He says: All those history classes I slept through in university came rushing back to me as we made our way to the Acropolis in Athens. The amount of Greek history located in Athens was epic.

Shauna's ear has been a source of discomfort the last few days, so after sleeping in to let her rest we made our way off the boat at around 2:30 p.m.

Rick Steeves (our Yoda equivalent on this trip) recommended hiring an English speaking cab driver to see the sights in Greece. The first person to approach us was a jolly Greek driver named Dimitris, who offered to take us around for a few hours. We agreed to go with him, much to the chagrin of another driver who started yelling at him in Greek. The driver thought Dimitris had cut in front of the queue and snatched us up. We quickly walked away with the other driver still screaming. It was a great welcome to Athens!

We were due back on-board the ship at 5:30 p.m., so time was precious. Dimitris created a great sight-seeing plan of attack - first stop the Acropolis, then the changing of the guard outside the Presidential palace, followed by the Temple of Zeus, and some shopping along the Plaka.

He turned out to be a great guide who had a relatively strong grasp on English. He explained that over 5-million people lived in Athens, and that currently the unemployment rate is over 20%. Definitely not a statistic to be proud of. Athens is a sprawling city that goes on for miles. On our way to the Acropolis, we passed by numerous stadiums, strip joints, and sex shops. The city actually reminded me a little of Montreal.

When we reached the Acropolis site, we asked if Dimitris wanted to come to the top with us. He politely said, "no" and he'd meet us in an hour. It didn't take long to realize why he'd said no. The walk to the top was like climbing a ladder to the sun. If you've read previous entries about this trip, you're familiar with our battles with the heat. However, I think the walk to the top of the Acropolis trumped all else. With the sweat pouring off my head, and my clothes soaked with perspiration, we made it to the top. I can only imagine how many people passed out when they were carrying stones to build the impressive structures thousands of years ago. Like the other ruins we've seen on this trip, the site was pretty impressive. Also like the other ruins we've seen, my attention span for history tends to be fleeting at best. After a few minutes I'm ready to change the channel.

Our next stop was the changing of the guard at the Presidential palace. Dimitris explained that the guards are put on a 24-hour rotation and must stay still for 60-minutes at a time outside the gates of the palace, no matter what. They were dressed in tights and wooden clogs, and looked like extras from a production of "Shakespeare in the Park". The ceremony itself was pretty cool, with the new guards performing a dance number that could have been choreographed by Adam Shankman. It was highly entertaining. All that was missing was some pyrotechnics.

We still had time to visit the shopping area, known as the Plaka. This row of streets had everything from t-shirts (my favorite was one that read "I don't need sex - the government f***s me everyday") to jewelry. After this we saw the 1896 Olympic stadium and the Temple of Zeus, before calling it a day and heading back to the ship.

All in all, good times in Greece.