Antiquities Overload

I take back some of what I said about the Greeks not doing a good job of  preserving and displaying their antiquities. Today we went to the Greek Archeaological Museum and the Benaki Museum. They turned out to be two of the most spectacular museums we have visited anywhere. They weren’t very crowded, because most shore excursions from the massive cruise ships do not include these sites.


It’s hard to determine which characters are from mythology and which were real people. The Greek history goes back several thousand years and most of the “good stuff” is from hundreds or thousands of years B.C.. After several hours in the two museums, it was mind dulling. One could spend weeks in these two places studying the exhibits and appreciating the historical significance of all of it.


You are allowed to take pictures in some of the museums, but you are not allowed to use flash or to take pictures posing next to the statues. I couldn’t figure out the rationale for the latter rule until I started to study the Greek statues. Unlike the Egyptian statues, the Greek statues are naked. I guess they don’t want people taking photos in sexually suggestive poses with the naked statues (use your imagination).


Athens was a small city until sometime in the 1800s. Now it is a city of 5M+ people in a country of only 11M people. The 2004 Olympic Games were both a curse and a blessing for the city. They undertook a number of massive construction projects and infrastructure improvements that have greatly enhanced the city. But it put the country into deep debt and a lot of the construction projects have little use in today’s Athens.

Our Collection of Greek “Crapola” Photos

Every city has its horde of tourist shops and Athens is no exception. The Plaka area is the oldest part of the city, with many narrow streets, pedestrian lanes, and loads of shops geared to the tourist traffic. Most tourists stay in hotels in or near the Plaka. Even the passengers from the numerous large cruise ships spend at least an afternoon or evening in the Plaka.

Every storefront is either a café, bar, restaurant, clothing store, jeweler, or tourist-oriented gift (crapola) shop. We’ve made it a habit of taking photos of the crapola highlights from each city we visit. Athens got its share of photos.

What’s remarkable about all these tourist items is that 1) people actually buy them in quantity – the inventory seems to turn over rapidly, and 2) most of the stuff is actually made in China.

My favorite crapola item in Athens was the ridiculous looking shoes/slippers.

Check out the latest additions to our collection of crapola photos:

Climbing the Acropolis

I know it is Rosh Hashonah, but the tour schedule is the tour schedule. This morning we climbed to the top of the Acropolis to see the Parthenon. The climb wasn't a problem.

The thousands of tourists from the cruise ships docked in the harbor, piling out of the dozens of buses, and descending on the Acropolis the same time as we did - that was the problem.

If you are into people watching, it was a hilarious scene to see the German, Italian, Spanish, and of course, American tourists. It was easy to pick out the nationalities without even listening to them speak. The Italians were all dressed in designer fashions (including the women in high heels) and seemingly oblivious to the 90 degree heat. Most of the Americans were overweight and dressed like slobs, but comfortable slobs. The Spanish talked nonstop, and the Germans dressed with no eye for color coordination or style.

The Greeks need to do a much better job restoring all their ancient sites. The only way they are going to expand their economy is with tourism, yet the historical sites aren't that impressive.

The new Acropolis museum was the most interesting thing we saw. Just completed a couple of years ago, it does a nice job of displaying the history of the Greek civilization. Too bad the British "stole" some of the best pieces back in the early 1800s (including chunks of the Parthenon) and now display them in the British Museum in London. Good luck trying to get the British to give them back to Greece.

24 Hours in Athens

It's now been a bit over 24 hours since we arrived in Athens. We had a great view of the Acropolis from our hotel room. Tomorrow, we climb up there.





We met the people on the pre-trip tour of Athens before our cruise. Eleven of us on the pre-trip. As we expected, there are some unusual characters. Caren especially liked this couple from Sacramento that looked equipped to venture into the bush on safari.

Caren and I are in our typical California casual wear - shorts, golf shirts, and flip-flops.

John, the New Jersey Taxi Driver

First of all, the international terminal at LAX wasn't as bad as I remembered from a few months ago. There is a lot of construction going on to improve the concourses and add new gates. But, just when I was about to change my mind, we found that the elevator to the Star Alliance lounge was broken. Two flights of stairs later, we made it up there. And then two flights of stairs back down - good exercise.

As expected, our Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt was right on schedule. Our connection to Athens was in an older section of Frankfurt airport - no access to the business class lounge. Aargh!

When we arrived in Athens, our car driver John was waiting for us. He sounded like he was straight out of New Jersey - he was. His family moved back to Greece more than 15 years ago. He asked how the Yankees and (football) Giants were doing. Caren wanted to ask him if his parents owned a diner in Jersey, but I told her that was a stereotype she should drop.

A shower and short nap later, we walked down the street from our hotel to a small, family run restaurant. Mom and Dad were in the kitchen and the two sons handled the tables out front. Tzasiki, zucchini croquettes, moussaka, fresh fried anchovies, and two carafes of wine. The bill came to 30 Euros (US$39). Try matching that in LA.

Now to catch up on our sleep and start touring tomorrow.

On Our Way to Greece and the Dalmatian Coast

Today, we're off on another journey - this time to Greece and the Dalmatian Coast (i.e. the Balkans). The families of many of our friends originally came from Croatia so we have received lots of advice about what to see, what to eat, and especially, what to drink.

This is a Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic trip like our trip to Egypt and Jordan last year. Not a luxury cruise; more an expedition with lecturers and visits to lots of historical sites. (I hope we visit some "historic" wineries, pastry shops, and restaurants.)

After a few days in Athens, we board our boat (not big enough to be called a ship). 175' long, three masted sailing vessel that holds 44 passengers. Yes, it also has an engine. We're not planning to climb the mast, operate the winches for the sails, and clean the bilge. It looks modern, luxurious, and comfy.

Been reading some travel and history books about Greece, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia, and Croatia. Looks like we're going to see a LOT of old ruins in Greece. Maybe not as old as some of the stuff we saw in Egypt, but still old.

The Balkan countries seem to have been invaded and ruled by nearly everyone over the years. I think we'll be seeing quite a few old forts, castles, and churches, as well as a lot of beautiful scenery.

Here's a map of our itinerary:

Of course, this means another opportunity to traverse the "third world" international terminal at LAX. What a terrible facility! Seriously, we've traveled to over 50 countries around the world and this rates as the third worst airport terminal I can remember (Delhi's international terminal is the worst, followed closely by Yangon (Rangoon), Burma).

We're flying Lufthansa to Frankfurt, then connecting to Athens. I hope they take good care of our luggage. I'm bringing along a "six pack" of wine to drink at dinner on the boat.

More to follow when we get to Athens.

Recent Readings

Here are some books that we recently finished:

Between the Assassinations by Aravind Adiga. A series of stories about various people living in a fictional city in south India. If you read this book (or his book The White Tiger) and still want to go to India, you are as crazy as we are.

Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre. Another book about Nazis and double agents. Caren loves to read this genre of books.

The Rembrandt Affair by Daniel Silva. Another is the series of spy thrillers he's written with a fictional Israeli agent, Gabriel Allon. First book I read on Caren's new Kindle 3.