believe I lived all those years in Italy and never went to Greece or Egypt. What a bummer. You did such great articles on your trip, ad of course the picture make one drool. Thanks, Debbie.

    1. So near and yet so far, Mary! It is too bad that you weren’t able to visit those countries. Egypt is also on my bucket list, but things are so volatile there now. Thanks for visiting. Next post is about a place in your home state. 🙂

  12. I have had those happy travel tears many, many times, Debbie! In fact, you just brought some while I was thinking about them. I will finally be leaving North America for the first time this summer and I keep pinching myself while shopping for plane tickets. I can’t believe it is happening!

    1. Sounds like you’re getting ready for a fabulous trip, Bethany. 🙂 Greece was incredible – trip of a lifetime! Thanks for visiting.

  13. That’s cool. I went to Greece as a kid but I don’t really remember it. My mom said I was in the cave at Patmos when I was 2, where Saint John wrote the Book of Revelation. She said you could feel God’s power there, hallowed ground. It’d be cool to go back.

    1. Glad you enjoyed this, Aditi. 🙂 Greece is a magical place and I’d love to go back sometime. Thanks for visiting The Den!

    1. The archaeological sites are incredible there! 🙂 I’d love to go back and explore even more of them. Thanks for visiting.

  14. Greece is one place I’ve wanted to visit for a while for the amazing history as well as the beaches. 🙂 Thanks for the information

  15. What a beautiful place. It must be amazing to be surrounded by so much history! Loved seeing your pictures and hearing about your big adventure.♥

    1. Greece is full of amazing places and I was fortunate to be able to visit many of them. 🙂 Stay tuned! Thanks for visiting.

  16. The day we visited, we watched the workmen up very high on slabs they were moving into place as part of restoration – no safety belts, no helmuts, no gloves. When the slab was in place (horizontal), the men would step onto the slab and vigorously jump up and down to make sure it was in place. I tried to imagine the original Greeks who built it doing the same thing (not to mention wincing at the lack of safety protocols!) Enjoyed your reminiscing. See you tomorrow.

  17. Thanks, Debbie. This took me right back to my last visit a few years ago. It feels surreal to be surrounded by so many years of ancient history right in the middle of busy traffic and the hustle bustle of modern day Athens.
    Look forward to more magical posts all through the A-Z. 🙂

    1. Glad you’re enjoying it, Ananya. I can hardly believe it happened and am thrilled to relive it now. 🙂 Thanks for visiting.

  18. Hey! I’m so glad you liked the Acropolis 🙂 I just came back from Athens for work and got to spend a day walking round the Acropolis and the museum. It was also a dream of mine to go there and once standing at the top, I was so overwhelmed by the history of it all. Did you go to the Panathenaic Stadium as well? It’s all so amazing. Thanks for this, I look forward to reading more during the A-Z Challenge

    1. Hi Annie! Welcome to The Den. 🙂 It is incredible, isn’t it? We did a formal sightseeing tour and saw many things, including the stadium. Thanks for visiting.

  19. I so wish I could visit Greece atleast once in my lifetime! Until then I’ll have to be satisfied with your post 🙂 … Good luck for the challenge Debbie!

    1. Glad you enjoyed the post – more to come! 🙂 Greece is truly a magical place and I can hardly believe that my life-long dream came true. ♥ Thanks for visiting and have fun with the challenge.

  20. These photos are gorgeous. I love ruins and architectural marvels, and want to run my hands over every surface.

    Visiting because you’re the blogger listed after me on the A to Z, and I’m so glad I stopped by!

    1. Hi Lynda and welcome to The Den. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the post. More to come. Thanks for visiting and good luck with the challenge.

    1. You would love Greece! ♥ The most fabulous of countries and the birth of western civilization. Thanks for visiting and good luck with the challenge. 🙂

    1. Greece is magnificent, Richa! ♥ It was number one on my “Bucket List” and still hard to believe I achieved that! Thanks for visiting and good luck with the challenge. 🙂

  21. Greece sounds so fascinating and beautiful, Debbie. I’d love to go there and explore all that rich history and culture. I went to Italy way back in 1985 and just loved all the Roman history. I imagine Greece would be fascinating since it really is the foundation of so much of our Western culture.

    Since I won’t be going to Greece anytime soon, thanks for letting me take a short trip and getting to see it through your eyes.

    1. Glad you enjoyed this, Cat. 🙂 Italy is spectacular and Greece even more so, if you’re interested in Ancient History – it’s one of my passions. Thanks for visiting and good luck with the challenge.

  22. Ohhh, wish I could be going to Greece. Never been there but your post puts it back up on my travel wish list. Thanks Debbie!

  23. Hi Debbie, I’d love to go to see Alaska, Yellowstone Park and Greece too. I once saw a movie about Greece (over 30 years ago) and was fascinated about it – it looked like a wonderful place to visit. You must have been so excited to be there! To be where there is so much history must be truly amazing. Do you think you will go back too?

    1. Hi Lisa; Hope you get to go to those places! Greece was incredible, and while I would love to go back, not sure that’s going to happen. Maybe! Thanks for visiting. 🙂