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Published: August 7th 2012
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Our final day in Athens prompted Harriet to declare that she is a city girl. We were walking across Sintagma Square after an afternoon at the beach. We had just stepped off the tram and were immediately immersed in the ebb and flow of urban life. The contrast of the calming beach and peaceful tram ride with the hustle and bustle of the city excited the comment.
We had been to the beach as once more this was part of the 2 day itinerary we were following. It had been a bit of a disappointment. The beaches in Melbourne are better than the beaches in Athens! The suggestion had been to take the tram to the esplanade, walk along and grab a freddocino and then dip on the sea. The tram and walk were fine but we couldn't find any of the "numerous cafes" and the beaches looked dirty. There were not long lengths of beautiful sand, but instead short patches of rocky, muddy, beaches. We left the front to find a cafe, grabbed some food and chose the quietest patch on the beach we could find. We realised afterwards this beach was quiet because it was the gay beach.
Harriet and Fiona didn't care and Toby just put up with it. It was really nice to get in the water and cool down, but painful on the feet as the bottom was rock and stones. As with most European beaches, peddlers walked up and down selling drinks, cigarettes, sunnies and bracelets. They also had bikinis for sale. It's maybe a bit late to buy a bikini if you are already on the beach, but someone must need them.
We were glad of the chance to cool down as the morning had been a hard haul to the top of a hill. The views however had been worth it. There was a small church at the top and we each lit a candle and said a prayer. It was a beautiful little chapel and still in use. Every year, on St George's day there is a candlelight procession up to the church, which sounds beautiful. We wanted to get the funicular down the hill as we had walked up, but somehow we missed finding it and ended up walking both ways. We grabbed a cold drink at the bottom and Fiona discovered her pet peeve of Greece- smokers in
cafes sitting under no smoking signs.
We wondered around the agora as it had been closed yesterday and then decided it was too hot and went to the beach. Toby and Harriet stopped on the way for another frozen delight- Greek yoghurt. The shop was paradise for them; you served your own yoghurt choosing from 6 flavours and then added your own toppings, paying by weight at the end.
We hadn't followed the itinerary exactly as we had missed the agora yesterday and didn't feel like a museum in the morning. They had suggested a bohemian square as a place to find lunch and so we thought it would be good for dinner instead. It was only about 1km away from the hotel so we thought an evening stroll would be nice. If we thought the area around the hotel was seedy, this was worse. There were people sitting at the side of the street as if it was a great place to hang out, but there was nothing there- no shops, cafes or anything. Further up the road 2 guys did a drug deal right in front of us. There was no hiding it or doing it
secretly, it was very obvious.
The square itself was really pretty and there were cafes with alfresco dining all around. We chose one off the main square and had a cheap and cheerful meal with Ouzo. Harriet was not so keen on walking back as she hadn't enjoyed seeing the drug deal, but Toby assured her that there would be no trouble for her. So with Dad as her protector she reluctantly started for the hotel. We had not gone far when 2 men who looked Indian cam running up the street. One was carrying a bag and both Harriet and Fiona thought he had stolen it and that the other guy was chasing him. Harriet even stopped to see if he was going to get caught, until Toby suddenly yelled at her and Fiona to run and sped off back towards the square. We were all wearing thongs so it wasn't very easy to run. Fiona had no idea what was going on and was trailing behind asking Toby why we were running. Eventually, we were far enough away for Toby to explain he had seen skinheads in black with masks on their faces yielding huge batons chasing
the Indian guys. By this time people were streaming out of the square towards the action arming themselves with bottles and even ripping branches off the trees. One shop keeper told us not to panic and that there was no problem, but we thought it best to jump in a taxi.
Harriet now knows what an adrenaline rush is. But she still thinks she is a city girl.
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