2002-07-10 - 2:41 a.m.
So, we come up out of the metro in Athens. There are five of us, Jesse, myself, a Norwegian fellow named Omar, and two Kiwis, Heidi and Cecy. We've all been on the same ferry from Italy, and the same horrible long crowded train ride into the city. By this point we are all exhausted, and only Jesse and I have even and inkling of where we are going to stay. We had not booked our accommodations ahead of time, figuring that Athens, unlike Italy, wouldn't be too busy in the middle of November.
We walk up the stairs and are immediately accosted by a man with a brochure for a hotel. I pretty much ignore him, and Jesse and I make a beeline for a map. The girls, to my amazement are actually stopping to talk to the guy. While Jesse is looking at the map, I listen to his pitch.
He's offering a room in a one star hotel, near the subway station, for ten euros each a night, two or three bed rooms. There's a kitchen, and free internet.
Just then, by some sixth sense that people who are trying to sell something have, another guy appears with his own brochures. He's offering ten euros a night for a hostel, with pretty much the same benefits - kitchen, internet, etc.
These two guys start arguing, with the second fellow getting quite confrontational. "We have a kitchen!!!"
We look at the first guy questioningly "I also have a kitchen" he says with perfect equanimity.
"But there are hundreds of hotels around my place, if you do not like it, and we are nearer the center!!"
"I am also near the center, and there are several hotels around my place as well"
"Yes-Expensive hotels. No, no, you want to come with me."
Then we notice a third fellow, who is hanging on the edge, with some shabby looking brochures. In the interest of fair play the girls give him a say. Surprise surprise, he's offering ten euros a bed and internet as well.
While the first two are fighting over us, I quietly talk to Jesse, and we agree to go with the guy that was there first- the hotel with a kitchen and free internet. The girls, by this point are getting fairly bewildered, as the two Greeks are shouting back and forth at each other, simultaneously decrying the other's place and lauding their own. I tell the girls that we are going with the first guy, since he was by far the politer of the two. They agree to go, and take a look at the rooms. Omar promises the third guy, who has been quite silent that he will look at his place as well.
We go to the hotel, which is indeed very close to the station. The room is very nice, and very clean, and Jesse and I can have a room with two beds for ten euros each, which is cheap for a hostel, let alone a hotel. The girls decide to stay as well. Omar, after checking out the quiet guy's establishment comes back to the hotel.
Once in our room, and checked in, I empty my bag looking for the lost eurail pass. No luck. I had been holding out a hope that I had missed it in my five a.m. hunt, but apparently it is really gone.
The guy who met us at the station takes us to a supermarket, thereby much raising the establishment in my eyes. Not many hostels will actually walk you over to a supermarket, and there are many who will not even give you directions.
Jesse and I buy food for supper and check out the kitchen. The kitchen turns out to be a tiny room on the top floor equipped with one small pot, one plate, three forks, five knives, a small silver serving dish, a small but potent hotplate and a washing machine. To put it mildly, it was a horrible kitchen. Jesse manages to make scrambled eggs in the pot, and we have supper, me using the serving dish in lieu of a plate. After this delicious but difficult to cook meal, we are feeling much better, and go to visit the Heidi, Cecy and Omar, who are sharing a cramped triple with a bathroom next door to us.
Heidi turns out to be an indefatigably cheerful nurse, who has been working in England. A nurse by trade, and a lifty by inclination, she is planning a trip to Golden B.C. in the near future. Jesse and I were quite excited to hear this, as it rare that we hear of people coming to Canada. We happily spent the next two days telling her all about the beautiful trip through the Rockies.
Cecy, who has been working in England for the last while as well, and is heading back to New Zealand with Heidi at the beginning of December reminds me of of nothing so much as my friend Ashly. She looks like Ash, she talks like Ash (except the slightly incomprehensible Kiwi accent) she even acts like Ashley. It's a little creepy. I often meet people that remind me of others (every man I see with a bushy mustache reminds me of Dad) but rarely do I meet people that are so like in looks and temperament. Heidi and Cecy turned out to be really cool, and very funny. They are some of the few people I've met who can bicker to beat Jesse and I. The next two days was full of listening to them fight, in the way that only really good friends really can. They were both also relaxed, and laid back, and I realized later that we had the most fun with that we've had since Prague.
Omar is a Norwegian fellow traveling around Europe for a few weeks. He's very nice, and has a guidebooks specific to Athens, which comes in quite handy.
Jesse and I turn in early that night, since we are exhausted from the trip. The next morning we awake, and head out of the hotel. As we are dropping our key off, the guy at the desk asks us if we want to change rooms. He tells us that we were promised a double with a bathroom, and although it was not available the previous night, it is now. Warily we ask the price, only to find that it is still just ten euros a night. My opinion of the hotel, the Neo Olympos, if you are wondering, is now set- I love it. This is the best value that we have had all trip. Ten euros for a private room and bath.... it seems like a dream.
