First Impressions

Note: This post was written yesterday before I slept for eighteen hours straight.

Well, I'm sitting in my boxers in my little room in the Hotel Metropolis (though I'll actually post this from an Internet cafe later. In under two hours, I got into the city and found this little gem of a hotel, so I though I'd take a little time to record my first impressions.

The Metro

For now, I'm impressed: it's the fastest, smoothest, cleanest metro system I've ever been on. Admittedly, it was built for the Olympics, but it's much more impressive than the Gold Line (Los Angeles metro) when it first came out. A very slick line that moves in a hurry.

Greeks

Friendly. WIthin fifteen seconds of me getting my guidebook out after having got off the train, I had an older man looming over my shoulder (in a non-creepy way, mind you) offering directions. He pointed me in the right direction, and went on his way. Quite friendly an dhelpful all told, and I'm referring to the people I've interacted with outside the tourist system.

Athens

I must say, the place isn't much to look at from the airport. An unremarkable skyline capped by a haze of smog; not exactly breathtaking. But once you're into the city things change. I can only guess it was cleaned up a lot for the Olympics because it's not half as dirty and dingy as it's been made out to be in some guidebooks. The few streets I've been down have a modest charm, with the exception fo the major tourist lanes. When you're not on a major avenue, choking on the acrid exhaust of motorscooters or enormous trucks, it does seem to have the classic smell of Europe that I've encountered before. If I had to define the smell, I'd say it consists primarily of cigarette smoke and baked goods. Each city has its unique spin (for instance, Orvieto also had some kind of algae/someone-didn't-shut-the-manhole-tight-enough scent to it), but I haven't found Athens twist yet. For some reason, I expected the aroma of gyros to be constant and overpowering. Alas, I've yet to even catch a whiff of that smell yet.

Atypically, Athens is much smaller than one might expect looking at a tourist map. The blocks are shorter, and getting from A to B is consistently less difficult than you might expect. The city just seems more manageable, since you can comfortably assume you're not going to be dealt any dirty surprises and have to walk seventeen hours to get somewhere.

The best part, though, is the weather. While all you saps in Southern California are hoping your houses don't slide off with the rest of the Malibu hillside, or that you don't drown while trying to navigate the Pasadena River, I mean, Freeway, I'm enjoying perfectly blue skies with just enough of a breeze and nip in the air to be comfortable wearing long pants. An aboslute delight. No snow sighted as of yet. May it never come.

Hotel Metropolis

A welcome refuge. The receptionist speaks sound English and is pleasant and engaging. The offseason prices are a wonderful suprise; I saved fifteen euros while upgrading to a better room than I expected.

The rooms are tiny, as is often the case for this kind of place, but well kept. There's a tiny writing desk, nightstand, chair and a wardobe. The bathroom actually uses a toilet with the water overhead to provide the flushing power. I've got a tiny balcony with a plastic chair, overlooking the Mitropolis Cathedral. The Acropolis looms to the East, over the apartments. There's a steady strem of traffic, but it doesn't bother so long as the windows are closed.

I'm worn out and still tired from yesterday's travel marathon (I was on the road for a full twenty four hours, courtesy of long layovers). I'm going to hit the sack for a while.