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We got up about 8:30 this morning and got going, i had some stuff to organize and things to find, johnny got right up and got dressed within 15 minutes. i offered to do calisthenics with him but he declined and said maybe later - ha ha - i knew it wasn't going to be any time at all before he had second thoughts about this exercise crap while on holiday! :p
Anyhoo, he got dressed in about 15 minutes and was waiting on my slow ass to get dressed i'm sure. i know, i'm such a girl, shut it. 😊 i took out my day bag and filled it with stuff, and before i knew it was was carrying a cinder block it felt like. oh well, i really did want to take that bag and everything in it in case i got a chance to sit and make use of a wifi cafe or write postcards. (both of which i was able to do today)
we left the flat and went looking for groceries, but the grocery store was closed for some reason and instead we headed in the opposite direction towards the acropolis, which you can see from every direction in the city. along the way we came to a little bakery and they had all kinds of goodies there on sale so we each got some variation of a quiche pastry and munched on that for breakfast. mine was egg and cheese, johnny's was ham and cheese.
we continued walking and eventually cut across the street to the right until we came to an intersection and decided it was time to look at the map. when we broke it out we realized that we were just where we needed to be - or wanted to be - by the athens first cemetery. i wanted to go in and see the place cause i like cemeteries. (they tell a lot about people through how they deal with death and their relatives) so we go in and start taking pictures, and there are lots of people there just out for a stroll and to go see their dead relatives. no funerals or anything, just people visiting their dead relatives. we wandered around and took lots of pictures of tatues, trees, mausoleums, sculptures, etc. and then walked towards the wall in the direction of the acropolis. when we got to it we had actually climbed up a hill and were overlooking the lower portion of the neighborhood becuase it just kind of dropped off at some point. we took a short path over to the ledge and started looking at some pauper graves that had been opened and cleaned out, then looked over the edge and saw a building below with a bunch of metal boxes leaning against it. i didn't pay any attention to what was down there until johnny exclaimed "omg! those are bones!" and we looked down to see that each metal box, approxiamately 1/5 ft by 3 ft, was filled with the bones of a person all put together but uot covered by a lid. then we looked around and realized there was a whole stack of these boxes.... worse yet - they had this mound of big black plastic bags and there was "stuff" oozing out of them in a giant, disgusting mound. we took pictures. will post on fb and share, i'm sure you're dying to see. 😉
after that we worked out way down behind a wall of tombs and came out in a big plaza. as we were walking downt he path we had started to talk loudly and then came into the swuare and immediately were given the evil eye by like three different old ladies and i quickly turned around to johnny and shushed him so we didn't get yelled at by a little old biddy. 😊 we didn't go out the main gate cause everyone was dressed on sunday clothes and had come to visit their dead relatives, and we were dressed in shorts and t shirts and had cameras and day packs on. i was a bit embarrassed and so we quickly found a smaller row to run down and find the side entrance we had entered through.
we left and as we're walking down the street this guy is just standing next to the wall with all these cars going by taking a leak.... we just kind of snickered to ourselves and thought that the little old biddies definitely wouldn't like him doing that if they saw it....
so we continued to walk randomly in the general direction of the acropolis and eventually came upon a patch of greenery on a slope with some ruins of some sort at the top - we walked down hill thinking there would be a gate perhaps. when we got tot he corner there wasn't a gate but there was a church having service and the service was over a loudspeaker so that people could sit outside and still listen to the priest. we walked through the crowd in search of the entrance to this park, but all we found on the other side of the church were more little paths into some brush that lead around a fence separating where we were from where we wanted to be. eventually we followed the fence around until we came to Hadrian's Arch and the olympian temple of zeus. we walked around and eventually found the entrance, which was surrounded by dogs - as is most places around here apparently....
took pictures of these massive pillars, something like 7 feet in diameter at the base, and then ran away just as a massive tour group complete with decrepit nuns pulls up. aaaaggghhhh!
as we walked back towards where we came from we decided to go back to syntagmos square where we got dropped off by the bus the night before. as we walked along the avenue we found some ruins of roman baths complete with huge vases and an explanation and all.
