The Athens Hike...

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Omg, my neck hurts. I got toasted today on our epic hike across athens and i'm paying for it. nothing like a good farmer's tan ;o)

we got up about 8:30, same as yesterday, and probably same as tomorrow, and were quiet as we could be cause when i went to bed at 2:30 the night before fotis and his brother were still up in their room. i stumbled out of bed and plugged the computer in for a few minutes so it could charge in case we needed it today and then went to find my contacts so i could see. for some reason my eyelids have decided to stick to my eyeballs in the morning and it' not cute, not cute at all.

so i did the shaving thing, which when i brought it up to johnny about whether he needed to get into the bathroom on occasion to shave he laughed and said he did it like once every week or more. i hates him, hates, hates, hates. ok, not really... i just want to be a non-shaver again, dammit. :op

anyhoo - so we went about our morning routine and of course, johnny was ready and i was still running around half nekkid trying to get everything together. i thought i was supposed to be the organized one? we left and went to look for what we thought was the grocery store, but upon closer inspection found that it was a party supply store. how interesting.

we decided to go back to the pastry shop we got ou breakfast from the morning before and as we made our way down filolauo street we came up to a green gorcer and decided to buy fruit. i got three oranges so big they looked like grapefruits and a bottle of milk, johnny got some apples and an orange or two (smaller) and after fumbling with the change a bit we were off to the pastry shop.

mmmmm the pastry shop.... with looooovely sweets and savorys alike. i actually got the ham and cheese thing johnny had the day before along with four little ham and cheese sandwiches on mini-croissants for later in the day. johnny got a huge slice of apple pie/pastry and we walked about half a block down to sit on the wall of a school building and eat our spoils.

as we sat there we could hear the kids screaming in the background, at recess i'm assuming. funny how kids are just as spastic in any country you go to ...

after packing the bags with the rest of the produce and oranges we headed off the same route we had taken to the square yesterday, along the cemetery and through the graffiti-filled backstreets until we cut across to the larger avenues and past Hadrian's arch on up to Syntagma Square. On the way we stopped at the tourist board after passing by it three times and got directions to the nearest and best beach, as well as the directions to the bus stop to Patras, the place where we are going to be taking the ferry from. they weren't particularly friendly though, i think the guy was having a bad morning for some reason...

we also stopped at the superfast ferry shop and booked the ferry to italy today, it cost a whoppping 14 euros! yay for having a eurail pass and getting free stuff with it! we just had to pay port taxes and we got a free dormitory room on the boat. i can't wait! this is going to be my first time sailing. :o)

so after the ferry shop and the tourist board we walked on to the acropolis, wandering through all the narrow streets at the base and chatting as we went. and then we got there...

now, remember from yesterday that we were told that today would be national museum day and every attraction would be free... when we got there every athens school kid and their mother was at the acropolis along with every other spanish citizen. i think i heard more spanish than i did greek, and the tour operators i could have killed cause they kept wanting to stop this massive throng of people from advancing so they could babble a little bit here and there. johnny asked me later in the day once we were home, do europeans not believe in deodorant? i immediately knew what he was talking about - as we were shuffling our way up the hill along with the throng of other cheap tourists we could smell several of our companions very well. lol. :op

it was well worth it though - when we got to the top of the mount, there before us was the parthenon and the acropolis. as we walked around the plateau and took pictures from every angle we took it in - a city of over 4 million people crowded into houses and businesses stacked on top of each other as far as the eye could see. wow.

the wind blew and cooled us off as we walked along, drying the sweat accumulated from the half hour spent shuffling up the slope. a few people asked us to take their pictures and we were happy to help. in return they took pictures of us in a sort of nod and thank you dance from both parties.

we continued to walk around and every now and then an ear-piercing whistle would blow when someone would stand ont he wrong rock or climb on the wall which kept people from falling over the edge of the mount. (no one wants their vacation spoiled by a jumper...)

after we worked our way down we walked around the outer fence and into another part of the complex to see the amphitheaters at the base of the acropolis. we took some pictures of a broken statue or two and then read the plaques below... statues from 150 B.C. and before! wow, these things were carved over 2000 years ago. really makes you think about the age of stuff and how relative time is.

we wandered some more in search of the nikon shop so i could look for a lens cap and made our way back to the square where we were told it was. we searched and searched until we finally went into a shop and asked for lens caps and were directed to another shop, they directed us to another shop, and then they told us where the nikon shop was. no avail. the freakin nikon shop didn't even have a lens cap for my camera. i give up.

we decided to walk up another hill bigger than the acropolis, lycabettos hill. at the base we found a little park and sat on the wall next to a taxi stand under some trees where we broke out the water and sandwiches to have that and fruit for lunch. after our brief stop we made our way towards a more wooded/rural part of the hill and the ground got steeper and steeper until we found a footpath through massive agave plants and cacti. we wove our way up to a paved series of steps and aaaaaall the way at the top we found a little church and some cafes and such. again, the wind at such height was cooling and we broke out the water, took pictures, swapped picture-taking services with other tourists and then headed downwards to a cafe.

when we got back down we wanted to get roughly back to where we were the day before and once again began wandering around the streets of the plaka district. we never did find where we were yesterday, there are too many streets that look too much alike. :o) instead, we stopped and ordered two "greek coffees" and what we got were shots of esspresso with little chocolate cookies. not bad, but instead of shooting them as one should shoot esspresso, we sipped them, but not fast enough. they settled and the very bitter "dust" or left over grinds were at teh bottom and we both cringed when we got to them.

we sat and talked more and more, drinking more of our own water and writing post cards. i tried to get online but there was no wifi connection. :o( soon after we packed up and went back to the square to try and get a signal. no such luck so we packed up and walked home becuase fotis said he was getting off at 6 and would see us later.

we traced our steps back to the house and when we got here i fell asleep for a bit, johnny got on the computer, and then i showered and then we switched.

a bit more rest and then we decided it was time for dinner - wandering back down to where we ate the first night we found a little place serving typical Mediterranean food and went in. they had sheep (or goat, i couldn't tell) heads on a rotisserie spike cooking along with other typical foods. the woman didn't speak much english, but they at least had a menu with pictures! we ordered traditional gyros with CHICKEN and some potatoes. didn't take long and we were eating away.

the check came, we paid, said goodbye and walked on. there's a whole mall right by our flat and we didn't even know it! it was nice to walk around and we stopped and got gelatto from a nice shop on the avenue.

chat chat chat, walk, walk, walk.... we amde our way back to the house and here we are - 12:10 and still up. i'm ready to go out but i know that's not happening, just not that motivated. fotis had to work late and then had a family thing so he's still not back.

oh well, tired, weary, and sunburnt we sit here and get ready for bed.

can't wait for tomorrow --- THE BEACH!!! :o)

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