title A Postcard From Athens: A Day Trip to the Olympics, Greece - 19th August 2004 intro Nick from work has air miles burning a hole in his pocket and so decides to arrange a day trip to Athens to catch a bit of the 2004 Olympic Games. We leave the UK at 2300 Wednesday, get to Athens at 0430 Thursday after a 3.5 hour flight, trundle around town for the day, see some sights, catch some of the games and hang out in tavernas before getting an 0530 Friday-morning flight back to the UK. No luggage and no accomodation to worry about makes for a great trip. Also, because we're so early, it means being able to get up the Acropolis before all the other tourists do, so it's possible to get photos without tons of other people swarming around. dcp_7566 On the train into Athens at around 0530 dcp_7567 Athens Airport train station dcp_7568 Hanging around by the parliament building dcp_7570 Nick finds an open bakery and stocks up dcp_7573 Heading up to the Acropolis dcp_7575 Nick looks around dcp_7577 The empty streets of Athens at around 7am dcp_7581 A feral cat feeds its kitten dcp_7583 The sun rises on the back of the acropolis dcp_7588 Sunrise in Athens dcp_7592 The Theatre of Herod Atticus dcp_7594 Another view of the Theatre of Herod Atticus dcp_7599 The Propylaia - entrance temple to the Acropolis dcp_7604 The Erechtheion dcp_7606 Another angle at the Erechtheion dcp_7611 Nosher swaps photos with a tourist at the Parthenon dcp_7612 A view over Athens dcp_7615 The Parthenon's columns dcp_7617 It's all Greek dcp_7624 Nosher sits on a wall dcp_7630 The back of the Parthenon dcp_7638 The ancient Agora - active in the 2nd Century dcp_7641 An ancient road dcp_7644 The church of Ayioi Apostoloi, built around 1000AD dcp_7645 An icon - in the true meaning of the word dcp_7647 The dome inside the Ayioi Apostoloi dcp_7649 The remains of the Middle Stoa dcp_7657 The Temple of Hephaistos (5th c. BC) dcp_7660 A tortoise crosses the path to visit the temple dcp_7666 The Stoa of Attalos, rebuilt by the American School dcp_7669 A woman tries to sell lace to passing tourists dcp_7670 Athens street scene dcp_7672 Everywhere there are ancient columns and ruins dcp_7675 More street life dcp_7676 Walking along Mitropoleos towards Monastiraki dcp_7677 In some sort of square in Monastiraki dcp_7679 A covered street dcp_7680 Looking down on a busy street dcp_7683 Some Pierrots or mimes practice in the heat dcp_7684 Flags of the world dcp_7685 More flags dcp_7686 Another souvenir street dcp_7687 The mimes are still going dcp_7688 Nosher meets up with Nick again dcp_7689 Time for a kebab dcp_7691 At the entrance to the Olympic badminton event dcp_7694 It's the badminton finals dcp_7695 Outside, the Romanian team pose for a photo dcp_7697 Olympic flags dcp_7700 There's a load of singing in Monastiraki dcp_7703 A bouzouki player dcp_7704 The Mexican hat dance dcp_7708 There's all sorts of celebrations going on dcp_7709 Flag waving dcp_7710 More flags dcp_7712 Nick holds up a beer as we eat olives and feta dcp_7713 Some dudes grill meat on a stick dcp_7714 The smoke is intense in the kebab shop dcp_7716 Nick has a kip back in the airline lounge dcp_7718 Fluffy clouds over London at about 8am on Friday