Not much to say...went to Korinthos and Perichora and the Diolkos today. I was finally awake for the ride back to Attica, so I now have confirmation: the Peloponnese is definitely more prettier, landscape-wise, than Attica! However, it is also way less populated.
I remember early on here how I was disappointed to not find a ton of ancient stuff just right alongside modern stuff; well, I've seen it now and am starting to wish that it were better separated. (There were a ton of piles of burnt trash around Perichora! Also mounds of shit near the entrance to this little cave above the temple.)
4.30.2009
4.27.2009
Return
Apart from the obvious joy of going awesome places and doing awesome things, vacations come with the benefit of making you appreciate certain features of living at home.
This trip's over; I still want to go to Mykonos and, more specificially, Delos. We'll see if that pans out.
This trip's over; I still want to go to Mykonos and, more specificially, Delos. We'll see if that pans out.
4.25.2009
Crete
I just don't have much to say about Crete because we weren't there quite as long, not to mention that the day we got there was horribly cloudy, which was surprisingly effective at ruining our initial impressions. (A beautiful Saturday on the beach and in Rethymno did much to turn that around, though.)
Things we saw: the Knossos Palace, which is actually pretty big, and the Cretaquarium (Thalassokosmos), which after the Shedd was disappointingly small--but I'm starting to realize that living in Chicago is rather privileged. Anyway, it was still pretty awesome; just not the ridiculous scale that I'm used to. Down a really goddamn sketchy path, though....
Oh, and staying in a hostel for the first time ever: lack of comforts replaced with awesomeness of people. Among other things, I have found out that there are some awesome Minoan ruins past Knossos--unfortunately, in general these things would be best done with a car.
Things we saw: the Knossos Palace, which is actually pretty big, and the Cretaquarium (Thalassokosmos), which after the Shedd was disappointingly small--but I'm starting to realize that living in Chicago is rather privileged. Anyway, it was still pretty awesome; just not the ridiculous scale that I'm used to. Down a really goddamn sketchy path, though....
Oh, and staying in a hostel for the first time ever: lack of comforts replaced with awesomeness of people. Among other things, I have found out that there are some awesome Minoan ruins past Knossos--unfortunately, in general these things would be best done with a car.
4.22.2009
Even Santorini has weather, sometimes
Bad news: it was actually so windy today that they canceled both the cable cars and the ferry that we were going to take to the caldera. Now, keep in mind that the wind was considerably worse for our having been halfway up a hill. So what did we (at least two of us) decide to do instead?
Climb ancient Thira, that’s what. This thing is up a serious elevation—so serious, actually, that we paid extra for a taxi up the horrible rocky narrow road (and I thought the port road was bad…) because we were worried about getting there after the site had closed. So anyway, we took a taxi to the top of this rather high hill, and then went walking around a couple of goat paths and some ruins. Clever, no?
But anyway, fortunately the next day turned out to be amazing again so we were able to go climb the caldera and have a look around. Definitely wear real shoes for this kind of thing! Also watch out for the sulfur smell and all the loose rocks (all rocks on a volcano are loose). I do wish we'd had more time to go exploring, but the problem with English is that everyone speaks it with varying degrees of competency. So yeah, therein lies the rub: takes way longer to get anything through because you have to make sure that everyone is on top of that shit.
More things I have crossed off my impromptu list of Things to Do:
- jump off the side of a boat
- swim in a hot spring (the path there was fucking cold! but there were jellies! I poked one! and then there was a TON of orange dirt, so you couldn't see anything underwater). True story: hot springs are not actually that hot, especially when the current keeps bringing cold water back in.
Climb ancient Thira, that’s what. This thing is up a serious elevation—so serious, actually, that we paid extra for a taxi up the horrible rocky narrow road (and I thought the port road was bad…) because we were worried about getting there after the site had closed. So anyway, we took a taxi to the top of this rather high hill, and then went walking around a couple of goat paths and some ruins. Clever, no?
But anyway, fortunately the next day turned out to be amazing again so we were able to go climb the caldera and have a look around. Definitely wear real shoes for this kind of thing! Also watch out for the sulfur smell and all the loose rocks (all rocks on a volcano are loose). I do wish we'd had more time to go exploring, but the problem with English is that everyone speaks it with varying degrees of competency. So yeah, therein lies the rub: takes way longer to get anything through because you have to make sure that everyone is on top of that shit.
More things I have crossed off my impromptu list of Things to Do:
- jump off the side of a boat
- swim in a hot spring (the path there was fucking cold! but there were jellies! I poked one! and then there was a TON of orange dirt, so you couldn't see anything underwater). True story: hot springs are not actually that hot, especially when the current keeps bringing cold water back in.
4.21.2009
Always look for a path
So, yeah…today was beach day. We went to a black pebble beach (actually, it had all sorts of mildly interesting rocks, but the majority were black volcanic rock), and then to the red sand beach. Which, as it turns out, is not only in a cove (this is incredibly annoying because of strong gusts of wind, one of which made me ram my foot into a rock and then later get scab or some other ooze on a white sock, how annoying, not to mention the fact that there was sand in EVERYTHING afterwards, and I mean even after I took a headbath I was finding sand in my ears the next day), but is also up a fucking goat path! We spent two (?) confused hours on the beach not understanding how so many people in bad shoes weren’t having serious issues getting to this place, and then it turned out that we had simply taken the wrong way up, successfully walking right by the clearly labeled route with lots of blue arrows and a much easier time.
Fuck, dammit.
