8/21/2004

Friday, August 20 2004 - Cemeteries, Club Sandwiches and Peloponnesian Planning

I’d just really like to see some trees. One Greek told me that Athens was as ugly as any other city and that I needed to get into the countryside to really see how beautiful Greece is. So Joel and I have spent part of today and yesterday today trying to figure out how to get to Olympia. The travel agency lady, Erini, said that she could get us a double at the Olympia Asty for 87 euro. She said it was a great deal. I looked into on the Internet. The only thing I could find was a Best Western for 115 euro that Dr. Owens recommended. I did find pictures of the Olympia Asty and it looked just as nice as the Best Western. So I went back today and asked to make a reservation. Catalana said that the hotel was not within their network. I said that Erini had given me the quote. They figured it out and explained that it had been through a local travel agent and that the local agent could get special prices and said to come back on Monday, because they probably could not contact the agent until Monday due to it being a weekend. The agency doesn’t charge any money to make reservations, which is great. I do have to say that they weren’t very helpful in trying to find the Athens-Peloponnese bus station. They knew were it was, but couldn’t find a map that had it on it. We do know how to get to Olympia by train though. Currently, Jon said he wanted a day trip, which Joel and I know, isn’t possible. Chris didn’t want to go. Sarah said the she would probably wanted to if Vanessa wanted to. Vanessa said that she wanted to. I found out today that if I am not spending the night at the seminary then I don’t have to pay for the room there, which makes staying in Olympia practically free and even less if others come along.

Yesterday, Joel and I went to the Temple of Zeus. We also another gate built by Hadrian. We got to take pictures of the Acropolis from the Temple of Zues (well, the columns that are left of it. Joel said that it was the best thing besides the Acropolis that he had seen so far. After the Temple of Zeus, Joel and I walked about 10 blocks to the Athens Cemetery. It was pretty creepy. It’s all aboveground and very ornate. There are even giant arches when you come in. Some of the mausoleums were mini-chapels. It’s kind of eerie to walk underground and realize there are 10 dead people around you. We walked about 6 blocks to the east and figured out where the metro is. Joel keeps commenting that he likes hanging around with me, because I have an itinerary planned and I know where we are or at least can find it. We both usually have camera with each other, too, so we stop at random spots and take a photo. So once we found the metro, I wanted to see what Goody’s was like. It’s a Mediterranean fast food restaurant. Joel didn’t want to go, but I persuaded him. We both bought club sandwiches and fries. He got a can of coke, too. Joel hates mayonnaise. We figured out that if we said no white sauce we could get it.
Epiphany of the day: I just realized that I have Art Survey 1 when I get back. This class only covers art before the middle ages. I am in Greece. I can imagine myself in class watching slideshow and saying to myself smugly “I’ve been there.”

~ Stephen

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