Athens, Wonderful Place to Visit

Well, here I am in Athens. I flew in on Monday AM, and found my hotel with less trouble than I anticipated. The taxi dropped me off at the start of a pedestrian mall, and said "It's up there" so there wasn't much I could do but walk "up there". Turns out he was right. Not the greatest room, by far, but a nice view from the balcony. Common, not private. But I can see the flower market in the square below, and the Acropolis.

The police Europe aren't much help. in my opinion. I asked two who were standing at the beginning of the mall if this was the right area. They simply ignored me until I went away. Later in the day, I asked 3 on a street corner for directions to the Tourism Center. They pointed down the street and told me the place I wanted was right next to the Parliament building, 3 blocks away. I'd been there, and it wasn't. Turns out it was across the street from them. Maybe not for general directions, but for a Tourism Center, you'd think they'd have a better idea.

You may remember my experiences in Bucharest trying to get directions to the police station. And the cop in Vienna tried his best to talk me out of filing a report on my stolen wallet. They are much better in the US, aren't they, Patti? So much for the complaints.

After checking in, I got my bearings. The Acropolis is not far from where I'm at. I walked up to the entrance, but it was too late to spend much time there, so I didn't go in. But what a sight!
Also, the tourist area of Athens is very near. Street after narrow street of little shops, with all kinds of souvenirs. Lots of restaurants to choose from. Additionally, for those serious shoppers, the cross street, Ermou, a few blocks down from where I'm at, seems to be the classy shopping area of Athens, from what I see in the windows. You ladies would love it. Shoes, clothes, shoes, jewelry, perfume, shoes, accessories, shoes. Even a men's store or two.

Yesterday, I strolled around town for a bit in the morning. An early lunch, and then up to the Acropolis. I spent the entire afternoon there. As usual, I took numerous photos. So many that I was deleting some near the end of the day to make room for more. I wasn't carrying my CD recorder. Maybe I should. Sure do miss the stolen camera. It held more, and when I had it, I also had the one I'm using now as backup.

The first nite here, I had a reasonably good meal, but nothing spectacular. Last nite was different. I enjoyed the dinner so much, I rewarded myself for such a good choice by having baklava for desert. And it was so good, if I'd had room, I'd have rewarded myself for that, as well.

Today I took a trip to Delphi. The first thing I learned was that the "i" is pronounced like the "e" in "me", not the "i" in "I". You all really wanted to know that, didn't you? Or maybe all of you did know, and I'm just catching up. Anyway, the visit was worth it. It seems that the only way to do it is to take one of the tours. Otherwise, it seems pretty hard to get to. And that makes me wonder how it was chosen so many centuries ago as such a sacred place. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been getting there on foot, or horseback, etc. It's way out of the way.

It seems that everywhere I turn in Athens I find another ruin. Or should I say Archaeological site? I think that's more appropriate. I marvel at the work those folks did 2 1/2 and more centuries ago. When I look at the grinding holes in the boulders near home, I'm impressed by the work the native Americans did making those holes over time. With that in mind, seeing all the marble and limestone buildings, statues, pillars, etc. here, I have to believe they were helped by aliens. What a lot of work!!

And unless you want your home to be 20 feet under ground in a few thousand years, you'd better get busy with the dusting. That's how deep many of these sites are. And where does the dust come from? There must be some big holes somewhere on earth that provided the earth to cover these sites.

I have to mention my impression of my first view overlooking the city of Athens. On the way to the Acropolis, on the grounds, as a matter of fact, I noticed a hill that a lot of folks were climbing. So, the herd instinct coming through, I joined them. When I got to the top, I said out loud "WOW!!!" What a city! And from there, all I could see was the northern half. Had to wait till I got to the Acropolis hill itself to see the rest.

Another thought. Why is it that Athens and it's ruins are so clean and spotless in appearance? Most of the rest of the major cities I've visited are dingy and grey. I saw them in some places power spraying the buildings to clean them. Here, it seems everything stays pretty much it's original pastel color. Tis a puzzlement.

You may be able to tell, I'm impressed with Athens. If you ever get the chance to come here, don't pass it up. And make certain you plan on spending as much time as possible. You won't regret it.

That's enough for tonite. Much as I hate to plan ahead, I have to start making reservations for Rome. I'll probably leave for there next Monday. More on Athens tomorrow or Friday Nite.

Into each life a little rain must fall. And I'm making up for lost rain today. Plus bad planning. Woke up to a drizzle, so decided it would be a good museum day. But first, I went to Pireaus, the port for Athens. On Saturday, I plan on taking the ferry to Aeginas, a nearby island. Couldn't visit Greece without one trip to the Greeks Isles, could I? When I got there, it was pouring. But I found out the schedules and prices.

When I returned, the rain had made it to Athens. But museums are inside, right, so not problem? Wrong on two counts. From November to April or so, they close early. 3 PM for the one I wanted to visit. So I can do a museum in 1.5 hours. But today, November 17th, is the 32nd anniversary of a student revolt that got rid of a dictatorship, or so it seems. So there were marches, police by the busload (I counted 6 buses at one location), closed streets and public transportation. Guess what else closed early? I'm not going to say. But the rain let up, so lets try for the archaeological sites I want to visit. Same answer. Next time read the guide book to find out when things open. They all were open in the AM.

So tomorrow AM it's the museum, as early as it opens. In the PM, I'm scheduled for a tour along the coast to the Temple of Poseidon. It was originally scheduled for today, but the demonstrations got in the way, so they moved it out a day.

Weird and crazy thought time. If you ever visit here, or most of eastern Europe for that matter, be prepared to like tomatoes and cucumbers. When you order them, they are very liberal in the portions. And a Greek Salad, at least the one several nites ago, is something to behold. A dinner plate in size. The only lettuce was the minimum amount required by law. The rest was tomatoes, cucs and onions. The Feta cheese was a block 3 by 5 inches and about 1/2 inch thick.

Remember the cats in Istanbul? Must be the proximity to Asia, because now I'm seeing dogs on the loose again. As I did in Sofia. Strange thing here is that most of the dogs have collars and tags. But no apparent owner. Escapees?

The rest of the week is the museum and Poseidon tomorrow, Aegina on Saturday, and finishing up on Sunday. I leave for Rome on Monday afternoon by air.

It seems there was more I wanted to say, but I don't know what it was, so I guess this is goodnite for now.