Actually, it was a little more planned than that; our friends Aaron and Emma had their wedding over there and we were lucky enough to be invited. So we gave ourselves a bit of extra time to poke around Athens first.
Athens has two distinct sides. First of all, it IS everything that the travel agents want you to believe - crammed with culture, fashion and out-of-this-world fresh produce at prices that make Paddy's Markets in Sydney look like an overpriced reduced to clear bin for old fruit. The ruins are amazing to wander through, the city has a very cosy, old feel for the most part, and wherever you go to eat the food is always fresh. In fact, it's safe to say that Greece has shown me the best 'simple foods' I have ever, ever... ever... had. Stuff that is just slow cooked with basic fresh ingredients, or tossed together with some olive oil, whatever the method, it's straightforward and totally legendary stuff.
But every angel has armpits, and athens has a few spots that could use a freshen up too. There is graffiti almost everywhere. Anywhere not guarded 24 hours a day or behind a fence higher than the building behind it has been used as a canvas by all the local hoods and taggers. Not sure why the graffiti is SO bad in Athens, but wow, it was almost the first thing that really stood out to me. The other obvious downside to the city was that the people were a little unfriendly in general. Ranging from disinterested shopkeepers, to raging, arm-waving taxi drivers, to waiters who refuse to give change unless requested to do so in writing, Kate and I continually came up against a wall of 'not nice' during our time in the city. We have always found crazy dang city folk to always be a bit more edgy on average in the course of our travels (sydney is no exception), but Athenians seemed to have been fed an extra helping of 'unhappy childhood' or something. Oh well, I think I'll just go grab another kilo of the best olives ever for 3 euro and shut the hell up eh?
Our best day in Athens was the day we walked all over the city, strolling through the various ruins that are dotted all over the place. I mean, the city is literally built right around all these ancient sites, which makes access to them really easy. We saw the first modern olympic stadium, the Temple of Zeus, a few smaller temples and old libraries, and of course, the Parthenon, perched atop the Acropolis, complete with a bunch of cranes and workmen gradually restoring bits here and there. We took a brick of fetta cheese and some bread up with us and had lunch under an olive tree, looking up at the Parthenon and out over the rest of the city. Tranquil stuff I tell you.
After a few days wandering the ruins and eating everything in sight, we went north to Sesi Beach, where Aaron and Emma's wedding was going to take place in a villa overlooking the coastline. The villa was beautiful, and completely set up to make guests feel darn comfortable, with a pool, common room and nice big kitchen. The owners were polite and attentive (yeah, we weren't in Athens anymore I guess) without being smothering, and all the other guests of the wedding who stayed there with us were a great laugh to hang out with. Midnight games of poker using candy as chips, followed by lazy midday swims in the beach sipping greek beer was one hell of a way to relax. The wedding itself was in a tiny local orthodox chapel down by the beach, and it was great to FINALLY (click for back story) see two of our best mates get hitched in such a perfect setting. T
he reception was at the villa where we had everything we needed for a good time. music, Greek food, good company, local wine and ouzo... Fair to say everyone had a great time. If you are reading this A&E, then congratulations guys, we should really do it all again some time soon. 1 month renewal of vows perhaps? divorce and instantly remarry? bi-monthly historical re-enactment? Whatever works, just make sure there is more fetta and leftover veal waiting for me.
After leaving the wedding, we dragged ourselves back to Athens, where we spent one final night savouring the local cuisine before jetting off to..... Germany. Yeah, we weren't ready to face Korea again just yet, and someone told us that Oktoberfest was still going, so what choice did we have?Unfortunately this blog post has already exceeded the maximum legal limit for talk of food and good times, so I'll leave it to Katie to post some stuff about our germanian experiences in a day or two.
till then!
//Brendan
ps - not sure how I missed this one, but on the 16th August my dreadlocks turned 2 years old. they have a distinctly vintage feel about them now, and are more or less looking after themselves, new growth aside. I lit two on fire and blew them out to mark the occasion.
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