Athens

Greece.  It was one of our few anchors on the itinerary before we left Canada.  We knew that we were going to make our way to Greece in early summer and hopefully connect with my brother and his family and our folks.  The original plan was to travel overland and by ferry to arrive in Greece, but the cost was so much higher for relatively little gain, so we, once again, hopped a regional carrier and flew to our next destination, Athens.

As I have established in other posts, big cities are not a favorite stop for the family.  There is something about the hustle and bustle, concrete, crowds, and heat that does not mix well.  There is also a high level of anxiety about public transit for some of the family members.  Once again I keep hoping that exposure therapy and repeated positive experiences will lessen fears.  It seems to be working but moving about big cities, especially with all our "stuff" strapped on our backs, is still fraught with tension.  

That said, I remain an eternal optimist that one of these times we will all enjoy a big international city with all she has to offer.  Museums, food, interesting architecture, people watching and the vibrancy of a cosmopolitan center.  Ah, one can always dream.  Athens, although not a "bad" stop, did not convert any of my kids to loving cities.  In fact, the eldest has declared it his least favorite city.  I think one of the challenges for the Athenian PR is that the time on the islands is so incredible that, by comparison, the gritty city experience is something to "get through" on the way to or from the islands.   Add to that the huge masses of tourists who congregate in a fairly small area, heat that is amplified by concrete and car fumes, and points of interest that are mostly based in history and ruins.  I think the experience of Athens slightly outside of the tourist center may be more enjoyable from a food and pace of life standpoint, but for our few days passing through we elected to stay within walking distance of some of the more famous sights.  I stand by this decision, as staying in the heart of the old city, where you walk out and see incredible sights such as these, is pretty darn cool:

HOT! The little fan from Vietnam continued to be a lifesaver.

We landed in a great AirBnB apartment that made our stay comfortable and affordable.

Although no one is clambering to return to the city, there were some highlights and I am glad that we did spend a few days in the city.  If someone were to ask me is it essential to spend time in Athens, I think I would say it depends on your interests.  There are now many more options for flying straight to islands from airports within Europe and this would be an appealing option if time is limited, or you've been before, or you have young kids who are not keen to see old sites.  But if you are going to stop, then enjoy the history, the gritty street art, the hum of a busy city, and seek out meals off the well trodden tourist track.

The ever present cats in Greece were both charming
and stirred up homesickness for the younger two who missed our cat.

We also had our first taste of Greek food while in Athens and, even when it is overpriced and at a tourist joint, it is DELICIOUS.  

A favorite experience was on our first night.  We were hungry and oh so excited to have some delicious food.  There is a spot on the main tourist drag that occupied a legendary place in the collective family memory from prior trips.  On our last visit to Greece in 2006 my brother famously took the subway into the city specifically to grab some gyros during his layover before heading to join us on the islands.  The memory of these gyros and the experience of sitting on wooden tables on the edge of the street, was a favorite and one that we were all looking forward to sharing with the kids.  We made our way, hustling by the Parthenon, hardly looking up, driven by hunger and hungry memories.  Soon we arrived, only to be astounded by the size of the "little joint".  It had expanded to take up most of the street.  Not to be swayed, we sat down, and Leo confidently brushed off the menu, saying "I know what to order."  We even splurged and got a plate for everyone.  We dug into the salad and tzatziki like hungry vultures.  The tastes were so delicious, the ingredients fresh.  And then the waiter brought our plates. And on each one, rather than a single kabob wrapped in a pita, were five.  Which meant we had 25 kabobs at our table.  In the excitement Leo had ordered the wrong dish, and ordered five of them.  Our $2.50 wrap had become an expensive meal.  We laughed for days about our massive pile of kabobs, and we were thankful that we had a kitchen to reheat the leftovers. 

 

Another highlight of the city was the Acropolis museum.  The museum displays many ancient ruins, but it also has some great audiovisual movies and descriptions that help put the ruins into context.  The museum is built over a large archaeological site (as most of Athens is built on top of archaeological sites) and there are glass floors and cutouts that allow glimpses of the excavations below.  The top floor of the building is built to replicate the spacing and the layout of the columns and facade of the Parthenon, and the views from the top floor are directly out to the ancient site itself.  In true Lacalejo form we spent hours in the museum, reading displays, watching and re-watching the video, sitting, walking, completing the "kid activity pack", and enjoying the air conditioning.  We all took away different pieces of information and enjoyment from the museum.  I appreciate that the youngest, who can be the most difficult while in the apartment, once again is fully engaged and absorbed while at the museum.  He has proven a hard nut to crack on this trip, but one thing is becoming clear, he loves to learn.

