A Bit Of Athens

Much like leading me to believe that his parents spoke little-to-no English, Spiros forewarned me that Athens was "ugly." He described it as full of 1960's concrete buildings built on top of one another like a ghetto. A second world capital. A quasi-modern monstrosity destroying the beauty of the ancient ruins it surrounds. It didn't help that the book I was reading on the trip, Jeffrey Eugenides' The Marriage Plot, had one of the characters describe the view of Athens from the Acropolis as a "giant bathtub filled with dirty suds."

So naturally I found the city to be much better than expected. While it's no Paris - that's for sure - it does have some semblance of Barcelona (minus the beautiful Spanish architecture). Stately streets downtown, narrow neighborhood blocks on the outskirts. And a few palm trees thrown in for good measure.

The city itself is contained on a sliver of land sandwiched between the sea and the mountains. It is no surprise that Spiros fell in love with California when he realized he could have the same landscape there too.

Athens is a good place to spend a day or two soaking up the beauty of old stuff. (The subway is like a museum in itself due to the artifacts on display, which were discovered when it was built.) However, much like we did, I would recommend heading to the beach as soon as possible. Sweltering in a concrete jungle is no vacation as far as I'm concerned.

Here are a few pictures from the Acropolis and Lycabettus Hill.