Like I wrote in the entry before this about Prague, I arrived in Athens at 3 in the morning due to my flight being delayed. All I wanted was a bed since I hadn't slept in like, 48 hours. I took a cab to my hostel which turned out to be a hell of a lot of money. I was pretty pissed about that. But I figured that I paid for the convenience because within 30 minutes, I was at my hostel and just ready to crash into my bed.
I stayed at the Pagration Youth Hostel which was a little difficult to find because the only sign was a little tab that said the name at the top of the door bell. I walked into the hostel and the entrance way was a hallway that felt like I was inside a garden. There was a guy outside smoking and he told me to go inside to check-in. The whole thing felt a little shady but oh well, it was just for the night. When I went inside, there was a guy and a girl, clearly american, yelling at each other. They seemed pretty drunk and the guy kept screaming things like "fuck you" to her. It sounded like an abusive relationship to me. From what I heard, it sounded like they went out that night and she was dancing with other guys or something? Then his friend came out and he started screaming at him. This guy sounded psychotic...I just wanted to stay away from him. It looked like the reception desk was closed so I had to interupt their conversation. I asked where I go to check-in. The psycho guy said "the door on your left." I said thank you and went to the door but it didn't look like anywhere I'd be able to check-in. So, being a little scared to interupt this guy and their fight again, I said "sorry...but excuse me" and he stopped his yelling, turned to me, and said "what." I was like "sorry...but which door is it?" and he was like "that one on your left." So I said thank you again haha. Awkward. I knocked on the door and a girl that looked really tired came out. I signed a paper and she gave me my key, sheets, and blanket for my room.
The entrance to my hostel.
I went to my room and there was a girl and a guy there talking on a bed. I said hello but they didn't seem very interested in talking. I went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. While I was in the bathroom, I could still here that psycho guy, the girl, and his friend talking/screaming. Some memorable quotes I heard from them were: "You know who does a lot of shrooms? Syracuse." (what??). "I've never done enough acid to kill a small horse. Never that much." (again...what??). "I'm just a humble guy who's world is against him." They were definitely an interesting crew.
I went back to my room and the girl and guy that were in there started talking to me. They turned out to be really nice. They were both solo travellers who just met that night and were planning on meeting up with other people, like me, at some point in Athens. The guy, whose name was Rona, was from London, and the girl, Hanna, was from Sweden but she was living in London. The 3 of us stayed up talking for about an hour (I couldn't believe I was able to do that considering how sleep-deprived I was, but I like meeting new people). They told me about the night they just had. I'm actually a little bummed I wasn't there for it! They told me it was their first night in the hostel and they just met that crazy group of people previously mentioned. Apparently the 2 guys are from America and have been living in that hostel for about 10 months. I didn't even know you could do that. Also, the psycho guy's friend likes to pretend he doesn't speak english. Hanna and Rona tried talking to him but he would just give them blank stares. They then tried to speak other languages but he wouldn't respond so they gave up. Then when they all went out that night, he started speaking fluent english. Hanna and Rona were so confused. They later found out that this guy likes to pretend he doesn't speak english and his psycho friend then pretends to teach him english- like going over the abc's and 123's. What??? Who does that?! These people are so weird. So the psycho guy insisted that everyone in the hostel go out that night because he knew of the best club in Athens. But when they got there, there was a protest going on and there was a ton of tear gas. Hanna and Rona wanted to go back to the hostel because they didn't want to walk through the tear gas (you know, like normal people). The psycho guy got pissed at them for wanting to do that and he then marched on through the tear gas. They also later found out this guy has a knife. He is seriously a psycho and has an anger management problem. There are some weird people out there...
After our long conversation, it was time for bed! I got to bed around 5am and check-out was at 10:30 so I got a lovely 5 hours of sleep. Hanna and I checked-out but decided to stick around because I didn't think my hotel room would be ready. We raided the fridge in the kitchen for breakfast because a sign said that anything that didn't have someone's name on it was fair game. So we whipped out the huge jar of pickles that was calling our names! There was also some bread, butter, strawberries, and Hanna had cookies with her. Great breakfast, right? haha. As Hanna searched for plates for us to eat on, she found a plate for me...and a frisbee for her haha. So what did she do? Eat on the frisbee. Hey, it was in with the clean dishes!
I called The Acropolis House (the hotel that Melissa and I booked) and they told me my room was ready for me. The owner of the hostel pulled out a map and told me how to get to my hotel using the bus (there was no way I was taking another cab after the one from the night before!). Hanna and I parted ways and I took the bus to Syntagma Square. Actually, I got off at the next stop after we drove by and I saw "Syntagma" written in Greek. No wonder I missed my stop, the stops weren't written in English and no one announces what stop it is! So I got off the bus and walked a few blocks to Syntagma. Once there, I asked about 5 different news stand guys how to get to my hotel. They could only direct me so far and from there they told me to ask someone to continue the directions. Halfway there, as I turned a corner on the sidewalk with my suitcase, I'm not exactly sure what happened. Perhaps it was the fact that Athens is an extremely old city, therefore the sidewalks are rundown from being walked on for centuries, or maybe it was the fact that my boots have no traction. Either way, as I turned that corner, I went down. Yup, I wiped out. In broad daylight. A cab was turning the corner right at that moment and if I had slid any further, I would have been in the street. I'm sure he got a good laugh out of that one. I stood up, brushed myself off, and looked around to make sure nobody saw. I think I was good.
