IN PROGRESS - Arrival in Greece (11.10.07)

Arrival into Athens Airport

The 'Winston' Smoking Section at airport
Random church in shopping area
Ysatis boutique
Greek Flag on Mitropoulos Street
Trying on my new dance accessories from Dubai
At dinner
Ian & Aunt Sylly
Getting Baklava
Interesting bar on street

I arrived at the Athens airport with over 80 lbs of luggage in tow and very easily found a taxi to take me downtown to the hotel. My driver informed me that he had 32 years of experience as a cab driver and kept pointing out interesting landmarks such as the 2004 Olympic stadium and the American Embasy. The only problem was that after the early start to the day and enjoying 1.5 movies on the plane, I kept dozing off mid-sentence.

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During this next week I will be traveling with my former partner of 12 years, Amanda, and her 4-month old son, Ian. In France on Wednesday we meet up with Rick, a very special long-time friend who has a second home in Marseille. Though for many people with a more "traditional" family structure the vacation arrangements may seem a little kooky, but I really am looking forward to it. The friendship seems to have been reestablished, the boundaries are set, and who doesn't want to hang out in a small hotel room with another adult and a 4-month old baby ;-).

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With a few hours to kill in Athens before heading back to the airport to meet up with Amanda and Ian coming from the States, I bundled up against the blustery wind and started wandering the streets around Syntagma Square. I was completely amused to find that, in addition to carrying the standard issue Athens t-shirts , post-cards, and Acropolis snow globes, the tourist shops lining the streets also carry the same stuff I saw (and bought) in Marrakesh, Cairo, and Bur Dubai. These items include the blue & white Turkish "evil eye" good luck charm, pashmina shawls from Nepal, Oriental carpets, and Indian quilted wallhangings and bedspreads. Apparently the Greeks also haven't gotten the memo explaining that wearing dead animals is now "out", since about every 10th store in this area is a furrier.

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The streets in this neighborhood are narrow and sandwiched between jewelry & shoe stores and Greek Orthodox churches, archeological sites of interest may pop up. I imagine this city of 5 million people has grown up around and swallowed many of the historical site, but I hope to know more about that tomorrow. Once again I had no luck trying to find internet, but I did catch a glimpse of myself walking by the show windows and I was just embarrassed for myself. 6 weeks of travelling as a backpacker in the warm middle east meant I had dressed in a white t-shirt, Costco athletic jacket, high-waisted zip-off pants circa 1985, and running shoes. That might cut it elsewhere with other budget travelers, but I decided it was high time for me to become a professional again. I joined the throng of other Saturday afternoon shoppers and wandered into one of the small boutiques off Mitropoluous Street and wandered out an hour later somewhat poorer for the two shirts and 1 pair of pants that I purchased, but hopefully much more stylish. The additional downside was that I am no longer a "medium" in any country. I could only wear "large" Indian fashions in Dubai, and here in Greece I am now a 3 on a scale of 0-4.

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Truthfully, though I have this desire to "look European", I am not all that thrilled about European fashion. It is all about the "skinny jean". The waistband sits just inches above one's ass and is very very ticht. For most of us (and me in particular right now), this leads to the muffin-top phenomenon. My theory is that if it doesn't look good on a 17-year-old, it is not going to look good on an ever-expanding 34-year-old.