I've finally met up with my class, and tomorrow we go to Crete. The plane ride from Paris was pretty uneventful, though it was a bit strange and unnerving hearing the emergency instructions and not knowing a word of what they were saying. Our hotel was in a pretty seedy part of town, but it was about a 20 minute walk to the Acropolis, so at the very least it was convenient.
Athens is an incredibly, incredibly dirty city with graffiti everywhere. It covers every surface, is on every street corner, etc. From a financial standpoint, it is astonishing coming here from Paris. In Paris it was 3 Euro for a day old Baguette without any ham or cheese. Here it is 1,80 Euro for a Gyro. Bargain? Yes. Paris was unbelievably overpriced. I enjoyed myself, but the only money I spent was on cheap food, and cheap there is a four-course meal here in Athens.
Before the class arrived we ended up orbiting the Acropolis quite a bit. At some point every day we would walk to the Areopacis (the rocky outcropping below the Parthenon). I bought a Hugh Laurie book, surprisingly good.
Athens is almost overwhelming. It is a confusing blend of Western Europe and the Middle East. The stoplights act more as suggestions than anything concrete, and thus it is a precarious place to be a pedestrian. One always has to have his wits about him. The food here is amazing. I haven't tasted anything so fresh. I walked into a Gyro shop just as a man on a moped was delivering vegetables fresh from the farmer's market. I never thought you could taste the difference, but you truly can.
Would it be possible to deposit another $250 into my account. I have $60 left and that should last me a few days but I'm apprehensive about pulling only 40 Euros because of the service charges.
Anyways, I think it is time to grab dinner, naturally a Gyro. I don't think I can ever get tired of those things.
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