What a difference a moment can make.
I was having a pretty good day, enjoying the sights and history of Greece with the tour group… and then I went to dinner solo. It wasn’t that I was eating alone; I actually preferred that as I needed some time away from folks. But it wouldn’t be a trip if you didn’t get taken advantage of and overcharged… and that’s what happened at dinner. Which has taken the wind out of my sails, soured my mood, brought chickens home to roast, or whatever figurative language seems appropriate to convey that I find myself bummed instead of thrilled with Greece. A moment in the present can ripple through time and space and alter the past and future and that’s what happened at this dinner.
It’s not a huge thing, just that the restaurant brought me stuff I didn’t order — bread and water — and then charged me for it. And when I checked at meal’s end, they charged me more than what was listed on the menu. I get it — I’m a “rich American tourist” (TM and Patent Pending, All Rights Reserved). I won’t be back to their restaurant, so who cares if they take a bit from me.
A rendering of “alcohol and art” showing the place on a makeshift canvas, doodled on the back of my receipt.
I supposed it’s tantamount to being pick pocketed, a danger overemphasized by guide books and our own tour leaders here in Greece. I know it’s an issue, but if you’re smart about it you really shouldn’t worry too much about it. I will say I was taken aback when Paul and his niece Christiana both said they’d been victims on the Athens subway… but I was even more disappointed to hear them and other guides warn us by saying there’s been a rise in refuge immigrants and that’s why pick pocketing is on the rise. It all felt so… us versus them. It all felt so… easy to pin the problem on “others.”
And so while Paul tells tales of how safe and friendly Greeks are, outside of the pick pockets, and raves about the hospitality to strangers, it’s hard not to feel jaded and cynical when confronted with a feeling of being cheated. Somehow it would’ve been easier to accept being pickpocketed than being overcharged because now the water comes with lemon and the bread comes with olive oil and the menu isn’t right and, oh, would you like us to refund the difference? It only took us ten minutes to get your change in the first place. At some stage you just throw your hands up and wave it off as being the cost of being a tourist. I always remember having conversations with lawyer friends about how the only remedy under the law is money to make one whole, that there really is no way to quantify that sense of betrayal or disappointment when a contract is broken or a scam has occurred. And if money can’t give one peace and satisfaction, what does it really mean to get justice? Can such a thing ever really exist?
I thought as I sat in my corner booth at the restaurant, mentally adding up the over charges, about Paul’s orientation talk the night before. We had been talking about Greek dancing and celebrations; he mentioned one of the reasons at Greek Weddings or Celebrations that they break plates is because it’s supposed to remind everyone that material things aren’t as valuable as you think, that moments and memories and humanity matters more than “things.” And I really liked that discussion… until my material euros were being taken without my permission or understanding.
The world has been so disappointing of late. When I think that the Berlin Wall fell 30 years ago this week and that we are back to building walls, both figurative and literal, that we are back to the selfish and/or isolationist ideas of again “us vs them,” I get really sad. Even before dinner’s sanfus, I found myself tempering my inspiration at the Parthenon, the highlight of today’s tour, with the notion that while Athens might rightly be considered the birth of democracy, it was sadly a place where “citizen of Athens” meant “white male.” Women weren’t citizens. And there were slaves a plenty. At the very least, I took some comfort in our tour guide Eva telling us that Poseidon and Athena fought for naming rights to the city and at least in that instance, the woman won the election. Still, I couldn’t help but think this was less a win for enlightenment of equality and more an aesthetic choice as “Poseidinium” doesn’t quite roll off the tongue the way “Athens” does.
But I digress. Here then are photos from the day. I had planned on a much more detailed summary, but, well, it is what it is… at least for now. My cynicism and disappointment are stewing, but I am hoping that tomorrow brings a singular moment that ripples positivity through the negative sea in which I find myself adrift.
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Kevin’s Note: I’ve spent the last 20 minutes trying to upload photos and the internet connection here at the hotel can best be described as “sucky.” So instead of the 70-ish photos I meant to upload, here are seven:
1- Preview of the finish line for the marathon — it’s in the Olympic Stadium where the first modern Olympic Games of 1896 were held, and where that marathon finished as well.
2 – The Odeon of Dionysus. Oh, the drama.
3 – The Parthenon. There’s not a single straight edge. In order to adjust for optical illusions, the columns taper so that they APPEAR to be straight from a distance. And the floors are canted so as to allow for water drainage.
4 – Speaking of water, this is the official Parthenon Drinking Fountain, featuring the well spring water that supposedly Poseidon drilled to win naming rights of the city; the citizens preferred Athena’s “gift” of olive trees. As for the water itself, if I were to describe the taste, I suppose I’d say there was a hint of hemlock in it. But I don’t really know how to describe flavors; when asked how I’d describe the flavor profile of wine, I usually say, “wine-y.” And when that doesn’t work, I go with “oaky” figuring it was probably in an oak wine cask at some stage.
5 and 6 – Some of the architectural marvels of the Parthenon (which Pericles promised to build for the city within 20 years… and he did it in 13. How many politicians deliver a construction project early and with some impressive results?). For stability and balance, some pieces were put together with interlocking components, which our guides Eva and Katarina described as the original LEGO set. You can kinda see the LEGO-style bumps in photo 5 at the top of the columns. And to think humans carved those columns with such precision millennia ago is really astonishing. Oh, and as an aside, the Parthenon in Nashville which DOES have straight lines and was done using modern technology STILL took 13 years to build… which underscores just how impressive those Athenian architects and construction crews were.
7 – And because this is supposedly the official running website of Kevin S. Hanna, here’s me with my bib at the race expo.
Tomorrow – a trip to Poseidon-vania at Cape Sounion, better known as the Temple of Poseidon.