Aloha Everyone,
Athens is Europe’s oldest capital. The city is named after Athena, the goddess of wisdom and courage.
We stepped out of the hotel lobby and came face-to-face with the streets of Athens. Its layout is chaotic, disorderly and confusing. There is no grid systems at least in the section of the city where we are staying. A short street comes to an end then you come to a fork. But the place is exciting, alive and stimulating. J.J. and I love it!
Surveying our surroundings of old and modern structures, we have to stop and appreciate that Athens has been inhabited for over 4,000 years.
There is so much to do and see in Athens and rest of the Greece. On our first full day, we walked to Omonia Square and chose Omonia Restaurant for our first dining out. Our server, who studied Classic Greek in high school, is now a student of finance. Over a light lunch of tomatoes, cucumber and olive salad plus pork souvlaki in a pita wrap for J.J, we learned that Omonia means peace or gathering place.
As of today, with Coronavirus case jumping to 21 in Greece, following the WHO (World Health Organization) schools have been shut down.
J.J. and I stopped at a pharmacy located diagonally across the street from our hotel. The hastily prepared hand-written signage tells how people are reacting. On our end, we purchased wipes and hand sanitizers to add to our stock from the USA. Thus far, we have not worn our masks.
Aloha -- Cathi
