Athens Greece day 6 Tuesday, April 2nd 2013

I went to the hospital to see a pain specialist. It was a lady doctor, she was very nice. She gave me a series of injections in my leg, ankle and foot. They were painful. Then she gave me a pain patch. I was only charged 16 euros for the doctors visit.

I took the train to see the doctor and got my pocket picked while on the train. Got 45 dollars stolen. Man that hurts. Man that pisses me off. The pain of losing 45 euros was offset by the fee by the doctor.

Now I have a much better understanding of the value of countries or cities that boast low crime rate, places like Chiang Mai Thailand or Leon Nicaragua. All the good people in Greece warn you about the thieves and con artist in Greece. Warnings not enough. Between the 190 euros I got clipped for in the bar and 45 euros I got clipped for by a pick pocket, that’s 235 euros, about 250 American dollars. That hurts. That is painful.

I’ve spent time in the museums here and have watched documentaries about the greatness of Greece in its glory days, days back in antiquity but Greece of today is not great. There are thieves and beggars everywhere. It’s sad.  

I packed my lunch today. After visiting the doctor I took my lunch and sat in front of the temple of Zeus. I ate and thought about the old Greece, about the great Greece. It was a good lunch but even while sitting there a begger came over to me and asked for money.

 

Athens Greece - Day 5 Monday, April 1st 2013

I’m back at the bank, trading money for money. After I leave the bank I go to the travel agent and purchase my tickets for my trip to Crete and back.

  

Bait and switch:

After the banking I headed to the hotel. I passed a store selling backpacks. I stopped in. I need a bigger backpack. I looked at one of the backpacks, it was really nice. I was told, 25 euros. Ok. That’s a good price. I think I’ll take care of my business then head back here and buy that backpack. Then headed out of the store. One of the other salesmen chimed in, 15 euros. Wow. Ok, maybe I’ll come back. Really. I walked out and another salesman said “10 euros”. ok, I’ll take it.

He put a backpack in a bag and handed it to me. I took it out of the bag to look it over. It did not look the same. It was not the same. I told them, “no deal”. this is not the same backpack. This is a cheap knockoff.

“if you want that backpack it will cost you 15 euros”

What a bunch of assholes. I gave them 15 euros, took the backpack and left.

It was not until the following day I noticed a flaw in the backpack I purchased. They really are assholes. First class assholes ripping off people.

Lunch today was at Club Neon. The travel agent recommended it. I ordered a pork and spinach dinner. They serve the meal with a lemon cut in half as you are to squeeze the lemon over the pork. I did and it was fantastic. Fantastic flavor. After lunch I ordered a Greek coffee for the first time. I like it very much. A small coffee and it was very strong.

Small strong cups of coffee are popular over here. I think the amount of water used in coffee over here has something to do with the amount of fresh drinking water. In America fresh drinking water is not a problem so we drink more cups of coffee but those cups of coffee are weaker.

Athens Greece Day 4 Sunday, march 31 st 2013

9:15pm

I had to get out, I needed some air. Some fresh air and fresh faces, and some liquor. Maybe even some conversation. 

When ever I start to get an anxiety attack I remind myself of all the people working in an effort to come here on the briefest of visits. I am in paradise. Beyond that, I try to remember it’s possible to find peace no matter where I am. Evil does not dictate my state of mind and I will not join evil in its misery and in the gutter.

Two of the most powerful words in the English language

“I am”

Tis important to remember this.

Flashback (American TV commercials)

If you’ve ever been up late at night on a Tuesday, watching star trek at 3am it means you have no job nor do you have much of a life or both.

They put the saddest commercials on tv late into the evening. Commercial number uno, they show an IT specialist working on a printer and having no fun. Then the narrator chimes in, if you are not happy with your job come to our bartending school and learn how to be the life of the party while behind the bar. You can make lots of money and have fun.

Commercial number two. They show a bartender, maybe in his thirties. They portrait him as having no future, then the narrator chimes in, are you stuck in a dead end job with no future, come to our IT school and learn about the fantastic world of Information Technology. Leave that dead end job for a carreer in IT.

