Experiential Wisdom

Yesterday's adventure started out with a quest to the Agora, which translates to marketplace. We headed in the direction of the flea market, and with a total of probably over 10 hours of walking around the area we already felt confident and familiar with it. The 'romantic' row of cafes, neighborhood dogs, and the layout of the National Gardens had somehow been engrained in our minds. Its the best feeling when we choose to go down a random street in hopes of seeing the bright, familiar dominos sign, and know that we somehow made it home!

The Lure

Anyways, when we arrived at the market Dr. Finitsis grouped us together in the square to lay down the ground rules. The ground rules included, "This is the bad part of town, do not come here at night!" and "People will stab you and take your money." Needless to say these were repeated for clarification a few times. So with that introduction we headed straight for the meat market. Imagine Pikes Place, but instead of little knick-knacks and fish, only meat. You name it, they sold it. After we exited the meat market we came to little shops and rows and rows of fruit. One of the first shops we saw was a antique store literally bursting at the seams. Instantly Zach, Khadijah, Christine, Katie and I were interested and just had to go upstairs
The building was 4 stories tall with a spiral staircase leading the way through uncountable collectables. Upstairs I miraculously stumbled upon the tea cup I had been searching for, among the sea...ocean of breakables. As we descended the stairs and said goodbye to the vendor, we began exchanging the dreaded "uh oh" face.

The beginning to a successful end

Dr. Finitsis and the group were absolutely no where in sight. We proceeded to walk down the aisles of fruit in search of them, and repeated this about three to four times. Next we began our walk down the 'scary' streets. Everyone around us ceased speaking greek and the sidewalks were so packed we had to walk on the streets, dodging cars as we went. After an unsuccessful trip through the forbidden back streets we thought it would be best to check the metropolis. We zigzagged through the flea market, weaving in and out of vendors closing up their shops. For the second time we were unsuccessful, and at least and hour had gone by. We decided that since everyone else was probably sitting happily at a cafe enjoying coffee that we could do the same in our little adventurous group. So we swiftly made our way to romantic row. I suggested we go to the cafe I had for lunch the day before which was called Stya. It was reasonably priced and the service was great! As we approached, we noticed a big group of people and to our amazement we had found Dr. Finitsis and our class! It was such a rewarding feeling to know that we could navigate the city without instruction and we were even able to make good decisions on the way. It was only the 3rd day on the town and I already felt confidant and capable in a new environment.


PS Here's a couple more pictures!