Athens

This is where the holiday slowly took on more of a honeymoon feel. We landed in Athens via Munich all ready to walk in the contrasts of the history of Athens and the revitalised 2004 Olympic city. Sharon had lived in Greece for 3 years as a teenager with her family so it was fun for me to see her expressions when we passed familiar shop or street, which would lead to a story of youthful mischief. We decided to shout ourselves to some nice 5 star accom in the Plaka, which was central to the sights and the Tavernas. Gotta love being a 30 something backpacker..


First night out gave us an indication of the how expensive Greece is under the Euro. Shaz kept explaining to staff that under that Drakma it was much cheaper which only delayed the payment of our Euro bill. So from here, we checked the price of the Greek Salad, which was a standard order, before ordering to gauge bill , . The fresh food was superb but we held off seafood until we got to the Islands. We spent the few days in Athens walking amongst the ruins of the city and the markets streets and the nights exploring the beautiful food of the Tavernas and catching up with Sharon’s old school mates in who were in town for the wedding of one of their own.

Vanessa a local friend took us out to one of the upcoming areas of Athens, Gazi (the old industrial district) bit like New Farm 10 years back. Van and Dennis met us to say hi to Pavlina the bride to be.

The ruins of the Acropolis, the Temples of Hephataestus and Olympian Zeus were colossal. The stonework in place to this day albeit a little out of shape with a few bits missing, is a tribute to people who built them.



The view from the Acropolis to the low sprawl of Athens with the sun high in the blue sky turns every solar hotwater system into a shining daystar on a rooftop. With so much history it is easy to meander and find much of interest. As we wandered we got very used to the open squares, pedestrian areas and sidewalk cafes and tried to imagine such a scene in Mumbai… Dream on…