(re)visiting the past

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After a short stay in Venice (which we found pretty but too small for the number of tourists crammed in the narrow streets) we hoped a ferry to Greece. And for 30 hours is went by rather fine, we met some nice people, played cards, read books, and just camped out. but now we are in Athens....

It is very strange to be back here without the people I associate with this place, but it is noce to be in a familiar area. It feels like no time has lapsed since I was studying here, and my feet still know the ways around the streets. I found my old apartment, but the school no longer owns it, and where Miles and the boys lived is now a pharmacy. Our hostel is in Pangrati, a very nice neighborhood, and the owners (Yannis and Mariana) are a great couple - very helpful and nice to talk to.

It is very hot here, almost too hot to go out and about, yet Suzanne and I braved the weather to go to the main archeological sites. To our good fortune we found that 19 years of age and under is free and with a student id I only had to pay 6 euros! This got us admission into the Acropolis, the Agora, and Roman agora, the Temple of Olympian Zues, and the Kerimikos! It sounds like a lot to do in one day, but the tickets are good for 4 days!

The tourist crowds were a bit much atop the Acropolis, but it was still very neat to see - even though I had seem it so many times before. There is still a lot of constuction and excavation being done in an attempt to restore the Acropolis to its original state. We saw some archeologists first hand scraping away at the stones. Onto the Greek and Roman agora we went, followed by the Temple of Olympian Zeus, but by then the heat and our hunger drove us back to the hostel for some rest.

Tomorrow we plan a short escape from the city and will catch and early morning bus to Kalambaka, where Meteora and the monasteries are.

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Comments

[mikewieth]

italy
Are you'll going to Italy?