Athens, Greece - Arrival

I'm here. And I'm not sure what I expected, so I can't be sure if my expectations have been met or not.

Let's start.

On the plane, I read up on my history of Athens. What interested me were the words...for example, in Greek, tyrannos meant a person who grabbed power rather then inheriting it or being appointed by his peers. They may well have been a benovelant leader and brought about many positive changes, as happened. Of course, this is the root of the English word tyrant, which pretty much has a negative connotation.

Prague was a challenge to read signs in - Greece is almost impossible! The character sets are completely different - I can now truly say "It's all Greek to me". There is alot of English - I credit this to the Olympics.

Visually, it's a complete mix of ancient and modern. The metro from the airport was very mod and very clean. I get off at Syntagma Square, where Parliament sits and very close to my hotel in Plaka, the old town, which sits at the foot of the Acropolis. The square around Parliament is a bustling center of activities and people, even well after 8:00 p.m. when I arrive. It has buskers and hustlers and dogs chasing cars on the busy streets. Yes, dogs. They didn't seem to belong to anyone, but they were macho dogs, not the small toy dogs you see in London. I must have smelled foreign, because a few decided to follow me for a while. No one seemed worried about this, so I decided not to either.

My hotel is tucked inconspicously on Mitropoleous street, right across from the Athens Cathedral, which I later learn is the seat of the Orthodox faith in Greece. This is something else I see alot of - Orthodox clergy in their long black robes and some wearing tall, squared hats on the streets all around. My hotel promises some rooms with views of the Acropolis, but as I expected, mine is not one of those. This turns out to be a good thing, because it means I am protected from the street noise, although I am still awoken every morning from the sounds of church bells starting at 6:00 a.m. The room itself is clean and basic. The building it is in is a historic 19th century former home, so I have 15 ft ceilings and the window faces the central courtyard. On the top floor is the breakfast room with a terrace, and it does indeed have spectacular views of the Acropolis lit up for the night.

So, it's my first day - what to do first? Well, eat, of course. I ask the hotel receptionist to point me in the direction I need to go and then promptly get lost, because this is the Plaka area, and the streets may be the most confusing I have ever come across. But it also means there is no shortage of restaurants and I find one with a pleasant and spacious outdoor patio. The house white is good and the lamb souvlaki is good, too.