i love athens in the springtime

we arrived at athens international airport nearly half past one, yes, in the morning. this could have been much later, as due to circumstances beyond our control, we very nearly missed our connection in frankfort.

on the 2nd leg of the journey, i was seated next to CrazyTalk (CT) and a lovely greek woman who helped me practice the greek alphabet. she was quite impressed with my effort. after exiting the plane with our carry-on luggage (no check-ins for us!) we managed to find the bus (on our own! aren't you impressed mum?) and get to downtown athens and find the hostel (backpackers.gr) with a minimum of fuss. we arrived there at 3 am.

they had no beds for us (due to a mix-up) and so we slept on couches - or didn't sleep as the case may be. there was a pair of lovebirds just one couch over...

a conversation somewhere in athens...

:: giggles, whispering frantically::
"ssssh! stop. beHAVE yourself, there are peoppppple here!"
:: rustle of sheets::
(REST OF CONVERSATION CENSORED)

needless to say, no sleep was had by ANY and a very exhaustified kyliemac and crazytalk rose ridiculously early to attack the day.

may 1 is easter in greece and NOTHING WILL BE OPEN TOMORROW. and everything else is already closed today.

we met a lovely australian woman, tanya <[tan-yah] for you yanks> and spent ALL MORNING at the acropolis and now i have a lovely lobsterfied face to prove it.

the acropolis.

i give to you the impression i had upon seeing it up close and personal for the first time...

"WOW".

i am exhausted and this internet time is ridiculously priced. i sit listening to an acoustic guitar that is trying valiantly to drown out the Guns'N Roses that is playing in the background. our room (6 bunks) is filled with young brits - it's their gap year. they've just spent a month here and the month before in italy.

tanya is fluent in japanese (5 years there teaching) and has just spent her last month or so touring jordan, syria, and turkey.

:: blinks::
mm-hmm.

we are safe.
we are sunburned.
we are going to drink wine on the roof and gaze at the acropolis.