My Greek Olympics: Getting close to the end..

Military parade:

In March, the annual military parade was put on to commemorate the over throw of the Turks. This is always a big deal and a parade is put on and televised throughout Greece. I woke up on Saturday morning to the sound of load rumbling, I went on the patio and look down Omirou and could see vehicle going do Stadiou Street. I got dressed and walked down to Stadiou and say a line of military vehicle driving down the street. A line of tanks were going past and self-propelled artillery followed. I went to the office since I knew the parade would go by there and found the street filled with vehicles.

I met Rick there and we walked down the street looking at the missiles and tanks and all the other vehicles. A lot of troops were standing around, but they didn't care if we walked up to there vehicle and looked in. The line of vehicle stretched all the way down Sygrou street and up past the office. The parade would start at noon and we would get a good seat for the viewing. I went on the street to see what was happening and to watch.

Every agency was there, Police, Fire, Coast Guard, Army, and Navy. I walked down to look at the vehicles and saw that they had rocket launchers, jeeps towing cannons, radio and communications, tanks, artillery, radar, and all kinds of Police and Fire vehicles. Once the parade started, there were over flights of Air force planes. F16's and Mirage fighters, F4's and cargo planes, fire fighting aircraft, and helicopters as well all made several over flights. There were old women telling the solders to kill the Turks and there were little icons on each artillery piece of a religious figure.   

Stuck in the center:

Since I didn't have a car, I would rely on the bus, metro or taxi. I could have gone to some of the other places out side of Athens, but it was more of a pain to have to deal with getting the transport. So I stayed in town mostly. I kind of wished I could just take off and see more, but I didn't have the time, or was too tired to deal with it. In winter it just wasn't something to think about, it was cold and a lot of places were closed.

One day Stavroula said we should go out for a drink, and she said we could go to a place where a friend owned a club, I said sure. I would have gone anywhere with her and she told me it was south of town. It ended up being in Vouliagmeni at the beach I had been to before. The club was right over the beach on the cove side and it wasn't to full. Stavroula introduced me to her friend the owner and we talked a bit. Stavroula order some things to eat and we sat and talked for a while. It was a nice view and nice company. She was telling me of the problems with her boy friend, and they had split up. She wanted to get married and he wanted to play. I was hoping she would leave him and find someone nicer, she was being used a bit and I didn't like it. But I was so sick of the center of Athens, I wanted to get out and do something different. The stress was hard to control for so long and I felt trapped in town, I wanted out.

Drinks with Sissy:

As the weather got nicer, I would call Sissy and we would meet for a drink or something. One of the first places we went was very near my apartment on Skoufou Street and which was only a few blocks from the university. I wasn't sure of the street at first and Sissy said it was near Kolonaki square, so I said I would meet her at the square, but it was a waste because I just walked there and we had to walk back. We went to a small club type place, more like a pub. It was very near the university and it was like an American college bar with a lot of students. They played rock music and had a small bar. It was packed and we had to look for a place to sit. We sat and talked about music and other things. She told me of her trips and what she does when she goes to her village, a lot of hiking and stuff.

She was from a town call Kastoria in North West Greece, a mountainous area with the town on the shore of a large lake. She said she would take the train to Thessaloniki, then drive or take a bus west to the town. It took a long time since there wasn't a direct route. She showed me pictures of the place, nice tree covered mountains and a big lake. Sissy would go there once in a while, and suggested that if I would like, she could arrange a trip up there. I didn't think I had the time, but I could have gone if I wanted to.

On some occasions we would meet in Plaka, most Greeks don't like to hangout in Plaka. It is very touristy and always more expensive than other areas. We would go to a nice little place and sit outside if it was good weather and have a drink. Sissy would have chocolate and I would get a frappe or something. It was very relaxing and pleasant. A little work would make it into the conversation, but not too much. The place we would go wasn't actually in Plaka exactly, more like Monastiraki. If we would be in Plaka, we would go up the hill and hang out at a place with a view of the Agora just below the Acropolis. If the weather was nice it would be packed with people, it was closed in winter.

