Athens: It was cheap, festive, and friendly. The food was delicious and we ate in traditional tavernas that dotted the busy stone streets. The most unique part of our visit was that no matter where we went there were monuments of classical history.
When we first arrived in Athens International Airport It was 23:00 (As far as the 24hr clock goes, I am getting used to it. After all, it makes more sense. Is it that hard to count past 12?). We had some fun talking Greek to the metro-operator, ended up on the wrong side of town, and once again cursed our luggage. It took us about six tries to get a taxi driver willing to pick up two Americans with a limited vocabulary and 60 kilos of luggage. Finally, we got to the Hotel Cecil. Apparently “hotel” means hole-in-the-wall in Greek. However, the service was nice and we got ourselves and our bags squeezed into the delightful Athenian closet.
We hit the streets. Blind, mute and hungry, we just went straight. We ended up at a corner shop that had some food on display, but the catch was you had to order every single ingredient separately. Luckily we found some ready-made olive baguettes and some pizza zambon which we ate in the middle of a park full of strung out junkies. One highlight was the Albanian newspaper stand vendor who befriended us and thinking I was an Aussie, started asking me about Melbourne. He sold us beer on the street. There was porn on public television. Ah…Athens.
Our next morning was started with a Greek breakfast that fueled our hike up the acropolis to the Parthenon. Exercise was enjoyable; at this point I’d eaten over a kilo of feta per hour since I’d arrived. Athens by day and Athens by night are like…day and night. There were street musicians that deserve the money we pay American Idols, fresh fruit markets, vendors of all colors and sorts selling beads and trinkets of the same. We enjoyed the ruins until a warm rain silenced the city.
In my short stay I did notice a few interesting differences. First, waiters do not bother you while you are eating and are pretty hard to catch once you have ordered, but vendors selling anything from cameras and pirated DVDs to rugs and purses come right up to your table with sales pitches. It is really hilarious, actually, because the police are constantly chasing them and they are constantly packing up shop and running away with smiles on their faces. Number two: due to the thin piping of the sewer there is no flushing of toilet paper, instead you deposit it in sanitary plastic bags and throw it in a bin. Finally and most surprisingly, everyone speaks Greek!
Enjoy the photos on Picasa. On to the land of the Minotaur. Cherete!
When we first arrived in Athens International Airport It was 23:00 (As far as the 24hr clock goes, I am getting used to it. After all, it makes more sense. Is it that hard to count past 12?). We had some fun talking Greek to the metro-operator, ended up on the wrong side of town, and once again cursed our luggage. It took us about six tries to get a taxi driver willing to pick up two Americans with a limited vocabulary and 60 kilos of luggage. Finally, we got to the Hotel Cecil. Apparently “hotel” means hole-in-the-wall in Greek. However, the service was nice and we got ourselves and our bags squeezed into the delightful Athenian closet.
We hit the streets. Blind, mute and hungry, we just went straight. We ended up at a corner shop that had some food on display, but the catch was you had to order every single ingredient separately. Luckily we found some ready-made olive baguettes and some pizza zambon which we ate in the middle of a park full of strung out junkies. One highlight was the Albanian newspaper stand vendor who befriended us and thinking I was an Aussie, started asking me about Melbourne. He sold us beer on the street. There was porn on public television. Ah…Athens.
Our next morning was started with a Greek breakfast that fueled our hike up the acropolis to the Parthenon. Exercise was enjoyable; at this point I’d eaten over a kilo of feta per hour since I’d arrived. Athens by day and Athens by night are like…day and night. There were street musicians that deserve the money we pay American Idols, fresh fruit markets, vendors of all colors and sorts selling beads and trinkets of the same. We enjoyed the ruins until a warm rain silenced the city.
In my short stay I did notice a few interesting differences. First, waiters do not bother you while you are eating and are pretty hard to catch once you have ordered, but vendors selling anything from cameras and pirated DVDs to rugs and purses come right up to your table with sales pitches. It is really hilarious, actually, because the police are constantly chasing them and they are constantly packing up shop and running away with smiles on their faces. Number two: due to the thin piping of the sewer there is no flushing of toilet paper, instead you deposit it in sanitary plastic bags and throw it in a bin. Finally and most surprisingly, everyone speaks Greek!
Enjoy the photos on Picasa. On to the land of the Minotaur. Cherete!
