Athens, Greece

**Note: Post Date is July 13, 2009**

The sparkling city of Athens is so much larger than I expected. It isn’t large in height but rather in area. Standing atop the acropolis, which is the highest spot in the city at 230 feet, I could overlook the entire white and spacious city on both the right and left of this historic monument. It was especially hot today and the sweat was rolling down my back as we took countless pictures and climb many steps to reach the ever popular site of the Parthenon. Some say that the restoration of the site took away from experience. But construction and all I was in awe of this unreal moment. I was standing in Athens, Greece admiring the Parthenon. I couldn’t believe it.

I also can’t believe European drivers. They are plain fearless. In all the countries we’ve been in so far, every street is congested to the max and yet mini-mopeds will zoom the streets, zigzagging in and out of large buses and trucks without a care in the world. Taxi drivers are dangerous and should be taken off the road. And so should I, I plan on taking the metro from now on: which is not only more safe, but extremely more affordable.

Before our Athens tour this morning, Erika and I finalized our plans to travel to a Greek Island. We chose Poros. It is cheap, close and just what we need to get away from the Semester at Sea noise. After securing those plans we had time to spare so we walked around our port city: Piraeus. We luckily bumped into a fast food joint called Goodys: Erika’s new found love. She had to get her iced coffee and with it came these chocolate sticks with frosting in them. She wouldn’t stop raving about them. Every person we came into contact with, those chocolate sensations would be the opening topic. I ordered a delicious burger but Mcdonalds is always in my heart. I can’t wait to get back to the states to have some. Erika is determined to make it back to Goodys in the next four days. Good Luck.

Our tour was a guided bus tour with stops along the way. At first I was extremely skeptical of booking this trip because I thought it was over priced and would have simply skimmed the sites, but with the unexpected size of the city, the raging heat and my unwillingness to search for all these places, this tour was a godsend. It was air conditioned, relaxing and we saw a lot of sites with time to peruse and take pictures. I saw the original Olympic stadium which was so neat. To think that this city is where the Olympics began, where the theories of democracy take root and where the mythical gods and goddesses were birthed.  You could see the 5 rings from a far. It is a goal of mine to see an opening or closing ceremony of the Olympic Games. They are in London in 2012 and since I already have a huge desire to go to London I might as well kill two birds with one stone. Maybe my grandmother will go. If not, I’m sure Kevin is in!

Kevin and Bo weren’t in for our tour though. They sold the trip and decided to see the sights on their own. I didn’t see them all day. Kate, Rachel, Erika, Lindsay and I, after a long sunny day in Athens, came back to the ship to rest for the night. At around 9 we all took a taxi (God bless me) to a beautiful strip of bars and restaurants called the Gazi strip. The area was lively, clean and just what we were looking for. Erika, being our food liaison, tried Gyro along with the girls. I wasn’t hungry, but have intentions on trying one before I leave. It is funny: they are all over the city and I have yet to try one. I’m in Greece and it has now  become a goal to try one. What makes us willing to do things we wouldn’t do otherwise? Is it travel? Is it the excitement that you are somewhere new, so you have to try something new? Well I was sure surprised that Erika was. She has been on a roll and She approves of the gyro.

While at the gyro place, I saw some students reading a script together at a table. I went over to talk to them and found out that they were studying acting. We chatted for a bit about New York, their studies and their future plans. It is so interesting that people all over the world, who don’t even know each other, share common interests, have similar goals and can get along. It was pretty cool talking to them, but not all that cool that they were still in school in the middle of July.

After eating, we  at down at a nice bar called “Why Sleep?” which was pretty ironic because we all had early trips the next morning at about 7am. We fooled around about pulling an all nighter. Our waitress was from Canada and had moved to Greece when she was about six. She was so friendly and suggested places to go afterward. One cultural shock is their lack of credit card use. We attempted to pay for our bill with a credit card but was denied. I don’t understand how these people function, buying multiple drinks at 10 dollars (or Euros in their case) a pop and being able to pull out cash for that seems unreasonable. These are young people and unless they are all wealthy I don’t see the possibility in this. I know I sure couldn’t do it. It is interesting to see how some cultures rely on loans and others simply do not.

I’m enjoying the atmosphere of Greece so far. It was a fun night, but a long one. At 4:30 it is time to sleep.

Today’s Expenses:

……………….....Euros…………Dollars
Goodys………..4.90.………..7.11
Drinks………….15.00.………21.75
Taxi……………..14.00.………20.30

Total…………..33.90.……….49.16

Explore. Dream. Discover.

~Michael-Anthony

P.S. We are now 7 hours ahead.