Tel Aviv/Athens - Days 80-83

It's been a bit difficult getting uninterrupted access to internet here in Athens, which is a bit ironic given my host owns an internet cafe. I haven't updated since my last day in Tel Aviv.

I'll just skip to the Athens portion since my last day in Tel Aviv was uneventful. I basically just hung out with my host since he was off from work and we walked to a little street stand to eat a terrific sabih (sp?). He had been talking about this place since the first day I arrived, so there was no way I was gonna leave Tel Aviv without trying it! He made it sound like it was just down the street but when we walked out of his apartment he said, "It's about 2.5km from here, is that okay?" Of course it's okay...as long as I'm awarded by food. It was basically a pita impossibly stuffed with eggplant, egg, salad, hummus and other assorted spices. And I'm missing it as I write this...

Anyway, my flight to Athens was at 7am and it being Israel, I was advised to arrive at the airport 3 hours in advance. 4am arrival would mean a 3am departure and of course I can't rely on public transportation at that hour. So I just decided to take the last train at midnight and wait it out at the airport :) I surprised myself given my level of alertness at 5am and thought I was still quite spry in my old age, but that all went to pieces when I passed out the minute after I boarded the plane. I remember nothing about the flight...not the takeoff nor the landing...but I do remember they served Greek yogurt.

Athens is smaller than I expected. Of course I'm only exploring the central part of the city but everything seems to be within a 15 minute walk. My host, Rony, lives smack dab right in the middle of the all the action so I totally lucked out in terms of location. However, he is a very eccentric character. Like I said, he runs an internet cafe and also a barber shop next door. Originally from India, he grew up in the village slums always hungry and hunting for food. Perhaps because of this, he is very spiritual and genuinely kind. He lives a VERY simple and minimalistic life and uses his income to fund an orphanage in India. Impressive. Rony is also an amateur philosopher and is constantly asking me questions like, "What has life taught you?" "What is a friend?" "How can I live more simply?" We've been staying up until the early hours of the morning examining life and I'm a bit sleep deprived, haha.

I've been walking around the city exploring the area at the base of the Acropolis. It seems like everything is a "tourist" street. They are lined with gift shops and restaurants, but are constantly filled with foreigners and locals alike. The Greek have a joy of life and apparently really enjoy eating out. However, since the economic crisis...they've been forced to limit these outings to maybe once a week instead of every other day :) That's a major generalization but true of many. Yesterday I visited the Acropolis/Parthenon and also the New Acropolis Museum. I remember studying the Parthenon years ago in an architectural history class and how it's an example of perfect construction. The columns are tapered and angled so they appear straight from a distance, and you can really see this up close. Unfortunately I was also sharing the space with about 100 American teenagers on a educational field trip. The New Acropolis Museum opened just a couple of years ago and is indeed a "masterpiece." The design is brilliant and beautifully set up. It is a very modern structure but based on the ancient design principles. Probably the most worthwhile 5euros I've spent.

I have another day here before going to Lefkada - an Ionian island. I decided to skip the famous islands like Santorini and Mykonos and save them for a return trip. Lefkada is on the Western coast and is on my way to Albania so it works out well. Today I will take the bus out to Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon. It's supposed to have amazing sunsets but the weather isn't really cooperating so we shall see. I tried to do this yesterday but waited for an hour and the bus never came.

Now I'm gonna grab some food. A fresh baguette, some olives, maybe a gyro?