It's all Greek to me

Maybe it’s because my name (Alexandra) has Greek roots, maybe it’s because I love the cuisine so much (spanakopita, hummus, sigh…), maybe it’s because I did a research project on their ancient mythology in fourth grade, maybe it’s because I used the letters of their alphabet so many times in my math and science classes, but for whatever reason, I have always felt deep ties to Greece and wanted to visit there.

I thought I might get sick of seeing ruins, ruins, ruins, but I found Athens to have lots of charming nooks and crannies, like little groves of olive trees or vines of honeysuckle growing alongside a house. Being located on a large plateau, the Acropolis felt like the real heart of the city to me. As I traversed and navigated the streets I sought it out to get my bearings and see it from all different angles.

The best was seeing the city from the top of Lycabettus Hill. I could see little rugs of forest among the grid of city buildings, all wrapped around the natural shape of land, with its hills and rock cliffs. I thought how interesting it would be to see the city develop in fast forward motion, starting with ancient times and moving along to the Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, World War Two, all the way to modern times. Indeed the city presented interesting contrasts in time, with all the right angles of a modern building juxtaposed to the round dome of an ancient Byzantine church.

Luckily I had the most amazing weather: sunshine and warmth, with a nice breeze flowing through the air. It felt so good to be restocking my stores of Vitamin D. Aside from the warmth of the weather, I also found the Greek people to be the nicest in all of Europe. Everywhere I went, shopkeepers in stores or little old ladies on park benches were ready to strike up a friendly conversation.