Finally back in my heatless room, it sure felt like a very rewarding day. Despite the weather, I had managed to do so much on my own. Yes, even I surprise myself at times. Suppose I had signed up for the Athens Walking Tour this morning, but as it had been cancelled due to lack of participants, I decided to personalize that walking tour for myself. In a way, that was good and bad. Bad in that I would really have learned more with a tour guide explaining what in the world I'm looking at. Especially, they usually know a little more than what you could read - cool facts, that sort of thing. But, on the other hand, good in that I can choose what I want to see and how much time I want to spend at a place. That was basically how I navigated through my day 2 here in Athens...
The day didn't start off so well though. With the cafe being closed on Sundays, they didn't serve breakfast. So, I decided to head to Syntagma Square and see what I could eat around there before the 'Changing of the Guards' at 11am on my self-drafted schedule of things to see. Problem - it was only 9am when I left the hotel, which means it won't be for another hour and a half before. So what was I suppose to do? It didn't help that nothing seemed to be open except this coffee shop called Mikel right across the post office, which reminded me to grab a few stamps for my must-send post cards. Yes, I do have the habit of sending myself and a few of my loved ones post cards from all the places I travel to. It's a way to tell them that I miss them on my trips.
Armed with a cup of mochaccino, I decided to walk over to the Parliament building for a couple of pedestrian-less photos. Somehow, I don't like wanderers in my photos. For that, I could wait and wait just for a clear shot. Patience-training. It paid off - I did get a few nice shots on both my phone and camera. Then, all of a sudden, the motionless guards started this well-practiced "footwork" right in front of the 'Tomb of the Unknown Soldier' monument. It was certainly a good thing I went early, I thought to myself. They were changing guards...at 9:30ish. Then, I started to wonder if anything was going to happen at the supposed 11am. A fellow tourist must have seen my confused face and decided to save me by sharing that there will be one at 11am - a bigger ceremonial changing of the guards. Torn between waiting and going to grab something to eat, I settled on waiting. Why? Because the crowd was only getting larger by the minute, and it would suck if I came back with no place to take nice photos from. So, I spent the next hour people-watching...
Just when I was starting to get very impatient, the police officers began to direct people towards the very right hand side of the building. You could hear a faint orchestra playing in the background, growing slowly as they came closer. It was definitely a larger scene - easily 100 guards. Quite impressed that they kept going despite the light rain. Yes, I remember praying at some point for the rain to come later just so no one had to suffer for the next 15 minutes. It seemed to work, and the guards completed their formation and returned down the street they came in by (they blocked off all traffic on the street right in front so the entourage can do their thing). The whole process took about 20ish minutes, starting around 10:50am and ending at 11:12am. It may not sound so exciting, but I'm quite fascinated by traditions, and peoples' determination to keep them. Plus, I got lucky. This only happens on a Sunday, and I just so happen to be here in Athens on a Sunday. So, why not?
(There were so many pigeon man around, I wondered whether the guards had ever been swarmed by pigeons...)
(I'll just take a photo of him from a distance...to be safe.)
(Look how neat and organised they are! I do wonder if this is a Do Rain or Shine kinda thing, because I would have ran for cover if it rained any harder!)
Tip: Kneel so you can get to the very front without any heads in your photos. At some point, I even sat on the floor. If I can survive sitting on this public floor full of pigeons and wandering travelers, I'm sure you'll survive it too.
By then, I was wondering where to go next. But before anything, I had to get my hands on an umbrella. There is no way I'm going to let myself get caught in the rain only because I didn't bother getting one. Efficiently, I tested one at the nearest street stall and bought it for 5euro. Reflecting, that was 5euro well spent. Why? Because it started to pour by the time I reached the CitySiteseeing Tour Bus Syntagma stop. Luckily, the bus was quick and I boarded without much wait time. Deliberating between hopping off at the museum or just going ahead to the Acropolis, I let my tummy make the call.
(Can't remember what I ordered, but the bread was quite something. Gingerbread cookies-ish. I like!)
