At the airport, my flight is late. Normally, this would not be a problem except that a have a layover in Munich and with forty-five minutes of delay, it is going to be a crunch getting on the next flight. After sprinting across the German airport with French expletives spilling out of my mouth, I make it to the gate just in time to hear the attractive German stewardess announce that my connecting flight is also running late. I love airports!
Arriving in Athens, I forgot that Greek has its own alphabet. Everything looks like an algebraic equation from hell. Of course, nothing has been organized from my part. Busy crunching deadlines at work up until the day I left, organizing what to do and how to do it once I would finally go on vacation just never happened. I manage to get a train ticket from the airport into the heart of the city. Once out and about in the centre of Athens, night is fallen and I am anxious about where I am going to stay. Carla, a Bolivian friend of mine lives in Thebes with her boyfriend, and wrote that she could meet me tomorrow, but that I would be on my own the first night, tonight. I am supposed to call her now that I have arrived, but my cell phone has no signal. Apparently, Greece is a sort of a second class European citizen and cell phone reception was not included in the entrance contract to the European Union. Luckily, I happen upon a computer store. I mosey on in with my sack in tow and try to make a face that says, yes I am a rich white American that has just arrived in Athens, and I am seriously interested in purchasing a computer. The security guard looks at my kind of strangely but doesn't say anything. I hustle over to one of the display computers and quickly log onto my email account in order to let Carla know that I have arrived in Athens and that I will meet her in front of the hotel that she mentioned in her last email at 10:00AM tomorrow. I can see the salesmen are ready to throw me out, so I peal out of the store with the self-satisfaction of a mission accomplished.
Walking down Emrou, Athens version of 5th Avenue, I happen to look to the right and catch a glimpse of the Acropolis for the first time. It is stunningly beautiful. It is night and the lit Acropolis towers above the city as an eminent reminder of things that once were. The contrast between the ruins of a civilisation that was built centuries before Christ would ever walk the earth and the modern civilisation within which we live is breathtaking. I make my way to Gazi, Athens' hip quarter for music and nightlife. I feel so helpless not being able to speak the language. It is as if I am watching everything happen around me, but I can't take part in it. Starving, I buy my first “giro”. A giro is a Greek sandwich made from pita bread. It is almost exactly like the Arabic Kebabs that we have in Toulouse, except that it is fresher. Greasy and loaded with fat, it totally hit the spot. Overhearing an English couple next to me, I manage to get information about where I can find a cheap hotel near by. No frills, no perks, just a bed and a place to pee..."The price is right Bob!" Day one has been accomplished. 
Friday, September 12
At times being an idiot is a serious disadvantage. I do the best with what I have. Carla and I have always spoken in French together since we met in Toulouse when we were both working as language instructors, her teaching Spanish and me teaching "American". However, Carla doesn't like to write in French, a fact that I can completely understand seeing as how the link between spoken and written French is very thin. Thus, all her emails are in Spanish, a fact which gives me the chance to practice a bit. Anyhow, I spend the morning looking for our meeting point in front of the hotel "Alrededor" at 10:00. A bit suspicious about the name of this hotel, I ask around a bit, and nobody has ever heard of it. I make a quick jump over to my favourite computer store in Athens and check my emails. Carla doesn't know what hotel I am talking about...but she is the one who said the Hotel Alredador. I would later find out that "alredador" means "around" and that Carla meant that she would meet me at MY hotel around 10:00. I quickly by a phone card and give her a call. Despite my stupidity, we finally meet up at the centre city square, Syntigma; a name that I constantly confuse with stigmata.
We are off and our first stop is the Acropolis. Climbing up the large mesa on which stands the acropolis, I, like the other thousands of tourists around me, come face to face with one of the greatest technological achievements in early human history. Most of the major temples were rebuilt under the leadership of Pericles during the Golden Age of Athens (460–430 BC). Phidias, a great Athenian sculptor, and Ictinus and Callicrates, two famous architects, were responsible for the reconstruction. During the 5th century BC, the Acropolis gained its final shape. After winning at Eurymedon in 468 BC, Cimon and Themistocles ordered the reconstruction of southern and northern walls, and Pericles entrusted the building of the Parthenon to Ictinus and Phidias. The building itself was dedicated to Athena, the goddess and protector of the city. From the top of hill, the view of Athens is remarkable. Below, we can see the Theatre of Dionyses. I try to imagine what a play would have been like thousands of years ago.