Psara:

One other restaurant we would go to but not as often was Psara, which was up on the hill in Plaka. It was partly owned by Leo and it was the fish place in Plaka. They had the best fish and it wasn't cheep. Besides the standard taverna food, they had really good fish. The fish would be mostly grilled or baked, they would bring a tray out with the fish on it and show you what was available. The large fish that could feed two or three people could cost up to 50 Euro or more, so the big ones would only be good to share wit a few people. The smaller ones cost around 25 to 30 Euro.

All the staff knew us and we would get great service or special attention. Always they would have a few people funning around us and we didn't have to wait for much. If Leo was there, he would make sure we got some extra stuff, we were get customers for him. Psara had a large deck area and a courtyard between the two buildings. It was just on the north side of the acropolis and you could see up the walls to the top. The view out over Plaka was one of the best and I like it a lot. We would stop there for lunch after the Aris tours most of the time.

Final stretch:

In the beginning of April, life started to change, more people came into my daily life as the project was winding down or more likely crashing down. We had been told that the final IET would be in the beginning of June and it would also have the acceptance test be part of it. This turned out not to happen, all the prep I was doing for the test was over shadowing the IET, then I was told that the IET was pushed back to the end of June. It was very frustrating to have to deal with all of the changes. I had to do some work with George and some new people from Virginia who were doing the acceptance test prep. It was like starting over, trying to explain everything to the new people. They used DOORS requirements to build the acceptance test, but the requirements were idiotic and did have a bearing on what should have been tested.

On the coast with Alex:

One Friday Alex called and wanted to know what I was doing over the weekend, no plans was my reply. He said we should go hang out at a place on the coast, so on Saturday afternoon I took the metro to Neo Cosmos and met him in front of the station. We drove down towards the coast along Odos Poseidonos in Neo Faliro and stopped at a place right on the water. It was one of the many cafeterias that dot the coast. If the place were here, it would coast a fortune to eat or drink there, but in Greece it was cheep. At least in my perspective it was cheep, a few Euros for a drink wasn't much.

We got a table and ordered Ouzo for me and a few munchies also. It was a nice area, the view was out over the gulf and Aigina was clearly visible. Not many people were there and the service was slow as always, but it was relaxing. We stayed for a few hours and then headed off to another place. We went to Mikro Limani (little harbor) and found a place for more drinks. Later we drove back to the center and Alex dropped me off at the metro in Syngrou Fix.   

Trip to Syros:

In early May, I went with Rick and Tryphon to Syros, which is Tryphon's home island. It is one of the islands in the area of Mykonos and is very similar in that it is dry and some what barren. We met at the port in the morning and bored the high speed ferry, it would be about 2 ½ hours to get there and the ferry was somewhat full. It was a gray morning and a little cool, the ride was boring and the only interesting thing was the islands we pasts though they were barren and a little distant.

We pulled into the harbor and I got a view of the city, Syros has an old town on the hills above the new town on the water. Syros was one of the islands that never were controlled by the Turks and it kept its Greek heritage. We got off the boat and the hotel that Tryphon found for us was right in front of the boat, we just crossed the street and we were there. We decided to drop our bags and we would meet Tryphon in and hour or so.

Tryphon drove up in his father's car and we piled in, he was taking us on an island tour, first up to the hill top town and look at the old stuff. The view was great, looking out over the town and seeing the water and the islands in the near distance. The town was built before cars, so we parked outside and walked in. the streets were made for mules and the buildings had an angled edge to allow the animals to make the turns more easily. The streets were mostly stairs and in some places it was steep, but there would be openings and great vistas over the town below.

We got back in the car and drove to the other side of the island, some small coves and beaches here and there, a small village on a hill. Syros is not a large island, but it is a nice size. We ended up at a little port town on the south west side and had lunch at a good local place. We had lobster spaghetti and it was good. Rick was tired after the food and we made it back to the hotel just before he fell asleep. We were going to take a break and then meet later for dinner.

We went to dinner at a nice place on the coast, good food as always and Tryphon was very happy. Later we went into town and found a place for drinks, Rick and Tryphon were having a good time and I was just hanging. Tryphon knew everyone on the island practically, everywhere we went people knew him. Rick and Tryphon decided to go to a Russian strip club near the hotel and they would be out all night of course.

