Athens - Beth

Athens.....

Jane and I arrived in Athens while the boys drove down the length of Italy to catch a ferry...

It was much warmer in Greece...warm enough for sandals and a sundress!

We had been to Athens 4 years ago in the aftermath of the Olympics and so it felt quite familiar to me.

We were staying in a friendly Aussie run backpackers near the Acropolis which turned out to be completely central and very accessible.

So after dumping our bags and claiming our bunks we headed into the Plaka for a bit of shopping and something to eat.

It all came flooding back to me, the street vendors, the restaurant sprooks and the mass of souvenirs available at every shop! But "all handmade - here in Greece- My father's design"!!

We found a little noodle house claiming to be a Thai, Chinese, Indian restaurant and ate some Chinese food cooked by a Pakistani guy with a phillipino waitress...

To Jane's great delight she sampled her first taste of Fried Ice Cream....I have never seen a look of such joy on her face..."this is the best thing I have ever tasted" and she begged for the next 3 days to return for more...

Another wander around the Plaka as we made our way back to the hostel and some banter with the locals who are always is seems interested to know where you are from and what you are doing in Athens...it is a very friendly and easy city.

On return to the hostel we ascended the 5 floors to take in the view of the Acropolis beautifully lit against the night sky. Quite amazing really to think it has been there for so many centuries had had so many incarnations.

With some hope of retiring for at least some sleep we headed back to meet our room mates and settle in.....not much hope of that as it turned out...there were 4 other young ladies in our room and being a Thursday night...or just a night in Athens there was much activity hair fruffing for a night on the town...and it was only 8pm....So off we went to the sister establishment where both Jane and I were welcome to participate in the Karaoke spectacular....Jane was desperate to have a go and after much deliberation we decided to sing Dancing Queen...Abbatastic!!

There were only a handful of other punters and they all got a giggle out of our rendition! The evening lasted for a couple of hours and a few more Abba songs...and then it was no longer appropriate to have Jane is a predominantly Aussie establishment...and so we returned to our bunks and a reasonably quiet room....

Remarkably we managed to sleep through breakfast and so we ventured out to find a western style brekkie...we did to my amazement find bacon and eggs...and coffee!

Next we took in the recently opened Acropolis museum which according to the guidebook is a must see...The must see part is the building itself...concrete and glass with amazing angles and textures. (must remember to find out who the architect was.) During excavation for the build they unearthed the foundations of an ancient Athenian neighbourhood and were obliged to preserve them and so they are encased in glass under the new building with archaeologists still digging in full view.

The contents of the museum are all artefacts taken from the Acropolis and the Parthenon and are essentially housed here to preserve and protect them. Od course there is such a huge extent of history enclosed in the building and it is all a bit thrilling and interesting...it is the building itself that captured my interest completely.

Onwards then and up the hill to the Acropolis itself,...past Dionysis Theatre and up up up to the marble palace on the hill. My first impression was just how vast it was. Huge beyond my comprehension and 2000 years old...it amazes me to think how all of the skill and knowledge of the ancient Greeks was lost during the dark ages and how long it took to gain it back. I wonder, are we really any better off in our modern world than our ancestors were 2000 and more years ago?

After all that history and philosophy it was time to hit the shops!! We headed into town and wandered down the main shopping street in Syntagma, all the usual suspects including Accessorise...mmm the English empire still exists on some level!!

Eventually we could walk no more and ended with dinner in the Plaka and a reasonably early night...

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The boys arrived the next afternoon and we moved into an apartment, run by the same group but a bit more privacy and a TV!!

We spent the morning at The Temple of Zeus were Jane recited some of the Greek Myths verbatim...I swear she has a photographic memory.

Then more wandering through the Plaka....it is now Jane's favourite place....and then back to the apartment for some r&r...read TV viewing....and waiting for the boys!

Ok...waiting some more...then realised we would have to book our ferry tickets for Monday because nothing would be open over the weekend....quick rush to a travel agent and all sorted!! and then off to the supermarket...always interesting to go to the supermarket in another country where you don't speak any of the language and there is a strong possibility that the staff will not speak English....

Anyways...supplies sorted...and the boys eventually arrived looking slightly dishevelled from their ferry experience....

We froofed up and headed out for dinner. Jane and I had been to a traditional taverna for lunch the day before and they had promised Greek dancing and music so we made our way up the hill and after a couple of wrong turns we eventually found our way. It was only just warm enough to sit outside but it was so beautiful under the autumn vines with fairy lights and the gentle sound of a tour bus crowd dining inside! Only just duller than the traditional Greek music!!