Athens Adventure, Part Three

Saturday, March 25

Today was a holiday in Greece and as such, we spent the day commenting on how it was so good we'd done some of our touring around earlier in the weekend. Many monuments and destinations were closed. Turns out the Acropolis Museum was free to enter today, but it would've been packed so it's okay that we paid to go in on Friday night.

We ate breakfast and then went up to pack. Checkout wasn't until Noon, but we asked them to store our bags and we were out the door shortly after 10. We walked over to Syntagma Square again thinking we'd get a spot to watch the parade we heard was happening today. Only when we got close, there was a heavily manned police perimeter around the square and the parliament building. We had to walk a few blocks up and stand on the wall of a planter to see just a tiny bit of the street. We could've probably gotten closer, but given all the warnings about staying away from large gatherings of people, and given this was a military parade and could therefore get a little politically charged, we stayed on the fringes of the crowd and kept an opening at our backs. I was nervous. I didn't like the fact that the police were in full riot gear and that there were more and more people pushing in from every direction. We made a plan that if something did kick off, we would find a corner and huddle together until it was all over. Seemed like a better idea than being pushed along in a a mass of people and end up getting tear gassed or something.

Buses and police keeping people from entering the metro station and parliament area.

Maybe this should've been a sign to stay away?

But, it was all just fine. When the parade finally started and we could see the tops of the heads of all the marching regiments, we both relaxed a bit. There was chanting and yelling and much cheering for all the soldiers. And the soldiers themselves would chant as they marched past too. I commented to Brandon that no on must be guarding the country because the shear number of bodies in each contingent was huge. We didn't stay too long watching. We couldn't see much and our feet were sore so we moved on.

We strolled down Ermou Street into Plaka and stopped on the way at a bakery. Brandon had a massive doughnut and a latte with so much sugar it was almost too sweet for him. I had a huge cheese and spinach pie and it was soooo good.

From Monastiraki Square, where we'd been to buy our sandals and where the flea market was, we went a different route through the market and found the entrance to the Ancient Agora that we couldn't find on Friday. It was closed which was too bad because it would've been the perfect time to go see it today and our tickets from the Acropolis included entry here as well. Oh well, we took pictures through the gate!

Part of the Ancient Agora

Cafes lining the street

We continued along a long row of cafes and came to a street full of people selling - well - everything. There were some with tables but most had their wares spread out on blankets and there was much noise and bartering going on. And this continued around the corner and up another street. Here, absolutely anything could be found. There was a man fixing a DVD player outside on the sidewalk, you could buy silverware, car parts, kitchen knives, decor items, and enough porn to take the internet out of business. I tried to keep an open mind through this jaunt but had a hard time with that while being pushed around by so many people. It was mostly men here and without Brandon my discomfort would've bordered on fear. I'm sure this is a very normal Sunday activity, but it all seemed so poor and slum-like and dirty.

We found our way back into the flea market street we'd been to before and bought some bits and pieces to bring home. We found that the touristy shops are just like here in Edinburgh - everything's the same and the claims of best quality and best price are made from every doorway. Much like the restaurants, most shops have someone at the door and as soon as you hesitate to look at something or make eye contact, you're set upon. And oh it's hard to get away or say no. One jewellery shop guy shook Brandon's hand and said, "oh yes, I know Canada very well! And oh yes, Scotland is very beautiful! By the way, you come see my jewellery?" They're funny, but really annoying sometimes!

This reminds me of our first night. One of the restaurateurs slapped Brandon on the shoulder and while pointing out "the very best food in Athens" on his menu, he proceeded to tell us that the reason his salads were so good was because they use The Olive Oil. Huh. Who'd have thought? The best part though was when Brandon started asking him questions about the quality of the oil and the guy suddenly had to backtrack a bit and he quickly changed the subject.

We found a small painted pottery pitcher, small bottles of olive oil and ouzo, and a little silver owl to bring home. Along with the postcards we bought at the Acropolis Museum, Athens should be well represented in our flat.

