Only in Greece

Athens reminds me a lot of New York City; rude, pushy people, no traffic laws, and aggressive homeless. Growing up in a small town in Pennsylvania and even in Leuven, I’ve never been exposed to these types of things that are characteristic of a large city. It was definitely an interesting experience. I already talked about my adventures getting to Greece, so let’s go on to the rest of my trip.

Thursday was my first day to really explore Greece. So after I woke up from my first good night’s sleep in three (drie in Dutch) weeks, I let my family show me around Athens a little. We walked the ten zillion miles to the open market, passing the Olympic Stadium, the National Gardens, and a whole lot of scary Greek politie. As we walked by the National Gardens, my mom told me that the day before, my dad had decided to take charge and take my family to the National Gardens. As they were walking through the gardens, my mom, a professional garden designer and complete snob, couldn’t help but criticize. “Um, Dan, I don’t know if we’re in the right garden . . . It smells like dog crap. Like really bad.” My poor dad tried to defend himself for a few minutes, until my youngest sister pointed out a sign that said “Athens Dog Park”. Needless to say, that was the last time my dad was allowed to lead the pack.

I was shocked at the number of homeless people that lined the streets, some of them just children. At one point, I saw a group of four kids playing the accordion and tambourine along the side of the shopping street. It was really sad to see that and acknowledge the fact that there are some people who are really down on their luck, and begging is the only way for them to survive. There were also some very aggressive people. One woman walked up to my sisters and handed them each a rose. Then she hounded my mom for payment for the flowers, repeating “mama” and touching her lips. My mom gave her what spare change she had on her, and when the woman complained, politely handed back the flowers and walked away. There were also stray cats and dogs everywhere, minding their own business and sleeping on the sidewalk. Clare made eye-contact with one of the dogs, and it followed us almost all the way home. Alleyah named him Ruffles, and I think she would have tried to sneak him up into the apartment if my mom didn't shoo him away. 

As I’m sure everyone has heard, there have been some issues in Greece. Walking along the sidewalk, we saw an armed officer every few feet. The politie themselves weren’t too intimidating, but the massive weapons they were casually holding were terrifying. There were large trucks filled with officers, and they all held the clear riot shields, protecting the city from the protesters. Luckily, there were no problems while we were there, and my dad reassured us that the worst was over. That didn't stop me from convincing my sister that the rioters were after American girls named Alaza. Don’t judge, it’s part of the job requirements of being the older sister. Gotta keep them in line!

We finally made it to the outdoor market, where we lasted for about .5 seconds before Alaza was bored and tired and hungry and cold and just wanted to go home “because I have to talk to my man! My man misses me! He has to tell me all about Elizabethtown and what’s happening there and I have to rush home from touring Greece so I can sit in the apartment by my computer.” (I know, judging, and I know, I can’t do that because I was just like that when I was her age. Didn't take advantage of the opportunities presented to me, just focused on my own little world of myspace and the SIMS and the internet.)

We stopped at McDonalds so that the youngest two could eat their American food, and then Clare, my mom, my dad and I went to a gyro place across the street from our apartment. The tzatziki sauce was fantastic. It’s always my favorite part of the gyro, the delicious cucumber sauce. The gyro was pretty good too, but it was an odd mixture of pork and other meats, instead of just lamb. Gyros are my favorite Greek food, so I was glad to be able to have one in Greece, even if it wasn’t completely perfect. The meat was cut from a large, turning triangular slab, so that was pretty cool. It’s all about the experience, and I got to eat an authentic Greek gyro. The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful, with us just snacking on the most delicious humus and olives I’ve ever tasted. The point of our Greece vacation was to just relax, and that’s what we did. I knew that I still had plenty of time for touristy things, and I just wanted to relax with my family.  

The next day Clare and I walked down to the market again, so we could do some serious souvenir shopping. On our way there, we got distracted by a huge street market selling all sorts of food, and a man selling rugs out of his van. Nothing sketchy and weird about that.

We had some good sisterly bonding time and I got a lot of great homemade souvenirs. I didn’t want a t-shirt that said I Heart Athens on it. I wanted the authentic Greek jewelry. We left the market in the late afternoon, and went out for dinner that night at a little restaurant called Meta’s. Alaza complained the whole time about how gross the food was, and Alleyah got a plate full of mashed potatoes, but it was a good meal. I got homemade gnocchi, potatoes in tomato sauce, and my dad got a Greek salad. We chose Meta’s because my dad didn’t have any cash on him, and it was the first place that took credit cards. Unfortunately, their credit card machine wasn’t working. The owner was fantastic, and told my dad that he could come back in the morning to pay the bill. Then he gave us a free slice of rum-raisin cake to make up for the inconvenience. Only in Greece!