Athens

We made it to the National Archeological Museum today. It was as impressive as promised, and the exhibit of the treasures found on a ship that sunk in the 1st century BC was pretty spectacular. But I will be honest: I am on antiquity overload. I was not unhappy that the museum closed earlier than we thought it would today. But just like any great museum, it is meant to be digested in slow pieces, and I bit off as much as I could chew today.

The presidential elections are happening here on Sunday. There have been political rallies outside of our hotel and throughout the city. Nothing violent, but police, including those with riot gear at the ready, are HIGHLY noticeable in the populated gathering areas. Although our hotel is in a less desirable part of town (at least based upon our observations), the only police we see regularly here are the ones directing traffic at the 5-way corner outside our window at 7 am. But I feel safe, even though I’ve been told that my sons have witnessed people shooting heroin on certain streets. It is not unusual here to see a fairly high-end type of store right next to a boarded up, graffiti-tagged building. There’s LOTS of graffiti here, most of which I attribute to the economic situation and the elections. We haven’t watched much TV, since the only channel that is completely in English is the BBC News, and it is coming over an internet feed and stops to buffer every 15 seconds. But right now I have the station on a movie in English (with Greek subtitles), and there are definitely political commercials happening. Even though they are in Greek, it is easy to recognize the camera angles, the earnest speech, the insinuating attitudes against the opponent – politics is pretty much the same no matter where you are.

This evening we went to a very pleasant shopping area in the Monastiraki section of the city. There were tons of people and a great fun atmosphere. It was several blocks of brightly-lit shops, some of which were very American. We ate at an outdoor café and had some remarkable Greek food that was CHEAP! We each had a shot of Ouzo, which was SO good. The moon is full and the night is incredibly beautiful, with a beautiful view of the Acropolis above us. Tomorrow we plan to visit Delphi. Unfortunately, it is too far to drive to Thessaloniki, but the places we are able to reach in a day is fine by me.