Greece in a nutshell

Ancient Greece is considered by many scholars to be the epicenter of culture for Western Civilization. Who can deny Greek culture was a powerful influence in the Roman Empire, from there the influence of Greece was carried to many parts of Europe and beyond. Ancient Greek civilization has been influential with language, politics, educational systems, philosophy, art and architecture of the modern world.
The greatness of Greece is in the history books and has not been seen for over two thousand years. Greece today is a sickening and a pathetic representation of the glory of Ancient Greece.

If you go to Athens today you better keep you hand on your wallet as pickpockets and thieves are everywhere and aggressive about stealing as much of your money as possible. I’ve been in Greece for almost four weeks and I have been sickened by what I’ve seen and experienced. I’ve seen more beggars in Athens my first week here than I saw in three months in Thailand. Yesterday a beggar follow me into a grocery store insisting I buy him some food. The beggar got into a heated argument with the stores management and got chased out of the store. All I could think during this event was, I want to be out of Greece.

My first week in Greece was spent in a hotel near Victoria Square. I did not understand how nice that area was until I moved to a hotel two blocks from Omonia Square. I’ve seen more junkies, thieves and whores in one day than I’ve ever seen in Chicago my whole life and Chicago is where I grew up. It is beyond sickening. This place is a nightmare. My advice, vacation somewhere else. Anywhere else, NOT GREECE!!!!

Three weeks ago I was down by the Acropolis. I asked someone on the street about the location of the market as I was interested in buying a new backpack. The gentleman I spoke with provided me with the directions I was in of then he invited me in to the bar he worked in. He asked if I’d ever had uzo. I said no and he bought me a drink, Uzo poured over ice. It was kind of cool to see as the ice made the Uzo turn fro a clear liquid to cloudy. They some OJ was poured in. It was delicious. As I sat at the bar a girl came over and sat down next to me. She was kind of cute and we began talking. The girl asked if I would buy her a drink. Why not. Someone bought me a drink. I said yes. Then I got the bill for the drink I purchased, one hundred ninety euros. What evil scum. This is Greece today.

Warnings come over the PA system at the metro train about the thieves and pickpockets. The warning is announced off and on all day every day. Be careful with your belongings. I was warned by the manager of the hotel about pick pockets and thieves. Still I had my pocket picked while on the metro train in Athens. They got me for 45 Euros. This is Greece today.

I rented an apartment on the Island of Crete for two weeks. I did not find out the apartment owner lied to me about the apartment until after I paid him. I was told the apartment had WiFi, a microwave and a kettle. All lies. The apartment did not even have a curtain over the 4 x 4 window. Lies, lies and more lies. This is Greece today.

I had lunch in a restaurant near Omonia square two days ago, Club Neon. I ordered the stuffed peppers and they were great. I also ordered a piece of baklava for dessert. To drink all I had was a glass of water. When I got the bill I noticed the restaurant owner charged me one euro for the bread he brought to the table. I never ordered bread or asked for it. This is the restaurant owners idea of integrity and treating customers fair. This is Greece today.

Greece is experiencing an economic crisis. I understand that. Because of the economy many of these people (Not all) are willing to beg borrow or steal from the tourist. This is Greece today.

The greatness of Greece is something you can read about in the history books. You can visit the temples that were built thousands of years ago and marvel at the accomplishments of Ancient Greece. There is nothing great about today.
Greece. Lies, thieves, junkies and whores, this is Greece today.

I was sold a piece of crap backpack in Athens. It fell apart soon after I gave my old backpack away. I took my new backpack to an upholstery shop in the hopes of getting the cheap piece of crap repaired. I got lucky and got the backpack fixed. The gentleman at the upholstery shop did not charge me a penny for their work. They dropped what they were doing as soon as I walked in to their shop and immediately fixed my backpack, and did not charge me. These were really nice people. I went to the bakery down the street and bought them a bag of cookies in return for their kind gesture.

I needed to see a doctor while in Athens because of my leg. The doctor I ended up seeing was an amazing and wonderful doctor (and she was cute). I have a high opinion of the medical profession in Greece because of the experience I had with the doctor. 

The food in Greece was amazing. I cannot say enough flattering things about the food in Greece. Delicious. Delicious. Delicious. The price of food in Greece was shocking. After three months in Thailand, a place where my food cost was five dollars a day, it was painful and shocking to be spending fifteen to thirty dollars a day in Greece to eat. Yikes. I prefer the food in Greece to the food in Thailand but I did enjoy the food in Thailand. My fat belly is all the proof I need to demonstrate my fondness for the culinary delights this planet has to offer.

Good food is one of life's greatest pleasures along with good wine, good conversation, good music and (dare I say it) good sex.

There are nice people in Greece and I do not wish to suggest otherwise but they are in the minority. Why go on vacation to a place you are forced to be on guard 24/7? It makes no sense. What kind of a vacation is that?

It's on to Italy...