It is hot, and Carla is ready for a cold beer. We head down into Plaka, Athens’ central tourist trap. The quarter is covered with shops that are filled with all of the little knickknacks that tourists can't keep their hands off of. We stop for a beer and catch up on each other’s lives. I love Carla, because she is so real. It is really refreshing. Carla doesn't pretend to have her “ish” together and has come to a point in life where she just takes things a day at a time.
After our beer, we decide to get a giro. I don't know why, but all of my life I have been a magnet for crazy people. I think they must sense that I am teetering on the edge of sanity myself and feel compelled to see if they can't make me tip over into the twilight zone. At the café, the lady sitting next to us appears to be completely sane and well dressed. I should have suspected something was up when she wouldn't stop smiling at me. It turns out she is one of the well-off but not rich individuals whose sole purpose in life is to convince every one that she possesses filthy amounts of money. Without speaking a word of French she starts talking to us in German, as if that would be close enough. I think she is telling us about all the places that she has visited and how much she loves Paris. I never know how to respond in this kind of situation, so I just end up being too friendly. This sets off an avalanche of one-sided conversation in German that I could do without. At the same time, she is smiling at Carla and I in away that says, If one of you wants to sleep with me or if both of you do, I'm down. Although I am kind of amused by the comedy that is unravelling before us, Carla is freaking out. It is time to go.
We head over to the Ancient Agora. The agora was the central marketplace in most Greek city-states. Typically the agora was located in the centre of town. Governmental buildings, such as the council building and courts, surrounded the agora in Athens. There were also two temples on the edge of the agora in Athens. Apparently, it was more than a marketplace. People came to the agora to discuss politics, meet with friends, as well as buy items from the market. Rich women were not seen in the agora; instead, their husbands or slaves would do the shopping for them. Only poor women, who had no help, would go to the market alone. This fact makes me a think about the Californian house hives that go to the grocery store in their slippers and with curlers in their hair. I guess public opinion just doesn't mean what it used to. The ruins are really well preserved and the associated museum is a reconstruction of the original. Seeing a completed specimen is awe-inspiring.
Next stop… the cathedral. Religion is really important to the Greek people. The Greek Orthodox Church reminds me of Catholicism except that the level of detail and ornamentation in the Greek tradition is overwhelming. Also, the Greek people kiss all of the murals and in then make a sign similar to the sign of the cross that Catholics make, but not quite the same. Marble is everywhere in this city and the church is no exception. I love old cathedrals. They always remind me of how small I am. I light a candle asking for a sense of purpose and direction in my life.
I then pick up a couple of souvenirs and we head to the Olympic Stadium, the National Garden and the Zapion Exhibition and Congress Hall.
Before leaving Athens for the day, Carla insists that I have to see the changing of the guard at the Parliament. We rush over to catch them in the act. The spectacle is one of the most ridiculous things I have seen. I can see by Carla's face that my reaction is exactly what she expected. The soldiers are dressed like little ballerina dolls and they march in slow motion lifting their legs like cancan girls and doing the same with the opposite arm. Once in place another soldier comes and makes sure that their skirts and the long ponytail that is attached to their hat is straight. I looked at Carla and said, "That is one of the gayest things I have ever seen in my life." She laughs.
We take the train and head to Thebes, the town where Carla lives. Her house is beautiful. Everything is brand new. She and her boyfriend have two guest bedrooms, three balconies and a hammock. I will have no problem spending the week here. We go for dinner and drinks in town before finally heading off to bed.
Saturday, September 13
I wake up around 10. I love that no one wakes me up. Carla is making bacon, eggs and toast. Today is beach day! After what was a great breakfast, David takes Carla and I to their local beach. The water is crystal clear and no one is around. Colourful fish are everywhere and red starfish dot the ocean floor. Between the blow up raft and jumping off rocks at the water's edge, the day is well spent.
The night brings Carla's cooking, wine, jenga and a round of black jack that I savagely won. I am so glad to be on vacation.
Sunday, September 14
Today, David is taking us to Delphi. David and Carla have not been yet, so I am glad that we will all be seeing it for the first time. On the way we pass through the town of Parnassus. Parnassus is literally on the side of a cliff. The layers of houses look like stairs from far away and the conditions of the houses themselves indicate that the people that live there are fairly affluent. David notices a sign for a ski station. We are all blown away. In the 90° heat it is hard to imagine that it snows in the winter.
