We assembled for the hotel breakfast at 8:30. It was a relief to see that Zack had made it to Athens after a classic adventure in traveling. It was his first time on a plane and his first time out of the NC-SC-GA area. I was glad to hear that he had brought his guitar.

By 10:00 we were walking up the Acropolis, stopping to climb the rock on Mars Hill where St. Paul addressed the Athenians. Thousands of people were at the Acropolis. Bob told us that the majestic Parthenon had, until fairly recently, had a marble roof. The building had been used as a powder magazine in the 19th Century. In 1867, a mortar shell hit the powder and blew off the roof. Such a shame... After checking our packs at the cloakroom, we entered the area. With our guide permits, the whole group got in for free. Unfortunately, there was a lot of scaffolding on the Parthenon and the Temple of Erechtheion . We took a quick walk through of the museum with throngs of school kids.

Afterward, we made a pleasant descent back to the City and ate lunch at a sidewalk café next to the Agora. Anne had excavated at the South Stoa where the Stoics hung out. The West Stoa was reconstructed with Rockefeller money so we went there first and walked through the Pottery Museum . From there, we traversed the agora to the east side and visited the Temple of Hephaistos which is very well preserved.

On the way back to the hotel, I bought a hat, postcards, and some stamps. We stopped at a Starbuck's for some needed coffee. Not only was this Zack's first time out of the southeastern U.S, this was his first time at Starbuck's! I wrote 5 cards which Anne mailed for me. We then rolled our bags several blocks to the Metro Station and took the train to Piraeus . We rolled our bags a good distance to the ferry. It was an enormous ship standing more than 10 stories high. Anne, Bob, Drew, and I shared a cabin on the seventh deck. This would be my first overnight on a ship.

We went up to the top deck where most of the students were gathered. I had a drink with Justin, Heather, and Sara. Then we all went down to the cafeteria and had dinner. I tried Retsina, an odd combination of white wine and pine pitch, which is a Greek tradition. The ship started her engines at 9:00 and we were soon underway. I went up top and photographed the lights of Piraeus as we pulled out of the harbor. The wind had picked up and I went below to the cabin arriving at the same time as Anne, Bob, and Drew. We took showers and went to bed. In spite of the walking of the day, I had a hard time falling asleep.