Day Two - Athens

Today, we had a very brief introductory tour of the city of Athens, with the highlight being a visit to the world-renowned National Archeological Museum. One of the most important museums in the world, this facility houses the largest collection of ancient Greek art and sculpture - from magnificent gold funeral masks and jewelry of the Myceneans, to the marble statues of gods, goddesses, athletes, and statesmen that are the foundation of ancient sculpture. Our local guide, Mina, gave us a tour of the museum, pointing out and explaining the most important pieces. Because of heavy traffic in getting from the airport to the center of the city, we only had about an hour to tour the museum, but we were able to see all the important pieces and understand more about their history.


After the tour of the museum, we had our first Mass of the pilgrimage. Today's location is unique among the many places where we will be celebrating Mass because it was at a regular parish church, St. Joseph Church, not a larger church or shrine of special significance. Catholics are a very small minority in Greece - less than 1% of the population - about 98% of the population is Greek Orthodox. So there are not very many Catholic parishes in Athens. This particular chuch could probably seat about 50 people comfortably. We were warmly welcomed by two Missionaries of Charity Sisters, Mother Theresa's order, who have a residence at this church. It was a great, simple Mass to begin our pilgrimage.


This afternoon, we all had free time to explore the city on our own, get settled at the hotel, or take a nap to catch up on sleep. Some of us decided to wander through the city and explore - it's said that one of the best ways to get to know a city is to get lost in it; if that's true, then I know Athens well! We then had a wonderful dinner of Greek delicacies at the hotel dining room - everything from stuffed grape leaves to artichoke salad to grilled eggplant to backlava. After dinner, I offered to go on a walk with anyone who wanted to the Acropolis to see it lit up at night - part of the fruit of my afternoon wandering was finding the quickest way to the Acropolis from our hotel - and the entire group took me up on the offer! The Acropolis is about a 20 minute walk from our hotel, and it is surrounded by some great little neighborhoods with restaurants, shops, and cafes. It seems these restaurants only have outdoor seating! It is a beautiful night - much cooler than the 90s of this afternoon, with a cool breeze and clear skies. We had a great walk and got to see the Acropolis and its temples bathed in bright light.

Tonight, I am posting this update from an internet cafe down the street from the hotel - the computers at the hotel have been very slow this evening, and this is much faster. But the downside is that there isn't a way to upload pictures from my camera here at the internet cafe. So hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures soon. For now, know that we are having a wonderful, spirit-filled pilgrimage - everyone in the group sends love and good wishes to their family and friends. In the morning, we board our cruise ship for a three-day cruise through the Greek Isles and to the coast of Turkey. I will update things when I get a chance, and hopefully with some pictures!