when we got to the square we started to walk through towards a central fountain and there was another huge dog or two... when i turned to comment on them to johnny he wasn't there and i started to turn all the way around, around, around, i almost freaked cause he just vanished and then i saw on the other side of the fountain he was there taking a picture and was ok. :o) i couldn't lose him the first day! more pictures, more pictures, then we decided to look at the map and found that the flea market and the sunday market were going on a few blocks away. as we walked i took lots of pictures of great graffiti and we eventually got into more populated streets, then all of a sudden we were in the middle of sidewalk cafes, food, coffee, and all these rich smells coming from everywhere. too bad, we had stuff to see and things to buy!
we went onwards through a square and past the entrance to the flea market to look at the ruins of a library, which we were going to enter but decided against it because at the temple of zeus we were told that everything was going to be free the next day for national museum day or something .... we decided after paying one euro for the temple of zeus that we weren't going to pay for entry into any more sites that day cause we would do them the next for free. we walked up a little further and looked into some shops searching for postcards at a decent price. i never buy postcards the first place i see them because inevitably two stalls down you find them for ten cents cheaper... we popped into one place, took a quick look, popped into another with bags and army surplus stuff, and then walked out, but johnny turned and saw sleeping bags in cinch sacks and he needs one for his sleeping bag. we enquired about them and some patches for johnny's bag but only bought the sack. still looking for decent and affordable post cards we walked further up the hill and found yet another shop of random crap. the post cards here weren't so dingy and were cheap(ish) so we got a few and turned around back for the flea market.
headed back to the flea market we walked past more stalls of knick-knacks and souvenirs and past the fruit stands selling fresh cherries and bananas in the square. at the entrance to the flea market the streets narrowed again, crowded with people and things of all sorts. here some greek, there some english, there some spanish ....
everywhere something new and different. i had been leading the way thus far, most everywhere we went, and wanted johnny to take the lead for a bit so i told him i wasn't in charge, he had to find our way. so he pressed on, looking at this and that, commenting on lots. he was in search of a patch for his bag and we saw a few of them but none that he really liked as we reached the end of the flea market and made a turn onto a major street. we thought it a good idea to go back into the mess and went up a few alleys then turned right into the block again. this time, instead of shops selling new goods and flashy clothes, there were lots of endors witht heir wares laid out on large sheets on the ground selling all manner of antiquity. most of it was war memorabilia, old swords, hats, mortar shells with the charges drilled out... johnny picked up a few things to handle but once he picked up the dagger and couldn't get it back in the sheath we decided it was time to put it down and walk away before anyone noticed.
turning back down one of the alleys we had already been down johnny wanted to go into a musical instrument shop. the old man behind the counter and the young girl assistant quickly ran to us as johnny picked up one of the didgeridoos that were stacked up. he wanted to know if it was a rain stick and she replied no, but then pulled one out. not too impressive. we walked on.
he decided that he wanted one of the patches we had already seen at a particular vendor's stall so we backtracked until we got there and asked about the prices. he picked the one he wanted and paid the man two euros for it then we gave in and declared it lunch time.
as we walked back to the entrance of the flea market we could begin to smell all the sidewalk cafes again once we were in the square. we passed a small church before entering the cafe area and johnny picked the place. we were immediately seated at a two person table just inches away from the next table, at which were seated an older gentleman and what appeared to be his son. i believe his son was mentally handicapped in some way and just as we sat down they ordered. They got their food before we even got to order and finished it so quickly that another couple had time to sit, order, and get their food while we were eating our meal.
we tried to write a few postcards, but after one the food came and we put things away. we each had souvlaki, a type of preparation for meats akin to barbecue or shish-kebabs. johnny had pork and i had chicken, each accompanied by pita bread and fries. i also got a salad of cucumbers and tomatoes with feta and we sat and enjoyed our lunch as we people watched and commented on differences between the us and everywhere else. smoking came up, as it had a few times beforehand, and johnny just gave me a look when the old man next to us lit up and started blowing smoke everywhere. poor him. it was frustrating - but he really made me laugh when he did an impression of stuart and his mom, off of saturday night live, talking about smoking. his mom catches him with a cigarette and she asks him what she told him about smoking - his reply was that smoking was only for white trash and europeans. omg, lmao! ha ha ha ha.