I met someone once that made 150k per year. His job was working in hotel casinos. Though he lived in the burbs of Chicago, he needed to travel across the country on a regular basis and he needed to get an apartment in Las vegas as this was his base of operations. He confide it in me that all he wanted to do was to be at home with his wife and kids while he was on the road and away from home. When he would come home all he would do was complain about how much is wife hated him and how she made his life a living hell. I asked him, “why did you say you missed being home with your wife if all she does was humiliate you and make you miserable? He gave me no answer. All he could do was produce a look upon his face as if he was trying to figure out a math problem in his head but came up with no answer.

This person is the perfect example of someone making a very good paycheck and being miserable with his life. He hated being home and he hated being away from home.

The past two nights I had dreams about family.

I left home Jan 2^nd, 2013. Today is Sunday march 31^st and it’s dawning on me that traveling around the world is no big deal. Its like traveling across the country of America except from time to time someone asks to see your passport, then they stamp it.

99% of all the countries love to see the American passports. They view it as tourist dollars coming to their country.

Athens Greece - Day 3 - Saturday, March 30 2013

Today I  went to see the temple of Zeus and The Panathenaic Stadium. Two more sights of wonder. All the walking is brutal on my leg but it's difficult to keep my enthusiasm level in check. 

Years ago the Temple of Zeus housed the statue of Zeus which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The Panathenaic Stadium is built entirely of white marble and hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. 

I walked around the  base of the stadium today then across the stadium field. As I made this walk I tried to imagine what it might have been like for an athlete all those years ago when the Olympic games first began. 

Today  I overheard a couple different groups of people talking about having to rush from one exhibit to the next and then they had to rush to the airport. Rush through the vacation. When do you get to stop and smell the roses. When do they stop and enjoy their trip? Afterwards? 

This place is magical.

The Temple of Zeus:

It is fantastic. I read about this in school years ago. I watched a documentary about it on TV. Today I walked around it in awe. Even in it’s present state the temple of an amazing sight. How I would love to have seen it before it fell into ruin and became the victim of an earth quake. Who knows, maybe I did. Maybe in a past life I was here?

The Panathenaic Stadium. This is where the first Olympic Games were held and where the first Marathon race in the Olympics ended and won by a greek runner. The crowd was said to have erupted like a volcano when the greek athlete crossed the finish line in the stadium. Before the Olympics this is where Greek athletes competed for millennia.

After today’s visit to the temple of Zeus and marathon Stadium I headed down the street to look for another backpack. I need a larger backpack. I asked someone on the street about this and got some advice. Then the nice person invited me to the bar he worked at. I had a uzo and OJ, met a girl and she asked me if I would buy her a drink. “sure” why not. After I got the bill I realized I’d been skinned out of some money, 190 euros. I wanted to get sick right there in the bar. “Welcome to Greece” I thought. The girl told me she wanted to come over to my hotel after work. I thought, maybe if she come over and we end up in bed it will make the loss of the 190 euros a bit more palatable.

She never came and the loss of 190 euros still stings.

Today was perfect weather. It must have been eighty degrees outside. No clouds. Very little wind. I’m sitting out front of the hotel right now. I’ve had some conversation with a couple other hotel guests, an architecture student from Boston and a rabbi from New Jersey.

It’s only taken a couple of days and I’ve become somewhat comfortable with the train system in Athens. 1.40 Euros will get you anywhere except the airport. I think the train going to the airport is a little more expensive.

So many of the Greeks in Athens speak English and that makes this place much more comfortable to be in, unlike Thailand. In Greece, most everyone under the age of thirty speak some English. People fifty and over speak very little if any English. It’s my understanding most of the younger generation here in Greece speak three languages.

Things making traveling easier:

1.    Don’t be in a rush. Don’t vacation in a rush and this is what I have seen and heard, people rushing from place to place.

2.   Having courage to go out and explore

3.   The trains and buses are a much cheaper way to travel instead of using taxi’s

4.   Make everything an adventure

Observation:

I’ve noticed a lot of tall women here, really tall. I have the impression they are not tourist. These really tall women still wear high heals. I was told once by a six foot girl wearing high heals while at a party “it’s a girls prerogative to wear heals. I agree, it absolutely is but if you are looking for a date I’d rethink the heels.

