April 8, 2006 – JoeTourist

April 8, 2006 – Saturday – Athens, Greece – farmer’s market, Archaeological Museum & Strefi Hill

Greece 2006

After making some coffee, and having some bread and marmalade as a late breakfast, I join Harry for a shopping trip to a local, open air market: fresh fish, fruit and vegetables, as well as household sundries. Harry stocks up on everything, and I buy some oranges which are tree ripened and still have some leaves attached to them. They are super sweet and juicy!

After the shopping trip I walk to the National Archaeological Museum, which is only 15 minutes’ walk away. As with museums in Italy, it is endless. Hundreds of stelae, statues, and other artifacts from ancient times are beautifully displayed. Admission is €6, and they close at 3pm today.

I skip lunch, but pick up some date and sesame cake at a bakery on the way back to the apartment. I make some coffee and have a piece of cake for a snack before I lay down for an hour. I think I’m a bit lonely after being part of a group for the last two weeks!

Harry pointed out Strefi Hill on our shopping trip this morning, which is a small hill just a short distance away from the apartment. I hike up to the top and am rewarded with good views of the Acropolis and the whole city. I take a few photos, then look for restaurants on the way down, and find some which are open. I have dinner at Ayah, 43 Methunis: green salad (lettuce, tomatoes, olives, capers, cheese on top), with a penne & cheese entreé – a bargain at €8.90. It is very good food, and is much quieter than the Albanian place last night. I’ll be back.

Lots of customers smoke in restaurants here, which is hard to get used to after our non-smoking laws in Canada. Libya is also a smokers’ haven, but Italy restricts smoking in many restaurants.

Greece 2006

April 8, 2006 – Saturday

I walk to the National Archaeological Museum, which is only 15 minutes’ walk from my rental apartment in Exarhia. As with museums in Italy, it is endless. Hundreds of stelae, statues, and other artifacts from ancient times are beautifully displayed. Admission is €6, and they close at 3pm today.

April 11, 2006 – Tuesday

Since the Benaki Museum is closed today, I take the metro from Syntagma to Omonia Stations, and revisit the National Archaeological Museum.

When I first visited this Museum on Saturday, it closed before I could see the showpiece gold artifacts recovered from Mycenae. This time I spend a full two hours viewing this important gallery. I am amazed by the famous funerary Mask of Agamemnon, as well as many other superb artifacts (many made of gold). The side gallery showcasing Cycladic art was a surprise, since these are pre-Mycenaen. I believe this civilization was one of the first to form after man moved out of caves!

I must confess I’m not a fan of history, however visiting all these ancient sites in Greece and seeing so many fascinating artifacts brings ancient civilizations alive. I can understand why thousands of Greek schoolchildren visit these sites and museums every day.