| Submitted by: Gopal VenkatUnited States |
| Submission Date: 10 February 2005 |
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After spending a week in France, I returned to London and was all set for my 2-week trip to Greece. I was staying in Central London and since I did not have much baggage, I took the Piccadilly line to Heathrow. Being one of those rare occurrences, my request to have my film hand-examined was considered and done accordingly. My flight to Athens via Milan departed after a 2-hour delay. After the 90-minute flight to Milan, I was surprised to find that the flight to Athens was still waiting for us. I guess it must have been cheaper for ALITALIA to delay the flight rather than pay hotel accommodation for a night in Milan for the 6 people who were connecting to Athens. After a 2 ˝ hour flight, we landed in Athens around 5:30 PM local time.
The exchange rate at the Airport was 314 Greek Drachmas to a US dollar. One had to queue up outside for a taxi. It took me around 20 minutes to get a taxi for myself. The drive to my Hotel was 30 minutes. The Hotel (Acropol Hotel, 71 Pentelis Ave, Halandri, Athens. Phone: 6826650) was situated on the other end of town far away from the main attractions. The Cab ride cost me around 3000 Drs (US$ 9.5). After checking in, I walked around for a while before taking a taxi to the Plaka. I had Spaghetti and fried Pepper (!) and Baklava for dinner that cost me 3000 Drs. The Baklava was horrible compared to what I had in Turkey 3 weeks ago. I took a cab back to my hotel and wrote my diary before turning in.
Tomorrow I start the Greek Odyssey tour organized by Cosmos and costing US$ 490. This is a 1-week tour by land starting in Athens and covering Meteora, Kalambaka, Delphi, Olympia, Tolon, Mycenae and returning to Athens on July 23, 1999. I was to follow this up with a 4-day cruise from Royal Olympic Cruises costing US$ 805 departing from Port of Piraeus (30 minutes from Athens) and Island hopping to Mykonos, Heraklion, Santorini, Rhodes, Kudadasi (in Turkey), Patmos before returning to Piraeus.
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I woke up later than usual and discovered that the hotel had a Bath and no shower. The bathtub was built for a person who height did not exceed 4 ˝ feet. Or, maybe the Greeks bath in a different way! After a lousy breakfast, I proceeded to check out. The Manager told me that my one night stay was 15200 Drs, instead of the 13799 I was quoted while booking it from the USA.
He told me that the difference was due to Taxes. For a hotel that charges me US$50 / night, this does not have air-conditioning and is far away from the center. Avoid it at all costs. This was not a good way to begin my day.
I took a taxi to the Golden Age Hotel (located at Michalakopoulu 57, Athens. Phone: 7240861). This was to be part of the Greek Odyssey tour. On reaching the hotel, the cab driver demanded an additional 500 Drs. For 'Luggage'. When I told him that I was aware of the Baggage tariff, he settled for 200 Drs. In less than 24 hours, I have come to the conclusion the average cab driver in Athens is out to get you. All he/she is interested is in making the quick buck. Do learn a few basic phrases in Greek, if you happen to travel to Greece. The drivers here are quite rash. Since I don't drive rashly, I enjoy it vicariously.
The folks at the Golden Age did have a room under my name. I had opted for shared accommodation on this tour and my roommate was yet to check in. The room was really nice. I found out later that the charge for a Single room is 22000 Drs (US$ 70) / night. That would be about US$ 20 more than the dump I stayed at last night. This is a much nicer hotel and closer to the Plaka and Syndagma (Constitution) Square. After dumping my bags, I returned to the lobby and met the tour guide, Sally. There were around 35 people in the group and we had a 30-minute meeting with the group. Almost all the tours are optional and Sally handed out a leaflet to us that had the prices for the various optional tours. After mentioning my dietary restrictions (Vegetarian), I booked myself on the optional tour to Sounion in the afternoon.
Since the tour was to depart around 1:15 PM, I started off to Syndagma Square to visit the American Express office and exchange some money. This was a 20-minute walk from the hotel and American Express traveler's cheques are exchanged commission free. I returned just in time to board the bus for Sounion. There were only 15 people on this optional tour costing US$ 20 and we had over 2 seats per person on a 40-seater bus. Sounion is the place where the Temple of Poseidon is located. We also had a local guide (Francesca) accompany us on this tour. As we drove along the coast to Sounion (located at the southern tip of Greece and 70 Kilometres away from Athens) the guide kept us informed about various things. Just about everywhere we looked, there were locals swimming in the water or sunning themselves on the shore. Despite this, wherever I looked the water was quite clean. I did notice a few topless women on the way!
We reached Sounion around 2:45 PM and the guide explained the various aspects of these ruins for 20 minutes. We were on top of a cliff and the winds were fierce. When the guide gave us some time to visit the ruins on our own, I gave my Hat to her lest I lose it to the winds. There were moments where I had a sinking feeling that my skinny frame (140 lbs) would be swept over the cliff into the waters below. The setting of the Temple of Poseidon is quite grand. There are around 12 columns still standing after all these years. The Temple was built in 420 B.C. to the Greek Sea God Poseidon. Though my guidebook mentioned that the columns were IONIC in style, I felt that they were DORIC. I spent around 45 minutes at these ruins taking pictures and got out just as a group of Japanese tourists were arriving! (Thank my lucky stars) The Japanese tourist monopolizes the place to such an extent that one can never get a decent photo of any ruins or paintings (in a museum). Some of you reading this might be offended, but I call it the way I see it.
