My Depression is Lifting

Here's the typical touristy shot from Athens. I'd be willing to bet that the original construction didn't take as long as the restoration. When I was last in Athens in 1988, there was scaffolding all over the Parthenon.

Here's the same scene from a different angle. Today we hiked up Lycabetus Hill, the highest point in Athens. This is the view from there.

This is the view of Lycabetus Hill from the Acropolis.

We've had a good trip so far, other than the usual hassles of trying to figure out the train service from the airport to Athens. Suffice to say that it's not intuitively obvious to the casual observer as to which train to catch and where the train we ended up catching was going. We did have a bit of a grand tour, but we eventually made it to the Aphrodite Hostel, our home for three nights.

Except for the touristy areas, Athens is a gritty and not terribly appealing city. The Aphrodite Hostel fits right into that mold. As far as hostels go, it's OK, but it is in a gritty area at least 6-8 blocks away from anywhere you'd want to be. The nearest Metro station is about 6 blocks away, but we mastered the system, so it's been easy enough to get around.

Yesterday we went to the Acropolis Museum, a fabulous and beautiful place at the foot of the Acropolis. Then we went up the Acropolis and spent several pleasant hours wandering around. Today we took a hike up Lycabetus Hill for another view of the city. We even stopped in at a small Greek Orthodox chapel for Sunday morning services.

Tomorrow, I've got a car lined up for rental, and we're headed off to Meteora, Mount Olympus, and whatever else strikes our fancy. We'll return to Athens on Friday, and catch a ferry to Paros for a week of sailing in the Cyclades.

It's a tough life, but someone's got to live it!