They say of the Acropolis...

As with several of my adventures so far, this starts with a new friend. While in Georgia I met someone who said “hey, would you like to visit Jordan?” - to which I said yes.

Since there is no direct flight from Georgia to Jordan, I had a slight dilemma - do I go through Kuwait or do I go through Greece? I think the answer is obvious - I booked a ticket to Athens for a “long layover” of four days.


After four months in Georgia, it was a bit of a culture shock to be in the Eurozone - and a bit of a wallet shock! The listed prices were the right numbers, but the wrong currency - instead of paying, say 7 Lari for a meal, it was 7 Euro - three times as much! I’m still adjusting.

Price aside, Athens is a great spot to get lost and generally explore. I don’t have anything novel to tell you about the Acropolis / Parthenon - it’s an astounding place and a testament to human endeavor. Pictures don’t do it justice. Etc. Etc. On an emotional level, it was really cool to just walk the paths and around the buildings the Greek philosophers I read about in school walked.

On a practical note, should you ever find yourself in Athens, the combination ticket for the various sites is cool, though one should note it’s SINGLE ENTRY for each site. I didn’t see that caveat and had hoped to wander around the Acropolis for a second day. Not a big deal, but should be planned for accordingly.

I’m not sure what else to write - Athens was a lot of walking, hanging out with a few cool people, and going up and down hills. The hostel I stayed in was one of the best I’ve been in so far (Athens Hawks). The whole adventure was pretty easy from start to finish - though I suppose that’s what one gets when one pays western prices.

After my time there was up, I wandered on over to the airport (oh, how I’d forgotten the luxury of having a dedicated train line to the airport) for an overnight flight to Amman, Jordan.

Oh... title reference: