Athens

Visiting Athens in the early June is the perfect time, the weather is just right with lots of sunshine and not too much humidity, the tourist season has just started so the number of tour buses can still be counted in one hand (this is the best its going to be). I have two very strong recommendations if you plan to visit Athens, use the metro system and avoid group tours…this is a city you can discover more on your own. Most destinations are in bilingual thanks to the Olympic so no need to bring your Greek dictionary. I fully embraced the metro system, its convenient and much cheaper so save your Euros for the food and souvenirs, you’ll need with the weak USD. As for coping with the different tour groups, I have developed a simple strategy and have successfully employed it. I have learned that if I wait patiently, usually no more than 10 minutes for the each tourist group to get their fill of photo snapping then I was left with a nice window of time (~10 minutes) to enjoy the view all to myself before the next group shows up. With the exception of a few, most tour groups are on a set agenda so they only come for the that one picture of the monument and rarely linger the grounds…something I LOVE, LOVE to do until no stones are left unturned.

Walking through the streets of Athens I am in the midst of my avorite pastime activity, “people watching” when I noticed a few different groups of women, some young and some older in their summer dresses or their barely their tops with a dip or size too small that begs anyone to have a look at their beautifully tan skin…I find myself secretly smiling inside. Here’s where I’m coming from…Greecian women are volumptuous, their hair full and wild tendrils and they are not shy about their Athenian curves. It must be the weather but their skin looks amazing in the sundresses and the strappy sandals. I feel more at home walking through the streets of Athens compare to Singapore or Taipei where I constantly felt “extra” plump and my hair too curly and wild...just my POV!

After the drama with the flight into Athens, you’d be happy to hear that the remainder of my stay here has been drama free. My transit to the hotel was via the metro and absolutely stress free…got help from a young lady (Valentina) who is just returning home from the university to see and work at her family’s restaurant on an island for the summer (very cool). We commiserate a few minutes about the flight from hell and twenty minutes later I was at my stop (Mexahourglio). I arrived at my hotel at 10pm absolutely famished. Luckily the hotel café closes at 11pm so I decided to order the "mousaka", it was like coming home and reminded me of the days working at "Souvlaki Hut" with Valvas family learning the in's + out's of greek cuisine. My hotel was called Hotel Rio, family run and very basic in its amendities. Its abit away from the heavy tourist areas of Plaka (old neighborhoods) and Syntagma but it will do for the price. My room had an abismal view of the back of the building so it was kept closed the entire 3 days stay. How lucky was I that the building construction next door started promptly at 8am!!! Whether I wanted to or not I was up. My biggest complaint was of course the intenet access...I paid I rediculously price of 5.00 eros for 1hr so I only used it in extreme cases. One of the reasons I booked this place for the internet access but hadn't realized the cost. I later found out that at the city center its was 10o% free wi-fi...oh well, you live and learn.

The following day, I start my day at the hotel cafe with a good breakfast before heading out. I began at Syntagma and Plaka before taking out Acropolis. Walking down towards Plaka amongst all the shops I am overtaken by the rows of shoe stores...l Love shoes so my first views of Athenien life wgoas not of Acropolis but of the shoe stores. Finally I make it to the grounds of Acropolis and began my exploration from the bottom up starting with the Roman Angora, the thearter of Dyonisis, the south and east slope before climbing the marvel steps to the top of Acropolis. Walking around the area its easy to be in awe in the design, layout, and architecture of the area and buildings. Once I reached the bottom of the steps of Acropolis, I quickly noticed the number of tours ahead of me so I patiently allowed them to pass. I just came to accept that taking pictures o f tourist is a natural part of vacation at hotspots.