I traveled 4,000 miles to walk the ruins of Athens.

I traveled to Greece in April 2023, marking it my first-ever solo international trip as part of my journey through Greece. It was scary traveling four thousand miles on my own. I have terrible anxiety, it was going to be interesting to see how I could handle this. I have broken my story up into a few parts, exploring the beach, ancient ruins, and cuisine over 11 days in Greece. This part covers the first two days of my trip in Athens.

I arrived at Hotel Polis Grand in Athens, don’t laugh — I got stuck in the elevator. I had just gotten off a long flight, and my brain wasn’t working well enough to figure out how elevators work in Europe. I had a full-blown panic attack. I was tired and hungry, and my anxiety kicked in big time. It was late in the evening, and I was on edge. The room was small and stuffy, and the AC wasn’t working, which made it worse. I was ready to call it quits and go home. I had to call a friend to calm me down, which she did. I spent the rest of the evening in my room. I ordered some room service—a club sandwich from the hotel restaurant—and settled in for the night with my journal

The next day, I got to meet the other people from the tour. I started to feel more at ease and excited about the tour. I booked with Exoticca, an all-inclusive tour company. I didn’t trust myself at that point to book everything on my own. I booked my trip with Exoticca.

That day, we toured the Acropolis of Athens, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Panathenaic Stadium, and the Acropolis Museum.

The tour started in the morning, so the weather was pleasant since most of it was outdoors. There were a lot of people there, but it wasn’t as crowded as I expected.

I was able to walk around, explore the area, and take pictures. It was rocky and uneven, so I had to pay more attention to the ground than what I was taking pictures of.

I enjoyed walking around the ruins. It astounds me that this place has survived the rise and fall of civilizations. My journey through Greece felt complete here, as it shows the true beauty of the Greek culture. The Acropolis was such a site, and the pictures I took don’t capture the excitement I felt being there.

I am surprised my pictures turned out as well as they did.

Panathenaic Stadium

I didn’t go inside, we just took pictures from the entrance. It is the only stadium in the world entirely made of marble. It is still used for special ceremonies and events.

We toured the Acropolis Museum, which I found fascinating. The details of these statues displayed were beautiful. I just walked around admiring the detail of each piece.

The Sphinx statue, which represents Triumph and Defeat. It’s one of my favorite statues; it depicts a creature with the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the head of a woman. In Greek Mythology, the sphinx was a creature of destruction that preyed upon travelers (me), killing anyone who could not answer her riddles. Out of all the statues I saw in the museum, this one held my gaze the longest. The sheer pose of it depicts power and grace all in one. created in 560 B.C. It still amazes me that something from ancient times is still standing in its magnificent form today.

I wasn’t expecting there to be so graffiti in Athens. It didn’t take away from how much I enjoyed the city.

The part of Athens I enjoyed the most was the outdoor markets. I wish I had taken more pictures. I came across this vendor selling fresh fruit. The strawberries looked so good and sweet. I regretted not buying any.

We strolled the streets and alleys, looking at shops, restaurants, and outdoor vendors. The ladies and I stopped at a local outdoor seafood restaurant. I don’t remember exactly what we had. Whatever it was, it was good. We ordered bread, grilled fish, and calamari.