ATHENS, FIRST IMPRESSION

At Leonardo de Vince Airport in Rome we waited for hours before boarding for Athens. To while away the hour I prayed the Rosary, read Fr. Villote’s “The Clown Among Us” and gave way to some jokes to some members of the group who were greatly awakened.

We left Rome at 9:35 a.m. (4:40 p.m. Phil) and arrived Athens at 10:30 p.m. Athens airport was old and very ordinary. It smelled like NAIA way back home. We were picked up by a very modern bus and were brought directly to “Hotel Grande Betagne”. The street on the way to the hotel was not different from Aguinaldo Highway that I always traversed in going to Alfonso, Cavite. It was far behind the standard of modernity.

We were briefed about pickpockets, snatchers and all kinds of thieves roaming around waiting for victims. There were handwritings on the walls and the plants on the street islands were not cared for. Considering that this was the capital of Greece, I was not at all impressed; In fact I was even disappointed.

Greece reminded me of Greeks, of course, especially Aristotle Onnasis. All the persons that I saw were parrot-nosed and the women’s boobs were relatively enlarged, many were dangling.

We were billeted at Room 722, the window of which had direct view of the House of Parliament to the right and a Monastery at the top of the mountain on the left side.

There were a few sign boards in English but most of them were very “Greek to me”. Along the way I saw several “tramvias”, the buses run by electricity. If not for the excavations, traffic would have been very much smoother than in Manila.

Free dinner was at a restaurant far from the hotel. We were offered bread; “sinangag” (with green peas and corn) accompanied by vegetable salad, fried chicken with sliced potatoes. Dessert was fresh watermelon. A big bottle of mineral water cost $2.00 equivalent to 400 drachma.

I kidded the Alabang ladies how they used to snob the Food Island at Alabang Town Center just to settle at a less sophisticated eatery during a tour.
So, Athens was also a busy metropolis. Before dinner, Terry and I went around the hotel. We visited one souvenir shop while somewhere around we sighted several roadside Coffee Shops.

Hotel Grande Betagne was an old hotel. It was known as the “Royal Box of Athens” because it was the place where royalties were usually accommodated. It was also there where I got my leg’s allergic rashes. Our room had no refrigerator but provided with a television set.