A few days in Athens
Trip Start
Sep 11, 2008
1
20
38
Trip End
Dec 12, 2008
Athens,
Attica,
Greece
Monday, October 20, 2008
I spent my first morning in Athens getting a few things done to organize my trip - surfing the Internet, finding guidebooks for Croatia and Austria, buying a phone card - and then ran into my hostel roommate Rebecca, from New Zealand, who had spent a similar morning. We went to the grocery store for some food, on the way to which we walked through the meat market. Quite an interesting scene, with very fresh meat hanging everywhere, some still with the heads. As two girls, this was a meat market in every sense of the word - all the butchers were trying to talk to us as if they'd never seen women before, approaching us with bloody hands and all. When all our errands were completed, it was the end of the afternoon, and too late to visit the Acropolis or any such sites. We walked through Plaka, a bustling and extremely touristy part of town, its streets lined with souvenir and jewelry shops and restaurants.
Rebecca found a more local and affordable dining area right behind our hostel (where I've eaten a majority of my meals since), so we had delicious yet very cheap gyros for dinner, then got some equally tasty gelato and wandered around the city and the Thisio area, which is a more ritzy version of the Plaka, mainly with atmospheric bars and restaurants.
Byzantine church
At breakfast the next morning, I met Audrey and Patrick, a couple from Quebec City now living in Paris. It was strangely familiar to hear their accents and to speak French! We made a date to meet up for dinner, and in the meantime, I visited the Acropolis. I wandered up the steep hill to the site, and decided to take my time - there was no rush and my legs were still in pain from the descent at Meteora! Visiting popular sites like those always make me feel more like a tourist, especially with all the Quebec accents I could hear all around me...it seems French Canadians visit Greece in large numbers! All in all, it wasn't too crowded at the top of the Acropolis, which was nice. It was surreal to see the Parthenon with my own eyes, although the view is always a little lessened by all the restoration taking place and all the scaffolding in the way. But I guess I can't complain, there's been scaffolding on the Acropolis for the last 40 years!
I made my way down the South Slope of the Acropolis to see the Theater of Dionysos - it's such a crazy thought to imagine that you're sitting in the very same seats that were occupied by ancient Greeks more than 2,500 years ago! I then visited the Temple of Odysseon Zeus, which must have been quite impressive when it was fully standing - I think it was the largest one in ancient Greece. That's one thing about visiting these ruins - you need to use your imagination to picture how they looked originally. The fact that substantial sections are still standing today is enough to amaze you, but I've been somewhat disappointed by the lack of context and explanation given to tourists at all these Greek remains sites. It sometimes seems that I would get a fuller experience were I to better understand what I was admiring.
I spent the rest of the afternoon strolling through Athen's National Garden, which seems to be the city's only green space (aside from that surrounding the Acropolis). Rebecca joined Audrey, Pat and I for dinner - the couple had a private room with a balcony, so we bought lots of typical foods from the grocery stores, wine, and cheap gyros, and had a feast!
Comments
Hey!
C'est bon d'avoir de tes nouvelles à nouveau.
Si tu veux avoir des tips sur comment parler croate, Fanny s'en vient pas pire. Elle sait même chanter leur hymne national!!!
Take care xoxoxo
Re: Hey!
Merci - je sais que ça faisait longtemps que je n'avais pas donné de nouvelles. Je vais aussi ajouter des photos bientot! :)