The National Gardens

Today I took a quick stroll through the National Gardens located in Athens. I found entering a little intimidating as the location is next to the Greek Parliament building, so there are lots of cops/guards around. There was even an armored vehicle with lots of police standing around it today, and they had bullet proof shields. At first, I though something was about to go down, but then I saw they were all drinking iced coffees and knew it was just a typical day next to the Parliament building. I mean you don't drink an iced coffee in the midst of  a heated development right? The National Gardens used to be the Royal Gardens and now is just a park. The Parliament building used to be the old palace. Inside the Gardens are some ruins, columns, mosaics, busts of people, and a pond with fish in it (my favorite part).

The fish pond. I think some were koi. My favorite part.

They make these little trough type things for the hoses, but water runs through them as well.

Cafe in the Gardens

Bob didn't know who this was. I didn't look it up.

Bob told me this says something like "donor" on it, so it is probably a bust of someone who had given financially. I also did not look this up. Sorry about the lack of looking up the details today, but instead I spent two hours looking up places to get bacon and eggs in Greece as most places aren't open early in the morning and most "breakfast" places here just serve pastries. I was told that breakfast here is usually just a cup of coffee and for some a cup of coffee and a cigarette. I did notice that a great majority of people here seem to smoke. I think this is enough detail now on this statue of some man.

Thought of the day:
As I am walking around getting all hot and sweaty I realize I'm doing a lot of walking up and down steep inclines. I'm not talking about at sites in particular, but just the regular streets. I then see an elderly man stop and be helped to sit down on a set of stairs. It occurred to me that the area didn't seem too friendly to those who have difficulty getting around. Not to mention trying to dodge traffic. Also, the side walks are very uneven and can get extremely narrow. Then I thought about handicap accessories like walkers, canes, and wheelchairs. I need to look up about handicap accessibility in Athens as I can't imagine trying to use a wheelchair around town.