Today was amazing! After class we all went to the corner of the main road a block from our hotel to watch the funeral procession of the recently deceased archbishop of the
Athens sect of the Greek Orthodox Church. There were people everywhere in the streets and they gathered close to watch as the pall bearers carried the open casket through the streets to the cemetary. After that, we had a sight report by one of my besties, Michele on some really old Greek monuments in the Plaka, an old part of the city. We were then free to roam around and find a place to eat. We ended up outside a cute cafe where we ordered to share some spicy cheese spread with bread, fried succhini, and stuffed squid! It was ALL excellent and we had such a great time soaking up the sun and Greek culture all around us. Street vendors would come by and try to sell us random stuff, and only us because we are "the tourist Americans." Some singers came by with a tamborine for tips and we couldn't resist because they were so entertaining! Then some kids maybe 8-10 years old came buy with their hands out and repeating some Greek phrase. They wanted money and we didn't realize how aggressive they were. They actually grabbed money right from our table, but the owner, who stands outside welcoming potential guests, saw what happened and chased them down and returned our money...how crazy! We tried the house wine...and I decided I am just not a fan of red wine or any kind
Next we wandered around the area that is considered their downtown flea market open all day. They are not shy at all here and we had to stick together in order to get through the place without a new knock-off purse, cheap souvenir, or Greek boyfriend... We saw some pretty neat stuff in random shops as we winded our way back to the hotel to get a start on our homework
Tonight we went out for one of our girls' 21st birthday and had a blast. We went to a colorful little care/tavern in the Plaka where some members of our group knew the manager who offered some drink deals earlier in the day. The manager was Greek but had lived on the East Coast for some years and spoke English very well. His name is Vasillis...a very common Greek name...and he is now our favorite Greek in the city! Since our Hotel is right downtown, we are just a walk away from anythign we could possiblty need... We talked Vasillis into trying to get work off at the cafe tomorrow night and accompanying us to a dance club to celebrate our first weekend in Athens! We will find out what happens tomorrow! Kalispera! (I think that is goodnight)
Molly
