Athens, the Greek capital, is probably one of the oldest cities in the world.
Obviously, tourists will find amazing ruins in Athens, but also more modern buildings and attractions.
One of a must see is a changing of the guards in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Syntagma Square; look at these shoes (winter outfit in my picture)!
The Acropolis is probably the best known ancient site in Athens. It’s a great place, lovely located in one of the hills. The Acropolis of Athens is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
You find there several ancient buildings or ruins, i.e., the Parthenon or my favorite – the Erechtheum – seen in today’s picture.
There are actually many acropoleis in Greece, but the one in Athens is the most famous.
I’m a big fan of ancient culture and love to visit all of the sites with ruins; so I’ll say that visit to the Acropolis of Athens is not completed without going to the Acropolis Museum. It’s a large and wonderful museum, with lots of the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens.
Which came first: the chicken or the egg?
Which came first: Athena or the city of Athens?
According to the ancient myths, Athens took its name from Athena; however, these days, people rather believe that Athena took her name from the city!
Athena (Athene) is the Greek goddess of wisdom and patron goddess of Athens.
What’s the capital of Greece?
-That’s easy, Athens; not so much confusion as with Australia or Canada. 😉
I’ll show you 4 posts about Athens, because it’s a nice city (it is! especially for tourists!), has been an important place, and it’s simply worth visiting!
Today, a question. Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. Have you ever wondered about its name? Why the city is called Athens, i.e., in a plural form; why not a singular form?
Does it depend on a language? Maybe, a little bit; but in many language the city has also a plural form; e.g., in Polish it’s plural, and we say in Polish “Athens are”; in English it’s plural, but we say “Athens is”.
It’s complicated… And I don’t know the answer to my question. In different areas, city was called both, in a plural as well in a singular form. Plural form may indicate the size of the city – it’s consisting of different parts; or maybe it’s just a problem with translation, or something typical for ancient cities, or some grammatical “rules that had been forgotten in years”? Any ideas?
Welcome in October!
This month on my blog, we’ll spend in sunny Europe – “Kalimera” Greece. 🙂
I have to say, I’m a bit scared of Greece… well, I’m a bit scared of having Greece on my blog, because my best friend is Greek. 😀 Anyway, I’ll try to be objective; don’t hate me! 😉
Today, the last day of my Peruvian month on my travel blog. I hope, you enjoyed these few pictures.
My trip to Peru was relatively short; I just had a chance to go there, after visiting Chile and Argentina, so thought “better short than nothing”. Hopefully, I’ll have a possibility to visit this beautiful country once more.
Tomorrow, a new adventure starts; stay tuned! 🙂
My trip to Peru was relatively short. If I have a chance to go to Peru once more, I won’t say no. 🙂 There a few places I really would like to visit, e.g., I’d love to see the Nazca Lines!
You can go to Peru basically all year round. However, the best weather for visiting Machu Picchu should be between May and September, or even between June and August, but then you have to be prepared for crowds.
I was in Peru at the end of March/beginning of April; and in some places you could still experience the power of last raining season (on the picture).
Peru’s climate differs a lot, depending on the region. There are places where is always warm, and others where temperature below 0C are completely normal. At the end, there are jungles and high mountains in Peru.
What to drink in Peru?
-Inca Kola, of course. 😀
It’s a Peruvian version of cola, however doesn’t taste like coke at all; it’s rather kind of lemonade.
Thanks to beautiful traditional Peruvian clothes, Peru (and Andes in general) stay in my mind as a very colorful place. Almost everywhere, you can buy clothes, ponchos, hats, blankets, bags, etc., it just looks so nice, happy and friendly.
It’s really nice for tourists to see people wearing their traditional clothes. In Peru, like in many other countries, younger generation usually wears modern clothes. However, you can still find many Peruvians wearing traditional clothing related to their ethnic background; and it looks really beautiful and colorful!
I’ve already showed you once this funny rabbit-like animal; viscacha or vizcacha.
You can spot them quite easily in Peru. 😉
There are a few options how to get to Machu Picchu, i.e., on foot, by bus or by train.
Hiking the Inca Trail is very popular, however, it actually may be quite crowded and other hiking routes are also possible.
Bus or train are good options as well; you can even combine them and then take a shorter hike; all depends on you, how much time you have, how fit you are or what season you’re traveling.
I chose the train (but it was 2011 – so I’m sure some things changed), because I had very little time, and March/April is not the best season in Peru for hiking.
Machu Picchu is located in mountains at 2430 m (7970 ft) above sea level, so it’s much lower than Cusco (3400 m above sea level). Because of that, altitude sickness shouldn’t be a problem in Machu Picchu, but can be in Cusco!
Machu Picchu, The Lost City of the Incas, is an impressive ancient Inca city.
There is a very good reason that Machu Picchu is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It’s simply amazing ruins located in a wonderful scenery.
Being in Peru and not seeing Machu Picchu is like not being in Peru at all… However, keep in mind when you’re going there, it can be very crowded.
I was in Peru in April 2011, and it wasn’t crowded; just the weather wasn’t perfect, anyway, I still enjoyed it a lot.
In Peru, you’ll find many archaeological sites; from Cusco you can visit quiet a few of them, e.g., Machu Picchu, Sacsayhuaman, Puka Pukara, Qenko, Sacred Valley or … Rainbow Mountain (well, not exactly an archaeological site but still very nice).
Sacsayhuaman (Saqsaywaman) is an archeological site just outside Cusco.
Sacsayhuaman was an Inca fortress and its remaining ruins are very impressive. It’s a very nice and interesting place, definitely a must-see while being in Cusco.
Cuzco is a beautiful town, definitely one of the biggest attractions in Peru and a starting point for many attractions like e.g., Machu Picchu.
When you’re planning to visit Cusco, don’t forget that it’s located quite high, at 3400m above sea level, and altitude sickness is a common problem there. So take it slowly and react immediately after you see first symptoms of altitude sickness!