Oh well; at the very least, it’s a talking point. I mean, yeah, there’s definitely the wish that we hadn’t put ourselves through such unnecessary crap, but it’s also like this: do you ever have anything to talk about unless you’ve done something unique, especially if it’s hilariously silly or foolish or otherwise marked by a peculiarity that makes it a story that’s fun to listen to? So there’s that. And the beach had cool sand, it had this unique glow and the red color right at the water’s edge as my footprints were refilled was nice to examine; I wish I’d gotten a better picture of that weird mix of red, tan, and black. Thanks to the coviness, there were also little pools of warm water, a nice change from the goddamn cold sea everywhere else. Still horribly salty, though; bleagh. I ended up mostly doing the freestyle just to avoid sticking my head underwater and, as a side effect, tasting that shit. (Shame, because the water is so clear that it’s worth taking a look underneath; the red beach was where I saw the most interesting fish, including this reasonably famous variety whose name I absolutely can’t remember. But anyway, I swam into a school of fish, so that’s another thing checked off my impromptu list of things to do.)
Other things: buses crammed with tourists, some more obvious than the others—Hotel Sunrise for old German people; I’m trying to figure out if it is or isn’t a coincidence that there’s a chain of retirement homes in the U.S. called ‘Sunrise’—and yes, how could I forget, we finally got into Lucky’s Souvlaki.
Lucky’s Souvlaki is definitely worth its own mention, because it is by far the best souvlaki I have ever had. (My omnivorous friends agreed that it was the best.) Not only do they actually put paprika on top, but there are non-mere absence of meat options for vegetarians! If you ever have the chance to go there, do try the tomato ball pita. (On the menu, only falafel pita was listed, but they were out of falafel so Lucky recommended the tomato ball instead, and honestly I don’t like falafel so it was quite acceptable…and they grill the tomatoes in a completely delicious fashion.) I think just having this whole experience, with our trip leader (she planned the whole thing, really, props there!) returning to this place after ten years and discovering that it was just as delicious as she remembered, and then Lucky being totally awesome what with having a Peruvian wife and talkative as well as generally chill, just made this the best, place, ever. I’m not sure I want to eat another souvlaki; the memory of this one is still holding out. (On the other hand, six more weeks: I’ll probably go into pita withdrawal; but those of us who had souvlaki in Crete were kind of depressed about it.)
Anyway, mmmmm. And for dessert afterwards, there’s a bakery up one of the small streets that does fantastic desserts. Hell, go to any bakery…and just point and ask for one or two, you’ll be happy as long as you aren’t completely random about it.
Fuck, dammit.
Oh well; at the very least, it’s a talking point. I mean, yeah, there’s definitely the wish that we hadn’t put ourselves through such unnecessary crap, but it’s also like this: do you ever have anything to talk about unless you’ve done something unique, especially if it’s hilariously silly or foolish or otherwise marked by a peculiarity that makes it a story that’s fun to listen to? So there’s that. And the beach had cool sand, it had this unique glow and the red color right at the water’s edge as my footprints were refilled was nice to examine; I wish I’d gotten a better picture of that weird mix of red, tan, and black. Thanks to the coviness, there were also little pools of warm water, a nice change from the goddamn cold sea everywhere else. Still horribly salty, though; bleagh. I ended up mostly doing the freestyle just to avoid sticking my head underwater and, as a side effect, tasting that shit. (Shame, because the water is so clear that it’s worth taking a look underneath; the red beach was where I saw the most interesting fish, including this reasonably famous variety whose name I absolutely can’t remember. But anyway, I swam into a school of fish, so that’s another thing checked off my impromptu list of things to do.)
Other things: buses crammed with tourists, some more obvious than the others—Hotel Sunrise for old German people; I’m trying to figure out if it is or isn’t a coincidence that there’s a chain of retirement homes in the U.S. called ‘Sunrise’—and yes, how could I forget, we finally got into Lucky’s Souvlaki.
Lucky’s Souvlaki is definitely worth its own mention, because it is by far the best souvlaki I have ever had. (My omnivorous friends agreed that it was the best.) Not only do they actually put paprika on top, but there are non-mere absence of meat options for vegetarians! If you ever have the chance to go there, do try the tomato ball pita. (On the menu, only falafel pita was listed, but they were out of falafel so Lucky recommended the tomato ball instead, and honestly I don’t like falafel so it was quite acceptable…and they grill the tomatoes in a completely delicious fashion.) I think just having this whole experience, with our trip leader (she planned the whole thing, really, props there!) returning to this place after ten years and discovering that it was just as delicious as she remembered, and then Lucky being totally awesome what with having a Peruvian wife and talkative as well as generally chill, just made this the best, place, ever. I’m not sure I want to eat another souvlaki; the memory of this one is still holding out. (On the other hand, six more weeks: I’ll probably go into pita withdrawal; but those of us who had souvlaki in Crete were kind of depressed about it.)
Anyway, mmmmm. And for dessert afterwards, there’s a bakery up one of the small streets that does fantastic desserts. Hell, go to any bakery…and just point and ask for one or two, you’ll be happy as long as you aren’t completely random about it.
4.20.2009
Santorini
I’ll say this straight-out: Santorini deserves its reputation as a tourist spot. This is place is gorgeous—I don’t even know where to begin! (Obviously, photos would make this whole thing a lot easier.) Anyway, we even all took photos of the hotel we stayed at (if you go there on a budget, I highly recommend Villa Manos—they’re incredibly nice, and the place is so clean); well, honestly, all of Santorini is worthy of pictures. On the one hand you have a cacophony of shops and adorable little domed churches and houses with the wide, Cycladic arches—far more than in Hora (the capital city of Naxos); but once again, this is a major tourist destination; God knows what they do in the off season (I hear it’s like a ghost town, actually). Don’t let the tourism get you down! Enjoy it, relax…. I’d love to be back in Santorini right now. (I don’t know how obvious it’s been, but I’ve been posting these later when I actually have Internet access…actually, I didn’t check my email once, not to mention visit other websites, from the 20th through the 26th.)
