It's been a pretty lazy day today. I went to the Museum of Cycladic Art. Basically it's really early art from the islands off the coast of Greece. Those totally nondescript figurines with the big heads. No, not Easter Island. Wrong ocean. The big flat heads. Oh, nevermind. They'll be in the slide show. There was also some early greek clay art that lends credence to my hypothesis that all really ancient art is a hoax and is actually just clay sculptures made by third graders in Kansas who have a lot of extra time on their hands because they don't have to learn about evolution. :)
About the slide show, my current plan is to get all the photos unique ID numbers and put together a little MySQL database to store data on them: timestamp, country, description, categories. That way, if someone wants to see only the funny slides. (There's one of a pigeon in Prague that makes me smile every time I think about it.) We can do that slide show. If someone just wants to see slides from certain countries (or cities), that should be doable too. I'll probably have a very short slide show entitled "Actually Good Photos" as well. :) Most of my photos are meant as memories, not gallery pieces, although I have gotten a bit more artistic with framing as time has worn on.
Anyway, back to Athens. Siesta is just about over. I'll probably hit the supermarket for some food. I had a wonderful (and expensive) risotto for lunch, so I'll probably eat in tonight. Then again, maybe not. Sometimes it's hard to know which will make me feel better, economizing or splurging. But lunch was really expensive (like $30), so I'm going with economizing. There's a great deal of honking going on outside. I wonder if it's a Turkish wedding or traffic as usual in Athens.
The city planners here should have been shot. The back streets are full of parked cars. You often can't cross at the corner because there's a car parked on the sidewalk there. Heck, there are cars parked on the sidewalk everywhere. It's not like these are cobblestone streets from ancient times, designed for the width of a horse's ass. They're modern asphalt. What were they thinking? Munich is looking like the best city ever designed, right now. Bikes, people, and cars seemed to coexist really well there. Pedestrian underpasses really helped. But maybe there's too much history here for that. I heard they had to delay construction when they were expanding the metro for the Olympics because they kept hitting archaeological finds. "Held prisoner by the glories of the past." It sounds like something right out of the brochure. :
[record scratching sound] Dinner last night was good (if also too expensive). That's what I get for trying a place from the brochure. There look like lots of cheap places around, but I'm really and truly sick of trying to explain being a vegetarian in countries where I don't speak the language and vegetarians are considered only slightly less weird than extra terrestrials.
The walk to dinner confirmed what I'd read about greek sleeping habits. It was nine PM as I walked to the restaurant. The streets were just as full as they were at noon. Victoria Square had children playing. Nobody was at the restaurant when I showed up. Well, there were three other people, I think. The place was almost full when I left at ten. The park wasn't quite so full. I guess the children clear out about ten (although there was a family with two kids still at the restaurant when I left). Part of that is because we're another hour ahead here, so it's not completely dark by nine. Heh. If I could just get two more timezones I'd officially be half a world away. But I just want to get closer to home now, not further.
To that end, I'm planning a test trip to the airport tomorrow. I don't know how the ticket system or transit system work, so I'm hoping to get my ticket and the train schedule all sorted beforehand. The paperwork I got from the travel agent said to reconfirm 72 hours before the flight. Can you tell I'm looking forward to getting home?
Anyway, I should get to the store. I'd like some more paper to do game design on. The little graph paper notebook I bought in Versailles is almost full of game design and travel notes.
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6 comments:
We're glad you're looking forward to coming home and we're very much looking forward to seeing you.
Good news! You do have car insurance. I talked to Tony and he said your insurance is due July 9. The bill should probably be at Wayne's by now-forwarded from Canterbury. You will need to give Tony your new address when you get back.
Dad and I are planning on picking up your car tomorrow and getting it washed and seeing if it needs a trip to see Jack for the sticky shifting Wayne mentioned earlier.
You're welcome to the spare bed here until you uncover your bed at Wayne's.
When do you arrive in Sacramento? We'd be happy to pick you up at the airport.
Love, Mom
A former Kansan--thank you Grandpa (Dad) for moving to California!!
Hi Blain.
Greece sounds like it is going well. Except for the food and the walking situations. It is a good thing though that I did not come with you. The vegetarian and the non-drinker. We would never be able to get served anywhere!
As for Paul, he was originally from Tarsus (in Turkey), but he and his family were Jewish descent. To completely bore you, Alexander and his generals created a number of military colonies in Asia Minor and a large number of Jews moved to them. Alexandria in Egypt, for example had a large contingent of Jews.
Possibly none of my business, but I have truly enjoyed reading your blog. I've never left the continental US; well, except for a not so exciting trip to Nuevo Laredo in Mexico (known for its kidnappings and drug cartels - nice travel destination!) Your entries serve as a dream for my own trip to Europe, as soon as I can afford it. I will miss the exciting news from abroad, and the informative discussions (wanderings), such as Paul and the original apostles. (He is my favorite, by the way!) Have a safe trip home!
Tiffany
Thanks for the car stuff, mom. I'm guessing the sticky shifting is just the car having a different feel than Wayne's used to, but since it used to be your car, you'll know when you drive it. :)
Don't get it washed though. I don't want it to start expecting that on a regular basis. Twice a year is more than enough.
My flight is scheduled to arrive in Sacto (via Chicago) at a little after ten PM. If dad has to stay home and sleep, I'll understand. :)
I'll stay at your house the first night back. It'll be good to see the dogs, and I'll probably need a full day to make bedspace at Wayne's.
Love, Blain
A former Hawaiian--thank you Mom! ;)
Greece is going well. The food is generally really good. I'm just not interested in working hard enough to seek it all out. As for the walking situation, it's manageable. If the place is close, just take a leisurely walk. If it's far or you don't feel like walking, ten euros buys a week of metro, bus, and tram service. Like most annoyances in life, it fades into the background after you get used to it.
I'm not really much of a drinker, I just wanted to try it. I doubt I'll make a habit of it. It's expensive, tastes bad, and makes me laggy. Oh yeah, and it dehydrates me. Drinking liquid that dehydrates is kind of weird. I even drink cranberry juice infrequently because of that.
Ah, yes. Alexander of Macedonia. I think I took a picture of his statue in Thessaloniki. That's interesting about Paul (and early christianity in general). Is Turkey considered "occupied" by christians? Sometimes I think we'd have to unravel the entirety of human history to make peace on this planet.
Ooh. Alexandria. There was an egyptian restaurant by that name in the guide. Then again, maybe I should steer clear of the guide and see if I can find some good restaurants online. :P
Hello Tiffany. I'm glad you've enjoyed the blog thus far. I'm especially glad you've found it useful and inspirational. Good luck with your own adventures, and if you blog them, definitely let me know. (My email address should be on my blogspot profile.)
And just so I don't wonder later, you wouldn't happen to have different colored eyes, would you? I went to elementary school with a gal named Tiffany, and the more I travel, the more I realize it can be a spookily small world.
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