Monday 26 September 2011
Nicole and Charles set off first thing on two missions. One, stop by the ferry company HQ to make certain we didn't get double-charged because of the credit card booking. We won't give you the gory details of that encounter, just suffice it to say that bureaucracy combined with lazy and/or untrained employees everywhere is a no-win situation. Mission Two, easy: cereal and milk at the Lidl, good old Lidls, we love 'em, smallish low-priced German supermarkets all over Europe (9000+! even 17 locations on Greek islands!)
Then we were off for the Acropolis, starting at the Plaka, the big shopping/restaurant area surrounding that prominent hill thrust up in the middle of sprawling Athens. We found a perfect (though illegal) parking space -- see how much we've learned about European ways? -- and looked around a bit then headed for our main destination. You see every nationality at the Acropolis, truly one of the world's most well-known and awe-inspiring sights. Charles got comped as a journalist, Nicole as under-19, so we had to buy only one ticket, 7 Euros/10 bucks, not bad for a Wonder of the World, not to mention the stunning 360 view of the city and harbor and surrounding mountains from up there.
We paused for a snack on the steps, with the old columns and structures looming overhead, and lunch on the way down. We're not going to go into much detail about the site -- you really have to be there to get the impact but hopefully Nicole's photos will give you an idea.
It helped of course to know some history, like how the Parthenon was nearly comletely demolished. One thing that had always saddened Charles, since he learned of it on his last visit, was that the gorgeous Parthenon was almost intact from antiquity until mid-19th Century, when the Turks in one of those stupid wars no one even knows what it was about 20 years later, stored their ammunition in the revered structure, and when an explosive detonated it, down came most of that classic structure, that truly belonged to the world. Yes, war is always obscene, and nearly always really stupid.
After wandering around up top for several hours and getting our fill, we proceded to find an electronics store, and located two huge ones, four stories each, within a block of each other. We scored the camera battery charger we needed but not the cig lighter adapter, but the best part was: free bottled water, ice cold, at one store, Public, and free coffee and cookies at Plasio -- allll right! Another bonus, besides the 4th-floor view of Syntagma Square from Public, was their extensive book section, with quite a few books in English. We didnt find our sought-after copy of Mark Twain's The Innocents Abroad (his journal of his European travels), but did score a nice hard-bound copy of Don Quixote for our next family reading, and for Nicole, Dracula. On the way there we popped into a couple of the 5-star hotels on the main square, just for fun, and an exquisite fancy fancy ladies' room experience at the Hotel Grande Britagne.
We stopped at the Parliament building to watch the impressive changing of the guard -- some ancient pottery we'd seen with high-steppers gave a clue as to the cultural antecedents of this impressive ritual performed in old-style military uniforms (with skirts and big yarn balls on the toes -- but we don't advise making fun of these dudes, as elite a soldier here as the Marines at Arlington).
On the way back through the plaka we found a great scarf from Thessaloniki, for Dian and Nicole to share. We took naps back at our car, probably a mistake, because then when we headed out to find a good place for the night near the National Archaeological Museum, the next day's destination, we got a bit lost, and it got dark, and it turned into a nightmare of narrow streets crowded with people with barely enough room for our van to fit through. Finally we gave up and headed back to the port and our old safe parking space in the shadow of the huge ferries. Home is where.... the van is. It was only later that we learned they had big riots in Athens that day, over the new government austerity measures. We never saw anything.
Nicole and Charles set off first thing on two missions. One, stop by the ferry company HQ to make certain we didn't get double-charged because of the credit card booking. We won't give you the gory details of that encounter, just suffice it to say that bureaucracy combined with lazy and/or untrained employees everywhere is a no-win situation. Mission Two, easy: cereal and milk at the Lidl, good old Lidls, we love 'em, smallish low-priced German supermarkets all over Europe (9000+! even 17 locations on Greek islands!)
Then we were off for the Acropolis, starting at the Plaka, the big shopping/restaurant area surrounding that prominent hill thrust up in the middle of sprawling Athens. We found a perfect (though illegal) parking space -- see how much we've learned about European ways? -- and looked around a bit then headed for our main destination. You see every nationality at the Acropolis, truly one of the world's most well-known and awe-inspiring sights. Charles got comped as a journalist, Nicole as under-19, so we had to buy only one ticket, 7 Euros/10 bucks, not bad for a Wonder of the World, not to mention the stunning 360 view of the city and harbor and surrounding mountains from up there.
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| Much restoration was taking place up there -- interesting to see an ancient marble block hoisted up by winch with a restorer brushing it gently all around. There were ancient pieces everywhere -- what a puzzle. |
After wandering around up top for several hours and getting our fill, we proceded to find an electronics store, and located two huge ones, four stories each, within a block of each other. We scored the camera battery charger we needed but not the cig lighter adapter, but the best part was: free bottled water, ice cold, at one store, Public, and free coffee and cookies at Plasio -- allll right! Another bonus, besides the 4th-floor view of Syntagma Square from Public, was their extensive book section, with quite a few books in English. We didnt find our sought-after copy of Mark Twain's The Innocents Abroad (his journal of his European travels), but did score a nice hard-bound copy of Don Quixote for our next family reading, and for Nicole, Dracula. On the way there we popped into a couple of the 5-star hotels on the main square, just for fun, and an exquisite fancy fancy ladies' room experience at the Hotel Grande Britagne.
We stopped at the Parliament building to watch the impressive changing of the guard -- some ancient pottery we'd seen with high-steppers gave a clue as to the cultural antecedents of this impressive ritual performed in old-style military uniforms (with skirts and big yarn balls on the toes -- but we don't advise making fun of these dudes, as elite a soldier here as the Marines at Arlington).
Great picture of all of you on the Acropolis steps with the ruins in the background! Awe you all look so happy...what me worry? But seriously how did Charles fit into those tight elite soldier uniforms uniforms and keep his leg up so high?
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