Lots of walking
Trip Start
May 23, 2008
1
4
54
Trip End
Ongoing
Athens,
Greece
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Yesterday i went on my walking tour of Athens. It was incredibly hot but it was very informative as i had come to athens not knowing much about the history and culture so it was a nice eye opener to the their history. The tempreture here at the moment is about 30 deg c and very sunny, not much wind, so not the best conditions to spend the day walking around the city but i doubt i will find a day which is.
Our guide was a funny looking guy from North Carolina (US) - not a typical greek - but informative all the same. we went to 8 or 9 different sights, mostly ruins based around the Acropolis site in the centre of the city.
I will not bore you with the names (not that i remember them anyway, i would have to pull out my map and i cant be bothered!) but they were a mix of Greek and Roman ruins of libraries, towers and temples
gardens in Archelogical Museum
. About midday we started the climb up the hill (or huge mountain as i would like it to be called) to the actual Acropolis - a city built to protect the most important people in Athens. Originally there was 4 - 5 gates that you had to pass through to actually get inside, but now there is only 2 that are distinguishable. The top of the Acropolis is PACKED with tourists, it is only the shoulder season at the moment so july+august will be crazy up here. The actual temple up the top is pretty much in ruins and you are not allowed inside, and i was a little disapointed as half of the structures are surrounded by scaffolding and cranes. Construction on the re-building of the Acropolis started in the 1980's, but they had to stop because of the metal and chemicals they were using were causing the marble to oxydise and destroying it very quickly, Especially many of the sculptures on and around the area had to be removed and put into museums as they can no longer tollerate the weather, something that had not affected them for 10-12 thousand years. Acid rain also has played a part.My oppinion? I think that they should have left it the way it was. the ruins would have been so beautiful if you didnt have to pretend there wasnt a crane next to it. To their credit, they use as much of the original pieces as they can, but it is clear where the old part ends and the new part begins. The only time the scaffolding has ever been taken down was for the olympics a couple of years back, and as soon as it was over... it went straight back up again. It would be interesting to hear what the athens people think about it.
The tour was with other backpackers from a couple of hostels around the city. I was one of 3 from Aphrodite, the other 2 were guys from Canada, and we stuck together for most of the trip
gardens again
. I also made friends with a girl from Argentina; she was full of questions but found the guide was too quickly spoken and had a hard time understanding. There was also a 50 something lady from Sandringham Melbourne who was doing the whole backpacking thing - very interesting. she had heard everyting off her daughter and decided to give it a go herself. Good on her!One of the guys from canada is doing pretty much what i am doing - ecept trade the US for Australia and NZ. He is 4 months into his trip with about 5 months to go. Cody did pretty much the same tour through Africa as i did, so he gave me some tips on what he learnt. he said it was amazing and eye-opening, so i am looking forward to it.
The rest of the tour involved a couple of theatres, the temple of Zeus, the National Gardens and the residence where the prime minister lives. Every hour they have a changing of the guards outside the house, and we were lucky enough to see it as we were walking past. Each change takes about 20mins, so the guards only realy have to stand still for about 40 minutes before they leave. All greek men have to serve 1 year unpaid service in the military once they complete school (women dont however...hahaha sucker) and have the option once completed to be a guard.
Ruins of old Library
This is done for the honour, again it is unpaid...The end of the tour was at the parliment building in Syntagma square. This is thought to be the centre of the city, though you would not know as it all looks the same. The unusual thing about athens is that the buildings never tend to go above the 6th floor. They do not have the highrise buildings that we associate with a CBD. Athens tends to be chubby rather than tall. This was the most noticable from the top of the Acropolis - the city is huge - spreading all ways for miles, until they reach water or cliffs.
Anyway, by the time the tour finished it was so hot, my feet were so dirty ( i was wearing black thongs but they were almost white from the dust) not to mention sore! Walking from 9am to 4pm in 30 deg heat had totally exhausted me, so i took the easy option and caught the train back home (as if i was going to walk another hour through the city). Man, I cant wait to see how fit i get while i am away, if you want to loose weight come backpacking through Europe!!! haha.
When i got back to the hostel i spent some time on the net and then i sat in my room for a while. While i was gone an American guy - probably in his 30's - had come in and taken the bed above mine
Poppies
. This guy was huge and obnoxious, and he kept complaining about the heat and how heavy his tent was and how he had just brought a fan for 16 euros- pretty much anything that i didnt really care to know. He got onto his bed (shirt off of course... ewww) groaning and muttering, and within 5 minutes was pushing out the most dirtiest, loudest snores i have EVER heard! everyone that walked in was like 'what the hell!'. he slept from 6pm till 10 am this morning. It was horrible. I didnt get much sleep - it was also very hot. The rooms here have air con, but everyone has to pay 1 euro each if they want it. Much gayness. Luckily he left thismorning!!!!Tonight I am just planning on having an early night, I have to be up at 5am to walk to the station and catch a train to the port to then get a ferry which will take me 5 hours to Mykonos!!! Im spending 2 and a half weeks cruising the islands... ahhh what a hard life. I don't miss home yet (sorry)!
Comments
Message from the place you don't miss
Hi there, glad you are having such a good time as it would be waste of money if you spent the whole time pining for home. It is a bit confusing getting installments that are not in order but I can cope with that. uv u l9ots and looking forward to actually talking on the phone sometime. Luv Mumxox
Message from the place you don't miss
Hi there, glad you are having such a good time as it would be waste of money if you spent the whole time pining for home. It is a bit confusing getting installments that are not in order but I can cope with that. uv u l9ots and looking forward to actually talking on the phone sometime. Luv Mumxox