Athens

The dozens of people outside customs with tour group and guide names gave Matt and I the idea to make signs greeting Asa to Greece. We acted like we didn’t recognize him until he walked right up to us, and his oblivion made things awfully awkward. A short bus ride took us to one of the best hostels in Greece and even the world. It was basically a communal hotel with a shower that flooded the entire bathroom.
After settling in we went out to see the city. The acropolis towers over the city being visible from most parts of modern day Athens. We circled to the opposite side and sat down to enjoy a meat platter including sardines, squid, and lamb! The lit acropolis just a few hundred yards away was in sight as we maxed out our food budget for the next two days. Peanut butter and jelly it will be for the next 2 days. Seriously.
In the morning we got an early start touring the acropolis, ancient agora, roman agora, Hadrian’s library, and multiple ancient theaters where the great works have been performed for centuries. By the time afternoon came around we were both tired and satisfied with our adventures.
After a siesta we decided to go to the ancient Olympic stadium. Little did we know that it would be one of our favorite sights of Athens. A free walking tour was informational and our run around the track was thrilling. A stadium has been since ancient Athens, but this one was built for the 1896 Olympic games – the first of the modern Olympic competitions. It was then used again in 1904 and more recently as part of the Olympic torch procession. Walking where the athletes have walked through the approach tunnel and on the track, I think we were all pretty impressed.
This morning we arose for a long travel to Bari, Italy. It began by a 3-hour bus ride to Patras, Greece. There we stopped for a terrible fake coffee and had a short chat with the Romanian barista who immigrated to Greece 15 years ago. She told us of the challenges of immigrating and now getting a wage that is low, but much better than what was available in Romania. Our trip to Bari is now being completed by a ferry ride arriving at 8am tomorrow morning. The boat seems almost as great as I would imagine a cruise ship to be. Except for size, attractions, and tourist stops, the boat has a wonderful lounge and the lack of crowds has allowed us to have large flight chairs in which to sleep tonight.