We took a bit of a rest in the shade of a big church before making our way back to Syntagma Square. We discussed whether Athens has always been like this or if the financial crisis is to blame for the beggars, disuse, decay ad abuse of the buildings. The sandal maker told us that the best thing the government has done is to do away with so many civil service jobs. He said that years ago the government basically bribed people away from farming and production jobs with the promise of good wages. He said this was intended to create a massive pool of grateful and loyal voters. Now that there's no money left all those people will have to return to traditional jobs and businesses. He thinks this is best for Greece. Time will tell I guess. But I'd like to see Athens in ten years and see if there really is a difference.

We got on the city sightseeing bus again since we didn't get much of a tour yesterday morning. Good thing they're two day tickets! We spent nearly two hours seeing a lot of the city centre. The university and library buildings were highlights and so was the prime minister's residence with its surrounding park. We were very fortunate to see a changing of the guard here, similar to what we saw last night at the parliament. But the commentary told us more about the soldiers. Their uniforms are very important and traditional. They wear a type of kilt with 400 pleats - one for each year of Ottoman Occupation. The soldiers are responsible for keeping the uniforms immaculate and in their residence dorms, there are professional steam presses they use to keep them perfect.

The Prime Minister's residence

Traffic stopped and we waited to watch the changing of the guard

This is where we learned about the 400 pleats

The Panathenaic Stadium

Athens University

Decoration on top of the National Library

When we'd seen everything on the tour we stayed on the bus and got back to our hotel area. i had a bowl of yogurt with quince preserves and sliced almonds and oh man, my mouth was in heaven. We also had our last gyros and then ventured into one last souvenir shop to buy a couple of magnets. The guy tried so hard to sell us more and followed us around pointing out all his best bits. We almost felt bad only spending 1 Euro on our two magnets!

We walked slowly back to the hotel, picked up our bags, checked email and Facebook, cleaned up in the lobby bathrooms, repacked and went to the metro. One train to Syntagma, another train that we thought would get us all the way to the airport but actually ended about half way there, and one more train to take us the rest of the way, and about an hour later we were at the airport.

Tomorrow's final instalment will be a bit of a debrief of the trip, including details of how in spite of all my best efforts, I still get stressed out in airports!

Athens Adventure, Part Two

Saturday, March 24

Today we got started a little later but still made it down to have breakfast. There was Halva there on the buffet today!

We bought kind of expensive tickets for the hop on hop off bus tour this morning. In theory, it was a great idea. But it turned out there was a parade in the middle of the city and we wouldn't be able to do most of the tour stops until after 1pm. We still went on with the tour and saw a few different parts of the city though. We went past the Panathenaic Stadium, the Archaeological Museum and a few other important places. We observed that this is not a very kept-up city. I don't know if it's because of the money problems or if as a culture the upkeep of buildings is not a priority, but there's at least one building in every block that is boarded up or burnt out. Projects look started and abandoned and there is graffiti everywhere. There are definitely more affluent places, but the really nice apartment buildings are next door to rather run down ones.

We had to trade buses to get back to our beginning stop and when we did, we headed for the tram station. We tried to figure out what tickets we needed from the machine, but there were four price options and no descriptions. So we bought the most expensive (1.40 Euro) just in case and headed towards the shore. We got off the tram where the hotel front desk guy said we should and we did go down and wander on the beach there for a bit. But it was so gravelly and there was nowhere to sit and nowhere to buy lunch. So we walked back along to the stop before, checked out a restaurant that we decided was not too keen on tourists, and then walked a little further to where we found our spot for the afternoon. There was a cafe and bar there and we had chicken souvlaki sandwiches, complete with french fries inside, and a glass of beer each. We chose our lounge chairs from those set up in front of the water and proceeded to soak up the sun. Brandon got a henna tattoo from a wandering vendor guy and then went and jumped into the sea for a quick swim. We didn't plan well for the day so we didn't have swimsuits and I didn't want to get soaked so I stayed with all the stuff. We also didn't bring sunscreen along with us so we paid a crazy amount of money for a bottle of spray on stuff that was too big to bring home in our carry on luggage. Oops. It was worth it to spend the time on the beach though.

