The Acropolis, Athens, Greece

What a disappointment. At least for me.

As previously reported, our entrance to the site was later than we had planned. Now we had to deal with the heat of the day and tons of people lined up around the ticket plaza to get their admission tickets. And once inside, crowds of people everywhere.

But what was most disappointing to me was all of the reconstruction. When I had visited Athens 44 years ago (was a baby LOL), I was actually able to walk within the Parthenon columns. Now, everything is roped off and there is scaffolding and cranes all over the place. Pieces of marble are lined up on the ground, stacked one above the other, as the buildings are taken apart and put back together again. Plus, so many of the great original pieces, like the Caryatids, are in the Acropolis Museum. I had to keep reminding myself that a lot of what I was seeing was built over 2500 years ago.

My husband's reaction had some similarities. He too found his experience dampened by the fact we had to climb the steps to the gate twice and the horrible crowds. But he feels that to finally see something he has heard and read about for so long was totally awesome.

Final note: Hang onto your Acropolis ticket as it allows entrance to some other sites around the city such as the Greek agora, the Roman agora, Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Zeus.