After a quick super late breakfast at the museum cafe, I made my way up the Acropolis from the south entrance. It looked very far, but the walk wasn't so bad. Lots to see on the way, including the Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus and Odeon of Herodes Atticus. Actually, I got lucky too. Apparently, it was free admission today. I wasn't too sure if I had read it correctly on the net that first Sundays of each month are free admission for all, but it was! Yay me. 12euro entrance fee funded the umbrella and my latte. I'm a happy girl. Anyway, after I finally arrived at the gate, I frowned. There was so many people just lingering there. They aren't going anywhere or taking any photos. They're just there...in my photo! Annoyed, I decided to come back later to take photos of the gate. For once, someone heard my prayer - it started to rain. While everyone began making their way off the mountain top, I took out my umbrella like a boss and continued my walkabout. It rained long enough for the view to be rid of all these wanders, and I snapped photos like there was no tomorrow. I had hoped for a nice sunny photoshoot session, but I knew it wasn't happening. So, I made the most of this weather with the angles available (without the scaffolding) and managed a few brilliant shots. Excited.
(The angle with the least amount of scaffolding. Doesn't that look amazing!)
Truth be told, I didn't know anything about what I was observing,but I figured I can read all about it at the museum later on. That was exactly what I did. After taking all the photos from every angle possible, I took my time down the mountain in the rain and roamed the Acropolis Museum for the next hour or so. There was a video introduction on the 2nd floor that was rather informative. It described the built and history of the Parthenon to a degree that I could appreciate. What I saw next was the impressive part. The 3rd floor of the museum is actually set up as you would have found the roof of the Parthenon, with the different plates of carvings as they would have been placed. If there were made columns, we could be walking through a really cool replica of the Parthenon, decorated with real remains from the original building. That would be awesome!
(That's all that's left...so sad!)
The only question I had before leaving the museum - where is the original 13m-tall Statue of Athena? Unfortunately, no one knows. There were way too many exchanges of possession of this historical site that whereabouts of various parts remain unknown. Nevertheless, it had survived arson, wreckers, bombing & looters. Definitely worth the climb of the Acropolis and combing through of the museum. It also had a coat check area, so you don't have to bring in all your heavy jackets and wet umbrellas. It may even have audio guides, which I totally forgot to check. In any case, do make the time to drop by these two places if you're in Athens. They're a must!
After all that walking, I set on returning to the hotel for a quick break before going out for an early dinner. On the way back, I picked up a 1.5L bottle of water for only 0.60euro in a alcohol-filled convenient store. I remember seeing a 500ml for 1euro near Syntagma Square! So, another good buy for me. This is a big deal because I had been warned by le sister not to drink tap water, even though all the restaurants serve tap water. In any case, better safe than sorry.
Confirming the direction to the restaurant, I made the 6-minute walk over to Melilotos. Great service, great atmosphere, and great food. I ordered a 'Eggplant Salad with Walnuts' for starter and a 'Shioufitka Cretan Pasta' for main. Delicious, delicious, delicious! The flavour was unquestionably different from my usual, with a strong, bold, 'here to stay' kind of taste. I especially liked the pasta - not too chewy or tough...simply an enjoyable texture. It was so good that I chose to finish the pasta than the mushrooms. The bill came to about 13euro - decently priced. I would recommend this restaurant, no doubt. Oh, and it has wifi - which is a plus for me since I was alone and didn't want to be staring at other tables...Overall, a 9/10 in my books.
(Eggplant Salad with Walnuts - goes so well with bread.)
(Shioufitka Cretan Pasta with Chicken and Mushrooms...yum!)
So ends another day in Athens. Quite excited that I had covered a lot of ground on my own. Tomorrow, Athens Walking Food Tour. I wonder if I should have breakfast before that. Just in case, I will get up for it.
From Athens, good night y'all.
P.S. I had one of the worst sleeps so far with some alarm that keeps going off and the church bells ringing...hopefully, the church bells were only because it was Sunday. The alarm, well, it's wailing as I write...seriously. Someone take care of it before I sleep, PLEASE!