The last day we went to Tryphon's parent's house for lunch. It was on the hill just out of town. A small modest house, but with a view of the port and islands, it would have been worth much more some where else. Tryphon's mother cooked a ton of food, but before we ate we saw his father's wood working shop. He does a lot of carving and furniture building.

We sat down for lunch and ate like crazy, all kinds of traditional dishes. Lots of home made wine and Raki, plus grilled lamb and rabbit. A wonderful lunch, I was happy to eat it all. Tryphon was so happy that Rick was there, it was like a little school girls crush. Kind of funny the way they would sit and look at each other.

We said our goodbyes and off to the port, the ride back to Athens seemed faster and once there said good bye to Tryphon and we went to the Metro station and rode the train back to the center. A nice weekend trip, I should have done more of them, it is to easy to just take off and have some fun. I would go back with David after I returned to Greece after the project and we had fun then as well.

Dealing with George:

Going out with George for any reason wasn't that great and I didn't see him to much or hang out with him either. I would see him once in a while or talk on the phone, but it was always a pain to go out with him. We went out one evening for dinner and George was tagging along. He would never like anyplace we wanted to go so finally we went to the Hermes just around the corner from the annex. We got a shitty table and I just didn't feel like eating, George complained the minute we sat down.

I didn't really want to eat there and my mood was pretty bad. I ordered stuffed squid Saganaki, which was made from Feta instead of the more mild cheese. It was so salty that I couldn't eat it. All I could taste was salt, I refused to eat it and I complained to the waiter. George said it should be salty but this was like pure salt. Rick tried some and he said it was really salty too.

 I was really pissed off and I didn't want to be there.  I didn't eat anything at that place and I ended up getting a kebab later. This was the last time I went out with George until his going away party. I would have preferred to have gone to a kabob stand and eaten on the cheep. It was costing me a lot to be there since the cost of living adjustment was a joke.

Day trip to Hydra:

The port of Hydra

I was getting really bored staying in the same area of town, so I decided to take a day trip to one of the islands. It was getting warm and I wanted to see the sea, so I asked Rick if he wanted to go to an island and hang out. Rick of course always is up for something to do and said yes. We met at the annex on Saturday morning and headed to the metro in Monastiraki. We jumped on the train for Piraeus and in a little while were at the port with tickets in hand. The next boat was to Hydra so that's where we were going.

The hydrofoil arrived and we hoped on, the boats are fast but really smelly and loud. We went to the back as we left the port, got a nice view of the water spray and the city as we pulled out into the Saronic Gulf. The trip was only about 45 minutes and soon we were in Hydra harbor. We jumped off and the first order of business was food. We walked around to a little taverna and ordered the usual food, eggs, yogurt and bread. A little while relaxing at the table, then off to find something to see.

Train station at the po

It ended up being more of an eating and drinking trip, since Rick wasn't that interested in much else. We spent some time drinking and eating, walking around and that's about it. I really wanted to go swimming and hangout at the beach, but it was hot and the water was cold and there were no conveniences like a shower to rinse off. Rick just sat and drank beer and chewed tobacco, spitting was his thing. We hoped on the ferry back and did the usual, sleep on the way home thing. Once back at the port, the train ride into town was short and it was back to the annex.

More food or lack there of:

I met Rick, David, Vic, Jay, Semos and Ari at a place in Plaka for dinner in early spring. One of the touristy places in the area I didn't go too often. Most of the restaurants were very touristy and I didn't think they were that great. I was really pissed off by something and I didn't want to deal with going to a place like that. I wanted to go to Poliathina, but I was voted down. This is the area where the hawkers always try to get the tourist to eat at 5 o'clock, I would tell them it is to early and just walk by.

The table was shitty, off to the side of the place with a big fan blowing hot oily air on us. The waiter didn't seem to care and I wasn't impressed with the wine. I went into the kitchen to see what they had and I didn't see anything I would eat. The place looked dirty and the food looked old. Semos was doing his usual loud talk and Jay was telling him to shut up. They were like a married couple the way they went on. When it came time to order, I passed. I wasn't going to stay and eat, I was pissed and I had no appetite. I threw a few Euros down for the wine I drank and I left, I wondered around and finally got some noodles.