Greece Day 3- The tour begins

Today we tried to get out, but we were overwhelmed by the stifling heat and soon headed back to our hotel where we napped until the late afternoon. Mom and I decided to meld together two orientation walks from our two guidebooks which meant that we were soon lost somewhere near Plaka. At one point, I turned and asked mom, “what is that hill?” to which she replied, “it is called the ACROPOLIS.” I looked up and caught my first glimpse of the Parthenon! I was compelled to walk towards it when I noticed some people wearing Roman soldier costumes coming out of the theatre of Herod Atrides. I was puzzled for a moment, but then the music began and I realized it was a dress rehearsal for the Puccini opera Turnadot. It seems rather odd to be performing an Italian opera about the Orient in an ancient Greek theater, but I am not the artistic director! The whole scene brought back memories of watching the opera in the Baths of Caracalla two summers ago in Rome.

We continued walking through what we termed Lovers Lane as every couple on the road seemed engrossed in some sort of PDA or mating ritual. My puritanical roots were appalled, but at the same time I was rather jealous. After some more walking (remember we were lost)- we ended up at the Thissio metro station and were soon back to our hotel after stopping at the local Subway and figuring out how to say “we want a turkey and cheese sandwich” in Greek. Yes, that was rather touristy of us, but one of the fun parts of traveling is comparing like things in different countries. What is Subway in America is not always what Subway is in other places, as we found out in Germany last year (they had no idea what a turkey was…). Alas, I am pleased to report that Greek Subway is very similar to American Subway. Mary came and crashed in our room.

A few observations on Greek life thus far-

1. Smoking- The Surgeon General’s warning that smoking causes lung cancer has not made it to Greece yet. Everyone smokes everywhere all the time. It is rather obnoxious, especially for the asthmatics among us.

2. Television- We were surprised (pleasantly) that Greek television actually has a lot of American shows with Greek subtitles rather than being dubbed in Greek. While it is fun to listen to Rachel Ray speak Greek, it is also comforting to watch American movies and hear English being spoken. The funny thing is that all of the television series they have are decidedly outdated, which makes you wonder how that frames Greek impressions of how Americans live. What sort of jaded opinion would you have of the average American if your experience through television had consisted of Friends, Who’s the Boss, Boston Public, and Million Dollar Baby?

3. Coke- I admit that I am addicted to Coke. I am not nice without it. I was surprised that in Greece coke bottles hovered around 1 euro rather than the 2 or 3 euro standard in other European countries I had visited.

4. Tourists- Americans tourists are such noticeable targets. I admit that on this trip I have looked more American due to my tennis shoes rather than the ubiquitous leather sandals because I have done something to my knee, but I know what is a good deal and what is not. (For example, I will not pay more than 20 cents for a postcard. Usually, I can find them for 10 cents. It is quite the treasure hunt.) Tonight on our walk we watched as group after group of tourists were sucked into schemes because of their xenophobia or unwillingness to reach a bit outside of their comfort zone. I used to make fun of the herds of Asian tourists all grouped together docilely following a tour guide, but at least they were making informed decisions.

5. Energy consciousness- The Greeks seem to be quite energy conscious in some respects. When we enter our hotel room, it lacks electricity until we put our room key into the slot that turns on the circuit. I observed that many of the homes and apartment buildings on the way into town had solar panels installed. What is odd to me though is the lack of recycling. I have yet to see any sort of recycling effort, which seems really odd to me since they are so conscious in other aspects.