Τα Λέμε, Αθήνα!

Friday began much like the other days this week - matcha run and wrapping up homework before class at 10am...with the added anxiety of deciding to buy my instructor a card and give him a cash tip to thank him for his help. Where do you even buy cards in Greece? It was not obvious to me. After some googling I landed on a bookstore about 15 mins away - which was not open when I arrived. A woman was waiting to enter and she informed me they did sell cards and her colleague would be arriving soon so we chatted for a few minutes. Like a handful of conversations it quickly landed on - you look Greek, but you don't speak much of it, also who did you vote for, Mr. American. That aside, and card in hand, I dashed back to my AirBnB, wrote something in Greek as heartfelt as a 7 year old could probably muster, deposited the cash and then headed off to school - card and a little peach-shaped refrigerator magnet with Atlanta scribbled along the side as farewell gifts - something to remember a half Greek Georgia boy had been there.

Class wrapped up pleasantly - no need for goodbyes because the school had booked us all tickets for a Greek Beer Festival on Saturday - more to come on that later. I skipped off from class, backpack and books in tow back to my AirBnB, reflecting on my newfound ability to conjugate verbs in simple past and simple future - which I considered worth the week in and of itself, and officially brings my grammar skills in Greek to a similar level of my Spanish skills.

After dropping off my bags, I took a stroll through the Pangrati neighborhood, east of the school and my AirBnB in Fix. This leads us to the song of the blog - Παγκράτι (Pangrati) by Marina Spanou. This neighborhood makes me think of early 20s adventures - and pops up in music about the local nightlife. This was not my experience strolling around in the rain showers on a random Friday afternoon - but the neighborhood was leafy, lively and delightful with a large forest park in the middle, the Pangrati Grove.

The First Cemetery of Athens - on the edge of Pangrati.

So many delightful places in Athens.

The Pangrati Grove was really beautiful with a dense canopy of trees.

A typical street scene in Pangrati.

When the rain got a little heavier I ducked into a taverna for lunch. I got some pastitsio and xorta. Pastitsio is the most Greek meal in my mind. I like to ask people about their pastitsio to see how it's different. Everyone has an opinion on the spices or the texture of the bechamel. Mary once asked which spices my family uses for our meat and was happy when I told her because we were on the same side of the pastitsio spice schism. I showed a picture of a recent pastitsio to Spiros on my last day of class and he looked it over and asked to see one of the inside. When I showed him he shook his head and said the bechamel was too thin.

Despite varying preferences, one general truth I experienced is that most people wouldn't tell me where to get it at a restaurant - it's one of those dishes that live in your memory and really the only acceptable version is the one made by your yiayia or mother. But I digress, so when I tell you that this particular pastitsio was not "good" you'll understand that I'm culturally required to think that way. My mom and sister make it better.

An "ok" pastistio.

With rain continuing in the near future, after lunch I decided to dip into the National Gallery, which Mary had mentioned as a nice museum that had recently underwent a renovation. The museum hosted paintings and art from 18th and 19th century Greek artists. There is a wing for 20th century art but it was under renovation when I arrived. It was a nice way to spend around 90 minutes and worth the stop if you're a bit east of the tourist drag.

Art!

Another great pedestrian street in Kolonaki.

After the Gallery, the rain started to let up so I decided to stroll back to Kolonaki to look for some more food souvenirs. While looking around I made the decision to check a bag on the airplane home - something I almost never do - which instantaneously opened up the world of olive oil, wine and honey as gifts and personal souvenirs. I ended up buying a couple bottles of wine and Peloponnesian olive oil as well as some variety boxes of honey. Worth it.

Heading back to the AirBnB I popped in a corner cafe that was closing up for the day to grab a Coke Zero run by an older man and woman. This was probably my best interaction with locals in mostly Greek. I gave a Greek hello (γεία σας) then stumbled asking for what I wanted, so they assumed I spoke no Greek and asked if I wanted a bottle or can, I replied "bottle" in Greek and that drew them in - then came the questions slow pitched to me in simple understandable Greek, my brain lit up with excitement at people making the extra effort and asking the easiest questions. Where are you from? Why are you in Greece? Are you part Greek? Why are you learning Greek? Are you in school? What do you do for work? How are you enjoying your time here? All with huge smiles and helping direct my Greek back at them if I was unsure. BAM. Check mark. A+. Worth the entire trip to just talk for 10 minutes with those kind, friendly people. Maybe I felt like I was a kid speaking to my grandparents again - chasing nostalgia has become a pastime of mine? Maybe I am just a dumb geriatric millennial that seeks a trophy at the end of a task. Whatever the reason it made my week and will likely be something I remember forever.

After hanging out at the AirBnB for a while in the afterglow of my simple conversation I decided tonight was the night to hit the town - as much as a 44 year old guy alone with limited communication skills could do so anyway. I looked up a couple bars in the Gazi neighborhood and headed out with the goal of having a few beers, maybe listening to some music and potentially chatting with some new people. This effort was met with mixed success. It was early for bars so they weren't very crowded. I plopped down and ended up chatting with an older guy from Thessaloniki. He mostly wanted to tell me about his troubles - in love and finance - and wasn't too keen on soft pitching Greek at me. After a while, I decided to make an excuse and head out to another bar - which was even more empty. As I was leaving they were opening up the dance floor across the alley so I feel like I would have had more fun if I had just gone out closer to midnight than 9pm. Notes for next time. I made the 45 minute walk back through the city center enjoying the weather and people watching and turned in for the evening.

A cute side street in Gazi full of bars and restaurants.

