It’s been 100 years since the sinking of the Titanic.
Transportation laws and regulations have come a long way thanks to the
disaster, but all I can say is that I’m happy I’m not travelling today.
Instead, I took myself back to Athens via the tram and
checked out the National Gardens as well as the Archaeological Site of
Olympieion (as typed on the sign outside the ruins) which also had a stellar
view of Acropolis Hill.
I took the tram back to Syntagma Square in Athens, but this
time instead of going left upon exiting the tram, I went right and found one of
the entrance gates into the National Gardens.
There isn’t a whole lot to write about the gardens except
that it was like a huge park with many types of trees and flowers, walking
paths, trellises, arbors, benches, shaded and un-shaded areas, a miniature zoo
with geese, rabbits, rams and peacocks, and a coffee shop. The entrance I
entered from was one of the main entrances, and there was an ancient sundial on
display with instructions on how to read it. The time, as stated on the marble
slab, was Greenwich Mean Time.
On entering the gardens, I walked through a dozen or so
extremely tall palm trees that reminded me of what I’ve seen on TV in the
upscale areas of Los Angeles. I then came upon a grove of orange trees, and
immediately felt right at home. Palm and Orange trees: perfect for a Florida
girl.
As I wandered around the gardens for a good two-plus hours,
I saw pink rose bushes, white and lavender flowers hanging from trellises,
grass so long and fine it looked like water, a beautiful pond with a charming
little bridge over it, and another pond with rocks piled up in the center that,
upon closer inspection, turned out to be turtles. There was also a children’s
playground in the gardens, somewhat near the zoo.
Near the rear of the gardens, I noticed there were rustic
directional signs, one saying ‘coffee shop’. Having not eaten yet in the day, I
decided to check it out. It turns out the coffee shop was perfectly hidden with
its outdoor seating [only] of green metal tables and chairs, white marble slab
tables, and worn wooden façade. I took a seat and the waiter came to give me
the menu, which was in Greek as well as English. I ordered a Nescafe Frappe,
which is Greece’s version of iced coffee, and grilled toast with turkey (sans
cheese).
I must mention that Greek coffee is different from American
(and Korean) coffee. If the coffee listed on the menu mentions ‘filtered’, the
coffee is filtered American-style. If it doesn’t mention the word ‘filtered’,
it is not. This means you’ll surely have coffee granules in your coffee, and it
will have a strong, bitter taste. Also, a Greek frappe is not a regular iced
coffee – that is, brewed coffee with milk and sugar poured over ice. A frappe
in Greece is brewed unfiltered coffee with added milk and sugar, mixed into a
frothy foamy substance, and then poured over ice. I ordered a frappe at the
hotel in Santorini and it was most delicious. The frappe at the National
Gardens coffee shop was much more bitter and I could only finish half of it.
Not to say it was bad, just not my particular cup of… coffee.
After my mid-day brunch, I walked the gardens until I was
satisfied, and then headed out to check out something else. I walked down the
street in the direction of the tram back to Glyfada and came across another
garden, probably another part of the National Gardens. I decided to walk
through it, and when I came out on the other side I was directly in front of
the Greek Parliament building. After taking some pictures, I decided to walk up
to the closed doors and have a peek inside. The main foyer was absolutely
stunning in its marbled glory. It was about 50 feet across and on the other
side was a lavish red and white marble courtyard. The ceiling of the foyer was
equally amazing, with a detailed symmetrical painting. I took photos through
the locked glass doors, but again, they do not do it justice.
After walking around the outside of the Parliament building
a bit more, and taking in the pink cherry blossom trees, I decided to head over
to an ancient archaeological site I saw through the trees. I first came to
Hadrian’s Arch, a beautiful archway leading to the Temple of Olympian Zeus.
When I finally got to the temple, it was to be closed in 15 minutes. Also free
as part of Easter weekend (but normally a 14.95 Euro entry fee), I was allowed
in to take some quick photographs before it closed for the day at 3pm. The
closing time seemed early to me, but that was the posted time it seemed for
every day of the year. (Similarly, the Acropolis closed yesterday at 4:30pm,
also somewhat early.)
After taking some hopefully good photographs of the ancient
site, the sky was looking even more ominous than yesterday so I boarded the
tram and headed back to Glyfada just in time for the rain to start.
The weather cleared by evening, so I took myself to see another breathtaking sunset over the Saronic Gulf. Tomorrow is my last full day in
Greece, and I plan to spend every minute of it tanning on the beach and
tuning in for one last sunset.
Cheers!
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