The disappointment of Athens but wonder of ancient ruins During this tour, I entered Athens twice. Once for an overnight stop where I managed to see the hotel and a local restaurant for dinner, and the second when we were able to spend nearly a full day there. I have to admit that Athens was really disappointing. The city is quite dirty and at that time, there was road works and construction everywhere, in preparation for the Olympics being held there next year. I have to admit that I have serious doubts about the city being ready in time. There looked like so much work that needed to be done - particularly in building the stadiums. Our first stop was to the Acropolis, the only place I'd recommend visiting in Athens. Like with Rome, I've always wanted to go to Athens to see the Ancient remains. And while it was undergoing maintenance/preservation work, the Parthenon, situated on top of the Acropolis was truly magnificent. It is another testament to architecture, despite this being (I think) the 4th Parthenon built by the Ancient Greeks. It has withstood attack and poor preservation until the last century or so. On the Acropolis, there are other ruins from Ancient times and a museum holding ancient artwork and pieces of buildings. We had a guide to tell us the history of it all which was great, although once again, I could remember most of it from my ancient history lessons. As we were leaving the Acropolis, we had our third hospital incident with Ashley being taken there by ambulance. So far, our tour group was making good use of hospitals and doctors. We left the Acropolis and were taken on a tour of the city on the bus and then dropped off to spend the next 3 hours however we wished. I took off with Dan, Jane and Anna to explore the famous pluka district, full of shops and market stalls. I have to admit I wasn't that impressed and really just wanted to pass the time as quick as I could. We re-boarded the bus mid afternoon and began the few hours drive to the ferry port where we boarded a ferry for our 2 night journey back to Italy. And I have to admit that I took the opportunity to sleep the time away on the ferry, staying awake for about 6 hours over the approximately 30 that we were on it! Athens was a bit of a disappointment in terms of the city itself but the ancient ruins did fulfil every expectation that I had. I wouldn't go back to Athens except as an overnight stop on my way to the Greek Islands, and would suggest that only half a day is needed there to see the sites.