After over 20 hours of flying, we touched down in Athens in the afternoon. On our journey to our hotel many things became apparent. The weather was much hotter than in New Zealand. There were a large number of people on motorbikes, often two or three to one bike. Graffiti was EVERYWHERE, in both English and Greek and some was quite artistic. Our lungs were assaulted by the people smoking in the street, much more than there is in New Zealand. Our night walk was up to Mount Lycevettos (or something like that) from where we enjoyed spectacular panoramic views across the whole of the city of Athens.
On the next day, we journeyed to Mt Parnassus, the location of Delphi. This ancient archaeological site was home to the Pythia (the great Oracle of Delphi), and the Pythian games, with a theatre and a stadium. We also went through the museum there, seeing the omphalos (the stone which marked the centre of the world), the charioteer and many other ancient artefacts. The next day of our journey started in the National Archaeological Museum, where Bucko told us to find the replica Athena Parthenos but then deliberately avoided it on his tour around. Many photos were taken here of the wonderfully detailed sculptures and statues. In the heat, we ascended the Acropolis, taking in the massive Parthenon, which I wish was still complete – it would be amazing. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photos in the Acropolis Museum which had an attempted reconstruction of the artwork on the Parthenon, although most of it was copies from the British Museum.
Our last day in Greece was spent at the sites of ancient Corinth where there was a small museum and Mycenae, with some cool photos taken in the tombs and a dark underground passage. From there we set out for Patras to board the ferry to Italy, although when I think of ferry I think of the small vessels which are used to go to Rangitoto and Waiheke islands and the ferry was much larger and quite fancy. We are currently on the train from Ancona to Rome and I can't wait till we arrive. PIZZA! The trip into Greece, for me, has been a whelming experience and I have learnt many things: some shopkeepers are quite pushy and may kick you out of their shop if you resist their attempts to sell you their stuff; cheese bought in the morning will melt in the hot sun at Delphi (but still tastes okay); the water sold at hotels is a rip-off – they charge 1.00 euro for one bottle where supermarkets charge 1.50 euro for six bottles of the same size; wearing cotton is not a good idea in the hot sun. Despite the less pleasant things in Greece, such as the countless numbers of people selling, busking or just begging in order to get some money, the stray dogs walking around (I feel sorry for the poor creatures) and the smoking, I have enjoyed myself. There is some characteristic which I can't put into words that makes Greece an attractive place to spend three days, possibly because it is different to what I am used to in Auckland. Anywho, now the Legio Grammatica marches on to Rome. (by train)
