Athens

Trip Start Apr 20, 2008
1
40
69
Trip End Ongoing


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Where I stayed
Serge's Apartment
(Athens hotels)

Flag of Greece  , Attica,
Saturday, September 6, 2008

Arrived in Athens late in the afternoon and was forced to quickly readjust to being back in a country where I don't speak the language. Added to this difficulty is the fact that everything is written in Greek.. I eventually found myself at the station I had been directed to and called Serge, my couch surfing host who came down to the metro station on his bike and escorted me back to his apartment in the centre of Athens. Things were a bit crazy as an American couple were just leaving and a French couple were due to arrive as well as a friend of Serge who has recently broken up with her boyfriend had taken residence also. I was moved around from room to room three times before it was decided where I would sleep. Serge is an eccentric 40 odd year old Ukrainian who has lived in Greece for 16 years, his Japanese girlfriend Miwa was in Japan working for a couple of months which could explain the state of the apartment. It's a little run down which if fine but the bathroom and the kitchen are grotty and disgusting. I made one attempt in cleaning the kitchen which resulted in Serge bursting into the lounge room and kissing my hand saying thankyou thankyou thankyou.

The day after arriving, Thursday that is I set off to have a look around Athens, on my own as Dave was not due to arrive until Friday, a fact that doesn't bother me at all but which shocked and surprised a few family members when I told them Parliament house
Parliament house
 . I tried to remind them that I had spent 4 weeks in South America on my own and a day in Athens was really no problem. I went to one of the central squares Sindagma which was right near parliament house where the funny looking guards stand, the ones that march really funny and they're most allowed to move except every hour when it's changing of the guards. It was abut 35 degrees so the poor buggers must have been roasting. Another soldier (one that is allowed to move) came along and wiped the sweat off their faces!!!

Friday morning I was at the airport by 7.20 am to meet a very jet lagged Dave. After allowing him a couple of hours sleep I dragged him out to see the acropolis, close up and from the inside this time. It was another scorcher in Athens and probably the hottest time of day to be climbing to the top of the ancient archaeological ruin. It was very impressive and to think that some of those rocks have been there for thousands of years is amazing. We enjoyed the view of Athens from the top, the only downfall being the amount of scaffolding around the ancient site is a bit of a shame. We also visited the temple of zeus and the Panathainako Stadium, where the first modern Olympic games were held. We finished off the day by visiting a restaurant recommended by Serge and ordered way too much food!!

I took a walk through the national garden and back out onto the street where I suddenly thought I was back in South America as I had ended up right in the middle of a protest.. The funny guards
The funny guards
 . After forcing my way through the crowds I continued walking through the streets of Athens with the bizarre mix of the old and the new. Modern cafes, starbucks, designer stores etc. line the streets occasionally interrupted by an ancient building or archaeological site. I eventually reached the archaeology museum and spent a couple of hours walking around looking at the old marble sculptures of mainly naked men with broken penis' or heads with broken noses.
Not being used to walking around all day combined with the fact that my new thongs from Brazil that had only been worn once were fiving me blisters I decided that it would be a good idea to jump on a bus that took me around the city to the main tourist attractions. So I have now seen the entire city of Athens through a bus window although was not given much information concerning what I was actually looking at!
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