Wherein I offer advice and recommendations to others who may venture forth:
1. Avoid Athenian cabs like a dog carrying bubonic plague unless you relish becoming a victim of unarmed robbery. Verily I say unto thee: avoid them at any cost. It is a fate worse than falling into the clutches of Cyclops, Scylla, and the Sirens.
Greeks and tourists alike agree that Athenian cabbies are some of the biggest bastards on earth, and you will not escape a fleecing. If you absolutely must take a cab from the airport (I recommend the metro or the bus), first talk to the agent at the airport travel agency and ask how much you can expect to pay. Ask about any extra costs for airport pickup, suitcases, rush hour traffic, etc…Also, know that there are two tariffs, one for day (tariff 1), and one for night (tariff 2).
When you get into the cab, insist that the driver turn on the meter. If they try to negotiate a price with you, you will be paying a premium. You can either accept it or find another cab.
Athenian cabbies should just tie bandanas around their faces and carry six shooters, ‘cuz they be a bunch o’ robbers.
2. Greeks don’t like plastic, they like euros. Cash is king here.
3. Everyone smokes everywhere. It’s part of the culture. Greeks calculate distance by the number of cigarettes it takes to get somewhere, i.e. ‘It will take you 3 cigarettes to get to Syntagma’.
They smoke in restaurants. They smoke when they order. They smoke when the food arrives. They smoke between courses. They smoke between bites and after. They don’t mind if you’re eating while they smoke – feel free to eat.
If you are allergic to smoke, stay far, far away.
4. All the bees that disappeared from the US emigrated to Greece. They’re all over the place, busy hanging out in flowers. They’ve never really bothered me much as they seem very focused on the flowers and the honey here is divine.
I’ll post more as they come to me…
© 2009 – 2012, Ithaka Bound. All rights reserved.
Not the Prada! Your personality is fabulous enough – damn that woman.
I can’t wait to see you – Only a few more days!
Totally agree with the comments on Athens cabbies. They are, indeed, complete and utter thieves. All of them. Without exception.
But I’ve pretty well never seen a bee here and certainly never been stung by one. Nor have any of my friends to the best of my knowledge. Perhaps the Athens air has killed them off?
Hello bold,
I ran into a lot of bees on the islands, but then, I did a lot of walking in the countryside. They seemed to be extremely civilized bees and, from my experience, weren’t the least bit interested in stinging me or anyone else. I mentioned the bees to alert those who might be allergic.
My lungs burn after three days in Athens, so it wouldn’t surprise me if bees avoid it altogether. Also, I seem to remember reading something about bees needing a clear signaling path back to their hive/colony, so I guess they tend to do best in the open countryside.
P.S. Love the greeceishome.gr forums!