Right in the middle of Athens are the ruins of the Temple of Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch.  It is quite impressive to see this famous archaeological site with modern Athens all around it.

The main area, and central to most tourist spots, is Syntagma Square.  This is a large area of the city with lots of shopping, cafés, and government buildings.  It is probably one of the nicest areas of Athens (see?  I can say good things about it).  It is also the starting point of the two competing “hop-on, hop-off” bus tours.  I highly recommend this because not only is it a good way to get to the key destinations, it is a way of avoiding the jam-packed metro.  Also, because they are competing side by side, just say you are going to be in town for three days (if you are) and they will validate your ticket for that long, even though it is only supposed to be for 24 hours.  I definitely got my 18 euros worth from this.

 The hotel where I stayed, the Novus, was a stylish boutique hotel.  Everyone was very accommodating and helpful, especially with the ferry fiasco.  They serve a nice buffet breakfast and have a rooftop pool and bar where you can also get a meal.  Here are a couple of shots of the view, the Acropolis and the pool:

Here are some images around Jerusalem outside the Old City.

Always a feast for the eyes…

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My first trip to Oceania was truly something to remember and know that I look forward to returning to it some day.  People are unbelievably friendly and there is never a shortage of things to do.  Here are some final images of Sydney.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are lots of restaurants, shops, ships, entertainment and museums here at Darling Harbour (note this is not the harbour where the Sydney Opera House is).  There’s a fireworks display tonight, so I plan to go back again today and check out some of the attractions that were closing by the time I got to them.  But the Aquarium stays open late, so I got a ticket for that (see next post).

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I have an old digital camera. One that takes those $15 dollar batteries you always have to replace. Not that I was dying to get a new camera, but awhile ago the battery cover clasp broke off and the only way to keep the compartment closed is to tape it down. Pretty ghetto. When the tape loses its adhesiveness, the door flies open and I have lost a couple of those $15 batteries when they fell out. So, I figured it was time for a new camera, one that is compact but does a decent job. I got the Canon SD1300. I really want a Canon Rebel DSLR because I have a regular Rebel SLR and several lenses. So I can use the same lenses on the digital version. But $600 is not something I want to spend right now. This seemed decent. Not bottom of the line, but economical.