The Greeks, heat, and thinking do not mix well. It is Greek
mentality to take your time, contemplate for awhile, and even talk slowly. They
like to take their time with decisions, but they always have no worries. They
sleep in late and when it is hot, they lay around in bed or they go to the beach,
nothing else. The streets looked empty and some shops even closed so the owner
could be by the sea. They take their time, and hate to be rushed.
It is blistering temperatures and yesterday was the hottest
day of the summer so far. It was so hot that the acropolis closed early! In
this heat, I still managed to see the Unknown Soldier, the Parthenon, eat at a
genuine Greek restaurant, and do a little shopping. It was the first day of the
sale season so there were good prices everywhere! I got shirts for 5 Euros and
shoes for 8! Now I don’t have to hit the clubs in my Birkenstocks ; )
Finally you can get tap water! At every restaurant or bar,
they bring you tap water and free chips at bars and free desert or fruit at
restaurants. Most of the toilets are free too and water is cheap (only 50
cents)! This is quite a pleasant change from the rest of Europe.
The Greek view of the crisis: Things are not safe anymore.
People use to sleep with their doors unlocked, now you would be crazy not to
lock them. The city center is FILLED with beggars. These are all immigrants
that are looking to get into the rest of the EU but are unsuccessful and no
longer have enough money to go home. Most Greeks think the rest of the world
portrays the crisis as something a lot worse than it is. Though, things have
gotten a lot cheaper. The jails are full and the druggies just shoot up on the
streets. One Greek told me that the biggest problem is the hospital system. If
you need medical attention, you must be flown to Athens or Crete.
Rules mean nothing. Stop signs are just suggestions and you
would never get a ticket for running it. My host even went the wrong way on an
oneway and parked in the opposite direction of every other car. If you want to
park for a second, just throw on your flashers, kind of pull over, and “no
worries, things are good”.
Stray dogs are everywhere! Today we met one and named him
buddy!
Travel Tip:
Watch out, the acropolis museum is closed on Mondays!!
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