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What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of fun things to do in Athens, Greece? Is it the Acropolis? The Parthenon? How about the Temple of Hephaestus? I bet the idea of going to museums never even entered your head. I sure know that it never entered mine! Hey guys, it’s me again, Shelby, and let me tell you, I never would have thought that I’d come to Athens and spend any length of time in a museum! Trekking around ruins maybe; out sailing on this gorgeous blue water, most definitely, but shutting myself up in stuffy museums? I mean, come on! Who would come all this way to spend time in Athens museums? The thing is, now that I know just how awesome Athens museums are, I’d definitely spend time in them again because truthfully, Athens has some of the most fascinating museums I’ve ever encountered short of Egypt, which is only to be expected coming from the home of western civilization. It wasn’t my intent to shut myself up in museums at all during my stay here, but you see, I had a sun burn! Yeah, I forgot to put my sun block on, and during the first couple of days I was here I got as red as a lobster and had to take a respite from out of door activities. Luckily for me I stumbled across one of Athens best kept secrets, the Acropolis Museum which had a phenomenal selection of exhibits on the history of Greece as well as stories and exhibits concerning the Acropolis as well, and the staff there was kind enough to recommend another museum, the Benaki Museum. The Benaki Museum (founded by Antonis Benakis) presents the history of Greek Civilization and of Athens, Greece in a format that was absolutely fascinating, and their exhibits cover a wide swath of Greek history with some things being so old that you can almost feel the history radiating off of them. From the Benaki Museum I went on to the National Archeological Museum which focuses on the Minoan civilization with a large number of exhibits that are truly astounding in their scope. Now don’t get me wrong, I didn’t just burry my nose in these Athens museums and do nothing else. I also enjoyed the cafes attached to them (or in some cases the ones that crop up right outside of them) as well as simply sitting in the lobbies and watching the people that passed by, especially when I was at the Municipal Art Gallery where the art spans the cultures from the ancient to the modern and the people tend to be an equal mix of locals as well as tourists. Do I want to spend all of my time in Athens in museums? Of course not, but visiting some of the museums here in Athens Greece definitely expanded my understanding of Greek culture. Heck, a little of that culture might actually have rubbed off on me! Speaking of which, I have a date. You see there was this curator who saw me lingering over this one picture and, well, we’re going out tonight. No, we’re not going to a museum, but I think he’ll definitely know of some fun things to do in Athens, Greece! Bye for now! Love, Shelby (S.O.S.)
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athens, greece, history of athens, home of philosophy, Benaki Museum,
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