I love Kaka'

Train from Bul to Thessalonika
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I caught the night Fillia Express out of Istanbul at 8pm from the Sirecki (sounds like soup kitchen) station to Thessalonika.  What I didn't realize until that day was Athens, my goal, is the site of the 2007 European Professional Soccer Final the same night as my arrival there.  The match between Milan and LIverpool would be attended by every rowdy soccer fan from both places.  All the rooms were booked.  No room at the inn.  And the train even from bul was packed with hard drinking Milanese and Liverpudlian fans singing "When the saints go Marching in" at the top of their voices and puctuating the beat by pounding on the sides of the sleeper cars.

The Parthenon
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I totally lucked out.  My roomate for the night was a young Cypriot student with a taste for travel.  He spoke excellent English and was cute to boot.  I discovered being 5'7" is the perfect length to be able to fully stretch out in a Greek sleeper car.

When we arrived in Thessalonika I had just enough time to buy my next train ticket to Athens and grab a premade sandwich before boarding the intercity train which took 5 and half hours.

I had 4 hours to make the overnight ferry to Crete and I didn't waste a minute.  My bags went into Left Luggage (one of the greatest gifts to travelers) I headed out the train station and down into the subway which took me right to the Acropolis.  In 20 minutes from arriving in Athens I was facing in real time one of the most iconic buildings on earth.  Everything on the hill is under renovation.  The last time work was done in the 20's things were less skilled and now iron bars are being replaced with titanium, some originals are replaced with castes in order to protect them.  New found pieces are added to correct the geometry of the buildings.

Carytids
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A new Acropolis museum is under construction.  Until then the museum still resides right next to the Parthenon.  It is really great to be able to see pieces off the originals.  There are finds from previous incarnations of the temples.  You can see some of the color still remaining on the Kore and Kouros - the idealized figures of youth, horsemen, lions attacking bulls and Herakles performing his impossible tasks.

From the top of the Acropolis you could hear the shouting of the fans in the streets gearing themselves up for the big match.  I whipped back down the metro to the train station to fetch my bags and then again metroed to Pireus the port suburb of Athens.  I score smart tourist points for buying the day pass for the metro only 3 euro.  At one station we were stopped in order for the police to escort the crowds of chanting fans onto the opposite train for the stadium.

Looking down into the streets of Athens
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When I got to Pireus I bought my ferry ticket with 45 minutes to spare.  Had a tasty cheese pastry and a filter coffee and walked halfway around the port before realizing I was heading the wrong way ( one tourist demerit) then add one smart tourist point for spotting the free shuttle which landed me and my fellow passengers at the gangplank of the Knossos Palace ferry.

At 9pm I was aboard and had copped four airplane seats for myself.  I was able to wander the length of the ferry exploring the many lounges, eating areas and decks.  I watched Milan beat Liverpool while writing this entry.  I am now a MIlan fan.  My favorite player is named Kaka'.  He is technically superb - One of the things I like about soccer, you can watch it for a half hour and feel like you understand the game.  So now I can say I love Kaka'