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It was time to leave for the place where it all began-Athens, Greece. While you can also travel to Greece by train, we had decided to fly in and out due to the distance and our limited time. So, hesistantly, we had to prepare for air travel again. We caught an 850 train from Roma to the airport. The train was packed with passengers and their luggage so we found a little space to sit on our bags for the duration of the trip. We gave ourselves plenty of time for the check in and security process which were both more painless. And while we only had carry on luggage, they asked us to check it but didnt charge! What a novelty to not charge for checking in luggage! Our 11 am flight got us to Athens at 2 pm. It was a 2 hour flight and Greece was 1 hour ahead of the other countries we had visited. Inspite of the short flight, the airline gave us lunch! Another novel concept! We were excited about Greece because we would have to work a little harder to navigate around compared to France and Italy. Also, Jordan had taken Italian and French
so communicating thus far was not so bad. Neither of us knew Greek so it was a challenge we were looking forward to. Once we landed in Athens, we noticed large groups of people dressed alike. They were there for the Special Olympics which was starting in just a few days and would last 2 weeks. We collected our luggage and, as recommended by our hotel, took a long bus ride to the main train station of Syntagma, also the location of the protests in Athens. We transferred underground to take the train to the Acropolis station, where we would get off, so we didnt see or hear much (this time). It was a hot day in Athens but fortunately it was a short walk to our hotel. We checked in rather quickly and when we entered our room, we were immediately met by a view of the Acroplis....an ancient site and the most identified temple in the world. We didnt rush to set out though because of the heat so we admired the incredible view and waited for the sun to go down a little. We noticed that Athens was much more arid than we had expected and there
were not a whole lot of trees...yet it was a coastal city. We also noticed a number of stray dogs and cats laying on roofs and in the streets seeking solace from the heat. Our limited time in Athens meant it was time to start exploring this fascinating city. We went straight to the Acropolis which was no more than a 5 minute walk and we walked the ruins for 3 hours. There was significant restoration work being done at various parts we visited. The views were amazing and it was so surreal to know that thousands of years ago, Ancient and well known Greeks met here, performed here, discussed the matters of the world here. Socrates and Aristotle had walked those steps. The unforunate part was that there seemed to be little regard for the importance of such a historical site by the Greek government. This also not uncommon in India where historical sites are not preserved and cared for as they should be...as they are in France, Italy and the States. Nonetheless, we appreciated the opportunity to visit such an amazing place. Additionally, once we hiked to the top of the Acropolis, we "ran into" Yao Ming and
Arrianna Huffington! While we didnt have a chance to talk to Yao, we did talk to Arrianna Huffington for a few minutes. They were in Athens to kick off the Special Olympics and were joined by torch carriers and camera crews. Who knew we would run into them in Athens! We continued to explore the different parts of the ruins.
Around 9 pm, it was time for dinner and we stumbled upon an Acropolis side restaurant that had amazing Greek food including some of the best olive oil and grilled vegetables. We walked around our neighborhod, which inspite the countless tourist chachkee stores, was charming. It was 10 pm and the streets were filled with people so we spent a couple of hours getting lost in the vibrant night life that filled the streets.
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