Alana Bloom (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
patterns_bloom) wrote2017-09-18 05:50 pm
patterns_bloom) wrote2017-09-18 05:50 pm
Entry tags:
Athens
Once Alana arrives in Athens, her first destination on her backpacking tour of Europe, she's overwhelmed by feelings: of loneliness, sure, but she's used to being lonely--and of panic. She spent so long in the bar, trapped in her tiny rooms, that the thought of exploring several countries is staggering.
She allows herself a few moments of uncontrolled anxiety before she takes a few breaths. She made it here, didn't she? She boarded the planes from America to Greece. She sets out to find her hostel--the Athens Studios, within walking distance of the Acropolis--and a wine bar for dinner. Alana is determined to make this trip work.
Alana knows enough Greek to mislead the locals; if she asked for something in Greek, they'd respond eagerly in the same language, only to be met by her confused stare. Luckily for her, most Greeks speak English.
After purchasing a 12€ four-day pass for entry to all the archeological sites, Alana tours until 3pm, when they all close--except the Acropolis, which closes at 7pm. Over the next four days, she marvels at the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthean columns at the Theater of Herod Atticus, the Theater of Dionysious and the Ancient Agora. Her next stop is the Benaki Museum, to see exhibits exploring continuous history from ancient to modern Greece.
She's jet-lagged and suffering insomnia, so she heads to the Agora-Athens central market in the early mornings to watch the trucks unload with a cup of coffee. The scents of meats and vegetables cooking in the restaraunts that line the market are delectable, and Alana spends all of the fifth day people watching. She wishes she had an apartment with a kitchen so she could join in shopping for food.
A child playing an accordion on Eolou Street catches her eye in the evening. "Spare some money, miss?" he says, running his small fingers over the keys.
Alana almost gives some to him, but then feels a second child pickpocketing her dummy wallet--a wallet with canceled credit cards and petty cash--from her back pocket. She allows it, and continues on her way.
She allows herself a few moments of uncontrolled anxiety before she takes a few breaths. She made it here, didn't she? She boarded the planes from America to Greece. She sets out to find her hostel--the Athens Studios, within walking distance of the Acropolis--and a wine bar for dinner. Alana is determined to make this trip work.
Alana knows enough Greek to mislead the locals; if she asked for something in Greek, they'd respond eagerly in the same language, only to be met by her confused stare. Luckily for her, most Greeks speak English.
After purchasing a 12€ four-day pass for entry to all the archeological sites, Alana tours until 3pm, when they all close--except the Acropolis, which closes at 7pm. Over the next four days, she marvels at the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthean columns at the Theater of Herod Atticus, the Theater of Dionysious and the Ancient Agora. Her next stop is the Benaki Museum, to see exhibits exploring continuous history from ancient to modern Greece.
She's jet-lagged and suffering insomnia, so she heads to the Agora-Athens central market in the early mornings to watch the trucks unload with a cup of coffee. The scents of meats and vegetables cooking in the restaraunts that line the market are delectable, and Alana spends all of the fifth day people watching. She wishes she had an apartment with a kitchen so she could join in shopping for food.
A child playing an accordion on Eolou Street catches her eye in the evening. "Spare some money, miss?" he says, running his small fingers over the keys.
Alana almost gives some to him, but then feels a second child pickpocketing her dummy wallet--a wallet with canceled credit cards and petty cash--from her back pocket. She allows it, and continues on her way.