Athens Greece - Day 2 Friday, March 29th 2013

It's noon. I'm in the National Bank of Greece down at Omonia Square. I've been told this is the roughest area of town and I should beware while visiting this part of town. I did not look that rough as I walked through it but who am I to say. I'm new here. I stopped into a number of banks trying to buy Euros but they all directed me to Omonia Square as this is where there are exchange offices. One of the banks referred me to the National Bank of Greece and I thought this might work out better it being a national bank and all. 

I walked past an archaeological dig right outside. I'm not sure what the story is behind that dig but it looks like they stumbled upon something and now it's a major excavation. It's history being uncovered. I think it's amazing. There's history everywhere I walk.

I got to the bank at noon and took a number, 662. They are on 559. It looks like it's gonna be a long wait which means it's time to get out the journal and get comfortable. I decided to take a trip to the mens room and this was a new experience, a hole in the floor. A porcelain hole in the floor but still something you need to squat over if you need to take a shit. 

Finally at 12:45pm they call my number and guess what, I was in the wrong line. Sounds about right. I get directed to the correct room and take a number. This room is not nearly as populated so I'm only there for a few minutes. They  exchange dollars to Euros at :

1 dollar to 1.29 euros

500 dollars get me 389.95 euros

With my banking done I head to the Acropolis and it is fantastic. It took a while to get up there. My leg is still throbbing. I stood at the foot of the Acropolis just like Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon and Chip Knight. Sounds right. 

The tourist industry is alive and well here as the top of that hill is busy with tourist. I imagined it would be quieter. I imagined I would find a place alone, some solitude for a couple of moments of profound contemplation. It was not too be. ---- I ate a snack. Took a few pictures and went back down the hill. This experience was every bit as powerful as Tiger Kingdom and Elephant Park.

Athens Greece Day 1- Thursday, March 28th 2013

I get up around 10:30am, I'm not sure long I slept, 5, 6 maybe 7 hours. I tossed and turned but I did get some sleep. I made some coffee and a bowl of oatmeal and slowly came to life. I think about the fact I'm in Greece and I smile, ear to ear. I'm in Greece. How cool is that. I did some research on-line about my surroundings and went out for lunch. After lunch I headed to the National Archaeological Museum. It's just down the street and it was excellent. The museum was not that far of a walk and I needed the walk. After the 22 hours of travel time I needed to get some exercise. The museum was just far enough to stretch my legs without incurring too much pain.

About the exhibits at the museum. I've read about most of them and what I've not read about I watched documentaries on. I'm familiar with so much of this stuff. I am in the minority but I believe the Greek Gods existed. I believe the demigods (Achilles, Heracles, and Perseus just to name a few) existed. I believe this will be proven in the not too distant future. 

Some of the streets here have been around for thousands of years. I'm walking down the lanes of history. Something about this place feels comfortable and familiar. It feels like I've been here before. It feels so much better than Thailand. Nothing about Thailand felt comfortable or familiar. Thailand was a hot smelly filthy place. I'm still hacking up smog and pollution from Thailand.

As I walked through the museum I wondered if I'd some across something I might have seen, held or touched before,maybe in another life? Would I recognize something? I thought I might. I hoped.

The accident was three years, eleven months and seven days ago. The power of the accident slowly yet reluctantly slips into the past.

It's amazing to think, last week I was in Thailand and now I'm in Greece.  

Who's luckier than me :-)

I'm in Greece

The flight lands at 11:30pm. 

Because I've done my research I know there are machines at the airport I can convert dollars into Euros but I don't need the machines. As it turns out there is a currency booth open and take care of that business. After  getting my luggage I go in search for bus number x95 as this bus will take me to downtown Greece  My hotel is close to downtown (Victoria Square) . A taxi would cost 40 to 50 euros. The bus cost 5. I love not being in a rush and I love having this information. Research saves money.

