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Melanie's Travels - The Middle East 2006
Plaka is the neighborhood located just below the Acropolis. Its jumbled streets are as confusing as the mixed message that the neighborhood gives you when you walk past a authentic Greek restaurant sharing a street with a kitschy tourist-trap shop. I wandered the streets of Plaka this morning, trying to navigate my way to the Archeological museum. Luckily I ran into Mia, a girl I had met last night, she was able to direct us out of Plaka and to a metro station. The Archaeological Museum is one of the best museums in the World, but unlike the museums I want to in the rest of Europe, it is filled with only Greek treasures. The British museum is filled with artifacts from all over the world with hardly any rooms dedicated to British history. The Louvre is filled with art from all of Europe and beyond. But the Archaeological Museum in Athens... only Greek artifacts. This anomaly reflects the extreme pride Greeks take in their culture. Some my find this pride pretentious, but I find it inspiring. Coming from a mixture of ethnic backgrounds, I envy those who are so firmly rooted to their culture and their past. On the other hand, I realize that my lack of roots is what inspires me to travel. When I go to each new place, I am allowed to take a little part of it to form my own unique roots. Piece by piece I am slowly creating my own past.
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