One of the bars I visited. There were people behind me (maybe a dozen or so). They were playing great music!

Little Kook is a holiday institution. They take over the block around them and deck it out in over-the-top decorations depending on the season. I'm not sure why it was Alice in Wonderland themed, but it was neat.

Saturday was my last full day in Athens. I started it with a stroll up the Filopappou Hill for views and exercise. I hadn't walked around this hill (just southwest of the Acropolis) in previous visits - which was a mistake because it's very lush and verdant and there are great view towards the Acropolis, the city all around and out to the sea. From the top of that hill I could clearly see everywhere I had visited that week - from the port of Piraeus to the beach at Flisvos, up to the top of the Lycabettus hill and towards the Pangrati Grove. All 4.5 million Athenians (nearly half the population of Greece) within a single 360 degree spin on a hill south of the Acropolis.

Cute cafe on the way towards the Filopappou Hill.

There were tons of trails like this criss-crossing the hill.

Looking back to the Acropolis - my family actually has a painting given to my mother from my grandfather from a similar vantage. It hung on my wall a while, then my middle sister and now my younger sister. I think none of us know exactly what to think of it.

Looking out towards the sea from Fillopapou.

I made my way down the hill on the opposite side and headed towards the Benaki Museum - Pireaus. This museum is broken into several galleries hosting exhibitions. I didn't realize you had to select an exhibit at the counter and just asked to go to the most popular one. The attendant recommended the exhibition hosting works from Alexis Akrithakis - a prominent Greek artist from the 1960s that explored psychedelic images. It was really great and worth a visit if you're in town.

I pull up this picture whenever I need to remember Greek alphabetical order.

Psychedelic.

After the museum, I wandered back towards the city center looking for lunch. I ended up at wholly forgettable little cafe with a sandwich and some fries. I looped back around the tourist shops towards my AirBnB looking for more liquid souvenirs since I broke the seal and decided to check a bag. I found a cute little shop run by a woman whose daughter went to art school in NYC. I bought some quirky items and tucked them away into my bag for gifts or souvenirs.

Ok lunch sandwich and a Coke Zero.

Back at the AirBnB I started the arduous process of packing everything before heading to the Greek Beer Festival - assuming I would be too tired (or too drunk) to want to do that after the festival. Packing was a challenge with all the items I bought!

The Beer festival was great fun. Many of the people I met at the school were there, along with several others and their friends or significant others. We met around 6pm and I stayed until maybe 9:30. My flight the next day was early and I didn't want to risk being a total zombie while having to make decisions navigating an airport and immigration. The festival featured local Greek beers from across the country along with food vendors and live music. I spent time chatting with Dimitra and Spiros as well as the Australian-Greek guy and a few Greek and English folks - including a woman that worked at a bakery. I asked her about koulourakia (Greek cookies) and why I could never find any in Athens with anise (which is how my mother makes them). Apparently, this isn't common and is a regional specialty from the Peloponnesus - we did find some last fall while visiting.

Another interesting man I spoke to - though I'm not sure how he was affiliated with the school - was from Corfu. You may recall from the previous blog that I was told that the worst olive oil in Greece was from Corfu. Well, two beers in, sitting close enough to this man to feel his breath on my neck when he spoke I decided to ask him if this was true. He looked me square in the eyes and his face went blank - at this point I was fully expecting him to punch me - but he just put an arm around my shoulder and said "you are absolutely...correct! It's terrible on Corfu!" He then gave me the same story about the British (what don't they ruin honestly) and their need for fuel oil to light lamps. He went on to explain that he makes his own olive oil and that it is better than the oil in the Peloponnesus. So 2 out of 2 Greek people agree when asked about olive oil - it sucks in Corfu!

The school-associated group started to thin out so I decided to say my goodbyes and make my way back to the AirBnB. It was another long stroll but it's always nice walking through the city center. I stopped for a late night gyro and some fries on the way back - much needed - and crashed. Lucky for me, my flight was delayed by 90 minutes - which meant more sleep - but unlucky for me Sunday was the beginning of European Daylight Savings Time...so hour lost.

Woo, beer!

The place got packed, especially after dark and when the bigger acts took the stage.

Late evening gyro and fries.

To make things easier on myself with the extra baggage in souvenirs, I opted to arrange a car to the airport. The driver arrived right on time and was super friendly - in fact he was Greek-Canadian. He grew up in Ontario and moved to Greece as an adult. His parents were both from Greece and he was fluent in both English and Greek as a result. We chatted about his experience living in Greece for the past 25 years. He had a lot to say about economic conditions and how families are scrapping by since the Financial Crisis. Hearing this soured my last few hours in Greece - but I was thankful that I was able to chat with so many Greek people this trip and to learn so much more about what life is like for people living here (both good and bad).

Overall, this trip was a great experience. I almost never travel alone (except for work). It was fun to set the pace each day, decide what to do and for how long to do it and when and what to eat. I also really enjoyed the language classes and the opportunities they presented to speak with more people than I typically would as a tourist alone.

Another observation, which I'm sure I've pointed out in past blogs to Greece is that I can tell I confuse people in Greece. Again this trip, the most frequent thing I was told by people just meeting me is "you look Greek" or "sorry, I thought you were Greek" when I would start to speak in English or broken Greek to people. This is wholly attributable to my other half (father's family) being Italian. I like feeling like I fit into more than one space, and as a Mediterranean dude living in the Southern half of American I often didn't feel like I fit in growing up. I hope some day I get good enough at speaking Greek and can wholly occupy two worlds at the same time (to some degree). Maybe I should pick up Italian too and go for the trifecta? Una faccia, una razza!