I arrived at The Acropolis House and was welcomed by a woman who I believe is the owner. She is half Greek and moved there from Austria when she was 20. She says she much prefers the Greeks because they are actually "human." I quickly got settled in my room and dove right into bed. I basically slept the rest of the day away, trying to make up for the almost zero amount of sleep I got the previous few days. I woke up around 8 and took a much-needed shower. Then Melissa arrived later that night!! We stayed up talking for a while then went to sleep in our double bed (it was cheaper for us to share a bed than to get 2 singles so we got cozy =] )
Our hotel room
We woke up the next day, Sunday, and had the delicious breakfast that was included in the hotel. I had several cups of coffee, lots of bread with jelly, and clementines. Unfortunately, it was pouring in Athens that day. But we tackled the Acropolis anyways! Our hotel was in a perfect location because all we had to do was walk down the main pedestrian street full of shops and restaurants, turn a corner, and bam- we were at the Acropolis! I couldn't believe I was standing in front of the Parthenon. Greek history in 7th grade was one of my favorite history classes, so being in Athens meant a lot to me. The rain couldn't stop me from appreciating this amazing monument standing just a couple feet from me.
Melissa and I with the Parthenon behind us.
Also, Athens (actually, Greece in general) has a really bad stray dog problem and I don't know why. There were strays everywhere but they seemed pretty harmless. Most of the time they were just sleeping. They were so still, they almost looked dead. There were even a bunch of stray dogs on the top of the Acropolis. Even in the pouring rain, they stayed still, laying on the ground. It was really sad.
After the Acropolis, Melissa and I went on a search for the ancient Agora, which was the old marketplace. You would think that since this is a tourist spot, the locals would know about it. But no, it took forever to try to find it! We stopped so that I could get a cup of coffee because I was feeling really drowsy, plus it was really cold and rainy outside (not exactly what I think of when I think of Greece). There was also a huge bike race going on, which kept us from taking a direct path to get to the Agora. But we finally found it!
The huge bike race that made our search for the Agora 10x longer!
Finally found the Agora!
Then it really started to pour, but we had no idea how to get back to Plaka, which is where our hotel was located. We were mobbed by several restaurant recruiters who wanted us to eat at their establishment. Those guys were severely irritating. We eventually just gave into one because we were soaked and miserable. For my meal I had a pork gyro! It was yummy but very hard to eat like an actual sandwich, so I just ate it with a knife and fork instead. They also gave us a free, traditional greek dessert!
We got back to the hotel and it was time for a nap. Melissa was feeling a little under the weather so she thought some sleep would help. It didn't. Instead, she woke up with what she felt like was a fever. So that night I went out to get us some sandwiches for dinner. It is almost impossible to find anything "to-go" in Europe (it's definitely the worst in Spain). Luckily I came across this little cafe place that was able to help me. The guy, who I assumed owned the place, was very talkative. He called me his "Philly friend."
The next day, Melissa felt even worse. She went to the pharmacy to get some medincine but that wasn't helping. She later called a doctor who came to our room while I was our and he prescribed her completely different medicine. I was really worried because I wanted her to be better for when we went to the islands. I didn't want to have to spend the entire trip by myself! But fortunately she got better day-by-day and the medicine was working.
While Melissa was in bed for the day, I went around to see the rest of the sites on my own. I walked through the National Garden which was beautiful. It was just a giant park full of flowers that housed the Zappion, a form of Neoclassical architecture. Then I went over to the Temple of Zeus and Hadrian's Arch. After that, I walked over to the Olympic Stadium. But first, I stopped at a different, smaller stadium, that I thought might be the same thing. This older Greek man started talking to me as I pulled out my map. He was very nice, but completely told me that that stadium was the Olympic one! I walked in and there was a guy working out on the track and a couple of guys playing volleyball. They all looked at me sort of funny. I was like this is definitely not the Olympic Stadium... So I walked a little farther down the street and there was the real thing. That guy was a liar. At the stadium, I took an audio tour and had some fun with self-timer since I was by myself. Since it was a much nicer day than the day before (no rain!), I went back up to the acropolis to get some better pictures and just to enjoy the views some more!
The Temple of Zeus
Olympic Stadium- it's all made of marble!
Acropolis Part 2
Amazing
Later that day, I took a trip down to the port to print out our ferry tickets to go to Santorini the next day. When I got back to Syntagma Square, I wanted to go see the University of Athens. But, yet again, I asked a Greek where it was and he pointed me in the direction of a completely different University. I asked two other Greeks and they all pointed me in that same direction. I specifically said "the University of Athens." I have no idea what university's campus I walked around, all I know is that Greeks have a problem with the saying "I don't know." They all completely led me in the wrong direction!
The next day, it was time to leave for Santorini!!!!! When I say Greece has been my dream, I mostly mean that Santorini has been my dream. And yes, I can acredit most of that to Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. Unfortunately, I wasn't nearly as excited as I should have been because Melissa was so sick and I thought that this trip wasn't going to live up to my expectations because of it. But I hopped on the metro to take to the port (Melissa took a cab because she felt weak from being sick). On the metro, I met this super nice, young couple, who were from Salam, MA and were going to Santorini as well. Travelling alone really allows you to meet some awesome people!
Overall, Athens could have been a lot better. The fact that it rained an entire day and Melissa basically died decreased it's enjoyment a little bit. I still thought it was a really nice city with a ton of history and very kind people.
Note: This post is called "Cheers to Athens" because almost every waiter or Greek person would say "cheers" to us and we didn't know why. Apparently "cheers" is a very popular word that the Greeks learn in their English classes.
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