More From Athens

Sunday in Athens was a free day for the group. Tony and started the day with Latin Mass at on the few Catholic Churches in Athens -- the Cathedral of St. Dionysus (St. Dennis). It was standing-room-only inside the church. I could not believe it. Since I am still weak from this respiratory infection that I have picked up over here, we stopped at a cafe for some drinks after Mass, and then headed for the National Historical Museum.
The Museum is housed in the Old Parliament Building, which was founded in 1835 by Queen Amalia. The Old Parliament Building was home to the Greek Parliament from 1875 to 1935. In earlier times it was the home of King Otto.
The exhibits in the National Historical Museum cover Greek History from the fall of Constantinople until World War II. Among the exhibits we saw were:
* The reign of Otto, first King of Greece (1833-1862)
* The reign of King George (1864-1930)
* The Balkan Wars (1912-1913)
* The Asia Minor Campaign (1919-1922)
* The Greek-Italian War of 1940-1941
We arrived just as some sort of fund-raising event appeared to be ending so there were several rooms open that apparently are not ordinarily open, so I had a chance to sneak in and see exhibits that are not normally open to the public. It was awesome!
After the that leisurely stroll through the museum, my sick and tired self could take no more, so we caught the next shuttle back to the hotel, and I took a nap.
Dr. O'Dea and Debbie Bell had worked with the travel agency to arrange an extra free dinner at the hotel last night to compensate us for all the travel snafus we have had to endure. So the students were able to enjoy a very nice buffet dinner at the hotel last for free.
Tony and I are heading out soon to see many sights southwest of the Acropolis. The students are doing a variety of things today -- the Archaeological Museum, the Flea Market, the Agora, the beach, shopping, etc. Everyone is still having a good time, and we leave for Crete tomorrow.
Hope you all enjoyed Tony's post!
Joanie