After hurriedly moving our stuff into our new room, we take our laundry, and set out to a long needed laundry day. The place the hotel recommends is a little expensive, but they do it for you, freeing up the whole day for us. We spend it wandering around the city, seeing the Acropolis in the distance, and spending a good hour in a bookstore. A very pleasant afternoon. Athens, contrary to what you may have heard is not really a dirty or grungy city. It's quite clean, at least on a level of Budapest, if not quite Berlin, and all the people are friendly, mostly speak English, and everything is cheap.
We returned to the hotel with our laundry (after only a couple wrong turns) and after I put away my clothes I'm doing a little repacking of the top portion of my bag. This is separate from the rest, and I had checked it in Rome when I was looking for my pass. This time, as I'm repacking it, I find the darned pass. It had gotten jammed in the back, and being in a black wallet, I couldn't see it. I'm torn between joy at having my driver's licence and Care Card back and irritation at myself for not finding it earlier. All in all though, much better to know that my identification is not floating around somewhere in Europe!!
The next day we had made plans to go to the Acropolis with the Heidi and Cecy. When you buy your ticket, you get into about five sites with it, and it is good for four days. Some of the sights are closed on Mondays, so the plan was to leave the Acropolis proper, and see the other sites, and then return on Monday to see the Acropolis.
We get to the gate of the Acropolis to buy the tickets, and it turns out that on Sundays, the whole thing is free. Hearing this, we change our plans, and see everything that day.
The Acropolis, which is a giant hill in the middle of the city is quite magnificent. There are three temples on the hill, The Parthenon (the famous one) the Temple of Athena Nike, and one other that I cannot spell. They are all just incredible, especially the Parthenon. The sheer size and age of the thing are daunting. It's partially covered by scaffolding, part of a restoration project, but it really looks like they are just building it.
After the Acropolis we went for lunch at a gyro place down the road. Gyros are like Greek kebaps, and they are delicious, and cheap. For 4.50 we got two, and a coke. Most of the time that will get you one kebap.
We spent the afternoon seeing the rest of the sights, the Roman agora (market) the ancient agora, the center of Athens, and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. They are all really neat, and my favorite was the Temple of Zeus, which is mind boggling huge. The size of the pillars is quite daunting. All the sites are quite simile- ruins of columns, or bits of wall still standing, some neatly ordered piles of broken marble, the odd statue. I loved seeing it all, just the age of it. Greek culture flourished about 2500 years ago, which I can hardly comprehend.
That evening we went for supper in a Greek restaurant down the road. The service was terrible, but the food was pretty good. They managed to get mine and Heidi's orders mixed up, and by the time we realized this, she had started. In the end though, what I ended up with was better than what I had ordered, so I was happy.
After supper Omar wanted to go for a drink, and led us on a half hour walk to a neighborhood his book recommended. Jesse was quite excited- not that he particularly wanted to go for a drink, but he loves finding places. He's the guy who will spend an hour finding a place, and when he gets there have no idea what he wants to do. Cecy was not too impressed with the walk, but I like walking in new cities at night.
The next day was the day that Omar and Heidi and Cecy were leaving. None of them were going till the afternoon, so we went out for lunch. Once again we used Omar's book to find a good area. It was a tourist area, packed with restaurants. Just like when we were looking for accommodation, we were beset by people trying to convince us to come to thier restaurant. One guy was offering a free glass of wine, and free desert, but it was still expensive. Finally we found an affordable place.
We ordered a bunch of appies to share -tsaziki, stuffed eggplant, and some Greek pastry stuffed with Gouda cheese and some kind of meat. They were incredible. For a main I had shish kebaps, which turned out to be basicaly Salisbury steak on a stick, with pita. They were ok, but nothing to write home about (although, apparently, good enough to write on the internet about). After lunch we browsed the stalls of a nearby market.
We returned to our hotel and took our leave of Omar, who was on his way to Istanbul, via a 30 hour train ride. The girls stayed for another hour or so, until they left for an island, and then Istanbul.
Jesse and I, bereft of our friends, had a nap. That night we went out exploring Athens at night, which continues to be a very nice city. I actually like this city more than some of the places in Italy!
Tomorrow we are leaving for Ithica. Originally we were leaving today, but Jesse rechecked the ferries. Good thing too, since he had been mislead by the website, and the route he had planned would have taken us to the wrong island entirely. Now, instead of the 15 hour ride we thought we had, we have a four hour ride, although we do have to take the train back to Patros, which will not be pleasant.
I've got no idea what Ithica will be like, so if there is no update here for the next three weeks or so, it's probably because I can't find an internet cafe on the island. I'm hoping that's not the case though.
