Greece.

Athens, my friends. Athens is… um. Yeah, that’s about it. Unfortunately, due to some personal issues, I didn’t get the most out of Athens. But I still can point out a few highlights.

Of course I had to go to the acropolis – anything Stephen Fry messes up on is a must-see. If you have facebook, and are a friend of Gregory Everitt, check his posts, they’re very informative. Maybe he’ll even post a link to it himself – check ‘em out, they’re a good read by a good author.

Anyway, well, as you all no – no straight lines. Just heat and stone. Then you go into the museum. And that’s where the good stuff it. There aren’t any straight lines, though. They ran out of them – the great line strike of 200 BC. Oh, and we’ll get on strikes later… well, now.

Yes, Greece is undergoing financial ruin. Or a crisis, to be a little more fair and little less truthful. Many of the citizens in Athens want Greece to declare bankruptcy – though this would effectively destroy their way of life – no loans, no mortgages, no money in the banks, etc. Athens is rife with people begging for money on subways, in the streets, etc. Basically, it’s New York. But with financial ruin. Wait… anyway.

The food, of course, needs to be mentioned. Those of you unfortunate enough to have had dinner with me know how picky I am. I’ve branched out a bit, though. So I can at least describe some of the food. First and foremost – the olive oil. Since I don’t drink (often), I believe it is Olive Oil, not beer, which is proof God loves us, or perhaps, the Gods loved Greece. Real olive oil is tinted green, and has a fresh taste. It’s… magnificent. If you’re nice to me, maybe I’ll let you have some of the stuff I’m bringing back. Then there’s Tzatiti, which though difficult to spell, is not difficult to enjoy (hurr hurr). It’s Greek yogurt with cucumber and garlic – lots of garlic. It’s much better than it sounds.

As in Pompeii and Croatia, there are stays all over... times 10. The islands are infested with cats which follow boats and travelers. Then there are the dogs, which travel in packs and roam around at night. It’s… interesting.

The pictures? This seems to be a running theme, so much so I’m sure many of you no longer care. The internet we get in each port is good, but not good enough. Apparently, blogger uses some very intense program to put pictures on, and this internet can’t handle it in less than thirty minutes per picture. So, here’s what’s going on. I’ve arranged a folder with the best pictures from each port, ranging from 5 to 30 depending on the quality and whether or not I had a camera at that time. I will try to upload every port. However, if I cannot, they will ALL be uploaded the day after I return, either in their respective posts, on in a few monstrous photo posts.

Even though my internet sucks, you can still send me a souvenir request at acwyman@semesteratsea.net. Yes, I’ve gotten everyone’s emails, but I’ve been slowed down by stuff. I’ll reply tomorrow, since we’ll be on the ship all day. Oh, and guess where after – TURKEY. Yes. More on the political and religious issues later. I’ll focus on the fun.