Athens, Greece
Walking around I made my way to the Acropolis south side. I'd always seen crowds of people standing on a hilltop by the Acropolis. I thought it was the Acropolis but its actually a large rock Mars Hill beside.
An old woman was selling a string of postcards for 1Eu so I figured that was cheap. Then she wanted me to buy a guide book for 5 Eu which I didnt want. Then she made a deal and gave them both for 5 Eu so I said ok. Turns out I was scammed as I later saw the book sold for 3 Eu. Oh well.
To get up to Mars Hill is the original staircase but they have made a newer one beside. Also they have made a smooth walking path at the top to make it safer.
There were lots of people as well as vendors selling water. You could see the Acropolis and panorama views of the city. There was also a tv crew filming.
From this angle it looked more like the Alhambra in Spain. People wanted to wait for sunset so I sat and ate some noodles I'd bought earlier. I sat and waited for a while but didnt want to get too tired to walk back so slowly started to head out.
In the distance I had seen some rooftop cafes where I'd seen panorama shots of all of Monastiraki with the Acropolis so I wanted to get there before sunset.
The cafe with the best angle is A for Athens. I decided to goto the other Cafe 360 to see the different angled view. I ordered a juice for 6 Eu ($9) just so I could hang around. No sooner had I arrived then it started to rain.
The rooftop terrace quickly cleared as people went to the covered lowered floor. It was too crowded, smoky, and humid there so I came back to the rooftop. I got great shots but the rain was coming heavy in waves.
I made my way back to street level and got stranded as it was a storm and I had no umbrella or jacket. The crowded tourist street also cleared out as people hid for cover.
After 20 or more minutes I just took my chances and ran home back to my hotel soaked. Good job I left Mars Hill earlier as those people must be completely drenched with nowhere to run or hide.
2025-05-23