We’re in Athens!
Athens, the city of ancient ruins, and modern society, all bunched together. This is the first time either of us has been to Greece. We had heard that the food was great, but there is so much more about Greece and Athens in particular that came as unexpected.
As we had a long flight into Athens, we only got out at night that first day, and were too tired to take any pictures. However the following evening we got to see the Greek life at night, and were greeted with this sight of the ruins lit up over the city. And people everywhere. We had no idea that when we flew in on the 30th of April that May 1st was a holiday for all of Greece. So that next day as we wandered around in a bit of stupor from jet lag, the whole city was shut up,
The streets were empty, and all was quiet. You could see that all the roll down doors for the shops were tagged by spray paint artists, some are quite good, but most are just tagged,
And then into the early evening the quiet continued with empty restaurants, and streets,
Despite this we did manage to do some walking around the city that day, and the cafe’s are always open so a good Greek coffee was one of our first finds,
The making of this coffee was quite unique. The coffee pot is that copper vessel called a ‘briki’. The water and very fine ground coffee go in and it is not heated over a flame but in hot sand! As you can see this made someone pretty happy!
So with the coffee out of the way we headed out toward the Acropolis. Here are some of the chapels we saw along the way. They seem to be dotted everywhere throughout the city.
This one is a bit bigger than most chapels that we saw.
Along the main street leading up to the Acropolis there are many vendors of trinkets, and restaurants, and music. Most of the trinkets are typical cheap items to remember Greece by. But the music was really good! And one guy dressed up and holding the world over his head was kinda interesting,
They played traditional Greek songs, people were singing to them. 
How he could stand there for hours without moving much, I don’ know! 
You could even pay for bubbles, but why would you not just look at them for free? 
This guy was really good! Aaron Lordson!
Aaron Lordson, you need to hear him! This guy has got something special! Check him out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZaNWwWh5tE
Oh yeah did we forget to tell you there also some street food along the way, like these Greek sesame bread rings (koulouri thessalonikis). These breads are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. And they are everywhere.
Of couuse we had to have one. Yummy!
Then we made it to the top with the river of tourists, and come to find out that the Acropolis is also closed today. So nobody was allowed in, however we still managed some photos from there.
So we, Nancy and I, really don’t know anything at all about Greek history, but we do know this is really old, and really impressive! We read somewhere that it was built in the 500 to 400 bc. That’s pretty old!
Another view that was impressive is the view of Athens from up there. It’s is hard to comprehend that Athens is a city of more than 5 million people, and the entire population of Greece is only 11 million people. That means that almost half of all Greeks live in Athens!
It is a really really big city!
On our way back on this day the throngs of people were too intense for us so we finally got into some of the back streets and found a sweet little restaurant. It was pretty amazing because this place was literally two short blocks from the main gathering of tourists, and we practically ate alone, with the accompaniment of traditional Greek music from this guy,
Let’s see…..that’s crushed olives, fava bean dip, moussaka, and what is it that Nancy is drinking at 2:00 in the afternoon? Oh yeah, we asked the waiter what was a traditional drink to have with lunch and one of the choices was ouzo, oohh boy! That’ll make you smile!
That night we wandered the streets only for a little while before jet lag settled in again and we called it a night.
The next day was a real surprise. All those stores that were closed were now open, and all those people that were inside were now outside. Imagine all those roll down storefronts with graffiti and tagging art were now vendors selling their goods,
It was really amazing the stark difference in how the city felt, like it was alive again. The smells, aromas, everywhere. The spices, cheeses, meats, teas, all mixed up and all around you. It was really quite incredible!
And now, of course again, COFFEE! We found another great coffee place that roasts their own coffee, right in the store. I don’t know what we would do without coffee. It is our one true vice.
We also went to the Athens outside market today. It is not really outside because it is in an area that is permanently covered. A lot of meat and fish, and pretty smelly, but a sight to see,
Then as the day was winding down there were a few oddities. First were the sellers of used stuff, mostly a lot of junk,
I mean, I’m sure some of this stuff has value but it is all so jammed together that the presentation of it all just makes me think of ‘junk’.
And then there was this restaurant that was themed on Mary Poppins! Now do you think this could go over in the states? The waitresses and waiters dress in costumes from the movie, and all that pink!
Plus umbrellas hanging in the street, ooh la la!
Even if I could not sit myself up to a table with all that pink around me, this place was consistently crowded with a waiting line in the evening hours.
So for now we will say ‘Adio’, and leave you with some of our remembrances so far,
We’ll see you again from Athens!
Travel Adventures - Gary and Nancy 