Admittedly, the drive up from the port (Athinias, I think it’s called) is kind of terrifying. See, the roads are tiny and narrow, but they somehow have two lanes and people just zoom around the corners….
Anyway, even with photos, it’s impossible to convey what it’s like to be there, and it will remain so until I learn how to draw sound: the chatter, random Greek folk music that’s obviously only playing to get the tourists in; although sometimes they go ahead with the Europop and Eurotrash, which primarily consists of bad covers or bizarre remixes of ‘80s and ‘90s American music.
But another thing you should know: the narrowness of the island means you can pretty much see the Aegean all the time…it’s wonderful. I have missed salt water so much; and of course it also means that, no matter where the sun is in the sky, you have a lovely view.
We went to try and find a certain souvlaki place, spent half an hour—it turned out—just walking around it, going down all these side streets, finally asking for directions to the main square a block away down the same road from the main square, and then, when we finally got there…it was closed for Easter Monday. FML (except not really, I mean, can you legitimately bitch about anything while on Santorini? NO).
Unrelated story: on the ferry to Santorini from Naxos, there were some dudes playing a mandolin and a guitar; I’d call it Greek folk music. This only heightened my conviction that we were to suffer the same fate as the third-class passengers on the Titanic (seriously, the instrumental theme was playing in my head every time I went walking about on the ferry…except for the awesome moment on the way to Naxos from Piraeus where we hit a patch of fog and everyone pulled out their iPods and played “Fog Bound” from the first ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’—I listened in—and we all waited for Davy Jones to show up and maybe pull off some mad organ skills with his face). But anyway, I haven’t been able to get ‘Titanic’ out of my head even though I’ve been on a bunch of ferries by now within a relatively short period of time. Goes to show what weird things can influence your childhood….
Admittedly, the drive up from the port (Athinias, I think it’s called) is kind of terrifying. See, the roads are tiny and narrow, but they somehow have two lanes and people just zoom around the corners….
Anyway, even with photos, it’s impossible to convey what it’s like to be there, and it will remain so until I learn how to draw sound: the chatter, random Greek folk music that’s obviously only playing to get the tourists in; although sometimes they go ahead with the Europop and Eurotrash, which primarily consists of bad covers or bizarre remixes of ‘80s and ‘90s American music.
But another thing you should know: the narrowness of the island means you can pretty much see the Aegean all the time…it’s wonderful. I have missed salt water so much; and of course it also means that, no matter where the sun is in the sky, you have a lovely view.
We went to try and find a certain souvlaki place, spent half an hour—it turned out—just walking around it, going down all these side streets, finally asking for directions to the main square a block away down the same road from the main square, and then, when we finally got there…it was closed for Easter Monday. FML (except not really, I mean, can you legitimately bitch about anything while on Santorini? NO).
Unrelated story: on the ferry to Santorini from Naxos, there were some dudes playing a mandolin and a guitar; I’d call it Greek folk music. This only heightened my conviction that we were to suffer the same fate as the third-class passengers on the Titanic (seriously, the instrumental theme was playing in my head every time I went walking about on the ferry…except for the awesome moment on the way to Naxos from Piraeus where we hit a patch of fog and everyone pulled out their iPods and played “Fog Bound” from the first ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’—I listened in—and we all waited for Davy Jones to show up and maybe pull off some mad organ skills with his face). But anyway, I haven’t been able to get ‘Titanic’ out of my head even though I’ve been on a bunch of ferries by now within a relatively short period of time. Goes to show what weird things can influence your childhood….
4.19.2009
From Naxos
On the island of Naxos, which is tiny but still entirely reliant upon its tourism industry: since we went there Easter weekend, pretty much nothing was open. Even if I were uploading photos right now, they would barely tell you anything--you'd have to be there at midnight to hear the horn on the ship blow four times, and then all the singing and dancing--christos anexi! (My Jewish friend and I said it to each other when the horn went off, it was hilarious...partially because we were half asleep.)
Umm...the beaches are nice, uncrowded affairs. I just found out that you can allegedly get crabs and other problems from Greek beaches and you should never use the same towel for the beach as you use for bathing...oh fuck. It's not too bad, though--the beach was pretty empty, which was nice; I finally went swimming!
I've missed salt water so much. Although it is incredibly annoying when the salt gets everywhere...and the water tastes spectacularly awful.
There are a lot of Italians on Naxos due to the Venetian occupation and all that; actually we went to a little Venetian museum in the old town (which is more than definitely worth a look). There's such a huge contrast between the whitewashed, pristine, tourist-friendly districts and the old town; it's entertaining.
Despite the disadvantages of going there Easter weekend, let me just say that if you like lamb, you are in for major treats. Seriously. They had whole lambs roasting on spits pretty much everywhere...it was kind of entertaining.
Don't drink the water!
Umm...the beaches are nice, uncrowded affairs. I just found out that you can allegedly get crabs and other problems from Greek beaches and you should never use the same towel for the beach as you use for bathing...oh fuck. It's not too bad, though--the beach was pretty empty, which was nice; I finally went swimming!
I've missed salt water so much. Although it is incredibly annoying when the salt gets everywhere...and the water tastes spectacularly awful.
There are a lot of Italians on Naxos due to the Venetian occupation and all that; actually we went to a little Venetian museum in the old town (which is more than definitely worth a look). There's such a huge contrast between the whitewashed, pristine, tourist-friendly districts and the old town; it's entertaining.
Despite the disadvantages of going there Easter weekend, let me just say that if you like lamb, you are in for major treats. Seriously. They had whole lambs roasting on spits pretty much everywhere...it was kind of entertaining.
