HUBBERS DOT COM BLOG

Woke at midday after twelve hours mosquitoes interrupted sleep (but how?). Think that I am now up to date with my sleep for Egypt, which means that I am only about a month behind. Definite progress is being made on the sleep front.

Spent the day exploring the city and got a wicked case of de ja vue form the time I spent here during my European van tour in 1999.

I can tell that I am in Athens because there is porn on every shelf of every newsagent. And on the ground around the news agents. And on specially set up tables on the streets. Forget Amsterdam. Athens is the true porn capital of the world. They love it here and they aren’t ashamed to show it.

Took a look at the national museum here (no porn surprisingly). At first I thought it was going to be the usual collection of busted up statues whose dicks have fallen off but it turned out to contain some surprisingly cool finds like a load of gold jewelry and a Pharoic section with sarcophagi and everything.

Visited the acropolis for a third time in my life and this time I paid to get in. the last time I was here in 1999 I accidentally got behind the ticketing booth without paying and figured I should just go with it. a day later I guided a group are stingy Kiwis in the secret way. Heaps of stuff has changed since then. Loads more of the Parthenon has been restored and the six sisters temple is finished. Well as much as it looks like they are going to do. They have also added a museum, which houses the pieces from the site. What hasn’t changed is that the stone steps that have been polished by millions of footsteps are still dangerously slippery and they still make you sandals squeak when you walk.

Something else that also hasn’t changed is that the friezes (carved stone pictures) from the Parthenon are still in the British museum where they ended up after Lord Elgin stole them in 1802. I’m betting Elgin was probably a carriage (taxi) driver before embarking on a life of international art theft. Here’s a question for you though. Why haven’t the Brits given them back? Naughty Brits.

Later on I was offered free coffee as long as I acquired some sugar. I went to six cafes before I was successful. In each place I explained what I needed and offered to pay some Draculars for a small amount of sugar. In each place I was refused and told they don’t sell sugar here, even though I could see it on the counter. In one place the woman behind the bar loudly proclaimed that she didn’t speak English as I walked through the door. Finally I had some success with an extremely helpful Athenian woman. Which is how it seems to go here. Either you get great service or you get rubbish service. And this is in the heart of the budget tourist accommodation area of Athens. Once again I wonder what it will be like here during the Olympics…

RUNNER: Can I have my medal please?

ATENIAN: Sorry we don’t have any medals here

RUNNER: Bt I can see them on the counter

ATENIAN: Sorry we don’t speak English here

RUNNER: But you were just speaking English!

ATENIAN: Hop bobble gobolopolopolus

RUNNER: Eh? But I came first!

ATENIAN: (silence)

RUNNER: (buys some porn instead and leaves feeling like Athenians are a pack of unhelpful bastards)

ATENIAN: dam cheek asking me for a medal at the Olympics and not speaking Greek

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 6th, 2001 at 5:40 pm and is filed under travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.