Back in 2006 I was invited to visit some friends who had
moved from Whidbey Island to Greece. They
had been vacationing there for many years and decided to pack up lock, stock
and barrel and move to Paros, Greece.
They had invited me before but something about the time or something in
me decided to just say yes. Since I had
to fly into Athens on the way to Paros, it seemed silly not to stop there for a
few days. The church that my parents
attend was supporting a missionary couple who lived in Athens; they were
willing to host me for a few days so everything just fell into place.
Seattle - Atlanta – Athens, arriving about 11 am; it was a
long day. I lucked out and had an empty
seat next to me on the Atlanta/Athens flight, but I was not able to get any
sleep. I wish I could perfect the art of
sleeping on a plane. I landed in Athens
and sailed through customs, no one said a word, they could have cared less why
I was there or what I had with me. Diana
met me at the airport and we caught a bus back to their apartment in
Glyfada. It was a spacious place on the
second floor of a nice building in a nice, quiet neighborhood not too far from
the coast. After I took a short nap, we
walked into central Glyfada. As we got
closer to the beach, the houses got larger and fancier. We ate a nice Greek dinner at an open air
restaurant. So far everything I have
seen reminds me of Spain; the lifestyle, the stores, the buildings, the homes,
the streets. If the signs were not
written in Greek, I would have sworn I was in Spain.
The next day we took the tram into Athens. We visited the open market, the archeology
museum, and Lykavittos Hill. The open
market was huge but it was just like every other open market with raw meat,
fish and lots of other stinky items. The
museum was completely overwhelming; it had items from as far back as 6000
BC. The coolest thing I remember was
seeing parts of the actual antikythera mechanism; an old metal object with many
clock-like wheels that was found by sponge divers on an ancient wreck. No one is positively sure what it was but
most people think it is some type of astronomical calendar. I had seen shows about it on the Discovery
Channel many times so it was exciting to see it in real life. Lykavittos is a pointed hat shaped hill and it
has a spectacular 360 degree view of Athens and the Acropolis.
The next morning we caught a bus from Glyfada to the first
metro stop and rode the metro the rest of the way into Athens. We got off at the Acropoli stop and crossed 8
lanes of a very busy street to see Hadrian’s Gate and the temple of Zeus. It was strange to be looking at something
constructed in 146 BC while you listened to modern traffic whiz by. Back across the road we entered the narrow
streets of ancient Athens. Acropolis
simply means “high place in the city” and many ancient towns have an
acropolis. At one time it was the
highest point in the city but Athens has grown to incorporate higher
hills. I was surprised to see the number
of people swarming all over the place; just like a hill of ants. We bought a 12 euro ticket and went
inside. It was nice to have Diana there
since she had been there before. There
is so much it would be easy to miss something.
You are not given a map as you enter so I suggest you buy a map in order
to get a feel for the layout and an idea of what each building is all
about. Most of the literature about the
Acropolis says it has been occupied since 3000 BC but the buildings you see
today were built about 500 BC. The size
of the buildings, width, height, columns, and the size of each individual building
block is overwhelming. 
The slaves used
to build these buildings must have swarmed over the Acropolis much like the
tourists do today. Many of the buildings
were covered in scaffolding for cleaning and repairs. Back in the late 1600’s the Parthenon was
used as an armory and gun powder storage, when the Venetians invaded they fired
cannons into the building and started a fire that burned up the wooden roof and
did a lot of damage. From the Acropolis,
we head down to the Agora; the center of public life in ancient Athens. The Agora is much more “ruined” than the
Acropolis. You can see many foundations,
aqueducts and a few statues but the only real building left standing is the
Temple of Hephaestus. In my journal I
write that I have no clue who/what Hephaestus was but today when I Google it I
read in Wikipedia he was the patron god of metal working and
craftsmanship. The Agora was the place
where you went to the market, listened to public speakers, went to the
gymnasium, and had buildings that housed public documents and the official
weights and measures. 
After all this walking it was almost 2 pm so we went to
Monastraki Square and ate lunch at a café in the square. It was a total tourist trap but it was a
great location so we did not care. As we
ate we were approached every few minutes by someone selling something; little
girls selling Hello Kitty trinkets, young men selling black market CD’s, and
old women selling table cloths. There
was also a local dog roaming around the tables for scraps. The dog had more success than the roaming
vendors. After lunch we roamed around
the Plaka; the old market district. I
saw some wonderful antique furniture, many leather goods and tourist trinkets
of every shape and size. Too bad I could
not ship home some of that furniture!! I
have to thank Ron and Diana for hosting me at their home and showing me around
town.
The next day I caught the bus back to the airport and flew
out to the island of Paros to see Al and Ardy.
KAREN’S ATHENS TIPS…
Ø
Wear good soled tennis shoes. Who cares if you look like an American – so
do many Greeks.
Ø
Schedule one full day for the Acropolis and
Agora.
Ø
Get a map of the Acropolis & Agora before
you go.
Ø
Take your time – do not rush – you have all day
– sit and read about each location – absorb the history.
Ø
Go early in the morning to avoid the heat.
Ø
Stay downtown – the cost of the hotel is worth
avoiding the time on the bus into town plus you have a home base to use as a
rest stop.
Ø
Avoid July and August – they are miserable in
the city – September was almost too hot.
Ø
Get a pass and use the metro.
Ø
Don’t miss Lykavittos Hill.
Ø
Taxis can be a rip off – negotiate the fair up
front.
Ø
Take the metro from the airport to the city
center.
Ø
Pack light but bring a couple of “dressy” items
– the Greeks dress very well!!
