A Trip to the east...Athens; Day 1

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Thursday and Friday blends together. I had to wake up really early - of really late depending on how you look at it. I set my alarm for 1:30. There was no need in setting an alarm because sara was still awake and shaina was just ocming home. I got about three hours of sleep' a nap really, but enough to gie me the go for the next day. We walked briskly to Paddington Station to catch the bus to Victoria. I couldn't believe how bustling the city was at 3.00 in the morning. This isn't like New York City - the city that never sleeps, this was London, where last call on average is at 11.30pm.

After buying tickets the night before and returning them becuase we thought they were wrong, we get to victoria and find out we had the right tickets to start with. With the help of a very friendly guy at the tation, we got on a train to Gatwick and not the Gatwick Express saving ourselves about 15 pounds. We were pretty grateful for that guy. Check-in and everything went smoothely. We boarded early and landed early. You can't beat that. The best way to start out a long-awaited trip to Greece!

Living in London makes it easy to get around anywhere else in the world. I'm so used to purblic transportation now. my first thought getting off the plane was "ha...what am I getting myself into?" A reaccuring thought throughout this trip. As I look at all the signs in Greek, I realize that this isn't like French or Spanish, there won't be much communication with the locals on this trip. Any other language and I can maneuver. Greeknot a thing. We still got to our hostel = Hotel Zeus = in record time' and without getting lost. The hostel wasn't what I was used to but it was quaint. We are welcomed by the friendly yet somewhat sketchy greek guy smoking a cigarete. " Thirty-five Euro please. Your room is on second floor." We walk up the 'marble' sunken in stairs to room 8. Fifty-four stairs and we were there. Two bunk beds, four pillows and blankets, a sink, a bureau, a desk, mirror and window...not too shabby. Plus we have the room toourselves. It was basically a hotel for a fraction of the price. We prety much dropped everything, loaded our cameras and headed out since it was just about one in the afternoon.

Rose and I decided to walk in the opposite direction we originally came to the hostel - - bad idea. Flags should have started going off when people were getting too close and friendly and eyeing up me and my camera for way too long. I took out my camera and started snapping pictures. We were about to cross down a street when some guy who I never actually saw said "not a good idea..."
I grabbed Rose's arm and went down arandom stret - bigger than an ally but with the same characteristics. Going back towards the hostel to where I KNEW it was safe didn't cross my mind. Turning left did. Still with my camera out but too afraid to take any pictures I'm walking owards this group of men only hoping I'd make it though with my camera, purse, dignity, and friend rose. They see us approach and one comes up within inches of me and mumbles something to me and keeps staring btween me and my camera. Glancing down to the left I see a guy sitting on a crate heating clear (I think) liquid in a crucible looking dish with a lighter. I have no idea what this is but later evidence makes me believe it's probably heroin. The original guy gets closer and I just standup tall put my "im gonna kill you face' on and use my hand to push him away. This is the point when the adrenaline really started pumping. Time almost moved in slow motion - no it DID move in slow motion and I was trying to take everything in soI would remember all the details later. I remember only hoping the guy I pushed away didn't retaliate. Two other men didn't seem to be paying attention to us. THe fifth-- the fifth man now got all my attention. I was no longer worried of what was behind me nly of what lied ahead. The man with the syringe and cigarette in one hand and blood running down his arm that had my attention. My right arm was recovering fro pushing the other man away and all energy went to avoiding this bleeding man. About a half meter past this crowd I looked back for Rose to make sure she was still right behind me. We both made it out not fully thinking aout anything but finding that main street again. The smell of fish told me we had to be close to the fish market we passed on the way in on Athenas Street. I didn't want to look, talk to, or be near any Greeks for a few minutes. I needed space. ( In heinsight I wonder why we didn't walk AROUND this group of guys by going up the street instead of the sidewalk...who knows..) This was my first real world your on your own in a bad situation and it was ok. If I was with the right person I feel like i'm ready to travel to the east more. There is something exciting about being in that kind of 'danger'

I read in my "Athens Rough Guide" book about Lykavitos Hill. It's "a steep ascent through the stepped residential streets" Steep is an understatement, but the view ontop makes it worth it. I'm non-shalantly checking my map every other street to make sure we are staying on target. We get to an area that looks like we're going through someone's porches. I think i was an appartment building so we probably were. We finally get to the top of what had to be a good quarter mile. A quarter mile doesn't seem that bad but thses were steep...I mean i've been working out every day on the elyptical and tredclimber and my legs were crying. At the top (so we thought)an old greek woman gestured for us to go right and then up. Filling the air with gestures of our graditude we follow her signalling to some 'marble' stairs. There were gigantic aloe vera plants like those in Antigua. but more importantly, some paths leading up to the peak of this 'hill'. The whole way up the view was amazing and it was just about sunset. We kept running into 'cowboy and his friend" I'm pretty sure they were greek but they looked like they could have been from L.A. We finally get all the way to the top probably another good quarter of a mile of steep climbing - though not as bad as before - and the view was breathtakingly gorgous. Well, WELL worth the effort.
We spent a good amount of time taking pictures of the 360 degree view of Athns just before sunset. You could see Acropolis and the Mediterranean behind it. We went in this little old chapel - St. George's Chapel - made me think of England. After looking around a little more I found a cafe. I assumed it would clost an arm and a leg, but I didn't care I was hungry and the view looked unbeatable. It was actually quite reasonable. For bread and butter and a traditional greek salad it was around 8 Euro. The salad was aboslutely to DIE for. Huge croutons uner a bed of tomatoe slices, cucumber, onion, olives, peppers, and feta cheese. It was drenched in olive oil and topped with a shake or two of salt. It was the best salad I ever had in my life. And the view - you can't beat it. The cafe walls were made of glass looking on th sn setting over the cit. It was the perfect welcome to athens and end to our fist day in Greece. We took the tram down the mountain because it was cold/windy and dark. Oh I forgot to mention ho this was the first meals that actually filled me and Rose up. Even we couldn't believe it.

We roamed around the city going in backstreets with confidence again. We stumbled intoa chocolate store - what a surprise. I bought four trufles. They were amazing...and only 2 Euro too. I was loving the prices here. We got back to the hostel around secen and no lie Rose passed out by 7:45. She said "wake me up in an hour so I don't just sleep through." Ok Rose, no problem. In about less than a minute I asked a question down to her and there was no response. I did some work and reading and writing and by 10.30 I to, had hit the sheets. And so ended our first day in Athens. Rose with a smile on her face passed out in her day clothes on the bottom bunk, and me with a stomache ache becuase I ate too much. You could just tell this was going to be a good trip....

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