Kalispera (Good Afternoon) Athens!
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Athens,
Greece
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Once I woke up, not so rested as yesterday--it was a hot night--I headed straight for Termini Station to catch my train to Fiumicino Airport. It would be a long day of travel, and I wouldn't get in to my new hostel till 7:30. And I immediately passed out for 3 hours. When I got up, I went to the desk and asked the nice German dude working there where to grab a quick, cheap bite to eat. So he pointed me up this street, where I found a grocery store, a bunch of cheap Internet places, and nice little cafes. At quarter to 11 at night people filled this square with a bunch of side-by-side cafes with plasma screens, to watch the World Cup match. Tonight, France and Spain. As I'm typing this, there's a constant roar, sometimes rising to screams and chance of "Espana, Espana!" or "Vive le France!" or "OOOOOOOOOOOh!" Pretty intense. Apparently France just scored on a free kick, putting them up 2:1. DANG. Well, anyway, my first impression of Athens, as I drowsily road a bus through it back from the airport, was it's really pretty, and really foreign. All the signs have greek lettering, and sometimes unpronounceable latin forms. Obviously I haven't seen much of the city, but just sitting in that plaza with the cheering fans, eating a greek salad and the best chicken pita I've ever had--I really liked it. And so far, everyone I've met has been very nice, and hasn't seemed too annoyed by my inability to speak Greek. I'm learning a little, though, since I stole Kelly's phrase book. Kalimera: good morning. Singnomi: excuse me. Ilikrina: I'm really sorry. Oh, and here's one I use a lot, Tha moo ferete tis valitses moo: Would you have my luggage brought up? So, I think you should try those out at your local Greek restaurant. You might get a discount. Or spit in your food. Well, I'm going to go watch the rest of this game.
Andio,
Matt