Don't drink the water!
4.17.2009
Gnarly trees are coming back to life
The gnarly trees are—were—these kind of ugly trees that are planted all over the streets in neat little rows. Turns out that they magically sprout lots of little branches overnight and then go green. Of course, they’re not the only things coming back to life around here (it’s Orthodox Good Friday today and Easter is a huge deal—according to our Greek teacher, because the idea of rebirth in heaven is far more interesting to the Orthodox than just the birth of Christ; the celebration of Christmas in these parts is purely a Western import).
Thus ended the first three weeks of life in Greece, and the end marked the beginning of spring break…. I don’t know how to explain how excited I am about going to the islands. Especially Santorini—well, we never really did the tourist destination thing, since all our money went to India trips and also for a whole host of other reasons, including that my parents didn’t really see things like conventional Americans. But anyway, this is going to be so AWE-some! I demand snorkeling, in addition to ruins, museums, and inscriptions (ah, it’ll suck a little to not have anyone around to read anything to us…).
I have done a number of things here that are landmarks in the U.S. (hookah, wine with dinner, club, bought my own alcohol, hmm…I think that’s it). Makes one realize how stupid the age restrictions there are.
Everyone seems to either be going to or coming from church right now...they do have a noon service; well I didn't get too many funny looks, and I think most of them were what the hell is a chick with a laptop doing sitting on a bench near recycling bins. So far, a random old man (possibly a hobo) came over, looked at my screen, and left, and a couple of women said hello and I said happy Easter back.
I bought an egg from an old man at the farmers' market! It is red, hand-painted, and says "Happy Easter" (the other one had "Christ is Risen") on it in Greek. (I would put it here but it isn't letting me paste in Symbol font...how annoying.)
Thus ended the first three weeks of life in Greece, and the end marked the beginning of spring break…. I don’t know how to explain how excited I am about going to the islands. Especially Santorini—well, we never really did the tourist destination thing, since all our money went to India trips and also for a whole host of other reasons, including that my parents didn’t really see things like conventional Americans. But anyway, this is going to be so AWE-some! I demand snorkeling, in addition to ruins, museums, and inscriptions (ah, it’ll suck a little to not have anyone around to read anything to us…).
I have done a number of things here that are landmarks in the U.S. (hookah, wine with dinner, club, bought my own alcohol, hmm…I think that’s it). Makes one realize how stupid the age restrictions there are.
Everyone seems to either be going to or coming from church right now...they do have a noon service; well I didn't get too many funny looks, and I think most of them were what the hell is a chick with a laptop doing sitting on a bench near recycling bins. So far, a random old man (possibly a hobo) came over, looked at my screen, and left, and a couple of women said hello and I said happy Easter back.
I bought an egg from an old man at the farmers' market! It is red, hand-painted, and says "Happy Easter" (the other one had "Christ is Risen") on it in Greek. (I would put it here but it isn't letting me paste in Symbol font...how annoying.)
4.14.2009
Odds, Ends, and Good to Know
A bunch of stuff I’ve noticed but, as far as I remember, haven’t found any place for:
- Motorcyclists do not actually follow streetlights around here. I saw one run through a red that had been red for a while…so even with crosswalks, pedestrian safety isn’t a 100% guarantee.
- Tsippouro (or however you spell it) is DISGUSTING. Do NOT drink it, unless you’re looking for an über-vodka experience.
- Cats are awesome and everywhere, but run away when you get close to them.
- Dogs are also unfortunately everywhere and have this tendency to follow large groups of people, which seems okay until they meet another dog and start a fight.
- Bakeries are DELICIOUS. Frequently people around here don’t want to deal with giving you change—or maybe they’re just nice—so little discounts are quite possible. (Not to mention free vegetables at the farmers’ market! I had guilt about this, but it’s ruder to refuse.) The word beginning Arti… means they’ll have bread (I think) and Zaxar… means they’ll have sweets (for sure).
- Don’t provoke the hoodlums, and don’t let them follow you home. :O
- Expect anything…anything from a European club. Especially remixed American music.
- Kiosks…kiosks are good for quick stops and emergencies. Unfortunately, they aren’t good for non-chocolate candy (considering the smallness of our local supermarché, this is an actual issue; but, on the other hand, bakeries…).
- Pretty much nothing is open on Sundays.
- Rain…does not follow the same cues as it does in Chicago. On the other hand, maybe the trend of it raining whenever I don’t have my umbrella is continuing.
- Easter is a HUGE deal here. Way bigger than Christmas.
I will be in Naxos, Santorini, and then Crete from the 18th-26th. Maybe I’ll check my email during that time, but no Interwebs. (I don’t know how obvious it is, but I don’t really mind this complete lack of dependency on the affairs of people I’ve never met.)
- Motorcyclists do not actually follow streetlights around here. I saw one run through a red that had been red for a while…so even with crosswalks, pedestrian safety isn’t a 100% guarantee.
- Tsippouro (or however you spell it) is DISGUSTING. Do NOT drink it, unless you’re looking for an über-vodka experience.
- Cats are awesome and everywhere, but run away when you get close to them.
- Dogs are also unfortunately everywhere and have this tendency to follow large groups of people, which seems okay until they meet another dog and start a fight.
- Bakeries are DELICIOUS. Frequently people around here don’t want to deal with giving you change—or maybe they’re just nice—so little discounts are quite possible. (Not to mention free vegetables at the farmers’ market! I had guilt about this, but it’s ruder to refuse.) The word beginning Arti… means they’ll have bread (I think) and Zaxar… means they’ll have sweets (for sure).
- Don’t provoke the hoodlums, and don’t let them follow you home. :O
- Expect anything…anything from a European club. Especially remixed American music.
