Back to Athens (Gyros, Gyros, Gyros)

Theatre at the Acropolis
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The cruise ship dropped us off at the port in Patras and we took a bus into Athens with another Contiki group led by TQ’s girlfriend who we found out is just as loud as him. The bus dropped us off at Syndagma Square which was chaos so we said our goodbyes to our friends from the cruise and took off with NY Mike who was staying at a hotel in the same direction as ours. The original hotel we had reserved was kind of creepy and not in the best area (though Psiri is the local party district), so we changed our minds and stayed at the Student and Travellers Inn (recommended by both our guidebooks) in Plaka, east of the Acropolis, which was really nice. Plaka was a touristy area but at least it's not sketchy (Yay for me, Mom & Dad!). We stayed in a room with 4 beds and had our own bathroom which was a plus. Our hostel had a little courtyard where hostellers could hang out/eat/drink, laundry service (!!) and internet.

Surprised no one bailed on these steps
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The same day we walked to (another) archeological museum, the National Archeological Museum (NO MORE POTTERY!) and spent a couple hours there. It was ok. Some nice sculptures and some cool gold stuff and jewelry. We sped through the pottery really fast though. We also got in trouble for taking a "funny picture" by posing with a giant sized arm of Zeus. The museum nazis were NO FUN.

Don't know how we managed it but we found a Subway. It was nice to take a break from gyros.

The most famous site in Athens, the Parthenon
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We had some time so we went on an "adventure" to find Mount Lycavittos which is the highest point in Athens. The maps don’t help much so we had to randomly walk around to find the entrance. We followed a French couple but I think they eluded us somehow. There was finally a sign for the "funicular" which was pretty much a tram/gondola that takes you up in about 5 minutes. At the top stood the Chapel of St. George which we heard holds a bunch of weddings and there were some awesome views of the city including some good spots to see the whole Acropolis. We were able to catch the sunset around 8:15 pm (awww…romantic!) and made fun of a couple filming the sunset on their camcorder. Could you imagine being invited over to watch that video??

Kind of creepy (at Acropolis Museum)
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We found our way back to the hostel to meet my Greek friend, Marios, that night for some drinks at some local hotspots. First, Steph and I were absolutely starving so we asked Marios to take us out for some dinner. We went to Psiri and I had kebabs (sort of like a glorified gyro) and we all had Heineken cuz Marios said that Greek beer isn’t that great. It was nice to hang out with someone who knows Greek so we didn't end up with the unexpected (like Steph’s hot dog bun with cheese). After dinner, we went to a pub/lounge in Psiri, around Monastiraki Square and hung out until 4 am since that is what Athenians do!

The Acropolis from afar
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The next day, we decided to take it easy so we did some shopping (bad) and I ended up getting more clothes that I have to now lug around. I made sure that the stuff I bought was wearable during my trip and not just dead weight. However, Steph got 2 dresses and that was worse! There were some great shops in Athens and there was one HUGE street full of them. This street, Ermou, had 3 Zaras. If anyone knows Zara, it’s kind of an expensive store for work clothes back in Canada. Well in Athens it’s like a Gap with dressy clothes, basic clothes, sport, and men’s clothes AND it’s pretty cheap. All these stores have about 4 or 5 levels you need to use a lift to get up to or walk up a million steps.

Steph at the Erechtheion (notice the famous 5 Caryatids-was 6 before the Brits stole one)
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At lunch we had a gyro. Surprise, surprise.

For dinner we went back to the place where Steph got a hot dog bun with cheese (its called Everest) and got sandwiches and paninis for a quick dinner. The orders weren’t screwed up this time. Yay!

To save money and take it easy, we decided to party in our hostel. We cracked the 40 of vodka and toted it around with some juice. We just sat around and chatted with so many different people: Aussies, Americans, Canadian, Dutch, etc. The Aussies have once again proven they are crazy and LOUD. We had a discussion about Aussie's sleeveless shirt – they called them ‘singlets.’ We found out this Dutch guy had 3 months of vacation time. He was all stressed about what he should do for 2 months after his trip was over. We did NOT feel sorry for him at all. The party continued in our room – the Aussies followed us up – but was cut short because we had some roommates who were sleeping and we had to kick the Aussies out!

Ancient Agora
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The next day we did some site-seeing...

We saw the Roman Agora which was an old meeting place and held the Tower of the Winds, a weathervane. It was pretty well preserved considering it was pretty damn old.

Since it was all about Agoras that day, we visited the Ancient Agora, the old marketplace and administrative centre. The main sites in the Ancient Agora were the Hephaesteion classical temple and the shops and philosophers’ gathering spot, Stoa of Attalos. We breezed through the Agora Museum because it was nothing special and we were sick of museums.

Ancient Agora
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More gyros...

The Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch were also popular tourist spots in Athens. The temple was the largest ever built in Greece and there are 15 Corinthian columns that were humongous. Hadrian, a Roman emperor completed it 600 years after it started and also added an arch to mark the boundary between the ancient city and the new city. This was right beside the National Gardens (which sucked).

Steph was dying for some rice so we found, we think, the only asian restaurant in Athens and had some stir fry noodles and some curry fried rice. Can't beat Edgemont Palace but we got our rice fix.

Ancient Agora sewers
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That night we met up with Marios again, this time for a trip to a shisha bar for some drinks and smoked some apple flavored tobacco. Stayed out til 4 am again. Good old Athens!

What would Athens be without a visit to the Acropolis, and all that goes with it? Really cool except they are always restoring everything so it kind of sucked seeing these sites with metal scaffolding all over them. Never wear non-walking type footwear at these sites. The steps always seem to slope downward and all streets are cobble-stony so it was very easy to bail. Neither of us have yet (shocker) but both have come very close. The main attraction in the Acropolis was the Parthenon, another temple. We also checked out (quickly) the Acropolis Museum which holds everything that the British didn’t steal from the Greeks and Romans! We also saw the Temple of Athena Nike and the Erechtheion. Outside the Acropolis, we met an older French guy named François (hehe, typical) and apparently he is a computer designer that helps with the reconstruction of these historical sites. I think he was just happy to find people that he could talk to. In Athens, most people speak only Greek so we found it pretty hard to communicate.

Ancient Agora
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Don't know how we managed it but we found a Subway. It was nice to take a break from gyros.

On our way back to the hostel, we saw the changing of the guards at the parliament building. It’ was so funny because they wore the traditional outfits and kind of pranced around doing this little march thing wearing white frilly skirts with tassles AND they wore little booties with big pom poms on them. After they change, there is a soldier guy who fixed their tassles. It kind of looked like he was molesting them. You will see what I mean in the pictures!!!

Statue bum at the Ancient Agora museum
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On our last night in Athens, a quick drink with Marios turned into getting back  at 5 am. That meant only 2 hours sleep before our 9 am flight to Rome. Ugggghhh!