Gia Sas!

I wasn't present when this happened, but this is how M tells it:

As we walked down the Plaka, M and J stop at a store to look at t-shirts. To make nice, M greets the shopkeeper and says, "Gia sas" (pronounced "YAH-sahs"), which is "Hello" in Greek. The shopkeeper looks at M, laughs and bellows, "GIA SAS!" The neighboring shopkeepers share a laugh, and M walks away slightly embarrassed.

This was our introduction to Athens.

They tell you (and by "they" I mean HE) that you can see all that you need to see in Athens in a couple days. And they're right. While You COULD see everything in a day if you breezed through, two days is about right.

If you're stuck on finding a walking tour to go by, I suggest the Rick Steves' Athens City Walk. You can find it in his guidebook to Athens. You'll walk by landmarks that have been around for over a thousand years. Athenians go about their lives with these ruins in the background. Pass by the Temple of Zeus on the way to work? Sure, every day! Grab a latte from Starbucks with the Parthenon hovering over you? Yeah, what's the big deal?

In addition to the City Walk, you'll find tours of the Roman Agora and The "Main Event", The Acropolis. From these tours, The list of things to see in this city is long, so I'll just mention a few highlights from our first day in Athens:



Anafiotika. Away from the Plaka, which is the tourist-heavy section in the city, there's a set of stairs that take you toward the base of the Acropolis. The bustle of the souvenir shops dies down as you walk through a set of cottages, each populated by old bare-chested Greek men, who greet you with a hearty "GIA SAS!" This may sound kinda creepy, but trust me, you have to be there to fully appreciate it.



Mars Hill. Somewhere between the Roman Agora and The Acropolis lies Mars Hill. Atop this hill, the Apostle Paul got it on with the locals, engaging in a battle of ideas over God and idols. You'll find better views in higher locales, but to think that by standing on this hill, you could see what Paul saw.



The Acropolis. This is what it's all about, isn't it? While the Parthenon is the main attraction, the Acropolis has much more to offer. For example, the Erechtheum. That's the building in the foreground in the above photo.

You'll need at least two hours to wander. My suggestion: Go in the late afternoon. If you remain there until closing, Parthenon will look something like this:



Makes you wanna yell, "GIA SAS!"