The Acropolis and More

Hello All:
Today we are in Corfu, Greece, but let me begin at the beginning.  We got to Athens right on schedule, with perfect weather, about 65 degrees and sunny off and on.  We had a private tour organized through Cruise Critic, and were very pleased again with all that we got for our money.  We were met at the dock and went immediately to the Acropolis.  That was a challange and a thrill.   The Acropolis sits on a very high hill, and you must climb to get up to it.  Sometimes there are steps, but mostly it is a winding path made of stones and marble, with a step every now and then.  At the top, there are real wooden steps, climbing steeply to the interior.  At that height, I was getting vertigo and didn't look down at the city, but it was spread out all over for everyone to see.  This is the highest hill in Athens!  The ruins are massive, and there is more than one area up there, so we were up for quite a while.  After seeing all there was, and believe me we took lots of pics, we went back down those stairs to the bus for a ride to the ancient Athens cemetery.  By then my knees were really sore, so I took every opportunity to sit down.  It seems those Greeks liked to build elaborately beautiful markers for the cemetery until the gov't said, no more,and they had to resort to small round pilings with only a name.  That only lasted about 5-10 years and then they were back to the gigantic monuments, all very beautiful.  We also saw a museum along the way with amazingly fine pottery from the 6th Century AD.  After the cemetery, we went to the old market, the Plaka, (the spelling is varied, but close to that).  The old market had a wealth of stalls, people sitting around, lots of dogs, and junk for sale.
[Our guide told us the 18-25 year olds are 50% out of work, so they are lazing around all over and covering everything, and I mean everything, with graffiti.  It was amazing to see every buuilding in Athens, including public buildings like banks and offices covered in mostly protest graffiti.  There was also art graffiti that matched lots of NY and LA art.  The 25-40 year olds are 27% unemployed which leaves lots of old guys hanging out,too, yelling at each other and getting ready for the next protest. The guide said she had held off on the next protest so we wouldn't have any problems while we are in Greece.  And, she said the peacefull demonstrations are co-opted by militants who just want to make trouble for everyone.  In reply to a question about the Greek national economy, she said the economy was based on tourism and shipping.  Also, some cotton and vegetables in the European market.  In some places we've been there are often 4-5 cruise ships anchored or ashore, so that makes lots of tourist dollars.  We are the last ship in most of the ports and everything has slowed down for the season.]
Next on our day in Athens we went to the National Archeological Museum to see the facade from the Acropolis and other parts that have been removed for preservation.  Lots of the bits on the Acropolis and Parthenon, etc. are remade to look like the originals.  The most interesting thing in the museum was the construction setting it at the same height and same orientation as the Acropolis.  And, then they had the facade that runs around the Acropolis in its entirity....minus the chunks Elgin took to the
British Museum!  After we were about 1/3 way around, I asked the guide if one of the pieces was in the BM and that loosened the flood gates about the Elgin marbles.  It is horrifying to see how much of the facade of the Acropolis the BM has in their display.  The missing parts are displayed in Athens in stark white so that you can tell the originals from the patina on the old ones. Almost all of it is in Britain.  I suggested we start a petition to return the marbles to Greece!  Our guide said when Melina Mercouri was the President of Greece, and because she was so well known as an actress and so popular in the world, they hoped she could put pressure on the Brits to return them, but nothing happened.  It was a wonderful display and well worth the whole trip to Athens to see how the Acropolis was supposed to look.
[I should take a short pause here to discuss food.  I am walking like crazy, but I can't really believe I am losing weight.  I may not be gaining any, however.  OK, to my main point.  We finally figured out why we couldn't get a good gyro here in Greece.  When we were in Santorini we did get one for 2.5 Euros at a small corner cafe, but then in Mykonos and Athens we went into restaurants and they gave us a huge plate with all the fixings, (beef, pork or lamb, tomatoes, red onions, tzsiki and french fries)but with the pita cut up (9 Euros).  When we were in Athens I asked the guide what we were doing wrong, and she explained we were sitting down.  Gyros are take out food!  Today in Corfu we found a MicMac and had a great gyro with all the fixins for 2-5 Euros.  We picked it up and sat outside at a table, but they did not wait on us.  MicMac is McDonalds on Corfu.]
Yesterday we should have gone into Olympia, but we have been in the line of a storm, with rain and 65 knot winds last night.  The captain decided we could not go to the dock, and he would not take us off on tenders at that Olympia port of Katakolon, so off we went, running before the wind, to Corfu which has a nice protected harbor.  We anchored out last night and then came into town this morning on the dock.  Everybody went out and about for a little look see, got rained on, and then came back to the boat for a lazy afternoon.  That was good for my knees.  The squalls are supposed to keep coming   tonight, but we hope everything is clear for Dubrovnik tomorrow, and then Venice.We heard Venice was underwater again, but Jim assures me we will not have flooding because the tides will have gone down and the moon won't be high.  We have a boat tour planned for Venice and then the second day we'll get out and about to see St Marks' Square and other sights. 
We continue to stay well, and have had a great time so far.  Stay tuned for more.  The Whidbey Wagners