What's the what in Athens?

Reminded me a lot of New York City, actually. As only a visitor to both.

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I don't have the same kind of claustrophobia in Athens [link] that I had in NYC, but I was in NYC for only 3 days as a tourist, so YNYCMV.

You'll understand, Hec, if my experience of Athens is more about Greek bureaucracy and rocket-propelled-grenades [link] and trying to remember when the grocery stores are open. Living here can be a real pain in the ass.

Athens is smoggy. [link] It's Los Angeles in the 80s. It's mostly ugly, as it's mostly speed-built construction that's gone up in the last 20 years. [link] It's insanely congested (same population of Atlanta in 1/5 the space). It's hard to get around (no freeways, and only a couple multi-lane streets). There are infrastructure issues. [link]

It's very wrinkly. The borders that aren't the sea are mountains, and the city ripples across their roots and foothills. It's very dry. The ground has been used for so many thousands of years that it's down to the bones of the earth. The land seems tired, what you can see of it, anyway. If there's a bit of flat land in Athens, someone's parked on it or planted a tree on it. [link]

Most of what's great about Athens is inaccessible to me because of the hours, the price, and the baby. I just can't go to dinner at 11:00 pm, then to a show, then for coffee, and get home at 6:00 am...and pay about $300 for that evening. If I were unchilded and got paid more (or in euro) I think I could have a great time here. Gazi, mentioned in the article, is a very cool area with tons of interesting stuff going on. Psirri is sort of the Melrose Place of Athens - trendy and hip and offbeat stores. I really like the Monastiraki area [link] - the Plaka, Ermou street, and off the other direction to Keramikos. I love getting lost in the little winding streets amidst buildings that are a hundred years old [link] and coming upon bits of ruins that are far older. [link]

The Benaki Museum is very cool, more a special-collections place than a big museum, but quite well done. I've only been there in my guise as Diplomat Girl for various openings, but I like it. The Byzantine Museum is also nice, and the Archaeology Museum rocks like a rocking thing.

One of the cool things here in the summer is outdoor theater, both real theater and movies. [link] Several movie theaters are open-air. World-class artists perform here. There is some amazingly good food to be had. I love the modern jewelry design and the emphasis on art in all aspects.

For me, though, Athens is all about the ancient ruins (the Acropolis, etc), and getting out of Athens. I like the Saronic Gulf beaches and land, I like being able to drive to Delpi or Marathon or Thermopylae or Mt. Olympus or Corinth.

The people are the best and worst thing about Athens. They are insanely rude by US standards, leading to the highest motor-vehicle accident rate in Europe. They are also insanely warm and hospitable: Athenians went out of their way to help me with everything when I first arrived (something Americans at the embassy notably didn't). I developed a theory that if you are in a person's parea they will do anything for you, but if you aren't you are an inanimate object and not worth even being polite to. I bounced this off a friend, an American who has lived here for 30 years, and he laughed and said, "Absolutely. You don't apologize to a door when you shove it out of your way, do you?"

That being said, I think it's going to be a tough (continued...)

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( continues...) adjustment to come back to a country where people won't play with my kid while I eat or where the local greengrocer doesn't give him a toy every time we stop by to chat.

And hey, Paris Hilton loves visiting here.

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So basically if you slapped a decent freeway in there, put everybody in hydrogen cell cars, built an extensive subway and spent a couple generations repleting the soil, it'd be about 900 times better?

Still, it does sound much cooler than I had thought.

As I've mentioned before, I have very little idea of how people live their lives day to day even in the the major European countries. Of course, traveling there would make a big difference.

::note to self: go to Europe::

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I don't have the same kind of claustrophobia in Athens [link] that I had in NYC, but I was in NYC for only 3 days as a tourist, so YNYCMV.

There was a lot of construction in Athens, the parts I was in, when I was there and that with the massive and nearly violent traffic probably colored my view of the city itself. And I've always lived in open areas, so claustrophobia can come at me early and often.

But being there got me to the ruins not just in the city but all around it and the history and islands around there which were some of my most perfect times. I so want to go back.

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There was a lot of construction in Athens, the parts I was in, when I was there and that with the massive and nearly violent traffic probably colored my view of the city itself.

This is all still true, although since the Olympics the traffic has gotten much better. It's still terrifying, but doable.

The subway (also thanks to the EU and the Olympics) is actually pretty good, and mainly how I get around since driving and parking is difficult.

Here's an example of how Athens is Not Like America: Public parking. When you find a parking lot, usually a place where someone knocked down a building and put up a PARKING sign, you drive in, get out of your car, leave the key in it, get a receipt about 50% of the time, and that's it. You leave your car with complete strangers with no proof, and when you get back, it's there!

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I was there nearly 20 years ago, so I am sure it is different in lots of ways now. Funny that my mental image of the city is scaffolding and dodging traffic. And then the access to so much fascinating history. Man, I really do need to go back.

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I was in Athens for a vacation when I was 17. It was during a water shortage, which I'd never experienced before. flea taught me how to wash dishes with practically no water.

My other chief memory of Athens -- aside from the smog -- is apricots, because I was there in June and where we stayed there was an elderly man with a mania for giving us bags of fresh apricots.

David, have you ever been to Europe? You come across as somebody well-traveled.

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Raq, have you been to the Dora Stratou theater that does folk dancing performances? Definitely worth it if you haven't. That and the ballet at the Acropolis were my best Athens evening outings.

Athens has changed a lot since I was first there, in 1992, and I bet it's changed a fair amount since I was last there in 2001. Things got quite a bit more expensive between 1992 and 1998, and I think the Euro has only made it worse.

I have had some wonderful times in Athens. I hate it in the summer, and I would never drive there if I could possibly avoid it.

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David, have you ever been to Europe? You come across as somebody well-traveled.

I've been across the Atlantic twice. Once to England and Ireland, the second time to London and Paris. So not really well traveled, but not untraveled either.

But it's been a while since I've been over there (15 years?) and I'm sure it's all very changed. I'm curious about the effect of the EU and wondering how the economies work.

What the hell is manufactured in Greece anyway? Do they still make Olivetti typewriters in Italy? Is it all tourism and/or agriculture? I know Oracle's big rival is in Germany, but what are the other leading tech companies? I have no idea really.

Part of this is driven by film-history and watching all the French and Italian films of the sixties. (High art, and popular films.) There's just nothing equivalent nowadays.

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