A journey of a thousand miles begins with:
(a) a bus journey to Heathrow
(b) waiting 30 minutes while the security guys go through your luggage
(c) 20 minutes of trying to get into the wrong house
Actually our journey started the night before our flight, when we watched a documentary about plane crashes. Not wise! However our own flight was problem-free, apart from some grief at security, where they victimise innocent passengers (have they ever caught a bad guy?) because there is more than 100ml of fluid here, or a laptop left in a bag there. We waited
20 mins or so while they dealt with a backlog, then they gave us the treatment - our offence was having a bottle of juice in the bag.
(b) waiting 30 minutes while the security guys go through your luggage
(c) 20 minutes of trying to get into the wrong house
Actually our journey started the night before our flight, when we watched a documentary about plane crashes. Not wise! However our own flight was problem-free, apart from some grief at security, where they victimise innocent passengers (have they ever caught a bad guy?) because there is more than 100ml of fluid here, or a laptop left in a bag there. We waited
20 mins or so while they dealt with a backlog, then they gave us the treatment - our offence was having a bottle of juice in the bag.
 |
| Waiting for the Metro |
If you ask me, the terrorists have won, although if it puts people off flying then it's arguably a Good Thing.
On landing at Athens, we made our way onto the Metro and headed for Syntagma Square. Our digs - with a friend of a friend, arranged by email - are close by. Unfortunately we had our wires crossed and spent some time trying to gain access to the house next door-but-one, which was confusing for everyone. At last we made contact with Katerina and we spent a pleasant evening getting the local's lowdown on what to do and where to go. After a lovely meal at her local taverna we settled down for our first night in Athens.
Katerina cooked us a fine breakfast consisting of a mushroom omelette served with sourdough toast. Philippa had taken the unusual step of packing some English breakfast tea bags. Please don't think too badly of her, but she has experienced Greek tea in tne past - it's made by a firm called Liptons which sounds British but isn't.
We set off into the city with a suggested itinerary complete with a map marked with a pink route to follow. We found our way to the Acropolis Museum, a recent addition which showcases the archaeological finds from the area around the Acropolis as well as the friezes from the Parthenon - at least, those which weren't looted in the 19th century by Lord Elgin. Elgin's not the only villain of the piece, though. In the 5th Century the Parthenon was turned into a Christian Church, which meant removing (and destroying) some of the stonework. Later it was used as a mosque. In the 17th century it was used as an ammunition dump by the Ottomans, which suffered a direct hit from the attacking Venetians. It's a miracle so much of it has survived.
We spent some time in the museum, waiting for it to stop raining - Katerina accused us of bringing our weather with us - and as the clouds cleared, we made our way to Philopappos hill, which overlooks the Acropolis and has great views over the city. We had the place almost to
ourselves, but climbing hills is thirsty work so we spent the rest of the afernoon drifting around the shops, stopping for the occasional beer.
On landing at Athens, we made our way onto the Metro and headed for Syntagma Square. Our digs - with a friend of a friend, arranged by email - are close by. Unfortunately we had our wires crossed and spent some time trying to gain access to the house next door-but-one, which was confusing for everyone. At last we made contact with Katerina and we spent a pleasant evening getting the local's lowdown on what to do and where to go. After a lovely meal at her local taverna we settled down for our first night in Athens.
Katerina cooked us a fine breakfast consisting of a mushroom omelette served with sourdough toast. Philippa had taken the unusual step of packing some English breakfast tea bags. Please don't think too badly of her, but she has experienced Greek tea in tne past - it's made by a firm called Liptons which sounds British but isn't.
We set off into the city with a suggested itinerary complete with a map marked with a pink route to follow. We found our way to the Acropolis Museum, a recent addition which showcases the archaeological finds from the area around the Acropolis as well as the friezes from the Parthenon - at least, those which weren't looted in the 19th century by Lord Elgin. Elgin's not the only villain of the piece, though. In the 5th Century the Parthenon was turned into a Christian Church, which meant removing (and destroying) some of the stonework. Later it was used as a mosque. In the 17th century it was used as an ammunition dump by the Ottomans, which suffered a direct hit from the attacking Venetians. It's a miracle so much of it has survived.
We spent some time in the museum, waiting for it to stop raining - Katerina accused us of bringing our weather with us - and as the clouds cleared, we made our way to Philopappos hill, which overlooks the Acropolis and has great views over the city. We had the place almost to
ourselves, but climbing hills is thirsty work so we spent the rest of the afernoon drifting around the shops, stopping for the occasional beer.
 |
| The Acropolis, from Philopappos Hill |
We are staying in the Plaka which is bang in the middle of Athens and a
bit of a tourist trap. With endless restaurants to chose from, it really
is pot luck but we have at least ruled out one place. We will not be
eating at the Bollywood Kitchen. After all, when in Greece, blah blah
blah...
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