Athens is different than how I pictured it. One thing that I've noticed is that wherever you go, the people don't seem to change, but cities always maintain their individuality. It doesn't matter where you are- people drive shitty cars, they highlight their hair, they have their favorite places to eat. Human nature doesn't seem to change anywhere, I think that's something that will always be the same. But every city has its own essence. I like that. It means that there's something new to discover everywhere you go.
Here's an update thus far:
Our flight over to Athens was actually a lot better than anticipated- after all, what can you expect from an airline whose official slogan is "If you're late, we won't wait!"
The plane was completely packed, so there were a lot of interesting people all crammed into a tiny space; it was good for keeping me occupied! The flight was less than 3 hours from Rome so Chelsea and I watched Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist the entire time and day dreamed about Michael Cera. What is it about awkward humor that just gets me??
Once in Greece, the rain started to let up a little. We hopped on a 40 minute bus to our hostel, eventually figured out the map we had bought earlier (it seems like even the simplest words in Greek have at least 10 syllables!) and found our Hostel- the "Easy Access Hostel" to be exact, nestled in a cute little corner along with what seemed like a hot spot for prostitution and the local heroin market. Google failed to mention that part! But, much to our relief, the hostel was clean, cozy, and offered free breakfast. We also got a free shot of Ouzo upon arrival. Opa!
And ask and you shall receive... my only stipulation for booking a hostel was that there be no bed bugs. Lo and behold, no bed bugs in sight! (.....just centipedes.)
The next day we walked all around the city: up to Acropolis, saw Zeus' Temple, Hadrian's Arch, the famed Wind Tower, and wandered around a local flea market for a bit. Our ISIC cards (our student discount card) even gave us free admission to all the sights, as well as to The National Archaeological Museum. Nothing beats free! For dinner, we found a little diner close to our Hostel and ordered- what else?? Gyros with LOTS of tzatziki. And if we weren't sold on Greece already, our waiter even brought out a free desert, just for being "beautiful ladies." I'm definitely not complaining!
After dinner we spent another night in the hostel (food coma), the next morning stuffed ourselves with more free breakfast (just toast and juice....still, nothing beats free) and caught a train to Piraeus, where we're going to catch a ferry to Crete at 9 tonight. Currently I'm sitting in the local Starbucks
(surprisingly the only one we've seen our entire time in Europe), trying not to pay attention to the teenagers in front of me who are intensely 'osculating' (to put it nicely). I know you have raging hormones, we've all been there. I believe you already! Basta!
Like I said, people are the same everywhere. I might as well be back in the States, at the Starbucks off of Telegraph and Victoria in Ventura. Same coffee, same music, same teenagers. Home sweet home, I guess?
One thing that has been different about Greece- we can't use our Italian here! People speak more English than they do Italian, so they look at us like we're crazy when we say "Ciao" (hi) or "Grazie" (thank you) or "Ciao bambino, tu hai una ragazza?" (Hey baby, do you have a girlfriend?) These Greeks. Sheesh.
Anyway, the rain is ceasing and the sun is starting to peak between the clouds. That means my Starbucks hibernation has come to an end- finally!
Until Crete....
Ciao!
