The Athenian Acropolis

Just before 4 am, coming back from the bar with our new communist friends, we were SO hungry because we hadn't eaten dinner. Our amazing host Cristina offered to cook some pasta and meat for us, putting already cooked noodles and pieces of beef into a frying pan and heating them up.
MMmmmm. No description needed.

Out late from our night with the communists, we slept until almost noon - and it was great.
No air conditioning in the apartment made for a hot and humid night, even with the fan on high, but such is life in Greece.
But now, what should we do with our day?
We decided to start with the Acropolis. Well, first lunch, then the Acropolis.
Petros lives in a great part of the city, just a short walk from a major metro station. We walked down towards the metro looking for restaurants on our way, and we found a great place.
It was an alley with four or five different Greek restaurants, tables set inside and out. We sat down just inside the open doors of one of the restaurants, right under a vent. Greece was hot - so different from France where we were in scarves, jackets and jeans.
We had the most delicious Greek meal! Wonderful Greek salad, pita bread hot off the grill, gyros pork, and fresh bread. So good.
And we were going to need the energy for our treacherous hike up to the Parthenon, at the very top of the Acropolis.

The entire Acropolis is huge. I just never expected it to be made up of so many different structures at that elevation. Wow.

We walked by ancient amphitheatres where plays were put on by the Greeks. Seats, sets and stages carved from stone. And they were just huge.

We continued climbing, enjoying the incredible view overlooking Athens as we went. We made it to the top platform where the Nike Athena Temple (I think it´s called) stands next to the Parthenon and another monument built for a Greek god. (Maybe Zeus?)

Unfortunately most of the information available for tourists was about the restoration and rebuilding of the structures themselves, not about the history of the monuments.

We strolled around for awhile, slipping on the rock beneath us (possibly marble) and admiring the kind of labor that must have been put into these buildings.

Just imagine carrying stone after stone up the side of this hill to be pieced together in order to create these amazing temples. And then there is the careful precision with which each stone must be sculpted. And these structures, or at least their remains, still stand today.

Coming back down, we saw a stand with frozen lemonade and could not resist. Those monopolizers draw in all the scorching little suckers descending from the Acropolis in the middle of the summer, so they can charge as much as they want .

We totally gave in and jumped on the bandwagon (strawberry mixed with lemonade), and then sat there and watched all the other little suckers after us as they were draw to the stand like mosquitoes to a lightbulb.

The vendor told us to be careful with our drinks. Why? Brain freeze.

Ha ha. We chuckled, but he told us, ¨No, I´m serious.¨

Oh.

I can hear the PSA now - ¨Parents, talk to your kids about brain freeze. They´ll listen.¨

Well, we were careful nonetheless, and those frozen lemonades were some of the best drinks we´ve ever tasted. Ever. It was just that hot.

Leslie and I wander around Athens for a bit, looking in little shops here and there. We head back towards Petros´s apartment, but he´s not there, so we try to reach him on his cell phone to ask if he wants to meet us for dinner. He says that he´s actually still at the hospital and plans to be there until 11 or so that night.
We tell him that we´ll see him back at his place, and we sit down to spend some time in an internet cafe.
And then we grab dinner at the same place we ate lunch. No joke, we really did it. Lunch was delicious, the restaurant was nearby, and the atmosphere was great.

The Communist Party

We had arranged to stay with a guy named Petros in Athens, so when we arrived late that night, we called him and got directions to his flat. He told us that he couldn't be there, unfortunately (we found out later that he was with his father in the hospital), but his roommate would be there and she could let us in.
We had a little trouble finding the place, and really just wandered around Athens for a little bit, but we eventually made it and rang the bell. "Third floor!" a girl shouted excitedly through the intercom, and once again when we entered the building. "Third floor!"
Up the circular staircase, bags mounted on our backs, Petros' roommate greeted us with open arms. "You're here!" Cristina said with a very Greek accent. "Come in, come in!"
Her friend was there with her and they were getting ready to go out for drinks. "Would you like to come?" they asked.
Sure!
And we were off.
The bar was in walking distance, so we walked and talked with the two girls. They were so nice, one of them was studying Greek literature, and the other, Cristina, had already graduated and was interested in fashion design.
And they were a part of the communist party in Athens, a fact that intrigued us.
The two girls told us that elections were in one week. They said that currently, students can attend universities for free and the people receive free healthcare, but the government wants to start privatizing many organizations similar to those.
They told us the next month is going to be crazy - that they are going to have to go out every night. "Why?" we asked.
And they explained to us that they want to convince people to vote for their party - to motivate people to change things. Keep in mind, they don't work for the party, they are just students and citizens of Greece.
You could tell they were not sure how we would react to their political standings. They obviously new that Americans are not keen on communism. But we thought it was so cool to come across such passion and dedication for a cause that currently makes up less than 5 % of the vote in Greece.
And as we sat down in this bar with a great atmosphere, we met several of their other friends who were also part of the communist party and they struggled through their English to explain what they believed.
They wanted equality - for all people to exist on a level playing field. They said that they know that the kind of change they are campaigning for is not something that they'll witness in their lifetime, but they want to work to improve things for their children, and their children's children.
Wow. How many people in the world are willing to dedicate their lives to a cause that they will never reap the benefits of? It made me question, am I? Hmm...
One of the girls was also explaining to us that she is working as a teacher, but it is hard to find work. So she has to live in the suburbs with her parents because she is only working part time right now outside of the city, because work in Athens is almost impossible to find if you have no previous experience.
She said she wants to be able to work full time, to be able to make a living for herself.
They asked us what we believed - about politics, about communism, and about capitalism.
They challenged us to fight for change - whatever our beliefs may be - because change has to start somewhere, and why not work for a better world in the future? So cool.

