The Greeks think nothing of
staying out late.
I was in downtown Athens at 3:00 AM and the
amount of people that were out was staggering. Most cafes, bars
and restaurants are open all night. I had to actually wait for
a red light to cross the street, it reminded me of New Years
here in the states (maybe even busier). But for all this lust
for life and fun, I NEVER saw one drunk person on the
streets or in a bar. I went to see a football game (soccer to us)
and everyone was drinking Coke! During my five week stay, I
only heard about one murder. Gangs and drive by shootings are
totaly foreign to them.
When people found out where I was from,
they ALWAYS asked me why my country is so violent and and why
we had riots.
For all the wonderous inventions and luxuries
that we as a nation enjoy, we might be an even greater country
if we dumped the baggage of "black vs. white.
Us vs. them" and looked at ourselves as a single country with
a single identity.
You gain a much broader perspective on life
when you travel, especially for an extended period of time. You
are forced to operate under a different set of rules, do without
certain conviences that you took for granted previously.
You make do, you improvise,and you become flexible. If you can
do that and open your mind, you will recieve riches beyond your
imagination and grow tenfold as a person.THAT is the greatest
souvenir one can come home with.
I was fortunate enough to visit the following:
Athens and the Acropolis
Omonia Square
Cape Sounio
Sandorini Island
Folegandros Island
Ios Island
Naxos Island
Delos Island
Metora
Mikonos Island
Tinos Island
Delphi Island
Pella
Thessalonki
The Acropolis is a"living" testament to the ingenuity and
craftsmanship of the Greek people and serves as the "official"
symbol of Greece.At night it is illuminated with multicolored
spotlights. Wake up early on Sunday (the only day the streets
are dead) and climb the near by rocks to see the sun rise over
Athens.
HOMER
Folegandros A beautiful little out of the way spot. It holds
about 1,000 locals. Not on the "A" list of tourist spots, so
that makes it the perfect place to share a peaceful getaway.
Some wonderful beaches,but you will need to rent a scooter to get to them.
Ios The Animal House of the Greek Isles. Come here to drink,
drink and drink some more.BEWARE of the "free" shots and drinks,
they are pure poison given away to get you drunk fast, most
bars also employ girls to hang around at the bar and get you
to spend money on them. At closing these girls get a percentage
of the take. The most fun is wandering the streets in the early
morning and seeing all the people passed out!
Naxos My favorite! Nice beaches with crystal clear water,
a great boardwalk that comes alive at night, the best produce
in all of Greece and a fantastic castle that makes up part
of the town. One can EASILY get lost in the winding backstreets.
Most of the old building still have the family crest over the
doorways.Lots of fun.
Delos A "floating" museum. Actually an island that contains
the remenants of an ancient city. Also has a museum with
sculptures,mosaics,statues and more. You can only visit, no
overnight stays are allowed. This is off the coast of Mikonos.
Mikonos Heaven for European and stateside homosexuals.Lots of
leather and early David Bowie lookalikes. Trendy and expensive.One either loves it or hates it.
The windwills are pretty though.
Tinos The home of the most famous church in Greece, as far as I
know, on the appointed day, the faithful come from ALL over to
celebrate and honor the church and its saint.To get to the church
you walk about a mile uphill. On either side of the street are
merchants selling all types of religious icons, trinkets and
assorted knik knacks. Check out their offerings if you are
interested in religious items, there are a lot of nice items.
You will also notice large red candles 3'to 5' long, these
are purchased and brought into the church. There is a small
room to the right as you enter the main doors. The candles
are given to an attendent and lit to honor a deceased member
of the family. The inside of the church is amazing-words do
not do justice.
Delphi The home of the Temple of Apollo.For countless centuries
this was the religious and spiritual center of the Greek world.
According to history this was also the geographical center of
the Earth, becoming so after Zeus released two eagles and they
met here.There is a wonderful museum on site featuring the
famous Charioteer bronze statue dating 478 to 474 BC.
ARCHEOLOGY
Pella Capital of the Macedonian state, early 4th c. BC.
Beautiful mosaics.Surprisingly, these are left in their natural
state amongst the ruins in the outside. The Greeks take great
pride in their culture and vandalism is very rare.
Thessaloniki The second Capital of Greece.Much cleaner than
Athens. Reminded me of San Francisco, very cosmopolitan.
Wonderful bakeries and trendy clothing stores. Rumored to have
the most beautiful women in Greece! Take the train here to
Istanbul >>Beware it is a long long trip<<
The Acropolis at night
Mykonos Cafe
Naxos Island
The Church of Tinos Island
Relics on the Island of Delos
The Premier Greek Football Team