After I get off the bus I need a taxi. It cost me 15 euros to get to the hotel. I think I got ripped off but it's late. I'm tired. I want to get to bed. I don't haggle. I get in the cab and get to the hotel. 

I make the deal for one week at the hotel and it costs me 80 euros. The room is less than fancy but it will do. After getting to my room and getting unpacked I go in search of food. There is an all night coffee shop around the corner. I get some food back to my room and pour a drink. An hour later I am asleep. 

My flight to Greece

I check out of the hotel at 1 pm and I'm off to the O'Hare. My flight leaves at 7:15pm. Checking in does not go well. One of my suitcases is light, the other too heavy. I'm forced to take items out of own bag and transfer them to another, at the airport, in front of everyone. Thankfully I'm in no rush and the airport is not busy at all. There are no crowds and no lines. While I'm doing the transfer the scale goes down, it an issue with the battery. I get waved through without having my bags weighed again. After I do the transfer I can no longer fit one of my pillows into my suitcase so I opt to carry it on the plane. It looks odd as I walk through the airport with a pillow but so what.

Question: Why do I have a pillow in my suitcase. I bought in Chiang Mai. If I can fit it in a bag, why not keep it.   

I get to the check-in counter and told it will cost an extra $100 to check two bags. Really? Shit! I did not know this ahead of time. I'm down $100 and I've not even gotten on the plane. Oh well.

I get to the gate with hours to spare. Thankfully I'm able to connect to the internet via Boingo for less than $8 and I begin the process of looking for a place to stay in Athens. The search goes well but I don't find anything concrete.

We board right on time and I get a cute girl sitting next to me. We chat a bit. She is from Paris and has been doing an internship in Las Vegas. The internship was for her Master's. She is in love with a poker dealer. That's not going to end well. I'm sure of that. Her boyfriend is submersed in the world of poker and living in sin city. 

My flight to Athens goes by way of Paris. I get off the plan and follow everyone. At one point I realize I'm not going where everyone else is going so I stop and look at one of the monitors to find out where I will be boarding my next flight from. I'm not pointed to a specific gate but rather a group of gates, 70 - 76. I do an about face and head back to the same terminal I came from but I've gone far enough that I need to get my passport stamped before I can turn around. Now I have China, Thailand and France stamped on my passport. That's cool. 

I get to the right area of Charles De Gaulle Airport and have a nine hour layover and I'm in Paris. Nine hours in a small terminal at the end of the airport. It's a long nine hours. During the layover I eat a meal, buy an adapter for my tablet and laptop so I can charge these things during my layover. This is critical as I do lots of research during my layover and find a place to stay in Athens. I also take a nap. The terminal goes quiet after an hour or so. I'm the only passenger/customer in the terminal for hours. It's nice. I've eaten, done research and now it's quiet. Very quiet. Sleep time quiet. There is a nice couch in the terminal near me so I mosey over and get comfortable. I fall asleep. It is a welcome sleep.

After a couple hours of sleep I am wakened by some noise. People. People being people. Once awake I begin to panic over my need to research. I need all bases covered with redundancy. Sleep is no longer possible so I get up and get back on the Internet. I'm so grateful for the Internet, it makes traveling much easier. The purchase of the tablet was a good one.

Eventually the nine hours passes and I board the flight to Athens. This is the first flight since leaving Thailand that the flight attendants are cute and thin. What is it with all the obese flight attendants? ---- This is my observation of american flight attendants, they are old fat women with horrible attitudes. I had one flight where every flight attendant was obese. Every one of them. I had another flight that each flight attendant was over fifty and a grumpier bunch of women you will never find. What ever happened to customer service? I'm old enough to remember the days were stewardesses were all smoking hot. And happy. Those were the days a person could smoke on the planes. The old days. 

On the flight to Athens we get a meal, a Greek meal that was tasty and we got a drink. I ask for some vodka. I'm told wine or beer only so I ask for water and the flight attendant is stunned. I don't just want alcohol, I want vodka. If you have no vodka I would like a glass of water. I'm not sure why she finds this so shocking?

During my flight to Athens I am sitting next to a high school science teacher. We have a nice chat. She gives some advice on Greece and the islands I should visit.