- Kiosks…kiosks are good for quick stops and emergencies. Unfortunately, they aren’t good for non-chocolate candy (considering the smallness of our local supermarché, this is an actual issue; but, on the other hand, bakeries…).
- Pretty much nothing is open on Sundays.
- Rain…does not follow the same cues as it does in Chicago. On the other hand, maybe the trend of it raining whenever I don’t have my umbrella is continuing.
- Easter is a HUGE deal here. Way bigger than Christmas.
I will be in Naxos, Santorini, and then Crete from the 18th-26th. Maybe I’ll check my email during that time, but no Interwebs. (I don’t know how obvious it is, but I don’t really mind this complete lack of dependency on the affairs of people I’ve never met.)
4.12.2009
Do-Nothing Sundays
It’s sort of funny that, until now, I believed that the smell from the flowers on the trees in the nicer, more residential streets was jasmine when, in fact, they were all orange blossoms—and I know perfectly well that jasmine doesn’t grow on trees. What does that say about the association of memory and smell? It’s said that smell is the longest-lasting type of memory, but considering how much we consider memory is fiction, perhaps this is a bad thing. Maybe it would be for the best if smells didn’t carry long-term associations…except, of course, for those ones connected with food. (Just had grilled-cheese sandwiches. Mmmm.)
Anyway, I’ve started taking random walks in directions I haven’t been. It seemed appropriate for a Sunday to stay in the shade and away from the noise…and the air did have such a pleasant odor, no matter what it was. (Actually, I really wanted to pick the oranges…did you know that there are green oranges? They were super-wrinkly, but I assume still unripe. I realized that I’d never seen one before.)
Anyway, I’ve started taking random walks in directions I haven’t been. It seemed appropriate for a Sunday to stay in the shade and away from the noise…and the air did have such a pleasant odor, no matter what it was. (Actually, I really wanted to pick the oranges…did you know that there are green oranges? They were super-wrinkly, but I assume still unripe. I realized that I’d never seen one before.)
4.10.2009
Goodbye Teens
Two whole decades. For other species, that's a full lifespan. But, thanks to certain social constructs in the U.S., it's barely the beginning....
I'm never quite sure on how to be all "hey dudes it be my birthday," but thankfully Facebook and my wonderful roommate covered that for me. So yeah.
Okay, I am a scientist and always concerned with technicalities...it's technically not until 8.24 a.m. on April 11th here...shut up, brain, shut up. At any rate, when I was little I was convinced that something good had to happen on this day simply because, well, why was it such a big deal otherwise? Obviously, I've gotten over that...sort of.
On the other hand, woot ten seconds good food party all around the end. It's not a giaaant deal.
I'm never quite sure on how to be all "hey dudes it be my birthday," but thankfully Facebook and my wonderful roommate covered that for me. So yeah.
Okay, I am a scientist and always concerned with technicalities...it's technically not until 8.24 a.m. on April 11th here...shut up, brain, shut up. At any rate, when I was little I was convinced that something good had to happen on this day simply because, well, why was it such a big deal otherwise? Obviously, I've gotten over that...sort of.
On the other hand, woot ten seconds good food party all around the end. It's not a giaaant deal.
4.09.2009
Bubble-gum gelato with marshmallows
Uh…wow, today was spectacularly eventless. It could have been more eventful, but I elected not to walk down a pile of steps for a) the usual reason and b) I pulled a muscle in the knee area, the theater walk sucked. (When I looked at it later, I realized there was swelling, so it's a good thing I decided not to go on that. HA.) Oh, right, something did happen there: a performance from members of our group was photographed by other tourists! And since it is excursion time for the Greek students (spring break, before Easter, before exams in May all combine to produce one massive load of middle- and high-schoolers who can say some pretty weird stuff occasionally), other groups were all ‘whoa dude’ or something along those lines.
But really, that’s about it.
But really, that’s about it.
4.08.2009
Chronological order.
Finally got around to having some local honey…although I have no idea if it’s the famed Attic honey or Argive honey (the latter makes so much more sense, considering the beehives dotting every hill, sometimes in between the orange groves). Yummy.
Visited Tiryns, which was allegedly Agamemnon’s co-seat. More Cyclopean walls, because that is just how the Myceneans roll. Interesting concrete floors, perhaps dating back as far as the mid-20th century C.E. …yeah, there wasn’t much there. All the good stuff is in the museums. Followed by Argos, which was moderately more interesting on account of being moderately more recent (Archaic, Classical and Roman)…stupid high-up theater, I need to stop following people up things. It didn’t seem like a good idea at the time, either…. But anyway, a little bit of performing, trying to drown out the din from the workers; there’s a special platform with better projections. Yep yep those ellipses. I hate calculus….
This was followed by a little sojourn in Argos itself, where I went to the farmers’ market and got free oranges. People are really nice about food here! And they will not take no for an answer (actually, that’s considered totally rude)! The Argives are a’ight. But of course you knew that already, if you’ve been keeping up with your Homer.
What else…the Argive Heraion, with a spectacular view of the Argive plain (insert picture here). There were goodtimes to be had on the top. I think it’s worthwhile fearing that you might be turned into a cow and chased all across Europe by a horsefly if you’re an attractive female up there, though. Just saying.
Oh yes, wine tasting: had some good Greek wines. Unfortunately, we ended the night with Tsippouro (I have no idea how to spell that), which was 120-proof and made me not want to have alcohol for the rest of the night. Aaargh. Also, there are some crazy varieties of goat cheese out there...the one we had there totally seemed like a mozzerella! (Did I misspell that? It looks wrong.)
