Athens

Not a bad backdrop for an evening drink.

When we decided to go to Kalymnos, Lucy was very disappointed that our planned itinerary did not include significant Greek historical sites. She has developed a recent fascination with the Greek Gods, thanks to the Percy Jackson series of books, and was keen to see some relevant sites.  It was easy enough to include Athens, a quick Aegean flight from Kos and a taxi to the city saw us on the roof top bar of The Central hotel enjoying a drink with the illuminated Acropolis in the background.

Is it Poseidon or Zeus?  We decided it was Zeus:)

The next day Kate and I got out for an early run through the parks near the Acropolis before returning to the hotel to pick up the girls for a hop on hop off bus trip.  The stop at the Archaeology Museum proved to be a false start as it was still closed but we did a little shopping the enjoyed walking around this amazing Museum.  

The girls were tired of eating out and preferred kebabs in the hotel room while brushing up on their Greek history by watching Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief.  This gave Kate and I the chance to enjoy some time together without our little friends which is always good.

The following day after our morning run, we visited the Acropolis and then the Acropolis Museum.  Lucy said that it was the best Museum that she had been to, Ada loved the kids pack that led her to from one statue of Athena to another and I loved the transparent sections in the lower floor which enabled you to see the excavation of the ancient suburbs surrounding the Acropolis. Watching archaeologists delicately excavate and restore mosaic floors of 2500 year old houses made the Museum feel very alive.

The afternoon deteriorated into a shopping expedition with Lucy desperate to buy something as, despite a large percentage of time spent in shops, nothing (well not much) had been purchased.  In terms of the Greek economy we had three observations.  The first was that every shop seemed to have a significant sale and the second was the large number of well presented people who were begging on the street.  However the most impressive, and this was most obvious on Kalymnos, was how entrepreneurial many of the locals were in trying to make a dollar.  It seemed everyone was using every resource available to make a dollar.  This ranged from selling locally harvested herbs, their home produced olive oil, roasted nuts, honey and goats cheese to expand their business and increase revenue.  There seemed to be a real effort to trade their way out of difficulty.  Of course, they were all cash transactions so I don't think that the tax man will get much benefit.

That night we got to see more Greek business in action.  With the girls well supplied with kebabs, Kate and I decided to go to one of the small fishing harbours near Pireaus, the port for Athens, the Micro Port.  There was a large selection of restaurants and bars but nothing took our fancy. Eventually, almost in desperation, we settled on a quiet looking restaurant away from the main strip.  Not long after we took our seats, heavy set men  in black cars arrived and swept through the area.  Following them was a slick suntanned looking gentleman who took a seat near us.

The Olympic Stadium for the 1896 Olympics

It reminded us of a time in Rome in a barbershop below a train station when some Mafioso types were standing over the barbershop owner.  No sooner than Mr Big sat down then more black cars arrived with two gold chain wearing gentlemen sport dark sunglasses.  There was some animated conversations, people sitting on the edge of their seats and several mobile phone calls being made.  then the book of the main guys car opened and the driver leaned in to get...an unlabeled bottle of Ouzo!    In speaking to the wait staff, we discover that the Mr Big is a very prominent Greek developer/business man.  However, this did nothing to reduce the picture in our minds of sawn off double barrel shotgun and horses heads in the bed,
sorry that is an Italian stereotype! The entertainment
 made the delicious seafood at the restaurant even better.








The next day I headed out for a run alone, my running buddy opting for more sleep.  This enabled me to roam a little further and after a lap past the 1896 Olympic Stadium, I was rewarded with a steep run up  Lycabettus Hill for a great view of the City.

A very proud fishmonger and his admirer

As you know, Kate is a sucker for a good market and I had organised to meet her at the meat and fish market at the end of my run.  We had a great time looking at all the produce and even Kate, a committed vegetarian who occasionally eats
fish, was impressed.