And they asked us about the Greek system. One girl turns to us and says that in movies, they see university students in groups doing stupid things, and they have Greek names. "Is this real?" she asked.
At first, we were confused...students doing stupid things? You mean parties?
No. She meant fraternities and sororities.
How do you explain the "Greek system" to students in Athens? Yea...so they use your alphabet...and make groups that put on social events - aka: keggers - and sometimes do community service? (Of course, the movies only depict the, uh, social aspects of the groups).
We did our best to explain them objectively, and they understood what we were saying, but they didn't get the system or why people would pay to be a part of it.
We laughed so hard later that they asked us if it was "real."
I kept imagining the situation reversed. Students in Athens in the AB group. Americans watching Greek movies of university students partying as a part of the group LMP. It sounds funny when put yourself in the position of a foreigner.
Ha. "Is this real?" I almost wished I could say no. Sorry, greek members.

We loved talking with their friends. They were so nice, and so interesting. And all of them made such a great effort to include us in the conversation, even though it was difficult for them to speak English. I hoped that my friends would do the same if someone came to visit from another country - to take the time to talk to them. We just felt so welcome.
And at the end of the night, all of them hugged and kissed us on each cheek, telling us what a pleasure it was to meet us and to enjoy our travels.

Second Encounter

We roll out of bed around 11 am, pack our things, and head to the lobby of the ferry. We sit down with a capoccino and a ham and cheese croissant for a breakfast/lunch.
And then we spot them. Our Italian Stallions.
The come over to our table, grab as many extra chairs as then can, admire our huge backpacks ("so heavy" they said), and we continue talking.
We make sure to get the actor's autograph, as he claims he will be an international star one day, and we take a picture with them.
One of them deviously keeps kicking my shoes under my seat. Flirting knows no language I guess!
Their eyes widen at my huge novel sitting on the table. I brought the book Shantaram (an amazing novel) with me to read. It's between 2 and 3 inches thick, and probably 800 to 1000 pages. One of them picks it up and reads the cover in English. Then they laugh about something on the back. "So big!" they tell me.
Yes, I am a nerd.
In parting, the actor tells us in broken English what a pleasure it was to meet us and that he'll always remember the two American girls he met on the ferry from Bari. And, if we're ever in Naples, we should look him up.
Several of them give us hugs and a kiss on each cheek, the infamous European goodbye.
They were great. Just so much fun.
And now we had to find a train to Athens.

And we did! We asked where the train station was, walked in the scorching sun a ways down the road, and found out that we had about 4 hours before the next train left. So we went straight for the Internet.
And then we ate another amazing Greek meal, with greek salad no less, and the cucumber dip that we enjoy so much at my house in AZ.
Wandering back to the station, the train arrives, and we hop on board. Four hours to Athens.
And the train has no air conditioning.
Keep in mind, the weather is almost as hot as Arizona in temperature, but then you have to add humidity. We were drenched.
Luckily, 2 hours into the ride, we find out that we have to switch trains. Which was good, because the second train had air conditioning. The bad part was we almost missed it because we were snoozing. We jolted awake and wondered why everyone was getting off of the train.
Leslie asked a conductor for Athens and he said "Next train!" and pointed toward our transfer.
We made it just in time.

Since when is a ferry a cruise ship?