The Son-et-Lumiere at the Acropolis, Athens
I bought a couple of postcards and boarded the bus back to Athens. We reached the hotel around 5:30 PM. I wrote some diary setting out for dinner. Following this, I took a taxi to the Plaka which cost me 500 Drs. I went in search of a Vegetarian restaurant called the Eden Café (located at 12, Lissiou & Mnissicleous Streets) in the Plaka. After being misdirected by a couple of waiters of another restaurant, I finally found it. It is a fully Vegetarian restaurant with a large variety. It is quite a nice place. After a decent dinner (My lunch was a glass of Orange Juice!), I set off towards the Acropolis for the Sound and light show. After 30 minutes of walking around I finally found the hill (PNYX hill) opposite the Acropolis from where one views the sound and light show. The Entrance fee for the Son-et-lumiere was 1550 Drs (US$ 3.60) and the Program, which provides the entire script of the English Language show, was 400 Drs (US$ 1.20).
The Pnyx hill is situated across the Acropolis and there is a seating Capacity for 1000 people. The show started at 9 PM and lasted around 50 minutes. Since I had carried my Tripod along, I was able to use it freely and get good pictures of the various parts of the Acropolis that were lit up during the show. As is customary there was the usual gang of idiots who were hell bent on using the flash in their cameras in the fervent hope that it will illuminate an object half a mile away! One of these days they may acquire some Intelligence. After the end of the show, I walked around the Pnyx hill towards the observatory where I was chased by 2 rabid dogs. My Tripod turned out to be a handy weapon to scare away the evil beast! When I reached the Plaka, I took a cab to the hotel that cost me 600 Drs.
The reception informed me that my roommate had checked in. He turned out to be an elderly Psycho Therapist from Long beach, California. He insisted that he was on a vacation and would not spend his time analyzing me. We chatted for a while. I hope we get along well during the duration of the tour. I wrote my diary before turning in. I plan to visit the Acropolis and the Archaeological Museum tomorrow.
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I woke up around 7 AM and had breakfast. I departed the hotel around 9 AM and took a bus to Syndagma Square. Each one-way ticket on a bus costs 120 Drs. One can buy around 10 (or) 20 tickets and have them handy. These tickets can be bought at Newspaper kiosks or bus terminals. They must be validated on entering the bus. The Machine timestamps each ticket along with the route number of the Bus or Trolley. I headed to the post office to mail the postcards. The post office is open until 1 PM on Sundays and the postage for each card cost me 200 Drs. After the Post office, I took a bus to the Archaeological Museum. The Museum is open until 2:45 PM on Sundays. The fee is 2000 Drs. There is no flash photography permitted and special permission must be obtained for using a tripod.
Asklepios & his children, Archeological Museum, Athens
I was told that the museum could be toured in an hour. I spent around 4 hours (10:30 AM to 2:45 PM) here and still could not see the entire museum. The Museum has the largest collection of Artifacts from the Hellenic / Minoan / Ancient Greek periods. Some of these date back to the 16th Century B.C. The most recent of the artifacts date to the 4th Century A.D. It is a great place to visit. I am definitely going back after the Greek Odyssey tour to see the remainder of the museum. Having lavished praise on the museum and its collection, I must warn you against eating in the Museum Cafeteria. A doughnut, a can of juice and a Yogurt set me back 3500 Drs (US$ 12). Compare this with the excellent dinner I had last night including a glass of wine that cost me 4200 Drs (US$ 14). Eat at the cafeteria only if you are likely to die of starvation. I took a bus from the Museum to Syndagma Square and another from Syndagma to the Acropolis. The entrance fee was 2000 Drs. I had lemonade at the entrance that cost me 1500 Drs. (And I was NOT dying of thirst!) Double whammy within a couple of hours.
The Interior of the Parthenon is being refurbished. All one can see are the metal scaffoldings all over the Parthenon. Hopefully they will complete the restoration before the 2004 Olympics, which is to be held in Athens. The Acropolis is a grand structure, no doubt about it. Do carry a good map of the Acropolis ruins before you start your visit. It comes in quite handy in identifying the various places within the Acropolis. The Best-preserved structure is the Odeon of Herodus Atticus where live performances are held frequently. The theatre of Dionysus is a complete ruin.
The Parthenon (at the Acropolis), Athens
There is a museum inside the Acropolis that houses a lot of the Original statues from the Acropolis ruins to prevent them from being ruined further by exposure to the natural elements. A replacement statue is what is usually seen in the ruins of the Acropolis. A good view of the Temple of Zeus, Hadrian's Gate and the Olympic stadium can be obtained from the Acropolis. |
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