Kalimera! Good morning!

Day 10. I really should have internet diaried earlier but I couldn't be bothered. What with the fine scenaries, colorful sunsets, Greek hospitality that translates into extra drinks, shots, and desserts I was too busy enjoying the vacation atmosphere with my friend to be burdened with recording details before they flitted from my mildly inebriated brain. Then came Paros. Athens. We spent a total of 4 days in the capital city on the mainland and we were treated to all of the archaeological wonders and sites of national heritage. I love history and so does Trisha so we had a grand old time exploring the acropolis, the parthenon, Zeus' temple, Athena's temple (one of a billion, oh patron saint of Athens), the museums, Hadrian's Arch (Roman conqueror/architect), the parliament where all the Greek economic protests are happening, the old agoras (both Roman and Greek), the mosques leftover from Ottoman rule, and the many many churches. The archaeological museum was particularly fasinating to us archive geeks, and its shipwreck exhibit presenting the many treasures unearthed at the bottom of the Mediterranean was breathtaking. Like, literally. There were statues that fell from the countless Roman ships that hid bad weather, and were embedded in the sea bed, preserving the fine marble for centuries, until Greek treasure hunters reclaimed it for the motherland. The parts exposed on the statue were corroded by infinite sea creatures. The visual effect of half a marble athlete's likeness in perfect condition, half in pockmarked ruin kept me staring for long after the rest of the crowd had moved on. The city center is fairly compact and made getting around on foot easy and cheap. We made some friends at our hostel and hung out with a pretty diverse crowd the first weekend before everyone else left the town. Trisha and I discovered thereafter, that as two young women alone we were of interest to the local men. Not everyone, though. Papous over the age of seventy seemed to ignore us. But during our remaining two days we were followed a few times and catcalled pretty incessantly. We never felt seriously in danger and were in the presence of other people, tourists, and locals alike constantly. But we did duck into a restaurant where a guy had offered us a first round of drinks free earlier, when it was clear the man behind us wasn't going away, and we resolved never to go back to the Central Market either. The Central Market was recommended to us by everyone and we went expecting to see whole sheep skinned and hanging for our viewing pleasure. Very Greek. (This whole trip I've been quoting My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Trisha doesn't like red meat. "You don't eat MEAT??") We also expected a bit naively to find some produce. Maybe some knick knacks as well. A cheese shop perhaps. How wrong we were. I got a quick shot on my camera phone before we started the walk through. Men in butcher's aprons stood by their product and took a few steps closer to check out our own goods. "Tourista!" we heard, followed by low chuckles and words in Greek. Trisha and I kept close to one another and she breathed, "I don't know if I can do this." She was referring to the bodies of animals stripped clean of their skin, exposing the muscle and sinews beneath. As we continued forward I found myself sharing the sentiment. What started at first as a tightening of my chest at the sight of the bodies (I do eat meat, and have been in butcher's shops in France and in California before, never before with this reaction) grew into lightheadedness, shallow breaths, and quickened heartbeat. The men stepped closer, some indifferent to us, most with a keen interest that had nothing to do with us purchasing anything. There was one woman and another pair of tourists (a man and woman) but otherwise no one else to dilute the sense of choking claustrophobia that was mounting in my mind along the two hundred foot marketplace. I raised a hand to cool my head and just searched for the exit as we came to the heart of the covered warehouse. Trisha blindly followed me, fighting her own lightheadedness and nausea, and as I breathed deep the clean air of smog and city smells, unsullied with fresh meat and fear, I turned to Trisha to find her still in the mouth of the market, a man holding her arm. He was asking, "Where are you from?" and she calmly replied, while I fought the urge to club him with a nearby haunch and bolt from the sidewalk with my friend. Do I think we were in danger? No. But the combination of the hanging, red, muscled bodies surrounding me, from kiosks that stood at my head level or higher for the entire length of the market, and the stress of being the meat on display in an enclosed space was enough to give me a panic attack, I think. I'm still not sure, especially because I think I've had ONE before. Especially, given the man that followed us the evening before, then continued past the restaurant as we were seated, it just struck me in an odd way. There was a sense of desperation about the city that I was expecting but didn't really feel at ease with in the middle of it. I don't know if it's the current Greek economy that feeds into that or if it's just an urban landscape with winding roads that make me uncomfortable, but I found myself aware of my surroundings and reluctant to take shortcakes and dark alleys. As I should be. Our last evening in Athens, we 'Greek danced' (you know what I mean, picture whatever stereotype you have and we did that) and enjoyed a fantastic dinner with live entertainment. One of the singers we even saw on television the following night in Santorini, so who knows what celebrities we did the grapevine with! Food has been incredible and we ate GIANT Greek salads, rife with olives which I hungrily devoured - I don't even like olives at home, but I must be so authentic, I can only eat the local specialities on site. Same with Guiness. I hate Guiness in California, but LOVED it in Dublin. Go figure. Moussaka is a like a Greek lasanga, but instead of pasta there's pureed potatoes and eggplant layers. Delish! Mostly, I've been spending my money on seafood, since the plat du jour in Rouen is mostly beef, peppered with chicken, varied with beef. Swordfish, bakaloa (local fish), stuffed squid, mackeral, red snapper, red mullet, calamari, fish roe, octopus have all dominated my thoughts and my budget and I have no regrets. Santorini! I'll document in the next post. Right now, I've made myself hungry. :) Kalinita! Good night!