Around the World in 180 Days
15-Mar-2001 Flying back into Athens after my time with Sass I wondered what I would experience the next 10 days with my youngest Daughter Amy. I thought of how young Australia was or at least the buildings and man made objects, in comparison to Greece. In Australia something is deemed ancient if it is 200 years old... but in Greece, I am looking down onto ruins 429BC and beyond. I had found a Hotel for $70US dollars or 2600 Drachmas.... this was reasonable with Breakfast included... we later found a hotel for 1400 Drachmas with a lesser breakfast... it was a simple room but clean and all we needed.
My first glimpse of the ruins in Athens was the Acropolis, perched on a mountain right in the middle of the city. My mouth open in amazement, amused the young Taxi driver... he began to point out ruins when he learned this was my first time in Greece.
Amy and I were anxious to ascend the mountain to the Acropolis, to take a closer look at such ancient history. This was our first excursion. We took the Metro rail for one stop, this amused us as we were later to realise that it was all in walking distance. Up we climbed to this ancient site. The ascending steps were slippery from decades of tourists ... I wondered how many like myself had visited... what had they thought/felt?
The atmosphere in such a place was thick with history... so thick you can almost cut through it. I imagined myself wading through the energy of the thoughts of the Ancient ones, who lived and worshipped here, mingled with the thoughts and expectations of the millions of tourists over the decades.
We had purchased a book about Athens and decided to be our own guides.
We both just sat for a long time in the Athens sun, looking at the smooth carved marble columns. Amy wanted to be a languid Nymph on the steps ... the ones that were roped off... but being a responsible Mum I would not let her... hehehehe.
From each angle of the Acropolis one can see over Athens and the various ruins that intermingle with the modern buildings... with the lens of my camera I was able to take many good shots... and made plans to visit each one over the next few days.
On one Tour we took, I sat next to a young woman who was travelling alone. She was Irish, working in London. We began to chat and she asked about my journey and of course enjoying the exchange in ENGLISH. I told her all about it... to my surprise she looked at me and said "Oh my brother is adopted, he has never wanted to find his birth parents, even though my Mum said that she would help him." We talked a long time and shared many adoption experiences together... It never ceases to amaze me how these coincidences transpire... or are they coincidences?
I AM LOVING GREECE... and will tell you all about Santorini in the next few days.
My love and hugs to you all,
Wendy
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