This is a view on "my" street, i.e. the street where the hostel of the Finnish institute is located. I snapped it from my balcony. I think there's something adorable about the name of this cafe and also about the garishness of the neon sign. I haven't checked in to see what kind of a place it is. Might be mostly frequented by the men of the neighbourhood, who knows: these traditional Turkish type "social clubs" of men still exist in Greece though have been getting rarer in the recent decades. The hostel feels very familiar to me, as nothing much seems to have changed in the last six years: the apartment looks the same; the hand-drawn map on the notice board of the room is the same; so is the grocery store across the (narrow) street opposite the door of the hostel.
I got a good 9 hours of sleep, despite my reservations: I couldn't get the AC working so I had to keep the balcony door open a bit, which let in noise from the street. All the same I fell asleep fairly quickly, so I must have been tired. I headed out about 10 am, first walking around for a while, then heading out to the Omonia square metro station where I bought a weekly ticket that covers all forms of public transport (only 10 euros). Then I went to the Acropolis to see the Parthenon. I have seen it about 10 times already, but how could you not go see the Parthenon when in Athens? Beforehand, I was not going to go to any of the tourist places, but you just have to go to the Acropolis. All the same, I felt the familiar annoyance about tourists, because their behaviour is so, well, touristy. The entrance to the Acropolis through the Propylaea, right? It's a place where about a thousand (or whatever) people pass each hour. It's also a fairly narrow passage. Even so, some tourists don't think nothing of stopping right in the middle of the passage and blocking the way from lots of other people, because they just have to snap that picture just there with their little pocket cameras. Rant over.
In contrast, I did NOT go to the new Acropolis museum, because it had huge queues and I was hungry so I didn't feel like waiting in the rain. Instead, I walked back towards the city centre through Plaka where to my delight I found that the trad. pita grill that had been there six years ago was still there. The giro pita I had was so delicious. From Syntagma square I continued to the nearby National Gardens. A delightful place, offering some peace in the noise of the city. Definitely a place I need to go back to when it's not raining - especially as my visit now was cut short due to the fact that nature called and the park toilets were really not a place you'd want to do your business in. Some more walking afterwards, but it was still raining and I was getting tired, so I thought it best to head back towards the hostel.
I got a good 9 hours of sleep, despite my reservations: I couldn't get the AC working so I had to keep the balcony door open a bit, which let in noise from the street. All the same I fell asleep fairly quickly, so I must have been tired. I headed out about 10 am, first walking around for a while, then heading out to the Omonia square metro station where I bought a weekly ticket that covers all forms of public transport (only 10 euros). Then I went to the Acropolis to see the Parthenon. I have seen it about 10 times already, but how could you not go see the Parthenon when in Athens? Beforehand, I was not going to go to any of the tourist places, but you just have to go to the Acropolis. All the same, I felt the familiar annoyance about tourists, because their behaviour is so, well, touristy. The entrance to the Acropolis through the Propylaea, right? It's a place where about a thousand (or whatever) people pass each hour. It's also a fairly narrow passage. Even so, some tourists don't think nothing of stopping right in the middle of the passage and blocking the way from lots of other people, because they just have to snap that picture just there with their little pocket cameras. Rant over.
In contrast, I did NOT go to the new Acropolis museum, because it had huge queues and I was hungry so I didn't feel like waiting in the rain. Instead, I walked back towards the city centre through Plaka where to my delight I found that the trad. pita grill that had been there six years ago was still there. The giro pita I had was so delicious. From Syntagma square I continued to the nearby National Gardens. A delightful place, offering some peace in the noise of the city. Definitely a place I need to go back to when it's not raining - especially as my visit now was cut short due to the fact that nature called and the park toilets were really not a place you'd want to do your business in. Some more walking afterwards, but it was still raining and I was getting tired, so I thought it best to head back towards the hostel.
3 comments:
Hi Maria,
have you been to Athens now more times than you can count? I'll bet it feels like home rather than a tourist destination, which might explain your reaction to the tourists. I have often felt that way in London, which was such a frequent destination for me from about 1986 to 2003, when my brother had lots of BA passes to throw around.
I love the street scene. Looks authentic and normal, which is what you hope to find in a foreign city.
xx
AM
Wow Maria, it must be wonderful to be walking those streets again, in spite of the tourists and the rain. I've never been to athens, but it's been on my wish list longer than I can remember.
I share your feelings about the corwds and had more than my share in Florence a few weeks ago, where it just seemed to be wall to wall people.
What are you going to be doing there this time? I take it there is on objective and that it isn't just a holiday?
Hi Anne-Marie,
Numerically, not yet, but in terms of the time... I did spend about 8 months in Athens in 2003. But I tend to feel to feel annoyed about tourists fairly much everywhere. I think it's because the tourist approach to the places they are visiting is often rather superficial.
Hi Vally,
It's mostly work, indeed. Tomorrow morning I need to go to the Finnish institute to pick up a paper which will let me in to the library of the American School of Classical Studies, and there I will work the weekdays. Weekends are free though, and who knows, if I work busily from morning to closing time (8 pm), maybe I'll get things done early and so will have a few extra times free before I leave Athens.
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