Day 15-19 Athens

I feel like we are in a time machine! Each city for the most part has slowly offered us more dated history than the previous one. From Rome to Athens was no exception and this would obviously be our largest leap of all. What we did not expect was to find the best English speaking Europeans yet and the most westernized society we have encountered.

Day 1

Leaving Rome
We had an early evening flight from Rome to Athens so we had time to kill, like true Americans we headed to the city center of Rome and immediately hit Burger King. I have been heavily resisting eating any food outside the local specialty but after a bad batch of pasta the day before I was quite alright with some comfort food.

After our meal we headed into town for some last minute sight seeing before we made the trek to the airport. I enjoyed Rome quite a bit but I’d take another trip to Florence over Rome any day.

Athens
Our flight was taking off right at sunset which made the views pretty sweet, I really have conquered my issue with flying, don’t know what my deal was. The meal on the plane wasn’t exactly my favorite and the dessert seemed a lot more like punishment. Sal has adopted my fear of flying, every time we take off he has his hat pulled over his face and his headphones on full blast so he can’t hear a thing.

Happy Sal minutes before becoming not so happy Sal


Coast of Italy at sunset


We got to the hotel at about 1AM so we got unpacked and called it a night.

Day 2

Rome had officially whooped our ass so today we wanted to do absolutely nothing all day, and that is pretty much what we did. Our hotel is just outside of city center and on the top floor resides the pool with an unobstructed view of the Acropolis and the Parthenon.

Pool on top of hotel


View of Acropolis from pool level


Roughly seven hours later we are still in the pool. By this point we had discovered “Mythos” the greatest if not only Greek beer on earth. I had also introduced myself to two girls in the pool, who turned out to be sisters from NYC, they’d be playing a large part in our time in Athens. There names were Kerri and Diana and it just so happens they were staying directly across the hall from us.

Mythos



James and Sal were crippled by the sun, chlorine, and booze so they headed for a nap, while John and I were eager to get into town and have dinner and see the city. We got dressed and headed into town with Kerri and Diana on the free shuttle from the hotel. The girls had prior plans but we walked them down the creepy alleys and by the time we reached their destination (Greeks give terrible directions) they had invited us to join them… John and I had no idea what we were getting into.

Unfortunately I left my camera behind on this one but once Kerri and Diana get to the States I will have video and pictures to prove the events that occurred. We dined at a place called Krekopos that cost 39 Euros a person but included bread/hummus, two bottles of wine, 4 small appetizers each, an entrée, dessert, and most importantly live song and dance!

Before you knew it John and I were on stage with 3 other guys and a belly dancer and we were following her lead, or attempting to follow I should say. Little secret I have is I can actually do the belly roll but I spared the crowd and just shook what my mamma gave me.

The dinner was a blast but the night did not end there. We had met this guy from Houston earlier at the pool as well who had some local contacts in Athens so we headed out to a club but this time with the whole crew, the NY’ers, and two other girls they had met. I didn’t even catch the name of the club but that doesn’t matter as much as the fact it was right on Mediterranean with the ocean floor lit up and the club looked like something straight out of the movies. Nick from Houston’s buddy had scored us tables and bottle service at an obvious cost which would become a headache later when they tried to charge us way too much. Regardless we killed three bottles of Stohli, danced/sweated our butts off, and had an amazing night! We left the club around 3AM I’d say and I swear it felt like we were the first people to leave.

Day 3

We were supposed to hit the beach with Kerri and Diana but our dark room was way too enticing for our hungover blood. So we slept, slept, and slept some more. I got up before everyone else and hit the pool and spa for a bit trying to revive myself, I felt a ton better afterward.

Once everyone woke we headed down the street on the search for food, and we found the equivalent of In N Out just down the block from the hotel. I know I know not very Greek =/. Next we headed out to take care of our laundry, Rome ate our clean clothes quick because of how much we were sweating. While we were doing laundry we met people from all over the U.S. including some girls from Orange County and an awesome couple from Georgia.

I miss the old days of Mamma doin laundry


We finished our laundry around 930PM just in time to see the 10:10 showing of Bruno, we bought the last edition of GQ before our ride over and Sacha Baron Cohen was on the cover. That dude is a maniac and we could not wait to see it. If you don't enjoy insanely crude and uncomfortable humor I don't recommend it, we however loved it.

After the movie we met up with Kerri and Diana and headed to Plaka for drinks, it was their last night in Athens. John and James split off to go meet up with the girls that we met at laundromat earlier. We found a little dive bar and posted up for a few hours, the place was nearly empty when we walked in but the dance floor soon filled up. The bartender was the coolest Greek we met. He poured us all a free Jaegerbomb and bought Sal and I a beer each. We didn't fall asleep until 6AM, the girls didn't sleep at all seeing as they had to catch a boat at 8AM.

Day 4

Ok so now you are probably saying why aren't we sightseeing?! Well after Rome we needed a few days to just veg and after all of my reading Athens could be seen in a day. So James and I got up early (by early I mean noon) and headed into Plaka on the shuttle.

We decided to start with The Arch of Hadrian followed The Temple of Zeus and the rest of Olympia. The Temple of Zeus was the second member of "The Seven Wonders" we have seen and I was personally more moved by the Temple of Zeus than the Colosseum. Most people may think that is crazy but so little of this Temple is left your imagine can run wild with what went it may have looked like, felt like, and what it took to build.

Arch of Hadrian


Temple of Zeus


James getting his Buddha Zeus on


Next we moved up the hill and made the climb up the Acropolis. During our run on the Acropolis we saw more things than I can remember but the places that stood out the most to me included the Theater of Dionysus, the Propylaea, the Temple of Athena Nike, and most of all the Parthenon. I never knew the Parthenon had served as a temple, a mosque, and a church depending on who was in power. The Parthenon has withstood vast amounts of looting, fire, and warfare. For only 1 Euro more we toured the Acropolis Museum which contained thousands of artifacts some dating back to 1000 BC.

Theater of Dionysus


Parthenon


View of Temple of Zeus from Parthenon


View from from Acropolis


Upon our return to the hotel James and I hit the pool and spa for a bit and called it a night relatively early.


Day 5

We started the day off on a manhunt for a hole in the wall place with the most authentic gyro possible... and we found it right in the ghetto. I must say out of all the places we've been, I have enjoyed the food here the most. I've had to step outside of my comfort zone a few times but I haven't had a bad meal yet.

After our intense journey for the gyro a nap ensued followed by a trip to Plaka for some shopping and the last of our sights. I should also mention on our way out we saw Panathinaiko Stadium, where the first Olympic games were held.

Panathinaiko Stadium


After we got back to the hotel we decided to give into our inner computer nerd and make a visit to the local lan center around the corner. A few years back when I was traveling around the country competing in the computer game Counter-Strike the European teams dominated the scene. It was a ton of fun getting to see how things work on their turf, most things were the same as a nerd is a nerd =). Don't worry ya'll Hollywood held it down.

That concludes our time in Athens and although this may be the weakest blog yet, I have enjoyed my time here the most! Leaving the camera in the room was a much needed break for me seeing as I've taken over 3000 pictures!