Acropolis Now

You probably need to have been raised in Australia to understand what I mean by "Acropolis Now." Acropolis Now was the name of a sitcome set in Melbourne, Australia about a group of second-generation Greek Australians that ran a take-away shop. It ran on TV in the late 80s/ early 90s and was very funny. It featured memorable characters like "Effie" with her big hair and "Nick" with the mono-brow. It was a cool show, because it brought to life certain issues of the day, like what is was like to be a "wog" (immigrant or child of an immigrant to Australia) and growing up with traditions like having a salami sandwich for lunch instead of a peanut butter and jam sandwich for example, or having to go to Greek language school on weekends and play soccer rather than go surfing at the beach or something like that. (Think "My Big Fat Greek Wedding.") It also showed how silly stereotypes are and how really, although cultures may seem very different on the outside, because of language, dress etc, that really, we are all very similar. The beauty is that I really think this show helped traditional "white" Australians understand and embrace the newer Meditteranean immigrants and vice versa. If my brother is reading this, I know that he will remember the show and even laugh because he remembers that our mum used to pack us salami sandwiches and make us go to Spanish school during the week. My brother is hairy too, just like Nick. ;-)) Ha. I guess being here in Athens made me reflect back on this little known Australian show from the 80s.

Today we started off the day with a "typical" Greek breakfast. I say "typical" because I have seen the locals drink these cold "Nescafe Frappes" and eat these round sesame style bagels everywhere. We are staying in the beautiful and historic "Plaka" district, and walked down to the square at Monastiraki to have our breakfast.

We then headed up the hill towards the Acropolis. The Plaka neighborhood is in an excellent location, because the Acropolis and all the beautiful, ancient monuments, including the Parthenon, is only a 10 to 15 minute leisurely stroll up the hill.

The weather is still gorgeous; about 21 degrees celcius or 75 degrees fahrenheit. We reached the Acropolis and were pleased to learn that entry to the historic park was free for EU students. So we only had to pay an entry fee for Zev. Entry was also free for me to enter the new Acropolis Museum (which was a really well designed museum).

The Theatre of Dionysos:

Walking up towards the Parthenon.

The Parthenon: (still being renovated in some parts but in amazing condition and well restored).

Can you believe that this temple was built about 500 years BC!? It is said that the apostle Paul also preached to new Athenian Christians from the steps of the Parthenon. Incredible. You can see the rooftops of the historic Plaka neighborhood below...

The other side of the Parthenon.

We are resting up in the small apartment we have rented before heading out later to explore some other historical sights. Hope you are enjoying our updates so far!

Zev and Fi xo