150 Kilometers and a world apart!

Bustling, big, dirty Athens...meet quiet, quaint, beautiful Delphi.

So we went to Athens to see the ruins...little did we know it would be the only thing we'd want to see. Athens is a huge city full of stores full of junk geared toward tourists, endless amounts of people hustling everything from kazoos to plastic sunglasses, people begging for money, a taverna at every turn with staff dedicated to getting you in and seated, high end stores for shoes, clothing, jewelry, oh, and did I mention lots of stores? While I didn't expect it to be quaint by any means, I thought there still might be a sense of charm or just a little something special...well....not so much. This is not to say there is nothing to love about Athens, it's just not my kind of town.

The Acropolis and the numerous sites of ruins were fairly cool, but again, I think I expected something more awe-inspiring. It didn't help that half the ruins had scaffolding all over them... detracts from the wonder of the building when it's getting a face lift I suppose. Although it is very impressive what they have been able to preserve and the endless amount of marble that seems to have existed back a couple thousand years ago. Now, I like marble as much as the next girl, but let me tell you, those stairs are downright dangerous! We were slipping all over the place!

Our hostel/hotel was a bit seedy, but my main complaint is the smoke that permeated the place, oh, and the noise right outside our window wasn't ideal either. The first morning, there must have been some sort of celebration or protest because we awoke to honking horns (NY times 50) and walked by a lively demonstration not too far away. The second morning was a good deal quieter, but still like being in the heart of Manhattan. Side note - being here makes me soooo appreciate the laws that separate smokers from non-smokers in restaurants and bar smoking all together in common areas. Even as I type, the smoke filling this cyber-cafe is invading my lungs and giving me a headache.

Ok, Athens....seeing as we weren't overwhelmed with the city, we decided to bolt earlier than planned and head to Delphi (many people just do a side trip to Delphi from Athens). We got up and spent the better part of the day seeing more sights and walking about the city before picking up our packs from the hostel and heading to the bus station. We knew this - take the 24 bus until you see Terminal B bus station (down a side street...no the bus does not actually stop there) and you can catch a bus to Delphi from there. So, we jumped on the bus without tickets (oops, should have gotten those at the subway station) and by the grace of god I saw the KTEL sign from the road we were riding on point down a side street....hoping it was the right station, we jumped off the bus and headed toward what looked like a station. No problem! Within a couple minutes we had tickets on the 5:30 bus to Delphi....thank goodness!

Now I have to say, I love riding the bus in Greece because we go by some of the most beautiful mountains, seas, towns....however slow it may be.

We arrived in Delphi around the time we were supposed to - no bus runs on time here - and got off where we hoped we were supposed to....it seemed right....we even asked the driver if this was the Delphi stop - yes it was. Adam wasn't so sure, but with my insistance, we got off anyway. So then we start asking around to see if we can find someone who speaks enough English to direct us to our hotel - we have a street address. First guy? No idea what he's trying to say, and we're afraid he's pointing to the town lit up in the distance a good half hour drive from where we're standing. I'm getting a little nervous that I've put us in the wrong town....next guy we see - he has beautiful rooms, 33 Euros - when we explain we have reservations at Hotel Acropole (also listed as a hostel and hotel) he says it's all the way on the other side of town - but he had lovely rooms available. Great. And how far is that? Down three flights of stairs (the town is built into the mountain) and about a 5 minute walk. Relief came over me as quickly as doubt had filled the pit of my stomach, and we were on our way. The next day, we went to the bus station to see about getting to Arta, and sure enough, they had put us right in front of it the night before...it's about the size of a postage stamp, nestled in among the other store-fronts.

Hotel Acropole....highly recommend it!!!! It's beautiful, quiet, friendly, clean, and it has some of the best views in town. And it's quite affordable! Our room opened to a balcony overlooking the sea and town below and the mountains all around us. There was no noise, no smoke, no pollution....it was fabulous!

Sunday, our only full day in Delphi was fantastic! We woke up late (just before 9am) and had a leisurely breakfast (included at the hotel). Then we made our way to the ruins - about a 10 minute walk through this peaceful town. And they are awesome! Set amidst the mountains and a quiet little town, you get a much better feel for what it might have been like to live way back when. The museum had some incredible pieces in it and there were a number of depictions of "amazons" - women warriors - which made me proud ;) Adam took a bow on the stage of the old theatre and I practiced my discus throwing in the old stadium before he challenged me to a wrestling match....it was a good day. Again, the marble...not so good for walking, but we made it no worse for wear.

When we were done with the ruins, we headed down - thankful that we weren't with a tour group - in search of nutrition. Grape leaves and pizza - there is pizza everywhere! LOL With no where we had to be, and nothing we had to do, we went in search of a grassy field to play frisbee and chill out. Well, we soon discovered that there really are no grassy areas. Just mountains, rocks, and water. And unfortunately we weren't that close to the water....so we settled for hanging out on the balcony. Watched the sun set, which was beautiful and enjoyed our last night of freedom before heading to the farm.

Our trek to the farm is a whole other story....

Agapi from Greece!
Lil