Another interesting day in Athens!
Got up early to do yoga before settling into study mode for 4 hours. First I had to complete my homework, then had my normal one hour session with my Greek tutor Elia. After finishing with her I went straight into a two hour online session with just one other student, who is a polyglot living in Amsterdam.
It was full on! The tutor was lovely but it’s hard work & I’ve really landed in the deep end as the other students I’ve been with have been in class longer than me. However, I think I did ok…for a beginner!
After this very intense morning my friend came to get me & we went up to Mount Lycabettus to look over the enormous, sprawling city of Athens. It really does go on & on, masses of white buildings almost as far as the eye can see. Mount Lycabettus is a hill measuring in at 277metres above seal level, its peak being the highest point in Athens. I climbed it last time I was here but there is a funicular railway which begins at one of the railway stations in town. I would like to have ascended by funicular last time I was here but couldn’t find the damned thing!!
After a quick look across the city we descended & took a detour past the National Library which I will try to visit another day. As you can see from the pics it was really cloudy today & so a bit cooler. I was so tired after all the learning that all I wanted to do was eat & watch Netflix.
So that is exactly what I did! I requested fish, rice & veg for lunch & was taken to a big shop where you picked the fish you wanted & they served it takeaway for you. I don’t know what kind of fish it was but it tasted great & the whole meal was a very enjoyable & comforting.
I spent a perfect afternoon lying on the couch watching Monk with Greek subtitles & I think it’s helping my language skills progress! This is a great room to lie on the couch in because I can see everyone passing on the street above. The apartment is below street level so I am looking up to see people from below. It feels like a little hobbit hole in here, secret & cosy 😍
Just as I was starting to get peckish again the lady who rents out the apartment messaged to ask if I wanted to join her & a friend for dinner. So off I ventured into the Athenian evening. I haven’t been out late since my first night here so I didn’t know what I was missing! The Greeks eat really late & stay out until the early hours. The bars & restaurants are still pumping at past midnight. I honestly don’t know how anyone gets up to go to work the following morning!
It was a really enjoyable evening with the topics of conversation ranging from the population of Australia, the plight of migrants across the world, politics & corruption, Greek culture & even Antonio (of snake oil fame) got a mention! The food was good, the company was great & I’ve returned home feeling happy & tired.
I’m off to bed now. Tomorrow is a new day & no doubt it will be full of new adventures. Like the words in the song ‘Καλημέρα’ which I learned this morning in Greek class – ‘I know that whatever happens in life, I have learnt to be jovial & I know that the morning will find me to be new & different’. That’s me! I never know what adventure awaits but you can bet I’ll be happily making the most of it 🩵