Greece Trip - Part Eins (One)

Sunday, September 7th

We started our trip to Greece in Athens. Our sailing partners did not arrive until later in the afternoon so we decided to do some sightseeing in Athens proper.

The Athens airport and metro system was surprisingly easy to use. They revamped their transportation system for the 2004 Olympics so it was much better than when Jim was previously in Greece.

Upon exiting the airport and making our way to the metro, both Jim and I remarked upon the similarities in the landscape between Greece and Tucson. I think the only difference in the climate is the amount of humidity.

We were able to ditch our backpacks in a locker at one of the downtown Metro stations (Monastiraki) which was a lifesaver as the temperature was in the high 90s without a cloud in the sky.

Our first agenda was lunch. Jim was sure he would be able to find the restaurant he ate at in 2002 in the Plaka district. Why do I fall for this? I know better. Once Jim admitted that there was no way he would be able to remember where he ate, we went back to a restaurant I had seen earlier. It had fans blowing a fine mist over the tables and was a godsend in the blistering heat.

After lunch we started walking through the narrow, winding streets surrounding the Acropolis. Every street in the Plaka is lined with shops selling leather shoes, jewelry and clothing. After wandering for about an hour and not having luck finding the entrance to the Acropolis, we ran into some people who pointed us in the general direction, kind of. It seemed very strange that the map we had didn’t indicate the main entrance to the Acropolis.

The acropolis is actually more impressive at night when lights illuminate it from below. During the day, the scaffolding is a bit of a distraction. The placards in front of the ruins unfortunately talked more about the restoration of the buildings which has been taking place since the 80s than the history or purpose of the structures. Of course I had left the Rick Steves and Lonely Planet information I had printed out in our backpacks.

However, the architecture of the Parthenon is quite impressive. The columns lean slightly inward and widen in the middle to counteract an illusion of being concave. The corner columns are slightly thicker; otherwise they would have seemed smaller and thinner than the rest. The building's width to length ratio, as well as the ratio between the diameter of each column and the distance between them was set at an ideal number 4:9. The temple's floor and steps rise slightly in the middle, creating an illusion of a perfectly straight line.

At the top of the Acropolis, you can see all of Athens which is a huge urban sprawl. According to one of the guide books, 1 in 3 Greeks live in Athens. They come for the job opportunities. After seeing some of the sleepy, peaceful villages, I can understand why young professionals would come to Athens for work and vacationers go there to relax.

On the way down from the Acropolis, we were so thirsty that we stopped for some drinks at a café/ bar. Jim had a frappe which is an iced coffee that everyone seemed to be drinking. He wasn’t a fan.

After our refreshments, we headed down to the Ancient Agora which was the market place / meeting place. It was hard to imagine what it looked like at one time seeing the scattered fragments of the statues, fountains and buildings. Jim loved the fact that we were standing in the same place as Socrates and the birthplace of democracy. I was hot and sweaty so was somewhat less impressed.

I determined on this trip that the weather in Germany is much more my style. I have some serious issues with heat. However, Jim couldn't get enough of the heat and sunshine. It must be my nordic blood that prevents me from loving the heat.

We decided to make our way to Alimos Marina where we were to meet up with Stuart, Louise and Rebecca. We figured out that it was about 5 metro stations away and then a transfer to the tram.

There was some confusion as to which direction we should be going on the tram. I ensured Jim we were headed in the right direction but for some reason he doesn’t trust my excellent sense of direction. So we got off the train and I showed Jim we were in fact on the right train and now had to wait for 20 minutes for the next tram. I decided that since we were both hot, sweaty and tired I would refrain from doing my “told you so” dance even though it was incredibly tempting.

We arrived at the marina and met Stuart, Rebecca and Louise who were already on the boat. Rebecca and Louise are from New Zealand, living in London and Stuart is an American, living in the Netherlands.

After the food for the boat was delivered, we decided to go into the town to have dinner. The women who dropped off the food recommended a place but Stuart had gone to the marina restaurant and insisted it was good so we went there. It was a very modern design and looked like a very happening place. After looking at the menu though, I decided it was essentially an upscale Applebee’s. I think the only Greek food was a Greek salad. However, the bathrooms were incredibly nice so we all brushed our teeth there because apparently the marina bathrooms were not very clean.

That night was so warm that Jim and I decided to sleep on the bow of the boat. Ultimately, we slept on the boat every night but that had more to do with the room we chose than the heat but I’ll get to that later.