19/4/1993
Today I woke up at 7:00 am and after shower and breakfast I
was out for my walking tour at about 9:00 am. First, I went to see St. George
Church which is situated on a nearby mountain called LYKABETTOS.
There are two
ways to go up, by cable car or by foot. I decided to go up by foot and believe
me it was fun walking up all the way. For me, coming from a hot climate, the
weather in Athens was a bit cold, so I wore my jacket. I have no intention to
fall sick on a tour, I have a lot on my list to discover and getting sick is
not an option.
At the top, it was not crowded. I sat on a bench and enjoyed
the panoramic view of the city. There I met an Australian couple and I assisted
in taking a few pictures for them. They were both very nice and polite. While
having the chat, the guy told me that he works at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
(MCG) and since I belong to a Cricket crazy nation and a player of the game, we
entered into sports conversation.
After a while, I decided to descend and went to see the
National Gardens, it’s a big garden surrounded by tall trees, grass, fountains
and colorful flowers. Adjacent to the gardens is Parliament Building. The
traditional Greek guards stand by at their posts and after short intervals they
perform their movements which I can’t perfectly describe. I also witnessed the
guard changing ceremony, very interesting. Did you know, the rifle these guards carry weighs 7 kgs!!
A few blocks away I found myself at Syntagma (constitution)
Square. This is a very busy place, crowded mainly by tourists. Shopping,
cafeterias, taverns you’ll find all of them here. If you are interested in
shopping then this is the place, a bit expensive though!
Moving on to my today’s next destination, the Acropolis.
The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel
located on a high rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and
containing the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural
and historic significance, the most famous being the Parthenon.
The word acropolis
comes from the Greek words ἄκρον (akron,
"edge, extremity") and πόλις (polis,
"city"). It is always crowded with tourists.
I spent 1.5 hours there and then decided to head back to
hotel. But on my way back, I took a few wrong turns and was lost in a
residential area. Now what? For about an hour or so I wandered in wrong
directions. I was tired and hungry and due to Easter holiday, the traffic was
thin. Finally, I came in small square where I found a newspaper stand. Now came
the language barrier. The vendor couldn’t understand me, so sign language came
to my rescue. I showed the location of Hotel Caravel on the map to him and he
pointed towards the bus stand and repeated the words, “Syntagma” couple of
times. What he meant to say was, get to Syntagma Square and from there you’ll
get to the hotel easily. So, I bought the bus ticket from him, and waited for the bus.
Finally, the bus came and I reached Syntagma square, I knew the way from there,
so I walked back towards the hotel.
I reached back at 4:45pm. Tired and hungry. Took a shower
and a little nap. Woke up at 7:15 pm. I went out for a walk, found a small play
ground and a bench to sit and rest. Reviewing the guide map, to identify what
to do tomorrow. There was basket ball game being played by a father, son and
daughter. I enjoyed watching them for a while, then it started become cold for
me. So I came back.
On my way back, I picked up a few brochures from the
reception about local tours. Before I go to sleep, I have to decide which one
suits me and then make reservation. See you tomorrow!
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