At the second tram station where we changed trains

It was so cold!

Eventually we both had enough sun and we made our way back to the tram. When we transferred lines we stopped into a grocery store and bought pita bread and hummus to eat at the hotel. The people in the store don't get a lot of tourists because nothing had English labels and only one or two staff spoke English. We communicated as well as we could though and then caught the tram back home. Again, the sun had us craving naps and after showers to wash of the sunscreen - and cool down the burn that was spreading over my shoulders - we slept for about an hour before heading out in search of dinner.

We walked past Hadrian's Arch, the Temple of Zeus and the National Gardens on our way to Syntagma Square. It was nearly dark already so we couldn't see much of the park, but there was a large theatre surrounded by orange trees that we stopped to take pictures of. Brandon picked an orange and we tasted it but both spit out the pieces as it was unbelievably sour. Not quite ready yet I guess!

Hadrian's Arch

Temple of Zeus

Temple of Zeus

Zappios - a theatre. Also where some early modern Olympiad events took place.

More orange trees

We went a little further down the road to the Greek Parliament building and watched two guards in some kind of ceremonial marching around. We found out later that they are the guards of the Unknown Warrior's tomb. They perform this changing of the guard every hour and there are two of them there 24 hours a day. They wear very odd uniforms consisting of white tights, short kilt-like skirts, jackets and what appears to be stiff shoes with pompoms on the toes. They have metal on the bottom because they are loud when the soldiers stomp and kick their feet. There's a parade in front of the parliament tomorrow to celebrate the Greek independence from Ottoman rule and seats were being set up. We might come back for it.

Syntagma Square

The parliament is just outside of Syntagma Square and we wandered around a bit, trying to find somewhere that looked good for diner. But I was very uncomfortable and not happy at the thought of walking back through this area after a late dinner. This is where the protesting and rioting happened a few months back. So we headed back towards our Acropoli area and ended up in a restaurant in Plaka that was really good. We had fried cheese, moussaka, gyros and souvlaki

After our short walk back from the restaurant we just lazed about in the hotel room. I pre-packed for tomorrow's departure because I don't like to panic in the morning before breakfast to get things put away and cleaned up. Brandon was falling asleep quite early so I ate the Twix bar we were going to share and put him to bed. I'm so sorry I gave him my cold!

Athens Adventure, Part One

I've decided to tell you all about our long weekend in Athens in three installments because well, there's a lot to tell! Here's part one.

Thursday, March 22 and Friday, March 23

Let's begin with Thursday, our travel day. We got up early, made a massive breakfast and made our way to the airport. We made it through security quickly and over to our gate - when it was announced. We waited about half an hour for them to assign it and once they did there must've been quite the rush to line up because when we got there, the queue was ridiculously long. Because the airlin works on a rush seating basis, the closer you are to the front of the line the better. But, they announced that they would give priority boarding to anyone who offered to check their bag instead of carrying it on. So we did. It meant we might wait a bit on the other end, but we got to sit together for sure this way.

Anyway, we walked out of the terminal and boarded from on the tarmack which always give me the giggles. Quickly we were up in the air and we had an uneventful, smooth four hour flight. And considering we had more leg room here than on our trans-atlantic flight six months ago, it was nearly first class!

We arrived in Athens shortly after 5 local time. We went through customs quickly but it was odd to not have to fill out declaration cards. We didn't answer any customs questions, it was just a quick scan and stamp of the passport and away we went. Our bags were out already when we got to the carosel so really, checking them made no difference in the end.

We made our way to the metro station and after asking two ticket people who both weren't all that helpful, we found the right train. It took forever to leave the station and when we did, ours was the 15th stop. We transferred to go one more stop in another direction and came out at the Akropoli station. There, when you exit the stairwell on the street level, turn to your left and look up, you're right under the Acropolis. What a feeling that was! We were definitely in awe and a little bit of shock I think. As much as we've seen already in the past six months, we really felt like this was truly foreign.

