I woke up to aching feet and rain - a perfect day to visit the museums. I had 2 key museums on my list: the National Archaeological Museum and the Benaki Museum. I decided to go to the National museum first.
I was overwhelmed.
There was so much to see and all of it dedicated solely to Hellenic artefacts. I saw Cycladic, Mycenaean, Minoan; vases & pottery from all eras, gold masks, frescoes from Akritori - before I knew it, 4 hours had passed. this meant I had no time to go see the Benaki.
It had stopped raining by then, so I wandered the streets of Monastiriki (a famous flea market) and the Plaka to buy souvenirs - mostly small bronzes - and Christmas gifts.
At dinner, I made a new friend - a small cat, maybe 1 year old. A light brown tabby. I fed it some of the meat from my plate (I couldn't eat it all anyway) and while sipping my wine, kitty crawled into my lap and went to sleep. What interested me most about this was the reactions of the people around me. the Greeks - including the staff - did not care and smiled at the scene. but other North Americans were not impressed. The couple behind me kept pushing it away when it had come up to them earlier, and the woman said - upon seeing the cat in my lap that I'd "catch fleas". I told her humans don't actually catch fleas (we get bit, but not infested with them) and no one had actually died from it. Sadly, I had to let kitty go - being a Greek kitty, I doubt he'd have adjusted well to a Canadian winter.
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