Its all Greek to me

Greece is not what I expected at all. And I can’t help but feel disappointed with what I got, to be honest.

I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting, and perhaps on the whole, in comparison to Rome, Barcelona, and Paris, its MORE what I wanted than ever, in that those cities were so much more developed than I expected.

For me, to sum up Greece in a few words, I would say smog, desolate, and sad.

No lush green countryside, no beautiful skyline, and in a country that looked like it might not have rained in the last ten years, it rained our last night there. I know you can’t control the weather, but it was a little disappointing.

Athens for the most part is about 10 years behind Rome. In some ways it was refreshing to visit the ancient sites without the hawkers trying to sell you’re their junk, but in other ways its just a bit strange.

Greek coffee is the worst I’ve encountered. 

Undrinkable, and I gave it three chances. The first was even Illy, an Italian brand they have in Australia too that I quite like.

My third and final Greek espresso. 

Thankfully we’re back in Italy where the coffee is FANTASTIC. I remember my first sip of Italian coffee at a little roadstop on the highway. It was SO good, I had shivers.

One of the weirdest things in Greece is that you're still allowed to smoke in public places. And they still advertise cigarettes everywhere. I suppose we're lucky we don't have to put up with smoking everywhere anymore at home, but its very strange in Greece to have people smoking indoors! 

 Lots of public smoking means lots of cigarette butts EVERYWHERE. 

The rubbish in general was a problem too.

 

One of a million cigarette billboards around Athens. 

 

The first time I saw this billboard I thought it was A- an Ad for White Lady Funerals.

then B - a feminine hygiene advertisement, as the tones and feel of the billboard screams TAMPONS! Then I realised it was for "feminine cigarettes". Weird.