The ferry that we took from Bari to Greece was a 16 hour ride - and a nice one. Basically, we felt like we were on the Titanic.
Okay, it wasn't that nice, but definitely up there.
We spoiled ourselves and paid for a cabin so that we could sleep for hours and hours. And we did, almost 12 in fact. It was great.
But first, we did some exploring.
The "ferry" had a casino, a club, a cafeteria, and a fancy schmancy restaurant. It also had an outdoor bar, a small swimming pool, and a cafe inside the common lobby. We couldn't believe it!
People were parked everywhere - outside and in. We boarded just after 6 pm and some were already laying out sleeping bags for the night. And the lobby was so crowded. People sitting around tables, talking, laughing, smoking, eating, playing cards, and just having a good time together.
We walked around for awhile, and then headed into the fancy restaurant after seeing the prices were, surprisingly, really reasonable.
The meal was great. We had white wine, bread, and delicious greek salads. In Greece, greek salad usually does not include lettuce leaves. They slice lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, add some olives and a block of feta cheese on top. Sprinkle on some herbs and then put oil and vinegar on the side for the customers. Leslie and I thought that was interesting, but agreed that it actually tasted better.
And that salad started a long line of many greek salads that we would eat in the next couple of days.
For dessert? Assorted cheeses. So European, right? It was a party...in my mouth.
We walked back to our cabin around midnight and the lobby was still jam-packed with people and so loud. I could just see the difference in Greek and Italian culture from that of the US. It was like a huge party in the middle of the lobby. People were just sitting around enjoying the late-night company of each other. I tried to think of a time when I witnessed that in the US. I'm still searching....
Our two roommates were already asleep, so we crawled into our beds and fell asleep to the soft rocking of the ship.

Who wears short shorts? European men, apparently.

Starting with our Roman host and his pj's, and then again in his swimsuit, European men are seizing the opportunity to show off some hairy leg. I think that most men's swim trunks and athletic shorts are actually shorter than any pair of shorts I own!
And if they're not sporting the short shorts, the speedo is the only way to go. Those things are everywhere! On every other European guy.
But I have to give them props - it takes guts to walk around in spandex that little. Want to test someone's manhood? Make him walk around for a day in a speedo. =)

Which brings me to my next topic - modesty in Europe, or lack thereof?

Leslie and I are sometimes left gaping at some of the things women wear and the abundance of explicit magazines posted everywhere - at every tobacco stand and convenient store.
You know, the material in the back room only allowed to be seen and bought by those ages 18 and up. Not the case here, it's all out in the open on every other corner.
And women get very comfortable at the beach. And that's all I'm going to say about that.
After all, it's a completely different culture! And it's interesting to be a spectator...

How The Office is breaking cultural barriers

So, we buy our ferry tickets to Patras, Greece from Bari, Italy.
We do this about 6 hours before the ferry leaves. (Jeopardy theme music, please). It's hot outside, we don't want to lug our backpacks around in the heat, so we go upstairs to the restaurant/bar at the ferry port to grab some food and pass the time.
We finish eating, Leslie draws, I read, and then we decide to relocate to the downstairs sitting area to pass some more time.
And that's when we took the plunge.
I took out my iPOD and we shared my headphones to watch The Office. Yes, it's THAT good.
So here we are watching a third season episode when a pack of almost 10 Italian guys from Naples arrives and they fill the seats around us. (The room was almost identical to an airport gate).
Well, here we are, laughing at this little black box, and they wanted to know what the heck was going on. So one of them taps me on the knee and says something in Italian that I couldn't understand, but it sure sounded good. I could see he was curious as to what we were doing, so I hand him my shiny Apple product.
From what Leslie and I had seen so far, iPOD's are not common in Europe. In fact, I don't think we'd seen anyone using an iPOD since we arrived in London. We'd seen people listening to music on their cell phones, but beyond that, nothing.
"Filma!" they say. Yup, we're watching a film...kind of.
And the conversation begins.
One of them tells us that he is an actor in a soap opera, and laughing, we tell him to prove it. So he does.
He recruits one of his amigos and gets up and acts out an entire scene in Italian. We couldn't understand a word - but he had great passion. We clap.
The actor spoke the most English, so we had to communicate primarily through him. (Which was actually unfortunate, because a couple of the other guys were pretty cute...)
They were all taking the ferry together to Greece on vacation. None of them had any bags - only a deck of cards which they shared between their group, playing various poker games (they later told us they love Texas Hold'em).
The actor points to one of his friends and jokingly tells us that he's gay, and to another one telling us that he has lots of luck with the ladies.
He points to another and another, giving them labels like "the fat one," "the tall one," or "the skinny one."
They all laughed, and they all understood their English labels, but none of them were offended, it was just a part of their close comradery. And of course, they teased the actor back in Italian.
We want to know how the actor characterizes himself. If he labels all of his friends, then what is his label?
"The Italian Stallion!" he says, head high in the air, and Leslie and I double over laughing as the rest of the group of guys repeat the words with Italian accents. Ah, one English phrase commonly known among Italians. Figures they would know that! =)
He shows us his wallet, including his drivers' license and his tanning membership (for the winter, he tells us).
Then they entertain us with card tricks. A few of them tell us that this is how they make money, and then proceed to "dazzle" us with their magic. It was fun.
And then Leslie turns the tables and impresses the "Italian Stallions" with a trick she knows. We had obviously gained their respect. (Props to Leslie for that one!)
This group was great - and we loved the way these Italians interacted with each other, and with us. They were so friendly and tried so hard to communicate with us, though even the actor's English was pretty rocky. They seemed like they were such close friends and just fun to be around.
We found out they were boarding the same ferry as we were, but their destination was another city in Greece.
We boarded the ship separately from they guys, but maybe we would see them again later.

