Athens Is In Ruins

The three travelers arrived in Athens, wary from a 6 hour boat ride, only to be greeted with much adversity to overcome.  This dramatic title and introduction requires a dramatic explanation!

Where they stayed: Hell.  No, actually, just hot as hell.  It was a little place called Athens Students and Travelers Inn.  The three arrived in Athens, sweaty, hot, and looking forward to their air-conditioned accommodations.  They arrived at the inn and realized that their days of nice hotels were over, they were in a hostel.  A paint peeling, dingy, ratty blanket, be sure to check for bed bugs hostel.  They plugged in the air conditioner for the first time and it started spewing hot air.  Upon the air conditioner being set by the hostel attendant, the three were so happy that the room was becoming cold.  At least this perk, they thought.  Their hopes were quickly dashed when they realized that the machine was ejecting black flakes into the air, all over their beds.  Google told them this was black mold, and so they unplugged the air condition and opened the window; only to later realize that the humid Athens air was full of mosquitoes and so was their room.  So they closed it, which put out the mosquitoes but didn’t block out the sound of people partying in the courtyard (which was supposed to close at 12 a.m.) until 4 a.m.  Suffice it to say, an overheated and tired Ash was not a great company for either JD and Britt or for the people outside.  Britt did not make it home without using the first aid kit, because she was bit by 7 mosquitoes and had a reaction, resulting in a swollen arm, a used tube of benadryl cream and pills, and a very itchy and uncomfortable last day and flight.  The strangest part was the hostel had a great review on hostel world… so in case you come across this place, and think it looks great, DO NOT STAY HERE.

What they ate and drank:  Mostly delicious food, some bad service, and a non-delicious rock.  The first night they had great lamb kebabs, but were a) yelled at, b) ignored, c) overcharged for bread that they did not eat, and d) yelled at again.  JD and Ash ate their last gyros, which they thought rivaled #FoodBar of Santorini (though it wasn’t QUITE as good).  Britt, however, bit down into a rock-hard charcoal looking piece of something… yuck.  They had a great last dinner at a cute restaurant and followed it up with drinks at the most awesome bar – Bretto’s – a hole in the wall but a pretty one! 

What they did:  Souvenir shopped, alllll dayyy long.  Ash didn’t see the changing of the guards because they didn’t leave a 1 kilometer radius for the whole day, which was fine by her because she thought she had heat stroke from their night in hell.  They were all able to find the many souvenirs they were seeking.  However, the shirt that JD envisioned in his head, while he actually found it, wasn’t available in the colour he wanted.  He even went to a different tourist shop, where the shop owner mysteriously disappeared to get the shirt from the supplier, never to return.  The one good thing about the hostel was that it was right in the heart of the tourist shopping district.  They were able to walk back to their hostel five times to pee in all this adventuring.  They made it to their flight, after a subway door attacked Ashley when they had to get off of the subway that was going out of service last minute to catch a different one to the airport .  Luckily, they had a wonderful flight home complete with their own tvs and lots of movies to choose from. 

Lessons learned:  Staying in a hostel after staying in beautiful hotels is probably not a smart way to end your vacation.  You will denounce hostel life, staking claim on your adulthood and committing to spending more money on accommodations for the rest of your life.  Eat before you go through the security gate at the airport, in case all that is available on the other side are very stinky European cheetos.  You can’t always trust online reviews.  Sometimes they say 93% when they should really say 9.3%.  Hostel staff may try to tell you that changing the sheets is a way to deal with black mold.  Your scratchy throat and stuffy nose will tell you otherwise. 

But the biggest lesson is that no matter what comedic (or no so comedic) errors occur on your last few days, you will still have an awesome time and feel like Greece was the trip of your life… until Peru… in 13 weeks! 

Stay tuned!