6/18: The Museum District...and Skirted Soldiers

Annie's parents were en route to Athens by the time we awoke this morning, but we still had a whole day of exploration to plan before their arrival. We started it off with a metro ride to the Evangelissmos stop, which was just east of a strip of museums, so we began walking west. Our first encounter was with the War Museum, just across the street from the metro. We passed that one for a later day, along with the Byzantine and Christian Museum just a couple doors down--we thought Annie's parents might enjoy seeing that one with us.

The next museum struck our fancy, so we entered the Cycladic Art Museum. It was a cool structure, housed in what appeared to be a couple renovated mansions connected by a breezeway. The dwelling we entered first had just a few rooms of contemporary art that didn't impress us. To wit: one piece was entitled "The Doughnut" and was a 14 minute video loop of a donut(with sprinkles) spinning with a fork as its axis. Art.

Above: ANCIENT "Art"

The four levels of the museum proper were in the adjoining building. We started with Cycladic art and sculpture, then Hellenistic and Cypriot, with the 4th floor dedicated to "Lifestyles in Ancient Greece." The exhibits attempted to illustrate or recreate Greek life based on the archaeological data and scholarly insight available. The exhibits about athletics and warfare were impressive.

Upon departing the museum, we were starved, so we went exploring unknown streets looking for a cafe or restaurant. We stumbled into Kolonaki, which appeared to be a trendy area of the city(the Armani, Benneton, and Nike stores clued us in). We ate some gyros in a shaded café near Kolonaki Square, then returned to the main drag for our second museum: the much anticipated Benaki.

ABOVE: Mr. Benaki was also an illusionist...?

The exhibits of the Benaki Museum were comprised primarily of one individual's private collection donated to the city and later enhanced by a few other wealthy benefactors. This museum was highly spoken of by friends, guide books, and native Greeks. What makes it unique is how its galleries trace the nation's cultural development from neolithic artifacts to 20th century photos and memorabilia.

Annie gravitated toward the gold, of course.

Each gallery was quite expansive and impressive; Annie found the craftsmanship of ancient jewelry astounding, and we both loved the intricate attention to handiwork in many of the Byzantine crosses and icons. The 19th century exhibits didn't get less ornate, though they did start including folk art and traditional garments of the era. Many of the wedding dresses looked quite a sight different from what Annie wore!

Above: An early Vera Wang gown

In the final wing, we encountered many paintings and artifacts from Greece's War of Independence, including a few that belonged to the Romantic poet Lord Byron. The poet allegedly wrote some of his finer works while living in Athens, and his presence brought much-needed publicity to the plight of Greeks during the time.

Those dueling pistols are pretty sweet.

After departing the Benaki, we made a course for more direct association to the plight of Greeks. We walked toward the Parliament building and the now-infamous Syntagma Square, epicenter of the protests (and June 15 riots) against the government and the current economic quagmire.

Political Graffiti of the Anti-Prime Minister Persuasion

We rounded the corner at Parliament just in time to watch the evzones(soldiers) changing guard in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Those dudes may look like they're wearing skirts and panty hose, but every one of them towered well over six feet and carried rifles with bayonets affixed.

Several photos later, we crossed the street into Syntagma Square where a small tent city has sprung up. Aside from the 15 June protest hostilities, a group of self-proclaimed "Indignados" has been holed up here peacefully demonstrating for weeks. Their banners and political cartoons/murals were hanging everywhere, denouncing Prime Minister Papandreou, as well as the EU, IMF, and, for some reason unknown to us, the CIA & US.

Because why not?

We walked around the square without feeling the least bit threatened, then descended the steps into the Syntagma metro station and returned to our hotel. We had just over an hour before the Hales were scheduled to arrive, so I napped while Annie showered.

Her parents arrived safely...though the same can't be said of their luggage, which went MIA. They were assured that their bags would be found and delivered to our hotel, so we set out on a quick dusk tour of the Acropolis & Plaka neighborhoods.

The four of us dined at a restaurant in Plaka that Carolyn remembered from her last trip here with Annie in 2005. She made great friends with the owner on that particular evening, but he must have grown shy or been playng hard to get on this night because he hardly spoke with our table. Alas!

After introducing Mr. Hale to some of the local favorites(Greek salad, olives, meatballs) we ordered pork and chicken souvlakia and a pastitio that we all split.

Returning to our hotel, we wanted to give the Hales a good glimpse of the Parthenon, so we ventured to the roof garden of our hotel for a nightcap. The Parthenon was illuminated and well visible from our table, so we enjoyed our beers and gazed upon the inspiring scenery.

At night's end, we made sure the concierge knew to accept the tardy luggage, then we parted ways with hopes that the missing bags would be the only hiccup on our joint venture across Greece. Tomorrow: Skopelos!

Athens June 18 Album:

Athens: June 18, 2011

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Location:Athens, Greece