Acropolis

Thursday 19th January 1984

We laid in until 10:00 hrs. before finishing the remainder of last night’s snack and packing our bags. It was a bit warmer today and we made our way to Syntagma Square for morning coffee. The sun glinted off the fountain as we sat in the usual spot, served by a waiter who knew us. We repelled the impudent shoeshine boys and tried to ignore the blaring tannoy and the chanting, fist waving political demonstration going on.

We continued our slog up to the official International Youth Hostel, jostling through the crowded streets who seemed to dawdle and falter without warning. We got to the hostel ten minutes before it reopened at 13:00 hrs. and booked in.

It was a pleasant roomy building which appeared to be purpose build and laid out according to IYHA standards. The fat, amiable warden saw us alright with a generous blanket allocation and we made up our beds with our sheet sleeping bags before moving out. Our dormitory had a small balcony overlooking the street.

We had a meagre lunch on a bench in Areos Park before steaming back southwards for a final look at the Flea Market. The Pedion tou Areos or Pedion Areos, meaning Field of Ares, corresponding to the French Champ de Mars and the ancient Campus Martius, is one of the largest public parks in Athens.

The park was designed in 1934 and its purpose was to honour the heroes of the Greek Revolution of 1821, 21 of whom are depicted in marble busts standing in the park. The initial plan included the construction of a "Pantheon" for the revolutionaries and also a major Christian Temple, dedicated to the Greek Independence.

At the Flea Market George found a reasonable pair of trousers but the old bastard on the stall wanted a “king’s ransom” for them. We found ourselves in Syntagma Square again, so we went into the Phivos Café for a coffee.

Our intention was to revisit the Acropolis but there appeared only one access route and all of our shortcuts were thwarted. We went on to finally reach the Acropolis just as it was closing for the evening. We discovered that a 150 Drachma toll was charged every day except for Sundays and Bank Holidays.

We sat and watched the sun go down behind Filopapous Hill. Again, there was a choice of spellings for this landmark. The Hill and Monument of Filopappou in Athens: Filopappou (or Philopappou) Hill is a green area to the southwest of the Acropolis. It is a favourite promenade of the Athenians and there you can have great views of the Acropolis, the whole city of Athens and the Aegean Sea that surrounds Attica. We took a few photographs and ogled the attractive girl on our left.

We headed back at dusk, walking up the main drag of Athens, which was reminiscent of London streets such as Oxford Street at night. We popped into a couple of record shops and back in Kipselis we bought some component food for supper.

George was intercepted as he entered the Youth Hostel and was diverted to a downstairs table outside where I joined him after a search for a purveyor of bread. After scoffing as many cheese sandwiches as I could, we returned to our dormitory where another Greek newspaper collector was already in bed. I had a much-needed shower and an early night.