Dear Greece

Dear Greece,

You are a beautiful thing. I have only been here two days and I am in love. Your Acropolis is mesmerizing and puzzling in a flawed and hypnotizing sort of way. The view of her from the rooftop bar at my hotel, Eridanus Hotel on Pieros Street is one the most breathtaking sites I have experienced. Athens is a beautiful city (except for the ever-present graffiti) with engaging and friendly people. That is, except the citizen who cussed me in Greek, German and English (mostly German) because I had my foot on the facing seat in the Metro (which I shouldn't have). He demanded to know if I would do that in Dusseldorf, and I didn't have the heart to tell him that I probably would. Nevertheless, he vented VERY loudly and was still yelling when he exited the train. A Greek family sitting nearby apologiized. It was cool. I assummed that he was the Minister of Finance and the stress was getting to him. Please believe me. Everyone else has been wonderfully generous. The young girl who helped us get back to the hotel from the bus station when the taxi drivers called a sudden strike was awesome. For the most part we have been made to feel welcome. 

But back to how beautiful Grrece is. Delphi and the Temple of Apollo are also enchanting, but the town (it is referred to as New Delphi by the taxi drivers) is even better. The town is in the Parnassus Mountains and it sits on the edge of a mountain with a view of the Ionian Sea and hundreds of acres of olive trees. There is no better reason in the world to drink red wine and to sit and stare at the beauty of this valley from the patio of a taverna. In fact, even the food is beautiful. I know that because a table of Japanese tourist next to me in a restaurant in Delphi thoroughly photographed their lunch before eating it. At one point three of them were clicking shot after shot while the fourth held the plate aloft. It looked like a stuffed pepper to me, but how would I know, I'm just a tourist.

On the way to Delphi, we passed through a very picturesque town call Arachove (no, it is not pronounced the way it is spelled. Try again. No, that's not it. The C is silent. Alright, this time try the V as a W sound. You are hopeless. Stay home and practice how to pronounce Maryville.) Arachova apparently is an affluent ski town with oodles of atmosphere. You can tell this because the streets are very narrow - about the combined width of a bus, a Smart Car and a grilled cheese sandwich ( no pickles). We stopped here long enough to realize that it was not where we wanted to be and promptly took a taxi back to Delphi and that unbelievable view from the patio.

The highlight of my afternoon was a vist to a hammam very near the hotel and on the way to the Metro station - a Turkish bath. Steam bath, a scrub down and massage. it was wonderful. I'd describe it but...I can't.

Now I am on the ferry between Piraeus (the port nearest Athens) and Crete. It is an overnight ferry which docks in Chania very early in the morning. It is very much like I would expect a luxury liner to be except that it appears that 40% of the passengers are whiny children. I pray that crying yourself to sleep works as well in Greece as it does in the US. Good night all.