Athens Day 1

I made it to Athens! The long flight in economy class wasn't as bad as I thought, so I was prepared for it. But it was rough: perpetually screaming/sick children and lots of light. I had trouble sleeping. My bags made it (Atlanta - Toronto - Montreal - Athens), which I was happy about. I gave them a 50-50 shot from the outset.

As soon as I landed and dropped off my bags, I bolted for the Acropolis. Even though you can see it from anywhere in Athens (it's on top of a massive hill; you can see the view from the Acropolis in a picture below), it's not as easy as making a straight line from point A to point B. The streets of Athens are narrow alleys that zigzag back and forth, and they're often only labeled in Greek characters. Maps are only good some of the time. In any case, I eventually made it to the Acropolis with about an hour to look around, which was plenty.

First impression: it was freezing. It was a cold day in Athens at around 30 degrees, and the wind chill on the hilltop was ridiculous. On the very bright side, the unfavorable conditions meant that I had the Acropolis almost entirely to myself (and for the last 15 minutes or so, I really did have it to myself). Which was a kind of magical experience.

For the uninitiated (I knew little to nothing before arriving), the Acropolis is the name of the hilltop, and the several buildings on it have their own names. You enter through a enormous gateway called the Propylaea. In front of you and a little to the right is the legendary Parthenon (top picture with me in it). Father off to your left, you'll bump into the Erechtheion (bottom -most picture), which I had never heard of but I thought was particularly cool. It's eclecticly built in three sections and features a porch with six women ("caryatids" - picture below). It held all of the most sacred relics, and priests fed an enormous sacred snake that lived in the basement.

Dinner on my first night was the best meal of the trip. I wandered around the city around 10pm and stumbled on a taverna that was obviously having a good time. A man played piano while a woman belted out traditional tunes. Most of the audience knew the words and would sing along - throwing their hands in the air, clapping, dancing in their seats, and draining bottles of red wine. Dinner was delicious. A fried feta cheese appetizer came with two shots of Riki, complements of the house. It turns out that Riki is a grape-based drink like Ouzo, and tastes like gasoline and moonshine, but I appreciated the hospitality. Dinner was a honey-flavored pork that was perfectly cooked. Dessert was baklava and I got another complimentary drink - a sweet dessert wine. Afterwards the manager swang by and was extremely friendly.

Sorry to exhaust you with details of Day 1! I promise that the other days will be more summarized, but my first day in Athens was a very good day.