Travel Lessons & The Revolution – Athens, Greece

Instead of starting with the usual apology for being absent for a while, I will just jump straight into my next story.

Athens – well, what a city. A city that is old, dirty & incredibly busy… yet absolutely beautiful & maybe just a little bit magical. The city is ancient & a brilliant word to describe it would be sprawling. At first glance, it seems over populated, sidewalks need to be weeded & the buildings need a new coat of paint, but that’s just the rough exterior – once you start making your way around, you’ll find quint little café’s & picturesque churches hidden in the narrow streets.

Before going to Athens, I knew I definitely wanted to go to the Parthenon at the Acropolis. I guess so does everyone else who visits Athens. I made a huge mistake though & I did not do research about the opening hours. This, kids, is a massive error to make while traveling & something you would think I would know by now. I went down to the reception of the hotel & asked if I’d be able to get an Uber to collect me from that area. The receptionist politely informed me that the Acropolis was closed that day. I was a bit shocked & I thought how could something so popular be closed – as it turns out, it does close for a day just after Easter. I’m not sure if it closes on other days of the year, but when I was there, it was closed. If I had read up on it, I would have been better prepared & that is the travel lesson I learned in Athens.

Since we couldn’t get to the Parthenon, myself & a few friends decided to walk around the area just below the Acropolis for a while. The streets are ancient, very narrow & generally peaceful. Two of the girls in the group wanted to go into one of the little street-side shops, myself & my friend from Georgia waited for them outside. I really need to stress that the streets are narrow & it was so quiet.

We were talking when out of no where a group of 80+ American young ladies, who I assume were on some sort of university tour, sort of filled the street we were in & made their way passed us. I think it goes without saying that they didn’t pass quietly. I was firstly shocked, then confused because it was so loud & chaotic & the whole situation just appeared around us without warning. I was already giggling at my surroundings when my Georgian friend looks at me & with extreme concern on her face she asks “What is this? The revolution?”

Keep traveling, keep safe.

DanVenture Travels