Travels with Anzie – Athens June 2016

Athens exudes signs of a troubled economy. Many of the buildings look dingy. Many are covered with graffiti. You’d think we gave this taxi driver a great gift when we hired him to drive us the airport, at a better than market price. “Tourism is way down,” he explained.

But, some things are still wonderful.

Food. We were there for Greek Orthodox Easter, which occurs about one month after the Roman Catholic counterpart. Every restaurant had lambs grilling outside. The aroma was fabulous! The roasting continued for three days. Yes, the lamb population took a real hit.

Sightseeing. Every city of any size in Europe, and around the world, has double-decker “On-Off” busses. It’s a great way to acclimate to a new town. We stay on the bus for one circuit, listening to the recorded tour guide. Then we continue for another circuit, but this time we hop off at various sites of interest. A ticket is usually good for two days; so, using the bus tour guide map, we use the “On-Off” as our primary means of conveyance.

The Acropolis: What a dump! You’d think that, after all these years, the City would have rebuilt it – maybe a nice restaurant, perhaps a disco or an amusement park. In all seriousness, the walk up to and around the Acropolis site is worthwhile, if only for the feeling of extraordinary antiquity. After all, humans were trodding these same steps thousands of years ago. However, to give you a true picture of what the place looked like, the Acropolis Museum is a must-see. This modern structure, opened in 2009, not only replicates the dimensions of the original Parthenon, it provides a close-up view of the bas reliefs that decorated the pediments and friezes. Other features give you a better appreciation of this amazing structure, including statuary and findings that go back as far as the Bronze Age.

We stayed in the Plaka neighborhood, walking distance to historic sites, parks, restaurants and taverns. We didn’t journey far. People recommended that we visit the port city of Pireaus, and Delphi. But, in the short time we had, we decided to concentrate our efforts in the capital city.

A la Prochaine – ChuckChuck & Anzie

Athens