with lunch done and paid for we set out to find the acropolis and get pictures, thinking that today, sunday, it would be free as well since this is what our guide book said. as we climbed the hill of houses, following the winding streets and narrow passageways between houses, i got lots of great graffiti and some awesome shots of random stuff. we got to a point where we had to abandon the roads and go "hiking" up the hillside on well-worn paths to the panoramic viewing areas near the top. we weaved through more houses and a church or two before coming to a promontory overlooking the city. we were directly under the acropolis and took a few pictures then began our wander down through an alternative alleyway in the houses. the walls were close and painted white whith blue shutters and old grape wines being trained onto trellises overlooking doorways, presumably to provide shade for said doorways once the vines had grown in and filled out with leaves.
we worked our way back down to a proper street and walked on, searching for the entrance to the acropolis complex itself. as we walked along the perimeter road more random languages were heard as tourists from all over the world converged on the site in search of the same great photos we were. at one point we passed a girl on our side of the fence talking to two boys on the other side of the acropolis fence and it reminds me of a concentration camp or prison. weird.
we round the acropolis fence, finally find the entrance (in prep for the next day) and then notice another promontory that has stairs and is free. we climb the carved stairs and go to the top of the outcropping to get a better view of the city and of the acropolis. pictures are taken, although we look at the map and are never able to identify where the hell we are. we look across and see some other monument or something on top of another adjacent hill so we decide it's time to see another random thing. philopopous hill was our goal apparently, learned as we rounded the top and read the plaque under the ruins at the top of it. from that we discerned that we were just at the hill of the nymphs next to the acropolis. philopopous hill was the best view of all of the city because you could see the sea and the harbour, piraeus, in the background as well as all of the other parts of the city. more pictures were taken.
descending down the hill from another angle we came across some old people chanting and decided not to go that way.... best not to disturb the crazy locals. 😉
wandering down the street further we found great postcards and stamps so i bought lots and then a few bocks away we found a really nice cafe with wifi access so we stopped in order to write postcards and have a coffee. i was diligently sitting there scribbling away and gave the computer to johnny to use for a bit. as i was writing his brother and dad called and they had a nice chat with him while we were sitting there with the bar in the background and the sound of the blender going and coffee machines and all. 😊
an hour and a half, two lattes, and some frozen coffee drink later we were ready to go and walked back towards where we thought the tourist info center was. here and there we stop for pictures of flowers or graffiti.... the flowers for johnny and the graffiti for me. we reached the avenue with the tourist office but it was closed so we the turned and walked back the way we had come that morning to get back home. by that time it was well after 6 and we both wanted to get home before it got dark since we were walking.
we talked about rowing, football, the girl at the cafe, all the important things in life. we even found the local strip club. ha ha.
at some point we consulted the map, made a turn, and then pretty much found our way back home from there - a very successful afternoon out if i don't say so myself. we tried the grocery store again but it was still closed so we just gave up and went back to the flat.
i immediately plugged my camera and computer in to charge and began downloading johnny's pictures to the computer. i blogged some, johnny had a shower, i talked to romain, and then we had to figure out something for dinner. i looked in my bag and got out the red beans and rice zataran's mix and we made that for dinner. it wasn't bad for not having any sausage and the beans still being a liiiiitle bit chewy.
there was a movie on and we watched a little of it as johnny finished up with facebook, then he laid down and i started this again. i decided to turn off the tv and come in the room with my little travel usb light so i could finish, but no sooner had i sat down in bed with the laptop on my lap than fotis walked in the door with his younger brother. 😊
introductions were made with johnny and i half naked and blind (at least i was, i had taken out my contacts) and we spent about 10 minutes discussing what we were going to be doing the next day... (sights) then we all turned in.... well, not really - i stayed up writing and i think fotis and his brother are still up watching tv or something. johnny's asleep on the couch.
and THAT my friends, concludes the first day here in athens... exciting? i think so.
until tomorrow!
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Cheryl Braud
non-member comment
wow!!!
Wow, what a day. i had no idea that your blog would be this great, I really enjoyed reading, as I will the future entries. I cracked up laughing when you mentioned losing Johnny on the first day!