Brandon's awesome sense of direction had us quickly finding our hotel and we checked into our room. We had a king sized bed which let me tell you was such a thing to marvel at compared to our tiny bed at home. So much space! There was also a small balcony but we were on the wrong side to see the Acropolis while sitting out there.

We cleaned up a bit and went out to find supper. The street in front of the metro station has all sorts of cafes and restaurants and we eventually, after being told more than once that this place or that place had THE BEST food in Athens, we chose a place. We decided to just order starters and began with a sharing platter. There was all kinds of stuff on it including small triangles of cured beef that were amazingly tasty. There was also fried cheese with fig jam on it, olives, tomatoes, falafel balls and dips of all sorts. We talked to the waiter about what to orer next when a miscommunication of some sort happened. Somehow in the translation we ended up ordering a stuffed pork entree to share. We only found out we'd ordered it when we called the waiter over to ask for a plate of calamari. But oh man, that was a mistake in our favour. That may have been the most amazing pork we've ever tasted. It was stuffed with some kind of fruit and all sauced up...sooooo good! The calamari was pretty good too even though it was technically our dessert!

We ate at the place beside this one.

Calamari!

After the bottle of wine we shared and all the food, we didn't much feel like going too far from our bed. So we picked up some baklavas at a little sweet shop and put ourselves to bed.

Friday morning we had a really good breakfast at the hotel. It was included in our stay and it was listed as an American style buffet. There was bacon and tiny sausages, fried eggs and these little square frittata type things, and also traditional fried dough balls served with syrup that were really good. And there was also yogurt. Wonderful, creamy, tasty yogurt that you could add preserves or honey to. We ate lots and then made our way to the Acropolis. We took our time heading through the park and up the hill and thouroughly enjoyed the sunshine. To be in shorts, t-shirts and sandals was glorious!

The view of the street from our balcony

The part of the park that we entered at was the Theatre of Dionysos. I still need to do  my research because I don't really know what the purpose of this theatre was. Signs also said the Sanctuary of Dionysos so I think it was a place of worship. Though you can't see all the stone seats now, ou can see how far up they would've gone into the hillside. Many of the seats still have beautiful carvings on them.

The Acropolis hill

Theatre of Dionysos

The highly carved side of one of the seats

We continued up the hill along the wall and saw an ever expanding city as our view. It's much, much bigger than either of us thought it was. We saw stones with inscriptions on them that date as far back as 190 B.C. We stopped to take photos of another theatre that would've been fully enclosed when it was in use and then we headed into the main acropolis area. Before we went up through the first gateway, we picked olives off the trees and tried them. Now, Brandon doesn't like olives at the best of times. But being brave, he went first and tried to split it open to get the pit out before he popped it in his mouth. It rather exploded and spurt juice all over me. And they sure didn't taste any better than they looked sprayed all over my shirt! It was the most bitter suck-all-the-mosture-from-your-mouth thing I've ever tasted.

Olives!

And so, up the slippery, polished marble steps past massive carved columns to the top of the hill we went. And there to the right - the Parthenon. And to the left - the Erechtheion. I don't even really know what to say about all of it. Knowing these structures have stood for more than 2000 years is humbling. You can't get too close and there's intense restoration work going on, but it's all pretty amazing. And the longer you look, the more you start to notice things. Like the detail in every surface. It's not hard to understand why the stone masons in Scotland took inspiration from places like this. The tops of the columns, the lintels on doors, floors, walls - all decorated to the glory of the celebrated god or to Athens herself. We were lucky that it wasn't too busy and we were able to wander and spend lots of time up there.