Carla and David bicker in the car and I feel like a kid in the backseat of my parent's car. Before getting to the modern city we run into the ancient city first. Delphi is an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis. Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and it was a major site for the worship of the god Apollo. His sacred precinct in Delphi was a Panhellenic sanctuary, where every four years athletes from all over the Greek world competed in the Pythian Games, the precursor to the Olympic Games. Delphi was revered throughout the Greek world as the site of the omphalos stone, the centre of the earth and the universe. In the inner hestia ("hearth") of the Temple of Apollo, an eternal flame burned. After the battle of Plataea, the Greek cities extinguished their fires and brought new fire from the hearth of Greece, at Delphi; in the foundation stories of several Greek colonies, the founding colonists were first dedicated at Delphi. C
We take a tour of the ancient city and then the adjacent museum. History is great, but it's frickin’ hot! Let's go to the beach!
After several disagreements about how to get there, we finally make it to the beach. Crap! I've forgotten my swimsuit. The water is too tempting, so I do it in boxers.
On the way back, David suggests that he would like to pass by the town of Parnassus that we saw on the way up. Thanking that we will crab a bite to eat and chill, I agree. Three hours later, we are on hunt for the sky station! In the dead heat of mid summer Carla and I couldn't care less, but David is in explorer mode. We are going up winding mountain roads and I am about ready to vomit. It is such a heterosexual guy thing to get obsessed by an idea like that and then block out everything and everyone else until the destination is reached. I will just never get it. Both Carla and I roll our eyes in mutual understanding. By the time we finally make it home everyone is starving so I treat them to giros. That is the best giro I have had in Greece and it has nothing to do with how the giro was made and everything to do with finally being out of the car.
Monday, September 15
We were late getting up this morning and missed the early train to Athens so Carla is taking me around Thebes to see what there is to see...not much!
I was surprise because Thebes has such an important history. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others. In ancient times, Thebes was the largest city of the region of Boeotia and was the leader of the Boeotian confederacy. It was a major rival of ancient Athens, and sided with the Persians during the 480 BC invasion of Xerxes. Theban forces ended the power of Sparta at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC under the command of Epaminondas. The Sacred Band of Thebes (an elite military unit) famously fell at the battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC against Philip II and Alexander the Great. Prior to its destruction by Alexander in 335 BC, Thebes was a major force in Greek history, and was the most dominant city-state at the time of the Macedonian conquest of Greece.
Today, all that remains are three signs that say "archaeological site". Next to the first sign is a big hole. I imagine it was a dig, but there is so much litter at the bottom that one can scarcely see anything at all. I am convinced that the second sign must be a joke, because, literally nothing is there except for a small garden. Laughingly, Carla asks if I wanted to see the third. I tell her that I will pass.
We stop for some ice cream before meeting David for lunch and then taking the train back into Athens.
We decide to visit the Lycabettus Theatre. The theatre is located at the top of a small mountain that lies in the heart of the city. We take a tramway to get to the top. The view is spectacular. The monuments are so prominent against the cities urban sprawl. Athens truly is a site to behold.
We hit the National Archaeological Museum and then head back to Thebes by train.
Tuesday, September 16
Carla and David have to go to Athens early this morning. They are trying to get married, but since David is French, Carla is Bolivian and the two of them are living in Greece, the paperwork is a nightmare. Carla is all dressed up when I come down for breakfast and I can tell that she is nervous. She tells me that she doesn't want them to think that she is marrying David to get the nationality. I take a quick shower and head down to Athens with them. While they are at the French Embassy, I go to the city square and finish a novel that I have been reading throughout my trip. I always feel sad at the end of a good novel, because I feel so personally attached to the characters that I want to continue reading about the lives.
Carla and David call out my name. By their faces, I can tell that things went well. David heads back to work and Carla and I go to the National Library, University and Academy. The buildings done in a neoclassical style are the three most beautiful building I have seen in Athens and rival anything that I have seen in Washington D.C.
We hit the coin museum, have a little ice cream and then do some tourist shopping. I cannot believe it is already time for Carla to head back to Thebes and me to Toulouse. We say our goodbyes and I consider myself lucky to have a friend like her and to be able to visit Greece while she is here.
It is a full moon and the moon is low and absolutely enormous. It looks as if it is going to crash into the city. I have dinner outdoors at a small Greek restaurant, giros and a Greek salad.
Back to my love, back to France.
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