June 19: Spera Thio…Day Two (Real World Athens)

Taylor mentioned yesterday that our trip is like the real world, we are the real world Athens style. Immediately everyone agreed. So far all of the drama and conversations have been omitted from this, but if you knew all of the shocking truths uncovered here in Athens the real world would seem like nothing compared to us. From Perri and Bronson's drama relationship our trip has been crazy. Two days have gone by and I think I have endured more drama than one year in high school. Woke up late, and was ready to climb the mysterious Hill of muses. Breakfast was amazing as usual, the Herodian definitely is star treatment on Greece. The fruit is always fresh and the bread is amazing!! Our trip started out with a simple Greek lesson on numbers and how to ask prices for things we may want. Turns out though that we stick out like a sore thumb and all the shopkeepers and restaurant owners speak perfect English….way to help me reach me goal of being fluent in 6 weeks. We walked to the Aerogapus a limestone hill that was used by many as a meeting place similar to the pit at UNC Chapel Hill. Sitting on the hill you could hear everything, from social thinkers and literary minds discuss a wide range of topics. The body politic was made up an an oligarchy which represented the first form of government in Athens. The first government was a conservative, elite oligarchy where the rock of the Aeropagus represented the constitution of Athens. St. Paul even frequented that rock in the first century A.D. to spread the new testament and convert Greeks to Christians. Professor McCoy told us a story about how the Christians and the Greeks went through a rift that has forever divided the two religions which are now Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox. In 1204 the time of the 4th cruscade with the Vencians trying to liberate the holy lands from the Arabs and diverted to constantinople and expected an apology because the Catholic Church or more likely the Roman pontiff caused the 4th cruscade that destroyed Greece. Many demanded an apology that didn't come until thousands of years later when Pope John Paul II apologized for what happened. The pope's social status is parallel to that of a modern day president and his arrival in Greece to visit the Aeropagus was not addressed formally. So when he apologized for the 4th cruscade it was a shocking story.Now thankfully communication between the two religions is more open than it was before. Looking over the Aerogapus out towards the city of Athens was beautiful. We all decided that on our last few days in Athens we will revisit the Areogapus and reminisce about our great adventures. The view was spectacular, behind us one could see the Acropolis and to our left we could see the Pynx, otherwise known as 'crammed' where many citizens packed into a hill about 60 meters wide and listened to legislators. The Pynx was where a form of Athenian democracy took place. People could cram 30,000 at a time, all male that is, and hear speakers speak about legislation. Voting occurred here and this is where the assembly met. You can see anything from these hills it amazing. The highest point is always the Parthenon though, no matter where you are. The far hill on your left was the Lykadettos where the monastery of St. Geroge remains. Directly across from the rocky ledge where we were sitting we could gaze upon the Aeropagus where we were merely hours before. And to our right was the infamous Acropolis. These outdoor adventures were so fun, the hiking was a great way to see how Greek life and culture progressed through the ages. From the Pynx, we walked…more like hiked to the Philopapus hill where you can see most of the harbors in Greece. A jettison of land stuck out, like an isthmus overlooking Pireaus, or the coastal harbor most famous for olive oil and pottery as their exports. For miles the city stretched and the buildings appeared in beautiful colors a designs. From the ancient city that we had been trekking around that stretched 1 square mile overlooking Pireaus from the Philopapus hill was astonishing. The buildings were all laid in a geometric floor plan unlike that of the old city of Athens. We took so many pictures and when we would stand out at the tip of the rock it felt as if we were about to fall over. My hat almost blew away once ahh that would have been so scary to think about. We breaked for lunch afterwards at a small gyro place, eating for 2 E at a restaurant near our hotel. Our Greek speaking was shameful at this point. And the man waiting on us wasn't the best, he wouldn't let Diana order plan pita bread, said it was imposssible.I don't know how it's impossible to put bread on a plate and hand it to someone. After we ate we ventured to the most sought after sight in Greece, the Athenian Acropolis. For the longest time I thought it was the Parthenon, turns out I was right. The entire hill contains more than simply the temple to Athena known as the Parthenon. It also contains the Erechthion, the temple of the maidiens complete with Karyadides or human figures carved into marble to serve as column pieces. We also saw the Nike temple although it was mostly covered with scaffolding. The piedmont was incredible although it was mostly either destroyed by the Persians or any of the many occupations that the temple underwent or eroded away. The metapedes are fixed sets of blocks beneath the 3D piedmont that depicts scenes of the temple. Even more amazing were the trigliphs which reside in the second row of ionic columns at the very top. They were built in a way 50 feet in the air so as Athena could see them. They were not for human eyes. We were here for what felt like forever. These moments seem to pass by so quickly yet I crave them even more so. You can imagine that after all this sun we would be exhausted. So we all went on the roof and researched for our presentations that we would have to give. I actually just worked on writing all of this the whole time. I want to remember all of this and be able to look back at what I did. But I also want to enjoy my time here, it is a beautiful city. There is nothing like it anywhere in the world. We then got ready for dinner and we went to a taberna about 2 blocks from our hotel on the outskirts of Plaka. Let me say this, I believe we were nice to the waiter at the time and he had no excuse to make us feel as if we were ignorant. He overcharged us by 15 dollars I believe. But because we couldn't read Greek which is what he hand wrote our receipt in or argue our claim we ended up paying 85 Euro to this guy for Moussaka, which I do not like. It is a combination of lasagna with a Mediterranean twist, think eggplant and weird beef. Sounds yummy right? Plus he said that tips are not included which is not true in Europe that man made me angry. To lighten our mood we went to the olive garden on the roof of our hotel which become our common hang out spot by now. We played never- have-I-ever and I figured out that Jenn and I are probably the most naiive people in our group, but that's okay we don't mind. Brian of course lost as usual. So we meandered to Thession Station around 12:30 and this place was amazing! It was all lite up with the most beautiful lights and elaborate couches. It reminded me of something you would read out of a book. We sat on feather couches and drank daquiris for two hours. We talked about everything and anything, in one of the most relaxing environments possible. The it was equivalent to an outdoor night bar, but sooo much cooler. We explored the Thession Station. And turns out it is a famous Greek makeout spot, who knew they liked to kiss each other in public all the time. Afterwards the morning was here and it was time to go to bed for about 3 hours until breakfast. Well this may sound like a rough schedule but according to Brian, "dude were in Athens!"…also might I mention he is expecting us to throw up at least once on this trip. Happening? Uhhh I think not but you go Brian!