Looking out over the excavated lower level at the entrance of the museum.

Walking over an excavation site.

 

Made of Lego

We made the possibly controversial decision to not go to the actual Parthenon, but rather we soaked up lots of information in the museum and then gazed at the ruins from different vantage points in the city.  Once again I reminded myself that the kids can come back some day and choose to go to these sites, or not.  We spent the rest of the time on our first time through the city wandering the streets, window shopping, and watching the crowds.  One of the charming features of the city is how the city has continued to grow around ancient buildings.  You will find small churches and partial excavation sites amidst the hustle and bustle of the modern city, the new sometimes literally built up around the old.

On our return trip we spent 48 hours in the city and we stayed in a more residential area, slightly out of the central tourist zone.  Finding the AirBnB was a bit dicey, one of the few times we felt unsure of what we had signed up for in terms of our accommodations.  We arrived on a Sunday evening and the area we were in was a commercial zone that was fairly desolate at that time.  We reassured the kids that we were not in a "sketchy" area, and it just felt a bit odd because all the storefronts were locked up.  As we predicted, the next morning when we woke up the streets around us were abuzz with Athenians going about their busy lives. 

Watching the famous changing of the guard at Syntagma Square.

The final highlight of Athens is the experience of taking the ferry from the port and heading out to the islands.  It is a classic tourist experience and one that feels like its own adventure.  We had to leave the apartment before dawn to make it to the port in time for our ferry. The kids were less than excited about the prospect of taking the subway at 5 a.m.  Not because it was early, but because it didn't seem safe to them.  They are correct that usually a 5 a.m subway may be less than safe, but we tried to reassure them that this was a common and popular way for tourists to move from our area of town out to the port.  As we waited for the subway and people trickled in with suitcases and backpacks, it soon became clear we were not the only ones with the "crazy" idea to take the subway out to the port, and as more and more fellow travelers showed up you could see the kids relax.

5:50 am. V looks done.

Walking from the train station to the port.

We made it! There is our ferry.

And like that, we said goodbye to Athens, and on to our next Greek adventure, sailing the seas on on a Greek ferry.

The ferry experience is one that lives strong in my memories of Greece.  There is something exciting and relaxing about being on a big slow moving ferry as it motors among beautiful islands and cuts through blue waters.  The mesmerizing horizon, the hot sun, the cool breeze, the hum of the other travelers, and the lack of luxury makes it all seem more like a voyage than a cruise.  It has been an interesting experience for me being in Greece, a country with very strong childhood memories, with my own children.  I am conscious of not trying to recreate my own experiences or expect my memories will be the ones that my children create.  I have to admit that this is not always easy (case in point, not visiting the Parthenon, but instead we created new memories with the museum).  The ferry was another classic experience that lives in my mind as a wonderful adventure, full of fun, and anticipation.  I am not sure my kids experienced it the same way.  But maybe they did.  Or maybe they didn't but their memories, like my own, will be molded by time into something slightly different from the original.  Either way, we had what I consider the requisite experiences of gazing out at the sea, at passing islands and other ferries, we watched people disembark and load at different ports, and we passed time with games, cards, snacks and, different from my childhood, screens. 

One of countless tiny churches perched on a rocky point that dot the islands of Greece.

Watching the activity at one of the stops along our route.

Bundled up against the sea breeze, with snacks and ever present orange game bag filled with card games.

I have to admit that it is at times like on the ferry that I struggle with the presence of screens as a way to pass time.  I definitely have a bias that it is not a worthy a pastime, or that it somehow is a cop-out for entertaining oneself.  But maybe there is no need for me to have this story, and maybe I need to see it for what it is, simply another way to pass time.  And one that brings with it a lovely silence.  So I tried to see it as that, a reprieve, a break.  And then we were on to our next adventure: island life.

The requisite gazing out at the ocean shots: