(the anti) athens

i could not have been more ready to get the heck out of athens.

i have never felt more unwelcome in a place in my whole life. (yes, this includes figi fraternity foam parties.)

taxi drivers, bartenders (who call people a 'fuck-o' to their face), hotel concierge- it's been sad. and no amount of my southern charm is breaking down their walls.

i am aware that this country is broke. completely bankrupt. all wages are down and all taxes are doubled. and somehow and somewhere along the road americans are to blame. ok ok ok.

i have wanted to visit this city since i was in the 3rd grade. i did a project on athena, i safety pinned an off-white sheet around me in a pittiful attempt to look like a toga and told my classmates legends of greek mythology. and now i'm here- spending money- AND tipping. just sayin'.

now i will tell you stories...

i'm living in a world that is the complete opposite of how i have been for the past 3 weeks. replace the bunk-beds for a queen size bed (with a down feather comforter), still water stuck in the bottom of a shower for a bath tub with good smelling soap, and stinky boys for cabana boys!!!

greek police officers are also frightenly good looking. it seems that being buff with chiseled facial features is a requirement. walking around the streets one night with my mom we passed by a whole flock of them. mother says, "oh, i wish you would get you one of them!" me too, mama. me too.

day 1: poolside

day 2:

mama kicked a turtle. seriously- she screamed, it went flying. who knew that turtles roamed around the ancient agora. it was a day of sights and making sure mama didn't wobble off a cliff. more poolside. then out to see the city at night. and it is absolutly beautiful. everything is lit, there are musicians playing on the street and people enjoying themselves.

well after a few glasses of wine i convinced "ma and pa" (please pay close attention to the photo below.) to go to the rooftop bar of the hotel for a nightcap.
don't we look like fun!!!
well, rooftop bar? more like dance party disco. we were bonus points for the people playing the game 'spot the tourists'.

day 3: we noticed on day 2 that there weren't very many people out. well, maybe it's more like we noticed on day 3 that there were way more people out than day 2. turns out there was a strike on the dock and none of the cruise boats could let their passengers off. so today, we had cruisers from yesterday and today. (now i understand one reason why the greeks hate the tourists- people could not even leave their houses the traffic was so bad with busses and taxis.)

but we made it to the top! and i think we managed to get 1 photo of the 3 of us with no wondering tourists in the background. mom and i saw some greek people singing songs and taking pictures. what did we do? well we then burst into song! "the eyes of texas" and we left our mark. then after some nice views, mama and i sprinkle water from a fountain on eachother (positive it's the same water the gods used to drink) and bless eachother. "may the power of zeus compel you!!" then we made our way down anxious for more poolside.

i've gotten many questions of how athens is now after the protests. well the overall attitude is pretty shitty. i snapped a quick photo passing by one of the buildings that was destroyed. (not the one where people died.) and our first night we were sitting on the balcony of our room having a glass of wine and music began to play. dan says, "are we having protests tonight?" sure nuff. turns out that night was nothin'.

it's our last night in athens and i'm packing for our super early ferry to santorini. (also- this mornign we woke up to full security in our hotel. you have to walk through a metal detector and all your items must be x-rayed. there is even a red carpet layed out that we can't touch. and the hotel will not tell us who this visitor is.) dans doseing and mom is reading her book. i keep thinking that i'm hearing screaming and yelling outside. i step out to the patio and the police have blocked off the surrounding streets of the hotel. the shouting is getting louder and louder, closer and closer. i have never felt a fear like this before in my whole life. thousands and thousands of people are marching down the street and towards the hotel. the tension was overwhelming- it was hard to breathe.

we walked down to the lobby and outside the front door. there were nothing but men in blacksuits. now i'm standing inbetween two massive men in bullet proof vests and they are all covering their mouths and talking into earpieces. the protestors are all screaming in greek- so we have no idea what they are saying. but when they slowly walk past the hotel, they are making eye contact with all of us- and you can feel the hate in their eyes. i ask someone what they are saying and they respond, "only know german." one man told dan that they were communists, another man said it was about the turkey/israel conflict. but one thing they did all say was that they were heading for the american embassy. fucking fantastic.

we eventually find out that the visitor is a prime minister from another country. 2 + 2 = only speaking german + germany is bailing out greece. it would only make sense that the german prime minister was at the hotel and this was a message to germany. and it sure did not look like a "thank you". (and the american embassy just happens to be the end of 'embassy row'.)

now mama wont talk because she thinks the whole building is bugged and i accidentaly said, "let's blow this joint." we're out- we're ok- what a sight. i wish the best for greece- and i understand that when you are angry, you are blind. but i'm still ready to leave. sunny santorini and then crete's cliffs. i can't wait for those! but the blogs will have to. amigos- i promise to return when the wifi does! adios!!