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Athens

Upon leaving England, I arrived in Athens on May 7, 1999. This was the fourth time I had been to Athens since 1996. Something about Greece has always fascinated me and I know that I will go back again. While in England, I had arranged a job at the Student and Travelers Inn, a youth hostel in the Plaka. The Plaka is one of Athen's oldest parts, the ancient center of the city. Just down the street was the Acropolis, where you'll find the Parthenon. I thought that everyone knew where the Parthenon was but was shocked to have met several people who actually said "We went to the Acropolis today, you know it's just a bunch of ruins. We still haven't seen the Parthenon." Most of my summer entertainment came from stupid travelers. I worked in the computer lab and loved every minute of it. I worked nine hours a day, seven days a week for only about $12 a day. But it was more than enough to live on since my room and breakfast was provided and things there are generally inexpensive. Plus my only daily needs were a Greek salad, a lemon Fanta and some oj. My mom came to visit me for two weeks in September and we toured the north and hit the islands (see that page), a must if you're in Greece. The day that she arrived was the day of the big earthquake. It was a first for both of us and made for an exciting story! After a full six months of living and working in Athens, it was time to head home. I didn't want to leave but it was time for the holidays.

Movin' on up

The photo on the left is of myself on one of the seven hills of Athens - and you can see two more in the background. Of course that's the Acropolis on the right side. Athens tends to be very hazy and is unbelievably polluted, especially during the summer.

And the photo on the right is of my room at the Inn. The room is as small as it looks! I cried when I saw it the first time, sure that I would never be able to live in such a little space. The longer I was there, the bigger it seemed! The beds are low to the ground and there was only about a foot between the end of the beds and the wall so I had to hop over the other bed to get out of the room. I kept my clothes in neat piles under the beds and had them on plastic bags so they would slide in and out! I had roommates (always girls) on and off over the months and the company was nice but I did prefer to have the room to myself!

The Acropolis

I only went up to the Acropolis twice this time in Athens and once was when my mom came. These pictures were taken the day of the solar eclipse. The sun was 80% blocked but I was amazed at how much light was left, it felt more like early evening instead of afternoon but that's it. Everyone had to leave the Acropolis (I'm not sure why) but we were allowed to stay because of Jay (see other photo). It was absolutely amazing to watch the sun disappear - of course we were using special pieces of tinted glass. And this is the only photo I have of the Parthenon that doesn't have 10 million other people in it.

Jay was a guest at the Inn for a few weeks while waiting for an apartment to open up and we became friends. He was an architecture student and was volunteering at the Acropolis, working on what's left of the entrance building - which is what we're standing on here. I hung out at his apartment when I could just to get out of the Plaka and see more of the city - it was nice having a real friend in town too!

Streets of the Plaka

These are just two pictures of streets that I walked down on a regular basis. On the left is Adrianou, full of touristy shops and cheap knockoffs. At the end of the street was a flea market so I'd often wander down there on Sundays to see what was going on. On the right is Kidathineon, which was the street that the Inn is on. While the picture has tourist shops in it, most of the street is restaurants and jewelery stores. I miss this place.

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