Having already written about the Plaka area of Athens (including Monastiraki Square, Ermou Street, the Ancient Agora and the Metropolitan Cathedral) and wanting to save the Acropolis for its own post, I decided to give you this Top Ten list of other places to see in Athens!! 1. Temple of Olympian Zeus * The colossal and enormous Temple of Olympian Zeus , dedicated to the King of all Olympian gods , was once the largest temple in all of Greece. While the building of the temple started in the 6th Century BC , it wasn’t finished until 638 years later , in the 2nd Century AD . Talk about procrastination!!  

Such is the beauty of this city, that a random turn on some street corner can expose you to a sight like this. Continuing on my life-goal to explore a big chunk of the world in this lifetime , I found this Athens trip significant for three reasons: a. This crossed out another city from my “ Civilization II / Age of Empires Ancient Capita l” list; having already done Jerusalem and Rome and just leaving  Cairo and Istanbul . b. This was the first foreign trip that Monicca (my sweeter, much more attractive, definitely less grumpy, half) and I have ever gone on together. c. By attending the wedding of Monicca’s good friend in Mykonos (the whole reason for the trip to Greece) , I could now check both "Attend a Greek wedding" and "Experience an Orthodox mass" from ye olde bucket list. So accompanied by our beloved chaperone , Khamil (Monicca’s aunt) , and having re-watched 300, Troy and Percy Jackson as a refresher course on Greek culture, we em

Being a fan of the 90’s  Three Musketeer films (which starred Chris O’Donnel , a sober Charlie Sheen , and Jack Bauer himself, Kiefer Sutherland ; and later on Leonardo DiCaprio ), I always wanted to see where the Musketeers had faithfully served the King and fought against the forces of the evil Cardinal Richelieu , as masterfully played by Tim Curry . That being said, I was thrilled at the chance to visit the Chateau de Versailles , one of the most beautiful and famous palaces in history. * A statue of Louis XIV on horseback can be found on the very front of the castle grounds, looking all gangsta and victorious . Louis XIV, known as the Sun King and Louis the Great , was the King of France and Navarre for 72 years:  the record for longest reign ever! He was so old when he died, that his great-grandson inherited the throne as Louis’ son and two grandsons were already dead! Having won three major wars (against Germany, Spain and the Dutch) , Louis was king during Fra

Frequented by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Salvador Dali, Amedeo Modigliani and Piet Mondrian , Montmartre is Paris’ artistic quarter . An area bustling with poets, street performers, musicians, young lovers, philosophers and gypsies; it seems that one could come out of this place a little bit more creative and reflective just by breathing the air. Definitely a MUST for every traveller in Paris, Montmartre is where one would go not to admire buildings, works of art or masterpieces; but people and the creative spirit. * Coming out of the Abbesses Metro , one can’t help but feel cozy walking along the streets of Montmartre. So this is the real charming part of town.. no grand museums or monuments to kings, no outward displays of religious art; the most interesting part of this area is the people itself. Just charm, pure charm.

One of the most overlooked attractions in Paris is the Musee de I’Armee . Located in Les Invalides , this museum has one subject and one subject alone, WARFARE . Originally, I wanted to see the place only because it contains Napoleon’s Tomb , which is something I had wanted to see ever since I saw the episode of GI Joe where the Joes battled Cobra because Cobra needed Napoleon’s DNA to build Serpentor . (Geek talk) But this place turned out to be so much more. Containing weapons, armor and artifacts from antiquity, the dark ages, the Renaissance, all the way to the two World Wars, this Museum is as awesome as it gets, it being one of the largest and most complete military museums in the world. So fellows, when all that your ladies want to do is shop along Champs Elysees , do yourself a favor; HEAD HERE ! And feel the manliness coursing through your veins. * After getting off the Varenne metro stop , one must take a very pleasant walk towards the Museum. I would highly