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Friday
Loretta: Today we have decided to visit Lycattus Hill and the church of St Georgios which sits atop of this high point in Athens overlooking the city. After getting off the metro at Evangelismos, we walk the steep streets to the base of the hill and after finding that we would have a twenty minute wait for the funicular and being told by the ticket seller that we look fit enough to walk, we decide not to wait and instead take on the task of walking the winding and steep path to the top- with just a few little rests along the way!
Older Greeks certainly have a challenging task of going about their daily business walking up and down these steep streets and the often uneven paths that dot the city. So much of the basic infrastructure of Greece has not been maintained and if you're not watching where you are going, you could easily sprain or break an ankle. Obviously they haven't got the money hungry lawyers we have in Australia who run advertisements to encourage people to sue local councils over unmaintained footpaths etc -It wouldn't work here.
Greece has a total population if 11million people and over 5 million live in city of Athens alone. When you stand and look at just how far this city goes for, its difficult to imagine living and working in such a hectic place. Nevertheless there are pockets of green belts dotted throughout the city for people to escape to. St Georgios is a built in typical Greek style with whitewashed walls and a blue painted dome and it seems to be the ideal place for this little church.
We start to descend and walk further along to the lookout point of Lycattus Theatre which runs performances during the summer months-wrong timing for us again! It would be quite amazing sitting outdoors in this location listening to music etc.
After a coffee stop at a hillside cafe and enjoying the amazing view we make the journey back down the hill. It's so much easier going down and before we know it we are in front of the War Museum looking at some aircraft and weaponry from both World Wars. A small group of protestors carrying banners pass us by -these are mostly older Greeks who have all had to take massive wage cuts as part of the austerity measures.
Back on the metro and off at Monastiraki to have a quick look in the gift shops where we meet a charismatic Greek lady called Stella, who shares her views on Greece's current economic situation with us. She is optimistic about the future and says she has to be this way as she has a child and has to have hope. We purchase a few items -and would have bought a few more if we hadn't spent so much time talking to Stella before realising our metro tickets were about to expire.
When the metro line was being extended at Monastiraki and beyond, thousands of ancient relics were uncovered and are now on display inside the metro station. Outside the station relics of a massive ancient building face you as you enter Monastiraki square,where stall holders and hordes of people pass by. This is a lively and bustling location with umpteen smallholders, fruit sellers, restaurants and cafes.
Back to our motel where we are once again greeted by the friendly reception staff who again enquire about our day. A call from Spyros in the afternoon and we arrange to meet him tomorrow for a road trip along the South east Coast towards the Cape of Sonios.
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