Christian Museum; National Garden; Panathenaic Stadium (Olympic)

Our first stop today was at the Christian Museum where we saw a number of byzantine icons - artifacts which are centuries old drawings on wood. From there we walked to the nearby National Garden which is quite large and had a few small animals on display, but it's no longer kept up.  In better economic times it was probably well looked after and a popular place to spend lazy afternoons.

One of the many colourful icons, some of which were carried during processional walks.

National Park

Now that's a bale of turtles

Next we walked over to the Panathenaic Stadium which is entirely made out of marble, we can only imagine how it must have looked when it was in it's glory.  In 2004 Olympics the Archery was held here, as well as the finish for the Marathon race.  Now it's only used for select events and occasional concerts, and of course it's one of the main tourist highlights here in Athens.

It's inspiring imagining how it must have felt being a competitor, and a spectator.

Olympic Rings 

Nobody can resist the temptation to stand on the First Place podium at an Olympic Stadium!