Nafplion again. A number of us went to the sketchy little local carnival, which at 11 p.m. was of course mostly empty (there was one other large group of what I’m assuming were European tourists there). The grinding of mechanisms made the rides more scary than the actual movement—actually, I only went on the bumper cars, which were probably the safest thing there. You know how they double-check restraints at Six Flags? Yep, not so much here. Woot.
Visited Tiryns, which was allegedly Agamemnon’s co-seat. More Cyclopean walls, because that is just how the Myceneans roll. Interesting concrete floors, perhaps dating back as far as the mid-20th century C.E. …yeah, there wasn’t much there. All the good stuff is in the museums. Followed by Argos, which was moderately more interesting on account of being moderately more recent (Archaic, Classical and Roman)…stupid high-up theater, I need to stop following people up things. It didn’t seem like a good idea at the time, either…. But anyway, a little bit of performing, trying to drown out the din from the workers; there’s a special platform with better projections. Yep yep those ellipses. I hate calculus….
This was followed by a little sojourn in Argos itself, where I went to the farmers’ market and got free oranges. People are really nice about food here! And they will not take no for an answer (actually, that’s considered totally rude)! The Argives are a’ight. But of course you knew that already, if you’ve been keeping up with your Homer.
What else…the Argive Heraion, with a spectacular view of the Argive plain (insert picture here). There were goodtimes to be had on the top. I think it’s worthwhile fearing that you might be turned into a cow and chased all across Europe by a horsefly if you’re an attractive female up there, though. Just saying.
Oh yes, wine tasting: had some good Greek wines. Unfortunately, we ended the night with Tsippouro (I have no idea how to spell that), which was 120-proof and made me not want to have alcohol for the rest of the night. Aaargh. Also, there are some crazy varieties of goat cheese out there...the one we had there totally seemed like a mozzerella! (Did I misspell that? It looks wrong.)
Nafplion again. A number of us went to the sketchy little local carnival, which at 11 p.m. was of course mostly empty (there was one other large group of what I’m assuming were European tourists there). The grinding of mechanisms made the rides more scary than the actual movement—actually, I only went on the bumper cars, which were probably the safest thing there. You know how they double-check restraints at Six Flags? Yep, not so much here. Woot.
4.07.2009
Off to the Peloponnese we go
I have learned the value of always having my camera with me....
Went to Mycenae, saw the Lion's Gate and a bunch o' tombs with those awesome domed tops (guess what? I DON'T HAVE PICTURES blaaaargh), although quite frankly it is stupid to name them after Aegisthus, Clytemnestra, and Atreus. Especially on the first one....
Not much else today, had gelato at a fabulous Italian place (made in part fabulous by how happy and awesome the dude was)--Antiqua Gelateria di Roma, if you're ever in Nafplion you should give it a visit. I would have something to say about Attica, but I slept through it (two hours from Athens to Corinth, so yeah)...the Peloponnese is a series of plains (we were on the Argive plain) surrounded by mountains, it's actually fertile. Unlike rocky Attica. So many orange trees; I love them orange trees. And beehives. (There are a ridiculous amount of bees around here. Also cool lizards.)
Saw "House MD" with Greek subtitles. Learned a couple of words, and suddenly realized that I technically don't have a television (it doesn't actually matter, but still).
Went to Mycenae, saw the Lion's Gate and a bunch o' tombs with those awesome domed tops (guess what? I DON'T HAVE PICTURES blaaaargh), although quite frankly it is stupid to name them after Aegisthus, Clytemnestra, and Atreus. Especially on the first one....
Not much else today, had gelato at a fabulous Italian place (made in part fabulous by how happy and awesome the dude was)--Antiqua Gelateria di Roma, if you're ever in Nafplion you should give it a visit. I would have something to say about Attica, but I slept through it (two hours from Athens to Corinth, so yeah)...the Peloponnese is a series of plains (we were on the Argive plain) surrounded by mountains, it's actually fertile. Unlike rocky Attica. So many orange trees; I love them orange trees. And beehives. (There are a ridiculous amount of bees around here. Also cool lizards.)
Saw "House MD" with Greek subtitles. Learned a couple of words, and suddenly realized that I technically don't have a television (it doesn't actually matter, but still).
4.05.2009
Oh, Rainy Day
First experience of rain in Greece, and I don’t just mean a weak shitty drizzle, although of course it still had nothing on the torrential downpours of Chicago. We went to the Epigraphical Museum (sadly enough, three whole groups—including ours—was the equivalent of crowded); but really, I do enjoy trying to read Attic Greek and the occasional word or name I understand. It was pretty cool to see the original tablet with Themistocles’ motion to have the Athenians relocate in 480! Themistocles is totally my favorite Greek dude. (I also have a favorite Founding Father, cortical layer, and immune cell; although there are far too many Brodmann’s areas for me to just pick one. So there; I’m not a selective nerd...and I did major in biology for a reason; although these days the career thing seems…).
But anyway. Also visited the National Museum for a little bit; as Sundays are a free day it was totally crowded, and of course there are only so many vases you can see before the whole thing gets kind of boring. We did have a fun little moment of forensic examination, though; and the shiny and weapons (sadly rusted, of course…silly bronze…) were goodtimes. The Museum café is exorbitantly priced; go across the street. They’ve got sweet crepes, pizza (although the Greek type, with just feta, isn’t quite the same; still tasty, though), and other yums.
Doing my laundry. Living in India for little periods of time over an eight-year period (not quite as often as it sounds, of course) has evidently convinced me that this is peasant’s work. Of course, anything that builds the upper body and wrecks smooth lily-white hands is peasants’ work. But anyway, not enjoying it…even if it’s easier than dragging that shit two blocks to the Laundromat. Must…think…cheap….
