It’s been almost two weeks since I got back from my Greece trip, and I haven’t even written about it yet! But today, I’ve decided to start with the very first place I visited as soon as I landed in Greece: the Acropolis. Despite being enthusiastically greeted by my friend Jetlag, I managed to muster enough energy to explore this iconic site.

There was some construction happening, so parts of the area were blocked off. The entire place is covered in marble, so without proper footwear, slipping is almost inevitable—we saw quite a few people take tumbles. The walk to the top is uphill and can be quite the workout, so make sure you’re prepared for a bit of a climb. I’ve noticed that many European destinations involve a lot of walking, but since I enjoy the exercise, I clocked in about 12,000 steps each day.

The weather was surprisingly hot for late September, which threw me off as I had expected it to be cooler. The nights were chilly, but the days were sunny and warm. I’m not sure if I’d recommend visiting during summer—within no time, I was already tanned! Thankfully, I was wearing my yoga pants, t-shirt, and OC shoes, so I was appropriately dressed for the outing.

Regardless, I snapped plenty of pictures, and the setting sun made the Acropolis look even more stunning. However, thanks to jetlag, I now rely on those photos to remind myself that I was actually there—haha!

There’s plenty of history tied to the Acropolis, but you can easily Google that or read the history printed there. Overall, it was a fantastic place to visit, despite the heat and exhaustion. We also stopped by the nearby museum, but by then, jetlag, hunger, and lack of sleep had me nearly passing out! After a quick rush through the exhibits, we found a restaurant where the staff recommended Moussaka. However, be aware that it contains eggs, so it’s not vegan-friendly. Fortunately, we found Gemista, which is vegan and just as delicious.

And here’s a glimpse of the Acropolis at sunset…