On boxing day, as many of you already know, I headed off to Greece on my first venture away from my new home... alone!
My decision to head to Greece all begins back in University....
(cue starry daydream music please)
I was sitting in my room studying my Ancient Greek History textbook when I came across a page in my book. It was a picture of the Lions Gate entrance to Agamemnon's Castle in Mycenae. The castle is just a palace complex today, basically ancient ruins that map out the home of a king from ancient times. But this stuff fascinated me in University. I dreamed of visiting all of the sites and ruins that I studied in school.
December 26th. 6 months out of University. 1 year since I first took an Ancient Greek Course.
2:30am a nice cab driver is knocking on the front door of my Eastern Avenue home. I look at the time... He's actually 10min early! I grab my bag and jump in the cab... 71 pounds cash in my pocket for the ridiculously over-priced cab ride to the airport - so much for the season of giving!
I soon land in Athens Greece. I have to find the metro to get to my Athens Backpacker's Hostel. I think I have checked my directions and mini downloaded map about 20 times since the night before I left. I am a little nervous that I will not find my way. Luckily there are english translations with the signs and really good pictures (to really dumb it down for ya!) and I soon found myself standing on the metro... staring at a metro map that told me ALL the routes the metro could possibly take... I had to try and figure out if I was on the blue metro headed to Syntagma Square. I look over and see a couple sitting on seats near by. I remember my terrible attempt at conversing in Spain, so I really try hard to be clear.
"Excuse me?" I ask in a clear and audible tone. The couple acknowledges me. I point at the blue line on the map. "Blue to Syntagma Square" I slowly draw out. The couple smiles and replies in a very clear American accent "You got the right one". Now I feel dumb. Not only have I assumed this couple doesn't speak english, but I haven't represented my own english speaking skills very well at this point!
"I wasn't expecting that!" I laugh. "We could tell," the couple laughs in reply. They turned out to be from San Diego and were very friendly to chat with! Already making friends.
I step off the metro and walk up out of the station, I look out at the small street that I have stepped onto and instantly think "I am in Greece!" and so far it's exactly as I expected! I quickly find my hostel, check in and ditch my bag. Time to explore!
My hostel was right on the Athens Great Walk. Here I am strolling along, prepared for a good trek, searching out different sites when all of a sudden BAM! The Parthenon is perched upon this huge hill overlooking the Athens Great Walk (a street) I am standing on. That wasn't hard at all! I was right beside the Acropolis! I soon discover that all around the city of Athens there are ruins, ancient buildings and beautiful parks that you could easily lose yourself in for hours! I climbed upon a huge rock to get a better look of the city of Athens... IT IS PACKED! There are buildings upon buildings and I knew there were people upon people walking through those streets. The only difference is it's small buildings, not tall skyscrapers. So you could see the green hills and mountains from everywhere you looked. It was quite beautiful.
I continued to wander into the night and as I made my way back to the hostel I noticed a shining light up ahead of my street. So I detoured to see what it was. Well it was a busy street full of cars and traffic lights. Woop dee do. But then I noticed people were taking pictures across the street. I crossed and found the Temple of Zeus! I keep wandering, figure out how to cross the street safely, and find the National Gardens and Parliament buildings all light up. The way that the buildings and ruins were lit up at night made you feel so insignificant beside such massive buildings.
6am Dec 27. Ew. Time to wake up. My tour bus was to pick me up in 1 hour. I ate the free hostel breakfast - toast and jam - and headed out to my meeting place. Eventually I made it on to my bus. I look around. Hm... I appear to be the only one travelling solo on this bus trip. And I appear to be the only one that isn't married with kids!!! But I didn't let this deter me. I am in Greece and I am here to see what I have always dreamed of seeing.
EPIDAURUS and MYCENAE here I come!
1ST STOP: Epidaurus. Here is one of the oldest theatres recovered under a tonne of mud and earth. It is a natural theatre that is built into the side of a hill. The acoustics are the best in the world and it is a place where the sick would visit to cheer them up. As I walked to the top of the stone seating area someone on my tour began to sing down below. It literally sounded like he was standing right beside me! He was all the way down below me and I swore he was singing in my ear! Amazing!
Mycenae. The supposed Tholus tomb of King Agamemnon. We went inside the tomb - robbed centuries ago - and stared at the huge beehive-like ceiling that has been built into the hill.... Greeks really like building things into hills around here!!
Then it was across the way to King Agamemnon's Palace Complex (castle). We walk up a hill and begin to enter. This is where the Lion's Gate is found. I got my camera out and tried my best to get a picture free from tourists... not an easy task! When I finally snapped my photo - and looked at it to make sure it was a keeper - I realized where I was. It was at this moment that it had actually sunk in where I was. No longer was I staring at the page of a textbook dreaming, I was doing. I was there. I did it! I made it to a place where I had thought I might never make it to! My smile was so big it hurt my face and I raced ahead of the group to search out the rest of the things I learned about when in University.
NOTE: AT THIS POINT I AM NOTICING THAT EVERYONE ELSE IS BEING GIVEN A TICKET INTO THE ARCHEALOGICAL SITES BUT ME....