We leaned that the Acropolis hill was the site of a battle between Athena and Posidon. Both wanted to claim the city for their own so they both made an offering to the people. Posidon struck the ground with his trident and from the rock sprung up water. But it was salty like the sea and not useable. Athena offered up the olive tree and the citizens saw it as a better gift because it gave them wood as well as olives for food and oil. From then on, Athena was the protector of the city and the people worshiped her and erected these temples for her. Posidon was also worshiped in the Erechtheion building, but to a lesser extent I think. I thought this temple was more interesting than the Parthenon because that's the one that always gets the most attention. It would've been amazing to see them when they were in their glory though. Maybe someday we'll go back and see them all restored.

We made our way down the hill and into the Plaka district. It's the oldest area of the city and almost fully pedestrian only. There are cafes everywhere that spill out into the street and as you walk down the small terraced alley ways you feel like you're going to come out into another century. We took our time and just meandered around all the small streets till we found our way to a couple of main roads. There's a massive shopping area and we grabbed a quick sandwich wrap that wasn't very good. But we also stopped into a bouzouki shop where amazingly, turns out the guy has a Greek bag pipe in the basement! He brought it out to show Brandon but he didn't offer to let him play it. That would've been so cool.

With not too much effort, and thanks again to Brandon's amazing map skills, we found The Poet Sandal Maker's shop and found our perfect pairs. I read about this place online and knew that we just had to go there. The namesake owner of the company has been making leather sandals for more than 50 years, a trade he learned from his father. Loads of famous people have shopped there over the years including Sophia Loren and John Lennon, and there were photos on the walls of other stars like Sarah-Jessica Parker and Bob Saget. There were more sandals in that shop in various states of manufacture than I think there are in most modern shoe stores and these are made all by hand. The Poet's son runs the business now and there were two other men working there too. We sat and talked to them as they finished up the pairs we bought with nails and glue. He told us all sorts of things. From the reason the economy is so bad and how the riots were the fault of the police, to how Pepsi is now adding embrios to their mixture to enhance flavour. It was an experience for sure and we're very excited about our new sandals. Mine are the Spartan or Sofia Loren style and Brandon's are called Diogenes. I regret very much that we didn't take photos while we were in the shop.

A small church

The modern shopping street, Ermou

Flea Market

We wandered some more through the Plaka and through the flea market where we were asked - and told - many times to buy all sorts of things. It was fun though stressful and eventually we found our way back to the hotel. There was a note waiting for us asking if we would switch rooms because the air conditioning wasn't working. We'd told them about it on our clean the room card that morning. So we moved two doors down into a room with two single beds - boo - and yet another air conditioner machine that blew hot air. Turns out at this time of year there is no air conditioning in the rooms, only warm air. I guess 22 degrees is still winter! It would've been nice if they'd explained this to us instead of making us change rooms, but oh well. We went to the rooftop garden and sat in the hot tub for a bit. It wasn't very hot water and it felt nice to relax. The only problem was that the hotel charges 5 Euro for towls and an access card that turns the jets on for 15 minutes.

We came back to the room with the intention of getting dressed and going back out but we promptly fell asleep! Apparently the sun wears you out. After about an hour of nap time we did go in search of supper and then we went to the Acropolis Museum. No pictures were allowed of course, but it was fabulous. All of the artifacts and statues from up ont he Acropolis have been fixed up and displayed. Many of them are arranged exactly as they would have been originally, especially the pieces from the top of the Parthenon. We learned more about what we'd seen earlier in the day and a lot more of it made a lot more sense. One really neat feature was the glass floor inside and outside of the building. When they began work on the museum they uncovered a large portion of ancient walls and artifacts from the old city. They covered it all up with this glass floor to make it viewable to the public. There was a sign saying that it should be open to the public for up close viewing by 2010, but obviously the funds must've run out as it's all still closed up.

The museum is just behind our hotel so it was a quick walk home for the night and we stopped to buy some snacks and drinks. We took them up to the roof garden and enjoyed the warm evening. Brandon caught my cold and the cold medicine we bought in the morning really helped, but his sneezes got more and more violent throughout the day. Hopefully with a good sleep he'll be better in the morning!