Today, Kim and I went with Mark and Martha to Lykavittos Hill - also known as Lycabettus. It is the highest point in Athens.

Martha drove us to the funicular. Had Kim and I done it, we probably would have walked up (they say it takes about 45 minutes). But M&M really have a good strategy with sightseeing. They take the conveyance up, then walk down - which is what we did. Surprisingly, the funicular is indoors for the whole trip up. I don't know how that works.

Of course the main attraction is the view. From the top you can see 360 degrees. You can also see how sprawling Athens is.

Quoting from DK travel guide, "The ancient belief was that this was the rock once destined to be the Acropolis citadel, accidentally dropped by the city's patron goddess, Athena." Martha explained that the ancients couldn't put the Acropolis up here because there wasn't any water.


Like the Acropolis, we heard lots of different languages and accents. After having a look around the site and taking a load of pictures, we sat for coffee. At the summit there are really only two things: the church of St. George (quite small) and sprawling terraces belonging to the cafe/restaurant. The outrageous prices are justifiable given that there are no fees to visit. But, if you pay the 6 Euros for the funicular ride (one ticket entitles you to up and down), you get a 20 percent discount at the cafe, making it only mildly overpriced rather than ridiculous.

We felt really sorry for the waiter up there. They were doing a brisk business (although I imagine it will be a lot busier in another month, and on a sunnier day) and he was definitely having trouble keeping up. In true Greek style, as he was rearranging a table as some people left, someone asked him (in Greek) if he could wait on them. He responded rather annoyed, saying to give him a minute, would you please.

We can't see the Acropolis from our apartment, but we actually can see the summit of this hill,
and St. George perched upon it. It was nice, after three months, to finally pay it a visit.

If you look carefully in this picture, you can see a portion of the path we took on the walk down. It's paved and has steps, so while it might be a lot of effort, it's not at all difficult footing. Kim's knee was causing her a little discomfort so she took each step "sideways."

In the next next picture, you can see the "back"
of St. George and one of the cafe seating areas.
The church is only from the 19th Century - built on the site of an old Byzantine church. I would be willing to bet there was probably a pagan temple on the same site before that, but there's no mention of it in the guide book.

After our visit to the hill, we drove back to our neighborhood. It was lunch time (about 2:30) and since none of us had been working to prepare lunch, we thought we ought to just go to the conveniently-located cafeteria-type restaurant across the street from our apartment.

Mark and Martha went home for their regular afternoon nap. Mark gave me a hard time that I have not given in to this Mediterranean tradition. Rather than napping on our Sunday afternoon, Kim and I returned to the apartment for a quick game of canasta before I needed to make my weekly phone cal to my mom, after which we were on the tram to head back to the center of Athens for church.


Is it OK if I talk about the homily? The mass is in
English although the acoustics in the old church
make it difficult to understand in any language. Anyway, the homily message was fine but the priest felt compelled at times to YELL his message. Why? I don't think it made his point any more than a regular tone would have. In fact, yelling in the microphone just caused distortion, which made it all the harder to hear. Where do some of these guys get their ideas?


This is the icon of St. George up at the church on the top of Lykavittos Hill. Like so many of the Greek icons, the majority of the painting is
protected behind a sterling silver relief, with a
hole so only the face shows through.

The chapel is tiny. It probably couldn't seat more than 20 people - and that would be jamming them all in. Since there aren't many people living in the "neighborhood," I don;t suppose that presents a problem very often but on certain holidays I'm sure it does. The feast of St. George was just last week (April 23, to be exact) and I imagine the church was overflowing.

I haven't included a news story in a long time.
Here's one for today:

The US State department has expressed its concern that Greece is becoming/has become a major transit route for terrorists traveling to Europe and the US. The major issue is the huge number of illegal and undocumented aliens entering Greece, and that those people move on from here to other places.