Athens, Greece

greece- return of the heliophobe. part 1: athens.

i haven't exactly recovered from greek exhaustion.. still reeling from the combined effects of lack of sleep on the night ferry, an-immediate-back-to-work five hour schedule and disturbing racket caused by drunk folks at the residence last night.

but updates must be done as promised.. heh heh.. we arrived at athens in the afternoon (after a two hour flight delay- thanks to sterling) to glaring sunshine, blistering heat and a temperature that was double that of copenhagen. oh yea, there really isn't a need for a second reminder that summer has arrived. we hopped right into a taxi, checked into our hotel, dumped our bags and visited the monastiraki flea market.

the monastiraki flea market is a haven for bargain hunters. dozens and dozens of shops lined the cramp alleys and with less than credible navigation skills, we often found ourselves walking through the same alleys.. most of the shop proprietors consider it their utmost duty to throw and hawk their merchandise at you and you really should sharpen your haggling skills before visiting monastiraki.



of course we visited the acropolis. the acropolis to athens is like great wall to beijing and sistine chapel to vatican city. unfortuantely, there was some sort of restoration going on so most of the park had unphotogenic metal stands and cranes. despite so, the acropolis was pretty darn amazing.. well we are talking about remains of millenium-old civilation!

however 'remains' is perhaps the most apt and concise way of describing the acropolis. most of the architecture bore signs of intense weathering and i would not be surprised if a fair bit of significant statues found final resting grounds in the basements of musuems worlwide.



of course we found time for candid shots! and this is my 'honey, i knocked over a pillar' shot..



though i am a big city girl, athens proved to be a little too industralised for my liking. oh did i mention how rabied the men can get? i think the term 'getting hit on' is an understatement since we had marriage proposals thrown our way.. urgh. they are totally unbashed, utterly forward and resistably shameless.. haha..

despite so, i am still glad i made it to athens!