The Acropolis

I can't quite wrap my mind around this place. It's the birthplace of so much Western culture, so much history, and yet it feels more like Nicaragua than like Rome. The German/EU austerity plan is really killing this place. I look around and see decay everywhere, and clearly the first thought that springs to mind is, "This place needs way more government spending," not "I wonder how much more blood can be squeezed from this stone." It's appalling how bad the infrastructure is, how unhealthy the people are and how degraded the environment is. Rio di Janeiro is in better shape in many ways. 

The Acropolis was terrific, especially as Ria and I got there as it opened, and before the cruise ships disgorged crowds of people armed with selfie-sticks. But even more amazing was the Acropolis Museum. We looked through it fairly quickly in the evening, and had dinner in the restaurant at 8 p.m. When we were done, the museum was open for another 30 minutes, and was almost completely empty. The rest of my family headed back to the apartment, and I stayed and had the place entirely to myself, aside from a few disinterested guards. The experience was transcendent.

The Parthenon, a temple to Athena and the other gods, atop the Acropolis:

The Erectheion, a temple to Poseidon and Athena:
Pictured is the stone porch, its roof held up by six sculptures of women, called the Caryatids. All shown are casts. Five of the originals are in the Acropolis Museum (Athens) and the sixth is in the British Museum (London), having been looted from Athens in 1901 or so by Lord Elgin. 

This is the back of one of the Caryatids, in the museum: