June 11, 2011
Full day yesterday! Set the alarm, but didn't get to the Parthenon as planned at 8 - closer to 9am. However, still it made a difference- not really too crowded and not too hot. I have run into someone I know on every trip I've ever taken and I was sure the Parthenon would be the place on this trip - nope. It was an international crowd plus bored looking Greek school kids on field trips all wearing the same color t-shirt.
The view from the Acropolis is astounding - those Mycenaeans (1400 BC) really knew military "feng shui." We just came from the Pelopponese where we saw several mountain top citadels, including Mycenae. Even the ancients could not figure out how the builders moved those megaton stones into place.
Anyway, nowadays you can still see far into the Aegean Sea from the Acropolis but directly below is the sprawl of Athens. One third of Greeks live here.
If most of the friezes and high relief sculptured figures were damaged by time, looting, and war fare, how is it that we know what the Parthenon looked like? Well, we can thank Pausanias, 2nd Century AD Greek tourist who wrote descriptions and TWO artists from the 1600's who drew them before they were destroyed. So, here's a toast to travel writers and artists!!Yamas!
We went for lunch at a little funky place behind the Acropolis Museum. We were having a Rick Steves day, reading his acropolis info on my Kindle. Following his advice, we went to a hole in the wall, which was "lacking in tourists." We loved it - there was a "broad" in charge: dressed in a tight black, knee-length dress which showed off her large belly. She put the cig down to cut us a sample piece of pork off the grill (we were hooked after that), but the rest of the time her cigarette was hanging from her lips. She was a no nonsense kind of person - no gratuitous smiles. good, cheap food, and a great view of the modern museum and the acropolis behind it.
The museum did not allow photos - so I can only tell you about the MOST amazing thing - the pediment of the OLD Parthenon (7th-6th century, BC) - the one that the Parthenon that we now see replaced. . ASTOUNDINGLY, it is still has paint on it so you can understand better what it looked like in those days: the scene of two lions attaching a black bull still has black and red paint. The Athenians buried the figures (which preserved the pigment) when they decided to build a new Parthenon @ 450 BC.
And the Acropolis museum gets BIG, BIG points for a few things:
- "Archeologist to the rescue!" (my term) If you have a question, ask any security guard and he will whisper into his lapel and, voila! An archeologist with a big red badge will come running.
- Glass floors through which you can see archeologists at work underneath the museum where (naturally) they discovered an entire ancient neighborhood when they broke ground for the modern museum.
I made spaghetti for dinner and then we walked up to the Amphitheater just a few blocks from here which hosts Greek Folk Dance performances 5 night a week. Great musicians, a blind singer with a melodious voice and a large troupe of young people decked out in lovely village costumes made the evening below the waxing moon very pleasant. Those villagers really knew how to dress! Although the dances were from all over Greece, there were certain similarities - line dancing, the use of the handkerchief, the male dancer bending low and kicking high.
After it was over, we walked back through Melina Mercuri square - a tiny square with a little fountain and greenery and benches on the inside perimeter. It is surrounded by tavernas, bars, snack bars, and on the square on the sidewalks (outside of the greenery perimeter) each establishment had placed tables. At first we arrived and noticed it was quiet but that all the benches were occupied with small groups of friends. We sat for a while and enjoyed watching a husky and a black spaniel play. Then we decided to get a drink - and walked around the square - NOT A SINGLE TABLE WAS FREE. Greeks of all ages from the neighborhood were at the square, quietly talking and having a late dinner or drink.
So, staying in a neighborhood instead of a hotel zone is so much more interesting. Right now, the sounds of accordion music and singing canaries are floating through our open windows. A truck with a loudspeaker is driving by - probably a produce vendor if Athens is like other places in Greece. We are next door to an Orthodox church which rings the bells at various times during the day.
A few days ago we were starving and very tired after a long HOT day of walking around Athens. Our petite red-headed French landlady had told us about a restaurant close to the flat. It was poorly marked with a hand lettered sign, but we walked into a narrow passage way that opened into a courtyard filled with tables, bougavillea and wine barrels. It was empty - just one couple and an older woman who motioned for us to sit down. We sat for a good long time,getting the blatant cold shoulder from the elderly waitress. Finally, the woman (probably the owner) got up from her table and brought us a menu = it was Greek to me!! I CAN read Greek now, but like a 2nd grader, sounding out each letter, but that doesn't mean I recognize the words once I have sounded them out! You may find this hard to believe, but this is the first time we have eaten in a restaurant without a Greek/English menu. It was truly a humble, neighborhood taverna.
More time elapsed and finally, the young man enjoying dinner with his girlfriend reluctantly offered to help us. First, he explained that we were too early. It was 7:30 pm - they only open for dinner, i.e., 8:30 pm. Therefore, most items on the menu were not ready. When the waitress realized we had not intentionally committed this OBVIOUS dinnertime faux pas, she put her apron on and suddenly got into character. She was all smiles and had two English words: thank you and OK. The rest was easy.
