Yup, Old Athens Is Definitely My Scene

I love historic Athens, but new Athens, no, not so much.
This will probably shock Greeks and Europeans in general, but when it comes to the sea and sun, it’s almost impossible to impress a Caribbean person!

You see, we are accustomed to a warn beautiful sea and powdery white sands, but that doesn’t exist anywhere on the Mediterranean or Aegean coasts, where the water is damn cold year round, and the sand, gravely.

However, It’s places like this that the late Aristotle Onassis and Jackie O,  (Jackie was John F. Kennedy ‘s widow and she married the Greek billionaire Onassis) and other billionaires, millionaires and pretenders have frolicked for decades, regarding it as heaven on earth, I guess!

So, at the exclusive seaside area on the Aegean called the Athens Riviera, around 20 kms away, there are at least 23 major hotels numerous,  lavish holiday homes, luxury cars, etc.

We only visited this ‘haven’, as it’s included in the Hop on Hop off system though. You know, my life has really been ironic, for when it was necessary to learn history (to get ahead in school), I hated it.       

I think it was only when I got to my 30s that it became an obsession with me, so former great civilizations such as in Peru, Guatemala, Mali, Greece, etc, flew to the top of my bucket list!

So, excuse me if modern cities and coastal beauty just don’t excite me.

Unfortunately though, since I am having difficulty winning the damn lottery, most great historic areas will have to remain unvisited until I reincarnate! 

But that’s an aside.    

After visiting the ‘Riviera,’ it was wonderful to return to old Athens with it’s amazing architecture and living history told through fantastic marble statues and ruins, and learning about their significance centuries ago.

Incidentally, Athens has so many ruins, that when they were excavating for their subway system they ran into numerous previously undiscovered treasures that they had to change plans often.
This old parliament building is now used to host small conferences.

It was great to return to the old city and especially to disembark at Hadrian’s marble arch, constructed 131-132AD.

Hadrian was considered the ‘benefactor emperor’ and his arch is part of the wall that was built around Athens.

Yesterday they had a taxi strike, but they were back at work today and that is when we experienced Athenian gridlock, for many older streets are very narrow.

Despite how narrow and winding they are, I love their character and none less than the cobblestone pedestrian street below Syntagna Square. Don’t ask me its name though, as it’s Greek to me.

However, here, you can get a taste of everything from roasted corn, street musicians, hustlers to high-end brand name products, at the luxury shops on this street.

And, of course, internationally famous Greek dishes are available at every turn as there is no shortage of restaurants and sidewalk cafes in this beautiful old city.

Yup, old Athens is definitely my scene!