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Published: December 4th 2008
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Theatre of Dionysos
The oldest theatre in Greece, built around 2500 years ago. Used to seat 17000 people. Well we have been around the world (of Ancient Greece anyway) and we are back in Athens.
The day after our last entry we spent around 5 hours walking around Athens, taking in the sights. We walked from Hotel Fivos up to the Acropolis and took advantage of the fact that it is free on Sundays, saving ourselves 24 Euro in the process. Despite the fact that it is winter here there were still plenty of tourist coming to check out the Acropolis, probably taking advantage of the free Sundays just like us.
The buildings at the Acropolis are quite spectacular, but a word of advice - don't try to run your hands down one of the columns of the Propylaea (entrance to the Acropolis) in order to get a sense of the quality of the craftsmanship. The guards don't like it, and I guess having someone to yell at relieves the boredom of standing there all day long.
As much as the buildings are spectacular, the view from the Acropolis is just as amazing. Being able to see the Acropolis from anywhere in Athens is cool, but being able to see everywhere in Athens from the Acropolis is even
better.
After the Acropolis we headed back into town to check out some of the other sites - the Temple of Zeus, Hadrian's Arch and we were fortunate enough to be there for the changing of the Evzones (troops that guard the parliament building and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier). Their uniforms are really strange and I encourage you all to check out the Wikipedia article about them.
On Monday morning we checked out of Hotel Fivos and waited for our tour bus to pick us up for the Classical Tour. We weren't surprised when it turned up 15 minutes late but after a bit of stuffing around picking up the other tourists we were on our way. For the first day or so we didn't really speak to any of the others on the bus, but by the second day we were all getting along really well. The Classical Tour normally attracts 50 people or so during summer but our coach only had 9 people - the tour guide, the driver and seven of us tourists.
Over the three days we saw some amazing sites - the Corinth Canal, The Theatre of Epidaurus, Nafplio, Mycenae, Olympia and
Interesting parking
'I'm just gonna park here'. Smart. Delphi. All of the sites are so rich in history and you have to keep reminding yourself that the buildings have been around for more than 2500 years. The highlights of an all-round-awesome trip were the ruins of Mycenae with it's formidable defensive position, Olympia with it's rich history and the fact that the Olympics are still held today, and Delphi. For those of you back in Melbourne imagine a drive along the Great Ocean Rd but 10 times better. Delphi sits most of the way up Mt. Parnassos and the views down to the coast and over the Gulf of Corinth are just amazing and not to be missed when coming to Greece.
On a personal note it was such a great thrill to meet such lovely people on the tour. The seven of us had a great time telling and listening to stories about each other's countries and it made a great tour even more special. A special shout-out to our awesome driver Thanassis(?) whose 35 years of tour-bus-driving experience came in handy when trying to overtake semi-trailers on a steep, windy, one-way road with double white lines. Hair-raising but quite amazing.
We are starting to get
Theatre of Epidaurus
This theatre held, and still holds 14000 people. You can climb up to the top and I did. A music festival is apparently held here every year. Not bad for a theatre that has been there for 2400 years. into the swing of this traveling thing. We have been trying a whole bunch of Greek food - gyros, Greek salad, spanakopita, fetta cheese, olives, dolmades (the winter variety), tzatiki and baklava. Granted, most of those foods are available back home but it feels so much more authentic when you are over here. We haven't given in to the McDonalds juggernaut yet and we have no plans to.
Our attempts to converse with the locals have been largely unsuccessful, with plenty of hand gestures, fumbled Greek words and confused looks being exchanged. However, it's really encouraging when you do make the effort to say thank you in Greek and you get a surprised smile - I guess they just expect tourists to stick to their own languages.
Last night we stayed in Hotel Pergamos in Northern Athens. While the hotel was fairly ordinary (50cm by 50cm shower anyone?), the local area was more of a concern. On more than one occasion we were followed fairly closely by shifty-looking characters, and I'm pretty sure I was offered cocaine on one street corner. Awesome.
Also, if you are going to come to Athens anytime, don't even think about hiring a car.
Lionsgate at Mycenae
The gate used to hold massive doors which were bolted shut. The grooves for the hinges can still be seen in the rock. The roads are so clogged and on our way back into town after the tour yesterday we sat in traffic for the best part of an hour. This is at 7pm on a Wednesday night, coming
into town. Oh and just because the little man is green, doesn't mean it's safe to walk. I'm not sure it's safe to walk at any time for that matter. And the parking. If you double-parked someone or parked on the curb in Australia your car would be towed straight away. Not in Athens. Already a car parked there? No worries! Footpath? No worries! Want to turn a pedestrian crossing into a taxi rank? Go for it! Seriously.
Anyway, tonight we are headed back to Hotel Fivos which is good because it is near Plaka where we are meeting our friends from the Classical Tour for dinner, and it is also close to Monastiraki Metro station which will be handy when we need to be at Piraeus port at 6:30 tomorrow morning to get on a ferry. Santorini here we come. It will only be a short stay, two nights to be exact, but it should still be great. After that we are
Gateway into Olympic stadium
The archway leading to the stadium at Ancient Olympia. Another tourist thought it would be a good idea to climb up there. Whistle-blowing ensued. flying to Rome to begin our Italian adventure which will be exciting.
The weather here has been quite extraordinary. It's supposed to be winter but it has been hovering around 20 degrees since we got here. Last night I was walking around the hotel in shorts and t-shirt which is pretty awesome.
Incidentally, we are writing this blog from the 24 hour Cyberzone Internet Cafe in Omonia and it is pretty good which is surprising given the neighbourhood. Apart from the men who come in here just to look at porn (at least they have headphones on) and the British woman who was screaming down the phone at her Dad just before. Apart from that, it's awesome and doesn't cost us 6 Euro for an hour.
We should go and collect our washing I guess. For 20 Euros you would want it to be pretty clean. Or maybe that's just the special 'Tourist Price'. Bargain.
Until next time, stay cool.
Matt & Shaz
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seth
non-member comment
Riots
Hey guys I heard about the riots in Athens, and i was just making sure you made it to Rome safely.