Olympia. We spend our first night here in the Amalia Hotel. 5 star... According to who? The lobby had the looks of a 5 star hotel... but as I excitedly put my key into the door and opened it I was quickly dragged back to my bedroom in Eastern avenue. 2 SINGLE BEDS!! Oh well
7:30am wake up call. Brutal. I make my way to the restraunt for breakfast. I find a new family to make friends with. I had to quickly get over feeling intrusive in all the families vacations and sit down at their tables. It was either don't talk for 4 days or make friends with these wholesome bunch... We all know I can't go without speaking for 4 whole days! And the families were all quite interesting! AND FROM CANADA, USA AND LONDON! Wow, talk about a diverse bunch... I am currently rolling my eyes. BUT: One family had been living abroad for 7 years. Another moved from Pakistan to London. A couple moved from China to live in Califonia. Another family was from Calgary Alberta! Imagine our suprise when we got to talking!!
Time to leave. I hand in my key to the man at the front desk and he passes a red flower over the counter to me. Note: I have not said a word to this man. "For my beautiful Canadian Girl" He smiles. "Thank you very much" I smile and take the flower. He continues to ask me where in Canada I am from and tells me that Canadians are so much different than Americans, we are polite and much nicer. I thank him, smile and head on my way. Then I stop to think.... How did that man know I was Canadian? I never once spoke to him while I was at the hotel, let alone when I returned my key... I had a stalker at the hotel. But luckily I am alive to tell the story!!
Dec 28. Olympia. This is where the first Olympic games were held. I stood on the ...ahem 2nd ahem.... race track built for the Olympic athletes. I walked through Zeus' Olympic temple and his wife Hera's. I stood in the old ruins of the gymnasium where the athletes would practice. A whole small village type area tucked away from everything sitting at the bottom of Mt.Cronus... found under layers and layers of mud and silt. So deep it would bury half of my house I live in... amazing to think an entire world was trapped underneath the very ground people were walking on! My tour guide as described Olympia as a place that is reaching up to the Gods because it is so serene tucked away at the bottom of Mt.Cronus.
REMEMBER HOW I NOTICED I WASN'T BEING GIVEN A TICKET INTO THE SITES?
AT THIS POINT I DECIDE TO INQUIRE
"Excuse me, is there a reason I don't get a ticket?" I ask.
"Yes, you are very young" My guide answers.
"Oh. Ok" I say and then continue out of curiousity "Can I ask how young?"
"Younger than 18" my guide states.
"I am 24" I laugh.
My tour guide basically scoots away at this point! I think she was embarassed! The group began to laugh and tell me I am lucky that I still look so youthful. I laugh too, but then start to think:
1. I could have got a student discount!!
2. What kind of parents does she think I have letting me go to Greece alone at such a 'young' age?
3. I will never meet a man if I look 16 - I have found the source to my problem!!
A long drive to Delphi. A beautiful drive along the Aegean Sea. I would love to see it in the summer time.
We spend the night in Delphi. One of the places I always wanted to see! I wandered the new town of Delphi. It is a terraced town so all the streets only go one way. In order to go the other direction you have to get on to the street above or below.... really cool place built into the mountain. Once again a 5 star lobby. At least I got a double bed in this hotel (which was really 2 singles pushed together!!).
Dec. 29. Delphi. Flanked by Mount Parnassus. A whole city once (as is the trend) buried in mud and rocks. A place where people from all over the world would visit in ancient times. Delphi - The Navel of the Earth. I even got my picture taken next to Delphi's bellybutton!! ha ha. This place was awesome. It is a voyage uphill that people would take a voyage of mind, soul and body. The beginning of the ancient city was full of shops and things to fill your mind. The middle was where people from everywhere would come to visit the pythia - what we would call a present day psychic - they would come to cleanse and ease thier soul from burning questions that the pythia would answer.(basically some woman high off of gaseous fumes would babble and give ambiguous answers to the people... no different to today's psychics really!!)
We found the entrance way in the side of the mountain where people would visit the pythia. One man on the tour yells at me "Katie, come on lets go inside." I lean in for a closer look... not only is this just a hole in the side of the mountain but it's an ancient ruin... KEY WORD: RUIN... meaning unstable and OLD! There was no way I was crawling into that rickety old hole with him! "You're crazy! I'm not going in there!!" I laugh. He gets part of the way in and crawls back out... turns out the hole gets much smaller as you begin to get further in. I simply take a photo near the hole. Much more sensible.
I am dropped off in Delphi because the rest of the people are on a 4 day tour and they are continuing on thier way. So I shop around in Delphi. I buy a bottle of Ouzo!!
Dec. 30. Athens on my last day.
I see the Parthenon for free, Socrates prison and find all kinds of wonderful things I wasn't expecting! Ancient roads, Churches, small streets filled with shops and small homes!
At one point I found myself in a very crowded street where people were basically selling random crap. I knew I was in a place where tourists normally wouldnt be, so decided to try and escape the packed street. This proved very difficult. At one point I swear a man was trying to sell me my own left shoe - that's how random this market was!! Old wires, naked Barbie dolls, cd's, used shoes... anything and everything!
Finally I said goodbye to Athens Greece and caught my flight home.
This is definitely a trip I will never forget. Not only did I see somewhere new in the world, but I followed a dream that I had. I guess not too many people are able to do that.
Follow the dream... I guess in this case I did.
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