Two for One
Days are running together now as we near the home stretch of the 2004 games. The night shift finally broke down to get a taste of Atheni nightlife in the Plaka district downtown. This was last night. But, as these things go, last night became this morning and this morning turned into a long 48 hour day. No regrets, though.
Whereas Americans will have their fun in a night club or a bar or a venue of some sort, the venues here cover city blocks. We maneuvered our way through a mingling crowd of thousands filling the cobblestone and paved streets of Plaka, Manistiraki and Syntagma Square in the heart of Athens. The nightlife was almost surreal as this truly international olympic crowd boasted colorfully-costumed Bracilians, raucous Greek chanters and tables of revelers lining the walkways and streetways outside kiosks, open-air restaurants, bars and shops. Where there weren't people, there were cars, bikes and the occasional Smart Car--a vehicle that derives its name from, where else, common sense. Fuel efficient to the tune of 50+ miles to the gallon, comfortable to ride in, and if you can't find a spot small enough to park it in, you can probably zip it up in a gym bag when you get where you're going. (I'm contemplating bringing one back in my carry-on luggage). We, did, however, find out that one must convert everything here...including gas prices...to the metric system! Our little American posse had reached near euphoria when we first read an .84 cent fuel price at an Eko service station. Turns out they sell gas by the litre. Suddenly mass transit makes for great math!
Back to Greek nightlife. So anyway, it was good. We arrived home with enough time to take a shower and see the sunrise before heading back out to elimination rounds of men's wrestling at Anno Liossia Olympic Complex this morning. Sixty-six kilo US wrestler Jamill Kelly of Atwater, California, held his head high for 3 victorious matches. We thrilled to the freestyle segments and caught 5 minute powernaps through the Greco-Roman bouts. (Greco-Roman is a wrestling style akin to watching bread mould).
The rest of the day was spent at the IBC, logging info into a database and regaling the triumph of the U.S. men's 200 meter triple-medal triumph the night before. The trio of Shawn Crawford, Bernard Williams and Justin Gatlin crossed the finish line like an arrowhead for the Gold, Silver and Bronze.
When the day was finally blogged and accounted for, we were more than ready to take more than a Greco-Roman powernap.
Whereas Americans will have their fun in a night club or a bar or a venue of some sort, the venues here cover city blocks. We maneuvered our way through a mingling crowd of thousands filling the cobblestone and paved streets of Plaka, Manistiraki and Syntagma Square in the heart of Athens. The nightlife was almost surreal as this truly international olympic crowd boasted colorfully-costumed Bracilians, raucous Greek chanters and tables of revelers lining the walkways and streetways outside kiosks, open-air restaurants, bars and shops. Where there weren't people, there were cars, bikes and the occasional Smart Car--a vehicle that derives its name from, where else, common sense. Fuel efficient to the tune of 50+ miles to the gallon, comfortable to ride in, and if you can't find a spot small enough to park it in, you can probably zip it up in a gym bag when you get where you're going. (I'm contemplating bringing one back in my carry-on luggage). We, did, however, find out that one must convert everything here...including gas prices...to the metric system! Our little American posse had reached near euphoria when we first read an .84 cent fuel price at an Eko service station. Turns out they sell gas by the litre. Suddenly mass transit makes for great math!
Back to Greek nightlife. So anyway, it was good. We arrived home with enough time to take a shower and see the sunrise before heading back out to elimination rounds of men's wrestling at Anno Liossia Olympic Complex this morning. Sixty-six kilo US wrestler Jamill Kelly of Atwater, California, held his head high for 3 victorious matches. We thrilled to the freestyle segments and caught 5 minute powernaps through the Greco-Roman bouts. (Greco-Roman is a wrestling style akin to watching bread mould).
The rest of the day was spent at the IBC, logging info into a database and regaling the triumph of the U.S. men's 200 meter triple-medal triumph the night before. The trio of Shawn Crawford, Bernard Williams and Justin Gatlin crossed the finish line like an arrowhead for the Gold, Silver and Bronze.
When the day was finally blogged and accounted for, we were more than ready to take more than a Greco-Roman powernap.
posted by Joel Aaron at 10:24 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home