Athens, Greece

Color me irked. I wrote a really long post yesterday about Athens, only to have the computer pitch a hissy and delete it all seconds before I posted. Grrr. So I'm going to give it another try. Here it goes:

When I was in Sofia, I couldn't decide whether I ought to go to Athens or spend some more time in Bulgaria on the Black coast. I spent a long time vacillating between the two, then opted for Athens though it would be the costlier/more inconvenient choice. I was really excited about the city when I first started this trip, and I decided I would regret skipping it.

Highlights of Athens definitely include the food. Yum yum yum. I spent the first two days stuffing myself with moussaka (made with tofu), eggplant dip, and tzatziki. Fortunately all my eating was interspersed with very long walks, otherwise I could have put on several kilos. :)

To be honest, Greece was really a culture shock for me. There were no homeless people, everyone spoke at least a little English, there wasn't a lot of trash in the streets, and the subways were immaculately clean. It was definitely a big change from my experiences in Eastern Europe.

Of course, I must write about the Acropolis. To be honest, I had some mixed feelings about it all. There were hordes of tourists there, but that was to be expected and it didn't bother me that much. The reason for the conflict in sentiment came from my dissatisfaction with all the rebuilding that was occurring. Now I know the correct term for it is "restoration", but I don't care to be politically correct about it. To me, the purpose of going to a ruin is to see a ruin. (Really the target of this rant is basically the Theater of Dionysus restoration project.)

That said, it was a fantastic experience to sit at the base of the Parthenon and bask in the shadow of past lives and legends. The ticket to the Acropolis included entrance fees to four other sites, which were fabulous. I spent hours wandering through lots seeped with intrigue and full of toppled pillars and fragments of marble. I was very fortunate, and the skies were clear and beautiful the whole time I was there. (No rain for once!)

I spent my last day in Athens running errands. I bought new underwear (for some reason, this was an arduous task and though I managed to find some, they have incredibly inane things written on them). I then got a haircut for fifteen euros, making it the cheapest haircut I have received in the last decade. (That guy in Belgrade wigged out about my hair so much that he made me quite paranoid. No pun intended.) Finally, I searched unsuccessfully for a sleeping bag, which I need for the camping tour I am doing through Syria and Jordan.

I was supposed to leave for Istanbul on Sunday, but my only option was a ninety-four Euro train ticket. Yeah right! I saved myself forty euros by catching a bus on Monday, leaving at 7 p.m. and arriving at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.