Athens in 36 Hours

Internet has been hard to come by in Cairo, so here is an overdue, brief re-cap on our short stay in Athens, brought to you in a reader-friendly format of simple do-s and don’t-s…

DON’T…
–Make online reservations at a hostel and not write down the address. Yes, you would think this should go without saying. Why neither of us thought to do this before we left Rome is beyond me. Maybe the Peroni beers and endless pizza had gone to our head. Once we realized our mistake at the airport in Rome there was nothing we could do. Kevin ended up stopping by a car rental place in Athens and an English-speaking woman directed us to the Athens Backpacker Hostel without a problem. Phew..that could have been a lot worse.

–Worry that you are in a bad part of town just because everything is run down, dirty, and there is graffiti on abandoned buildings.  Athens is just really, really old. I should note that there are some nicer parts of town– mostly renovated for the 2004 Olympics. The new, very modern Acropolis Museum is definitely worth a look- and for only 1 Euro!

–Be fooled into buying an overpriced umbrella from pushy street salesmen (However, they weren’t nearly as bad as the men at the Spanish Steps insisting they wanted to “give” me a rose).  Although it was raining nearly the entire time during our 1 day self-guided tour of Athens, we trudged through, standing out in our waterproof jackets and pants, but standing (and dry) no less.

–Order the Greek coffee. At least get it with sugar if you want to try it (for some reason I held off, not knowing this might make or break the drink). I had heard that the Greeks “started” iced coffee– which came with milk in a tall glass. Apparently this is just referred to as “coffee”, and “Greek coffee” is a hot drink with the grounds still in it and no milk. Kevin was appalled that there was actually a coffee I didn’t like (if you can call it coffee). I sadly threw it away, 1.60 Euro down the drain.

DO…
–Spend the seemingly overpriced 12 Euro for the Acropolis. Although no guide or map is included, the views of the city are breathtaking and remnants of ancient civilization facinating. We took our time wandering through the ruins of the Parthenon, temple to Nike Athena, Thission, Erechion, and Agora (where Socrates did his thinking). This will be better explained with pictures, when we can get those up, or feel free to Google the images if you are so inclined.

–Find an authentic Greek restaurant to try some Moussaka, Gyros, Greek Salad, and Ouzo (an alcoholic drink that tastes like black licorce…not good but worth trying). We ended up at God’s Restuarant (who knew he was in the food industry?) for dinner Friday night, and lunched at Petro’s Saturday afternoon (where I enjoyed a delicious and much anticipated iced coffee).

–Take time to visit the original Olympic Stadium (which only could have been better if we were able to take a lap around the track), Parliament, Tomb of Zeus the Olympian and the Arch of Hadrian. All are within walking distance, even in the rain.

–Enjoy the simplicity of European lifestyles and amenities. I say this because we are now in Egypt, where among other things, English speakers, clean bathrooms, and walkable sidewalks are not as common. More to come on this subject… (much, much more)

On An Evening In Roma

We had been told that to lessen the “culture shock” of traveling, to Egypt, for example, it was a good idea to stop somewhere in Europe first, especially since the flight over would probably include a layover there anyway. After some debate between Rome, Paris, London, and Madrid, we decided on Rome. Not only was the flight here fairly cheap ($345), but we also squeezed in a stop in Athens for only $100.  I also admit that I did say, “If I’m going to be in Paris, I want to have clothes.” Not that I don’t stand out here as one of the only women not wearing tall, flat boots and a cute jacket. But, of course, we are going to have to get used to standing out….

We arrived in Rome around 8am Tuesday, but back home it was only 1 in the morning. Although we’d only gotten a couple hours of sleep on the plane, we couldn’t bear the thought of getting to Rome and going straight to bed. We checked into our hostel, The Beehive, which was clean, but turned out to be somewhat overpriced. From there we headed to Vatican City to attempt and score some tickets to see the Pope, who greets his flock every Wednesday at 11am. After asking 5 or 6 guides/policemen  where the “bronze door” we had read about was, we recieved our free tickets for “Udienza Generale de Sua Santita Benedetto XVI”. No matter that Kevin is Lutheran and I’m not necessarily a practicing Catholic…when in Rome, do as the Romans do!

After admiring St. Peters Basicalla and literally almost falling asleep in the Vatican Museum, we decided a nap was in order, since we’d been up for nearly 36 hours. The nap turned into a full night’s sleep, and we were up by 5am the next morning. We headed out around 7am to see the Trevi Fountain and search for a cheap breakfast (which we finally found after walking out of a few places whose 9 Euro, about $15, omlettes were not within our price range). After Trevi we visited the Pantheon and a Christmas Market in Piazza Novena (which, compared to Chicago’s Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza, I didn’t think was anything to write home about…although, I guess I am…).

It was a cool experience to be in the “flock” of hundreds who were cheering and waving to the Pope. We listened to him and the Cardinals speak, mostly in Italian, for about 20 minutes, before taking the Metro to see the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Circo Massimo (where the Chariot races were held).  Exahusted again from a long day, we decided to take a nap, although this time we awoke right in time for happy hour and free pizza at Hostel Alessandro, where we were staying.

Since we had already hit most of the major tourist attractions, Thursday morning we leisurely enjoyed our free breakfast at the hostel, and headed to see the Spanish Steps, with no other set plans for the day. We checked out the less “touristy” parts of the city, strolled along the Tiber River, enjoyed some gelato, and an authentic Italian meal at De Montecarlo (which was recommended to us by two older Italian women who raved about the food– although the only word we understood was “spaghetti”, we got the idea).

While heading back to the hostel that evening, we were awestruck by several flocks of birds swarming above us. This may sound strange, (and believe me, it was) but once you take a look at the pictures and video you may understand better. We were informed from a 2nd-hand source that this natural phenomenon was called a “Storni” (although we haven’t been able to verify that via Wikipedia yet). We ended up talking with the fellow American toursists who we recieved our information from, and eventually headed out with them to find an “appertivo”- Italy’s version of a happy hour with all-you-can-eat appetizers.

Although we don’t have any “crazy” stories to share yet (besides those birds), Rome was a great time and a perfect start to our long trip. English is spoken nearly everywhere, people are friendly, and tourists are common. Although somewhat pricey for our budget, the mix of  sightseeing, history, food, and most importantly, hot showers and drinkable tap water couldn’t  have been better. (Pictures will be posted asap!)

On to Athens…. Ciao!