…I really want ice cream. It seems to be a persistent hunger. Mmmmm…. (I’m also dreadfully hungry; it’s six o’ clock and they eat dinner here at earliest 8 p.m., but since the restaurants open then it’s a good habit to adopt.)
But anyway. Also visited the National Museum for a little bit; as Sundays are a free day it was totally crowded, and of course there are only so many vases you can see before the whole thing gets kind of boring. We did have a fun little moment of forensic examination, though; and the shiny and weapons (sadly rusted, of course…silly bronze…) were goodtimes. The Museum café is exorbitantly priced; go across the street. They’ve got sweet crepes, pizza (although the Greek type, with just feta, isn’t quite the same; still tasty, though), and other yums.
Doing my laundry. Living in India for little periods of time over an eight-year period (not quite as often as it sounds, of course) has evidently convinced me that this is peasant’s work. Of course, anything that builds the upper body and wrecks smooth lily-white hands is peasants’ work. But anyway, not enjoying it…even if it’s easier than dragging that shit two blocks to the Laundromat. Must…think…cheap….
…I really want ice cream. It seems to be a persistent hunger. Mmmmm…. (I’m also dreadfully hungry; it’s six o’ clock and they eat dinner here at earliest 8 p.m., but since the restaurants open then it’s a good habit to adopt.)
4.04.2009
Cloudy skies don't last long
We went and climbed half a freakin’ mountain all the way to Kessariani Monastery, which has some famous mosaics (including this one of Christ Pantokrator—All-Powerful—that we discussed in my stupidArtHistory class)…only to find that the place was closed for renovation and that they were, in fact, building a new place. We did see a lovely little cave filled with icons that was the Chapel of Ascension, though, as well as many botanical things and even a donkey (okay, yeah…I seen—and smelt—enough of those for a bunch o’ lifetimes); but anyway, we—I—basically climbed a mountain for the view from the top. This sounds totally nice, but I, well, get vertigo looking over edges…so really the hike was like, hey if I do this I get to eat cake! All the cake I want! (I had TWO ice cream cones today. Mango sorbet and some sort of chocolate fondante thing, both gelato. Mmmmm.)
Okay, yeah—we also went to this pretty nice although comparatively small (funny story: from the side, I thought Kessariani was tiny but it’s actually huge) monastery called Asteriou, lovely though sadly destroyed chapel. 10th and 11th century buildings with a rebuilt chapel from the 16th century…although the original had obviously been covered entirely in images, most of them were unfortunately cracked, faded, or missing, although there were—I find this interesting and unusual—simple geometric patterns in a few places. Shame about the state of the thing, but it was nice. Not the usual touristy destination. The Greeks also, from what I hear, have this tradition of bringing sweets to out-of-the-way monasteries and giving them out, so I had a pretty good ginger cookie thing (which is good to know that they’re good, because I’ve seen them at the supermarché a whole bunch of times). Greeks are awesome about food. Just BTW. Of course also bla blah awesome view of city…like I said though, I was really contemplating the long fall down. I swear this isn’t a completely irrational fear!
The funny thing was how we took a bunch of paths around Kessariani…it was like trying to get to Sweden in Catch-22, where it’s something they’re always talking about but they never actually do. We walked the botanical path (which went by the Chapel) and the professor with us got directions from a man out tending things (which I guess is a pretty traditional monastery thing to do? The priest/monk dude at Asteriou had a ceramic, painted watering pot and the herb garden was right inside), so it turned out we’d walked right by the monastery a couple of times and assumed that that couldn’t have been it because a) it was closed and b) looked small (okay, the latter may have just been me). Did you know the forest on the way there is called the “Aesthetic Forest”? (I got that wrong, too; it seemed too awesome/ridiculous to be true.)
Oh, and we also watched this horrible, hilarious British Robin Hood thing with Greek subtitles that one of us got with a Greek newspaper. Seriously. I am very unclear on how the Brits decide on making these things…at the end of one episode, they were all in Nottingham, and in the next, they’re magically in the “Holy Land,” of course in time to save King Richard, bla blah, the ending involved Robin of Loxley being made regent in England. WTF.
But anyway. OW. In the words of Mr. Slave, “Jethuth Chritht.”
Okay, yeah—we also went to this pretty nice although comparatively small (funny story: from the side, I thought Kessariani was tiny but it’s actually huge) monastery called Asteriou, lovely though sadly destroyed chapel. 10th and 11th century buildings with a rebuilt chapel from the 16th century…although the original had obviously been covered entirely in images, most of them were unfortunately cracked, faded, or missing, although there were—I find this interesting and unusual—simple geometric patterns in a few places. Shame about the state of the thing, but it was nice. Not the usual touristy destination. The Greeks also, from what I hear, have this tradition of bringing sweets to out-of-the-way monasteries and giving them out, so I had a pretty good ginger cookie thing (which is good to know that they’re good, because I’ve seen them at the supermarché a whole bunch of times). Greeks are awesome about food. Just BTW. Of course also bla blah awesome view of city…like I said though, I was really contemplating the long fall down. I swear this isn’t a completely irrational fear!
The funny thing was how we took a bunch of paths around Kessariani…it was like trying to get to Sweden in Catch-22, where it’s something they’re always talking about but they never actually do. We walked the botanical path (which went by the Chapel) and the professor with us got directions from a man out tending things (which I guess is a pretty traditional monastery thing to do? The priest/monk dude at Asteriou had a ceramic, painted watering pot and the herb garden was right inside), so it turned out we’d walked right by the monastery a couple of times and assumed that that couldn’t have been it because a) it was closed and b) looked small (okay, the latter may have just been me). Did you know the forest on the way there is called the “Aesthetic Forest”? (I got that wrong, too; it seemed too awesome/ridiculous to be true.)
