Athens - Costas Varotsos - Dromeas aka "The Runner"

5/21/2012
The bus tour continued through Athens.  What a pleasant surprise!  Read on...

This section of the drive will cover the road between the Panathenaic Stadium and the Hilton Athens.  I posted about the stadium earlier in celebration of the Olympics.  You can read about it here.

Many of the more modern looking buildings had green areas on the roof.  This building is across the street from the Panathenaic Stadium.

The jacaranda trees were starting to bloom.  They are the trees with the purple flowers.  This is an apartment building in the area.

A parking garage entrance.

A side street opens up the view to the mountain top.

 I am very thrilled to have seen this next sculpture. As soon as you see this green glass sculpture, you know that it is something amazing.  It is the dark area in the center of the photo. This sculpture was created in the honor of the Olympic runner Spiridon "Spiros" Louis. He was the first who won the modern day Olympic marathon. Now the route of each marathon must pass through Omonoia Square, where the monument is installed. (Bestourism.com)  *I have an update to this.  The statue has been moved because there was concern about the vibration of the Metro in the Omonoia area.  The statue is now located in front of the Hilton Athens on Vassillissis Sofias Avenue

 Returning home, I researched this sculpture and found that it is the most well know work of Costas Varotsos.   This is the clearest, closest photo that I could get while driving in a bus!

 I found a great video on his website. It is in English and he is speaking English.  Take a moment to watch it.  CLICK HERE. Must see video for my sister!!

 Click here to see the video of the construction.  His website is http://costasvarotsos.blogspot.com.
I spent some time looking at photos and web articles about this sculpture. The comment that intrigued me the most is one that said that the glass is truly magical is you see it at night with the lights reflecting from head to toe.

Well, the driver is moving on so I can't take any additional photos of this marvelous piece of public art.  I swivel my head and see another big structure.  The Hilton Athens is an impressive building.  46 Vassillissis Sofias Avenue, Athens

 Apartment buildings in the neighborhood.

 There is a nice park in the area with a large fountain.

 I find these little cars to be quite amazing.  Look how it is crammed at the end, where the parking IS NOT.  You will see this in several of the posts.  And the marking on the car says "rapid delivery".  Well, not this time.

 Oh good, a sign.  Now I can figure out where we are.

 This was an opening in the sidewalk.  A little bit of ruins with your daily walk.

More to come!