Athens, part II

Just finished watching Belgium v Japan, two countries which I have no dog in but whew that was still an emotional rollercoaster. Japan was off to a strong first half, leading 2-0, but Belgium caught them up and levelled the score within 7 minutes in the second half, then bam, third goal in the extra. Good stuff.

Athens. This is going to be the last entry because... well, I wasn't there for very long, and it was really just too damn hot to do anything. That's probably just me, but as I've always said, if I wanted intolerable heat I would have just stayed in Asia. I really didn't like Athens that much - the streets were grimy and didn't seem very safe, the city layout was confusing, and I nearly got lost trying to find my hostel when I arrived in the evening. Had to pop into a sandwich bar to ask for directions, and found that it was less than a minute's walk away, but it was getting dark and Athens at night is rather ghetto-y and intimidating. I was pretty relieved to be leaving for Bulgaria, although Bulgaria. Hm. I'll save that for later.

Interesting souvenirs

Baklava here in Greece as well!?

The hostel lobby where I spent most of my afternoon

On the plane to Sofia

Metro station in Athens

Athens, part I

In Athens' city centre, with the Parthenon as a backdrop

I was nothing short of relieved when I finally touched down in Athens, because for awhile it had seemed as if I was never ever getting there. Ugh. But as they say, where there's a will there's a way.

My first glimpse of the Aegean Sea

I picked the wrong time of the year (for me, that is), to visit Athens, because I wither in the heat, and Athens in mid April was already well in the thirties and that made it near impossible for me to walk around. Which was extremely disappointing as I'd been looking forward to it for ages, and had envisioned myself falling as deeply in love as I had with Rome. Not so. Athens is one of the most well-known capitals in Europe, but it was very, for lack of a better phrase.. un-European to me. It seemed very Middle Eastern, if anything - the mosques, the small-ish pastel buildings, the glaring sun that made walking outside almost intolerable, and even the vibes. I walked around the neighbourhood of the Parthenon for a bit and debated a bit whether to spend 25 euros to go up into the famed temple or not, but decided that it was far too hot and that the sun was too bright for me to be able to see anything properly. I reckon I'll visit again in the winter, but not in the summer, and to be honest - not too impressed with Athens, so it's not too high on my priority list.

A 'Greek Omelette' I had... actually, now I want one

The Parthenon

View of Athens from the Parthenon