We decided to make Saturday our "designated day off", which may sound a little strange considering we have been on holiday for just over a month, but you do get tired of being on the go every day. We had a pretty laid back day after the train incident yesterday, visiting the Acropolis museum and casually strolling around the area. The queues for tickets to the Acropolis were miles long by the time we arrived. With advice from a local, we will return in the morning by 8.00am and we should be finishing up by the time the tourist rush comes about 10.00am. After our day off, we are treating ourselves to a "Francy" (a term coined by Lauren in Paris for fancy) restaurant, which promises traditional cuisine with a modern flair… I'll let you know…

With Lauren finally rising about 11.00am, we did indeed have a day off travelling. Well almost, we actually went out to grab some lunch and walked to a small motor museum not far from home. After spending an hour or so looking over the private collection at the Hellenic Motor Museum, we took care of some more shopping for supplies and wandered home. Lauren chose a restaurant called "Kuzina" for dinner. It has a roof top view of the Acropolis, Hephaestus Temple and surrounding area. The food was terrific, with Lauren giving her first 8.5 rating.

Finally, we're heading off to the Acropolis and Parthenon! Trusting our advice from the local the other day, we were on the train and heading to the Acropolis by 7.45am. I suppose to be accurate, the rock is the Acropolis, and the building there on, is the Parthenon, so we were really heading for the Parthenon... Happy to be some of the first there, we were beating the heat and the crowds, enjoying a very pleasant meander up the stone pathways used for centuries to reach the temple. Looking back over the Roman "Theatre of Dionysus" before heading through the "Propolaea" (gate like steps that lead on to the temple). We passed the temple of Nike Athena, the goddess of victory, which is a small, maybe 8m x 8m temple sanctuary, built to honour Nike. Destroyed or demolished a couple of times over the centuries, it was finally rebuilt as late as 1998, with most of its ancient decorations removed to the Acropolis museum. This seems to be the way with most, if not all, of the remaining important ancient artefacts removed for preservation. I guess it's a bit of a catch 22 situation. With the most damage being caused by pollution and natural weather erosion, do you leave the statues in place to preserve the temple or do you remove them to preserve the statues…

One thing for sure, Lord Elgin has a lot to answer for! I have heard of "The Elgin Marbles" before, but for some reason, thought they must have been spherical stones from somewhere or something. It turns out that Lord Elgin, in 1801, obtained permission from the occupying Ottoman rulers to dismantle and remove a great deal of the "Marble" sculptures from the Parthenon and send them to England. Criticised, even in his own time as a vandal, the marbles were eventually purchased by the British Government, even the Louvre in Paris has some pieces. The Greek government has requested they be returned as it considers the removal as theft while the city was under control of an invading force, rightfully so in my opinion. Unfortunately, the British government refuses to comply. Apparently, as recent as 2014, UNESCO offered to mediate between the two regarding the Elgin Marbles, an offer, not surprisingly, turned down by the British…

We wandered around what remains of the Parthenon and pondered the incredible history that has unfolded in such a spectacular place since it was first constructed in 429BC.

I suspect Lauren is a little bit "Ruins-ed" out by now, so we are off to do some shopping for nic nacs and other important stuff !