Grecian Formulas

It’s brain dead arrival day, so apologies up front if this isn’t coherent, but at the moment we are waiting for the sun to set so we can see the Acropolis lit up at night. In the realm of the banal, the flight was a non-event. I did call the “chicken or pasta” selection for us rubes in coach the night before the flight Guess wthat? it will be the same on the way home. (Memo to U.S. Air, OK, we’re the peons on the plane, but for $2,200 r/t for two you could maybe vary the menu once in a while. We know chicken is cheap, but a smidgen of variety wouldn’t kill you.)

Athens first impression is that we came expecting chaos, given all the to-do over Greece’s debt, but we found a surprisingly calm city. After the ‘what time zone are we in’ beer at 11 a.m plus lunch (after chicken or pasta on the plane, you need an early lunch) followed by nap, we were good to go. Off to the Acropolis, which you would think would be fairly easy to locate given you see it from just about everywhere in the city. Let’s just say the signage to the entrances isn’t plentiful, but we kept the circles to a minimum. We hired a guide to take us around the site figuring it was too much of a challenge to navigate on our own with a guide book and no sleep.

Our hotel fronting the city”s farmer’s market was an an experience. Navigating tthe stalls with luggage is a bit different but the Athens Center Square Hotel isn’t badly situated. Close to the old city Plaka neighborhood and just down from souvlaki row, what’s better than that?