Greece Adventure 2014: Athens Tour part 5


We now drove through the Melina Merkouri on the border of the Plaka and Mets Districts. With the clouds threatening to open the heavens and shower us with rain we left the huge Temple of Zeus behind us.

We were now driving along Sygrou street. Our next stop was Stop
A2: Melina Merkouri Plaka.

The area of Plaka is one of the most beautiful districts of Athens. Just under the slopes of the Acropolis almost as if the Acropolis, the Plaka attracts thousands of visitor each year. Many of the buildings are from the Neoclassical times with mansions and houses made up with their distinctive red tiles on their roofs. The roads are small and winding with many steps.

Balconies abound,  beautifully dressed with bright bougainvilleas, geraniums and even jasmine. Also known in Greek Literature as the neighbourhood of the gods because  over the Plaka, the sacred rock of the Acropolis :the sacred rock of the gods' keeps a watchful eye. Here are great little cafes along the streets. Song, dance and wine flow with festivities of a Greek Island feel.!






The bust of Melina Merkouri: the Plaka has a special place in the memories of the older generation and was the home of the older working class and many famous Greek movies made in the 50's and 60's were filmed here.
One of the most famous was Stella with Melina Mercouri and Georgios Fountas, filmed opposite the bath of winds which today hosts a branch of an American university. 



From here we pass close to the New Acropolis Museum. We never got the chance to go in... Next time...






New Acropolis Museum: officially opened in mid-2009, this beautifully designed museum has been built to give a fitting new home to the famed marble sculptures of the Acropolis. Glass walls allow a direct view of the Acropolis temples from within the museum, while the glass floors offer a view over the ruins of an early Christian settlement. The new Acropolis museum housed around 4,000 artifacts within a space almost 10 times larger than the old museum.

an now we were about to hop off to check out the famous Acropolis and Parthenon. we could not wait..................






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