Back in seedy Athens, but staying in the plaka at the base of the Parthenon.,... Which is actually quite nice.
Found the antiques flea market this morning which was fantastic at 7.30am, but by the time michelle and the kids came back with me at 9.30 it was thick with Greek men all seemingly smoking two cigarettes and a pipe each. The air was almost unbreathable, and by 9.30 all the non- antiques sellers had arrived selling hard porn DVDs on the street. So before we had to field too many difficult questions from the kids we beat a hasty retreat to the Parthenon. First inhabited in the 13th century bc, rebuilt in the 5th century bc , 2nd century ad it became a church, followed by a mosque, then the venetians used it as gunpowder storage before it was blown up by accident. It has then been restored 3 times in the last 200 years. The current effort began in 1984. They really don't hurry things in Greece.
The restorers sheds are almost so old they would be national trust classified in Australia.
We catch the plane outta here tommorow, except there is a public transport strike...... It might be interesting!
I also have a solution for Greece being a pain in the eu's butt. With the rate of heavy smokers in Athens, and the number of Greeks riding superbikes around Athens without helmets, just sit tight for a year or two and the Greeks will be more extinct than the dinosaurs!