Except:
- it starts to rain while I am on the tram
- most of the beaches are pay beaches and closed for the winter
- the public beaches have no amenities - but at least the water is sort of clear
So I decide to come back and go to the Benaki Museum, which I'd missed before. I get to the Benaki, and the ticket counter tells me it is closing early today "because it is 17 November". I tell her I don;t know why that is important. "well", she says, "today is the day we celebrate our release from the dictatorship, except that it always gets out of control and riots start. Everything is closing early, including the metro and the trams and buses."
Hmmmm.....the hotel didn't tell me that when I told them I was going to take the tram down the coast - in fact, they told me how to get there! If it:
- hadn't been rainy; and
- the beaches had been open
I'd have been stranded down there because the trams would have been shut.
The lady lets me go up to the restaurant for some food before they close, so at least I get to see some of the collection on my way up. I then make my way back to the hotel to ask them what I should do about dinner - on my way, I pass increasing police and military presence, all equipped with riot gear. It was not a pleasant feeling.
The hotel assures me that I will be alright, as the street we are on is blocked off at both ends by the police. And, they tell me, the Plaka is usually not impacted by the riots. Given how the day has gone so far, can you blame me for not be reassured by this?
I grab a book and go read. And while I am reading, the heavens open up and the rain comes down for 5 hours solid. It turns out this is a good thing, because it dampens the rioters spirits (sorry - pun fully intended). I am able to go get some food about 9:00 p.m., stopping at the Internet cafe for a bit and then packing up for my return flight to London the next day.
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