Oh, and we also watched this horrible, hilarious British Robin Hood thing with Greek subtitles that one of us got with a Greek newspaper. Seriously. I am very unclear on how the Brits decide on making these things…at the end of one episode, they were all in Nottingham, and in the next, they’re magically in the “Holy Land,” of course in time to save King Richard, bla blah, the ending involved Robin of Loxley being made regent in England. WTF.
But anyway. OW. In the words of Mr. Slave, “Jethuth Chritht.”
4.03.2009
Split-Level Temple and Oh, That Thing
We finally climbed the Acropolis—good thing, by this point I’d only gotten 18 different angles of the thing (mostly of the Parthenon, of course); oh noes, we didn’t visit the 2nd-century (C.E.) Odeion of Herodes Atticus! And I so wanted to see it by daylight, too.
But anyway, good stuff—you have to go there real early in the hopes of avoiding tourists; I somehow managed to get at least one clean shot of the Erechtheion (which by the way has the most amazing door…this is another point where I should definitely add some photos) and even the Parthenon; all the way around, unfortunately it’s covered in a fair amount of scaffolding and is, of course, rather destroyed. I’ve noticed that an excuse for the marbles as well as a Caryatid from the Erechtheion to remain at the British Museum is that they’re so well-preserved there…well, at the least, how about some damn replicas?? I guess it would be a bit ruinous to see the Parthenon half in its original, stained marble and half in brand new white, but I do want to see it complete. Guess I’ll have to go to Tennessee after all…and here I was, all planning to basically never go to the South (the Midwest is bad enough, as far as boredom’s concerned).
Umm…one point about the Acropolis: walk around it! And also realize that the Parthenon is not the only monument on it! We saw the sacred caves of Pan (which had some pretty deep passages), Zeus, and Apollo, as well as a shrine to Aphrodite and Eros where neo-pagans (whom I hear are now acknowledged by the Greek government) have been leaving tea candles, that sort of thing. Oh, and some neat walls from the Turkish period; a view of the top; the theatre of Dionysus below—even the lift for handicapped to the top; the mechanism next to the stair looked like a piece of modern art (and, of course, could easily be called so…god I hate modern art, even when I understand the motives behind it). The one frustration was that we had to backtrack at one point as the exit was closed.
So yeah, good stuff. Please note that I’ve finally done the one thing that’s been expected of me in Athens.
But anyway, good stuff—you have to go there real early in the hopes of avoiding tourists; I somehow managed to get at least one clean shot of the Erechtheion (which by the way has the most amazing door…this is another point where I should definitely add some photos) and even the Parthenon; all the way around, unfortunately it’s covered in a fair amount of scaffolding and is, of course, rather destroyed. I’ve noticed that an excuse for the marbles as well as a Caryatid from the Erechtheion to remain at the British Museum is that they’re so well-preserved there…well, at the least, how about some damn replicas?? I guess it would be a bit ruinous to see the Parthenon half in its original, stained marble and half in brand new white, but I do want to see it complete. Guess I’ll have to go to Tennessee after all…and here I was, all planning to basically never go to the South (the Midwest is bad enough, as far as boredom’s concerned).
Umm…one point about the Acropolis: walk around it! And also realize that the Parthenon is not the only monument on it! We saw the sacred caves of Pan (which had some pretty deep passages), Zeus, and Apollo, as well as a shrine to Aphrodite and Eros where neo-pagans (whom I hear are now acknowledged by the Greek government) have been leaving tea candles, that sort of thing. Oh, and some neat walls from the Turkish period; a view of the top; the theatre of Dionysus below—even the lift for handicapped to the top; the mechanism next to the stair looked like a piece of modern art (and, of course, could easily be called so…god I hate modern art, even when I understand the motives behind it). The one frustration was that we had to backtrack at one point as the exit was closed.
So yeah, good stuff. Please note that I’ve finally done the one thing that’s been expected of me in Athens.
4.01.2009
Stoa are really big.
Went to Euboia, which involved taking a ferry from Oropus and then over to Eretria; definitely did not expect the entire bus to roll onto the ferry, and the ride was incredibly smooth, in part because the ferry has a giant ramp that’s lowered instead of straight-up docking (which is probably kind of necessary for all the cars to get off). Funny story: we technically went back in time an hour for that trip as they don’t observe Daylight Savings on the island(s). Our lunch break was made more entertaining by the fact that we were sitting right outside a school, which shortly thereafter had its recess. A bunch of kids swarmed around, talked to us; the funniest was a bit later, when a kid screamed “This is Eretria! Welcome!”—the humor being that, yeah, we’re totally clear on where we were. Anyway, they were cool, and it was nice to see a playground where, you know, it isn’t illegal for kids to throw things or, indeed, to have competitions.
Note to self: don’t go climbing things if you haven’t planned how you’re going to get back down. I hate heights. And rock. And slippery damn lichen.
The weather here continues to be unfortunately cloudy and a bit muggy (although less so than previous days, owing to a sudden chill…naturally on the day that I chose not to bring my jacket; the ferry ride was unpleasant due to numb fingers and ears). I hope the south winds give up soon…well, maybe this is the tail end of things. We’re hoping for a nice weekend, we want to visit an island. It's already improving, actually, but still a bit humid.
Note to self: don’t go climbing things if you haven’t planned how you’re going to get back down. I hate heights. And rock. And slippery damn lichen.
The weather here continues to be unfortunately cloudy and a bit muggy (although less so than previous days, owing to a sudden chill…naturally on the day that I chose not to bring my jacket; the ferry ride was unpleasant due to numb fingers and ears). I hope the south winds give up soon…well, maybe this is the tail end of things. We’re hoping for a nice weekend, we want to visit an island. It's already improving, actually, but still a bit humid.
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