Lucky in Roma

Our hostel for the last night in Rome was...interesting.
The reception area looked a little sketchy, was hot, and not the cleanest, but hey. When in Rome, right?
Then we got some interesting news. They told us we were actually going to stay in an apartment a couple of blocks down the street, and that we would have to come get our key later in the day.
Okay, that works.
So we head out for the day, and get on the bus to take another infamous bus tour around the city. We stop first at the Colosseum - our night tour walked by, but we hadn't gotten to see the inside yet.
The line was ridiculous, but we really wanted to see inside, so we stood in the heat and melted for an hour or so.
Getting admittance tickets - one word - crazy.
All of the sudden, the civil line becomes chaos and people are shoving past one another to get to the front. Whoa. So Leslie made her way bravely through the jumbled mass of bodies and surfaced once again with two tickets in hand.
What a warrior! Or should I say, gladiator?
We were so glad we went inside. I was in awe at the size of the stadium and in its construction. During the heyday of the Roman Empire, people crowded into this stadium. You had to have a seat reserved to see the gladiators fight. Even if you were a woman or a slave and could only view from the very top level. (Women were required to sit separately to prevent promiscuity during the entertainment). The gladiators, contrary to Russell Crowe's 21st century part, were educated in fighting techniques and went through training before they were allowed to fight in the Colosseum.
Underneath the ground where these men fought is a locket-type area where gladiators got ready for battle and put on their gear.
The Romans had quite a system.
Next, we got back on the bus, heading to St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. And then we saw the line, curving around almost 5 streets to get into the museum and the chapel. No way, we said, no way.
It was about 2 in the afternoon, we hadn't eaten yet, and there was just no way we could stand in that line. So we found food. We were both really disappointed - this is the Sistine Chapel! And only feet away....
But the food we ate was amazing, we had a 4 course meal for 11 euro - so cheap! Pasta, salad, fish, and fruit. Yum.
And sitting there chatting after our meal, just across the street from the Vatican Museums, Leslie said, "There's no line!"
What?! What do you mean?!
We go outside - and the line had literally just disappeared. Not there. YES!
We later confirmed, as we had suspected, that the museums close around four-ish, so no one was lined up at 3:15.
Well, we walked right through, paid our entrance fee, and headed toward the chapel.
Not one inch of this structure was left unpainted, it was unbelievable. And the actual room where Michelangelo created his masterpiece took forever to walk to.
We entered the museum just before 3:30, and walked out at 4:30. We didn't stop while walking through - that's how big and how crowded the chapel was. We just kept walking, admiring the incredible art.
Even when you get to Michelangelo's masterpiece, security herds you into the room like cattle and keeps you moving through. Bodies crunched together everywhere, you just have to let yourself be carried by the crowd while you snap photos of the artwork. It's nuts.
But the idea is that everyone keeps moving...and still it takes an hour to walk through.
The paintings were just amazing, spread across walls and ceilings alike. In a couple of the rooms, the artwork was painted with shadows, so it really confuses the mind.
You think it's sculpted because it appears so realistically three-dimensional. It's beyond comprehension.
Some of the best painting that I have ever seen.
And Michelangelo's work is incredible. Such talent, such time. Indescribable really.

Success! We got into the museums! Because of our 4 course meal across the street! So great!
Celebration with huge gelato cones smeared with whipped cream. Mmmm.

We went back to the hostel, were led down the street to our room, which ended up being really nice actually. Definitely better than the reception area.
And then we did laundry - our first time on the trip washing clothes. Boy, did we smell. No getting around that, ha!

Washed clothes, used internet, then we were out for a late-night drink.
We noticed while getting ready that we had roommates in a couple of the other beds, but no one in sight. We thought they'd turn up later...

Surprisingly, we had trouble finding open restaurant at 11 pm on a Friday night. But we eventually found one near the city center, and enjoyed white wine with an excellent rice dish and bread.

We strolled back home and passed out, still no roommates to be seen. At 2 am.

Well, they finally showed up, but we didn't hear them come in. And I hope they slept through our departure - we tried to be quiet.

Our next stop was Bari, where we would have to find a ferry to Patras, where we would need to take a train to Athens. I know, sounds easy, right? =)