We've been really lucky so far in our hostel roomies. None of them have been too bad at night and interrupted our sleep, especially before a full day of touring. Before we went to bed, our new roommate, an older gentleman who had just flown in from Brazil, told us that he snored loudly. Abhinav and I both thought that it was normal snoring that we could handle because we came prepared with ear plugs.

He wasn't in the room when we went to bed around 11 pm last night, but I most definitely heard him when he went to bed at 1:44 in the morning. Abhinav likened the sound to a lawnmower that was perpetually being started. I thought of it more of an animal roaring continually. Regardless of the description, it was 2:30 am and I still couldn't fall asleep, even after putting in my ear plugs.

So, I went downstairs and requested a room change. I kinda felt bad for doing that because the guy who was snoring already apologized for it beforehand, and was handicapped. I didn't want to be rude or unfriendly, which was the reason I tried to sleep through it for a good hour or so. But, when all of you have is a day left in Athens to see all the major sights, you have to do what you have to do.

Luckily, Abhinav and I got a room change and were lucky enough to still keep an ensuite bathroom in a 4-bed mixed dorm. We changed from our current room to the new one at 2:30 in the morning and I passed out. Even though I had a good night's sleep, Abhinav didn't fare too well because the road outside was really noisy, which was enhanced even further because we had to keep the window open to keep the room from getting all humid and muggy.

We woke up well past our desired time of 7 am because of the room change. We basically got out around 10:30 am and then took the metro to the Akropoli stop to see one of the most well-known sites of the ancient world: the Parthenon.

Temple of Asklepios

We entered from the southern slope and didn't have to pay a dime for the entrance fee because of the set of tickets we bought yesterday at the Temple of Zeus. On our way up, we walked past the temple of Asklepios, a site for healing, and the theater of Dionysus. We took plenty of pictures and got a good work out on our climb up to the Acropolis. No matter what time of year you go and what time it is, it is crowded. Some guides recommend going in the evening for a less crowded atmosphere, but we didn't want to risk not getting in because we weren't sure when visiting hours ended. We didn't encounter too many people until we got to the top, so it wasn't too bad to go when we went, which wound up being around 11:00 am on a Wednesday morning.

In front of the Parthenon

So, we went up to the Acropolis (which wasn't that long of a climb actually), and had some crowds to fight against when we got up to the main entrance at the top. Surprisingly, it was drizzling when we got to the top but we had our umbrella on us and didn't need to rush down to the bottom if it started to pour. The Parthenon at the Acropolis and the overall views from the top are magnificent to see. We took plenty of shots of the view and many more in front of the Parthenon. Compared to the Roman Agora, the Parthenon isn't faring so well, but there's plenty of reconstruction taking place right now, with scaffolds on the front of the building and people working away at trying to preserve its history. Abhinav commented on the fact that the Greek government should try recreating the Acropolis, the way  that it had been in its heyday, while noting the original stones and architecture of course. It would be incredible to walk through the Acropolis seeing all the buildings as the Greeks would have seen it more than 2 millennia ago. I'm not sure if it's best idea since I don't a lot of the particulars, but it would be pretty cool to see.

Tiny Abhinav next to the gigantic Ancient Agora

After the Acropolis, we climbed down, walking past the Ancient Agora and Hadrian's Library, noting points of architecture that we had learned about from the museums in Athens and our own quick research online. By this point, Abhinav was getting a little bored of seeing a number of "really old structures," so we decided to head to Thanasis, a restaurant in Monastiraki square, to have more souvlaki and tsatsiki sauce. It didn't disappoint and after satiating our appetites, we headed back to the hostel to rest up before our long travel back to Italy.

So, here are some other random updates: did you know that it costs $100 to send to small packages of slightly melted and destroyed Belgian chocolates from Athens to the Woodlands? Yeah… Our plan of trying to save the chocolates by shipping them home was no longer a possibility. Hopefully, they'll fare OK by the time we get back home in 2 weeks.

Some packing suggestions for those of you going on a similar European backpacking adventure: (1) don't forget to pack a small notebook and pen. These two items are critical for reserving trains, noting down directions, and other important tasks. Don't leave home without it! (2) whenever you book hostels, it's always better to stay at a single hostel for your entire stay, even if it's a bit more expensive one night. Moving all of your stuff to a different hostel to save five or so dollars a person is not worth it, especially since you have a limited amount of time to explore a city. Also, it's nice to have a single home base in a city rather than 2 or 3.

Oh, and I forgot to mention something else: we had baklava in Athens as a symbolic way to say goodbye to the most famous of the Greek cities. I'd have to say it was the best baklava that I've ever had. To the left is a picture of our delicious escapade into the land of savory Greek desserts.

So, tomorrow we go on our super long boat ride on Superfast Ferries to make our way to Rome. Abhinav will post more on that tomorrow!