On Thursday, we got let out of class early, I went for a nice long run and then afterwards Sami and I went to the “Benaki Museum” in Plaka. The museum was fantastic, the building itself is a beautiful classical style structure made out of white marble. The museum was really unlike any I’ve been to before because it had artwork of all periods starting from Neolithic all the way up to present day, and the most interesting thing was the way they presented everything- they mixed modern pieces amongst the ancient ones so as you were looking through geometric pottery from the 600s BC, suddenly you would come across a modern sculpture that would just kind of make you stop and think. I really enjoyed it.
We stayed there until about 8:30 and then we headed off to downtown Plaka to have some dinner. We ate at the same restaurant we had gone to for lunch the day we saw the acropolis. The taverna itself is literally at the bottom of the acropolis so when you look out the window, you can see the lights from the acropolis and the parthenon glowing in its immensity and glory. We shared the “seafood platter” which was a fairly good size plate of tuna salad, vinegar octopus salad, fried calamari, grilled shrimp, and anchovies. It was absolutely delicious! Probably one of my favorite--if not my favorite--meals I’ve had here thus far. The seafood tasted so fresh and it really hit the spot. After we were finished, the owner of the restaurant offered us a complementary traditional greek dessert, on him, and of course we accepted! He gave us a huge plate of revari which is a honey soaked spice cake and a raisin sorbet with bourbon caramel sauce drizzled all over the plate. Yes, I ate some! It was incredible and the greatest part was after that meal, I didn’t feel yucky or overly full because we had walked so much that day and after dinner we walked around Plaka a bit more and then had to walk back to our apartment. I’m loving the lifestyle here- no wonder everyone is so lean despite the amount of carbs they seem to eat! They walk all the time! After that meal, Sami and I kept saying how we could totally live here. Even though I’m not much of a city girl, I could really see myself living and working in Athens. There’s so much to do in Greece, so much history, it would be almost impossible to run out of things to do!
Friday it rained ALL DAY. It was an awful awful day. It was windy, cold, wet. Sami and I attempted to go out anyways but that just ended up being an awful idea. We got soaked and were miserable. We decided to head back to the apartment and just work on some homework. Boring.
Today seems like it’ll be a little better in terms of the weather. It’s a bit nippy, very cloudy and a little windy but hasn’t started raining yet. I just did 8 miles at the track and now I’m going to meet up with Ally, Julie and Sami at the Acropolis Museum to explore Plaka some more. I’ve decided that Plaka is my favorite section of Athens! It’s gorgeous, quaint and more quiet than other parts of the city.
Unfortunately, I no longer am able to get wifi in my apartment for some reason which totally sucks! So I won’t be able to post as regularly as I have been doing in the past. We won’t be doing a whole lot of sightseeing this last week-- just finishing up classes, writing some papers, final exams, and then we have our graduation ceremony at the Athens Centre on Thursday evening with a ceremonial farewell dinner at a local taverna to follow. Then, we leave for the states! So sad :’(
Saturday night, after us girls shopped around Plaka, Mary, Samanatha, Ally, Julie, Phil, Zach, Sami and I all went out to a club in a district of Athens called Psiri. It’s similar to Gazi in the sense that it has a bunch of clubs and bars except it’s a little less touristy and expensive, and its a bit rougher around the edges and more locals tend to go there.
The club we went to was called “Vega” and in order to get in you either had to be on their list or make friends with the bouncers. Obviously we did the latter. The club was pretty crazy, the bartender was a transvestite, and for once everyone--even the greeks--were dancing! Normally they just kind of stand there, purse their lips, and bob their heads to the music and check you out as you walk by. Us girls just kind of stuck together like we always do and had a good time. We got home around 5, ate hummus in our semi-drunken stupor and passed out. Great night.
Sunday, Sami and I woke up late (naturally)- I went for a nice long run at the stadium while she did some writing in her travel journal and then we went window shopping in Monasteraki (all the shops close by 5 o’clock on Sundays). we walked around forever, just getting lost in the city, which is really the best way to explore. by seven, we were thirsty so we stopped at a cafe to have some coffee and a little nosh to refuel before heading back home. Once we got home, we took a three hour nap before getting all dressed up for our last night out in Athens! We went to this really cool bar in Plaka that we have walked by in the day time and have always said that we should check it out at night. three of the four walls are lined with shelves holding bottles of house-made liquor in every flavor and color that you could possibly think of- mandarin, raspberry, coffee, lemoncello, chestnut, green apple, banana, pistachio... you name it, they got it. The fourth wall had two large shelving units that were holding huge barrels labeled “ouzo” and “brandy.”
While Sami and I sipped our drinks and chatted, this "lovely" Greek man whom I shall nickname "Eyebrows," due to the fact that he had a unibrow situation going on above his eyes, came over and sat next to us. He and his friends-- who were all about 40 ish-- had been eyeing us since we walked in. He was kind of drunk, didn't speak much english and very creepy. Just another night in Attika for ya!
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