On the way we went through a street market. It was brilliant. It was mainly selling fruit but there was also a fishmonger and someone selling eggs. It was lovely.
The fruitiers were selling only one or two different varieties of fruit each. One sold tomatoes and peaches, while the next one sold aubergines and courgettes. It was lovely, and so cheap... Big watermelons, and I mean big, like the size of a fat baby, we're 60cents each. You got 8 big beef tomatoes for €1 and two bunches of huge grapes for 50cents. The fish was equally as cheap, and a big octopus was €2 (so big that you wouldn't want one in your eye for a bit of grit).
So got to the tram and headed to the centre of the city. We got off at Parliament Square and had a look at the tomb of the unknown soldier. This is where the Athens riots had centred around since 2010.
The riots have been on and off for the past two years. It's probably fair to call them protests rather than riots as most of them are peaceful. The most recent one was April 5th and in two years, only 5 people have died. It sounds harsh but you should remember than Greek police carry loaded guns. The general reason people protest, obviously, are the austerity measures and general hatred towards the political party. Two months ago a new coalition government was elected and it is hoped Greece's problems are not now over, but certainly on the improvement. It is thought tourism is the only way out of the crisis for the Greeks... We'll see.
We watched the changing of the guard (which was highly hysterical). The guards have a ridiculous walk, silly little pom poms on their feet and stupid hats with tassels going down to their waist. Afterwards, as they aren't allowed to move, another guard in an army uniform came and wiped their brow and sorted their tassels out and then said, in an incredibly British accent "pictures, one by one, do not touch". So we joined the queue obediently and had our photo taken with them (Henry's choice, I didn't even want to....) (I did)
So then we went into the sprawling city and headed in the general direction of the acropolis.
The acropolis is known as 'the sacred rock' of Athens and rises 275metres above street level. Acropolis actually means 'High City' and that's what is up there; a small city.
Sticking to stereotypes, Henry and I headed around to the back entrance of the hill to see if we could slip in undetected, successfully so. I didn't pay because I had a student card, Henry did pay. He doesn't have a student card as 'you can never use them, they always say they don't accept them and you never actually save any money with them' (He has a hatred of the NUS)
We climbed to the top (a good 30 minute hike) and the views were outstanding. There is so much history here, I'm going to try and cram it in to a few minutes for you.
The Partheon (the centre piece of the acropolis) was built in 450BC however the site has been in use since the Neolithic times and has changed and transformed many times. It's construction is unlike any other temple in the Greek or Roman empire. The columns at the front of the temple are slightly thicker at the base than at the top, and the entire temple sits, not level on the acropolis, but follows the curvature of the earth.
During Athens' golden age (400's BC) it was home to a 10 metre high pure ivory and gold statue of Athena (the goddess after which the city is named). This was stolen many years ago and the remaining marble friezes are held in the British Museum (much to the annoyance of the Greeks). The biggest catastrophe was in 1697 when the Venetians fired upon the Turks (the rulers at the time) who were occupying the Partheon. The Turks were using the Partheon as a gunpowder store and the resulting explosion essentially destroyed the side of the temple. Since 1975, the entire acropolis has been residence to huge cranes and scaffolding as the Greek government are slowly (they've run out of money) restoring the acropolis.
After we'd climbed down the hilariously steep slope we headed into the air conditioned and brand new Acropolis Museum. It features all of the statues and marble that has been removed from the summit while the restoration takes place. It was free for students (Henry waited while I bought the tickets this time) so we went in and wondered around. It's a little underwhelming and the marble statues have mainly been cast into plaster so you can see what they would have looked like... After an hour or so we got bored and left.
One thing that strikes me is how loving of children the Greeks are. Even teenagers show affection towards toddlers and babies. It's lovely how important family is. We stopped for lunch and our waiter was beautiful. I had a Cesar salad and Henry had spaghetti. Very Greek.....
We went to the district of Plaka which is very pretty and full of little souvenir shops. We wondered around the streets for hours then nipped back to the hotel for a nap before going out to dinner.
Earlier we had walked past a restaurant and the owner had given us a card and folded the corner saying that we could have a free glass of wine if we came back later. Never one to pass on an offer for free wine, we went there.
We had a lamb and potato dish, a chicken dish and a Greek salad. It was delish!
Another beautifully hot day... More of the same promised for tomorrow, thank god. I think we're going to go to the harbour and look at the old Olympic stadium which apparently is in ruins. That'll be nice!
So until then, goodnight sexy people.
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