Athens
Finally I visited Athens. Quite strange that it took me so long, as I live in Cyprus and we have like 4-5 flights there a day. Nevertheless this was my first trip.
I must say that I have quite mixed impression from this city. In some sense it reminded me of Russia in 90's. The first thing that one would notice is that its not the cleanest capital in Europe. Dunno if this is related to recent street fights or its the the normal state but all walls and buildings in the very center are covered in graffiti which looks rathe wired on a beautiful antique style main library.
Another observation is that amount of arbitrary street "markets" is vast. Every now and then you'd see people of eastern look selling something right on the street. I doubt that this kind of activity is controlled or allowed and yet there it is!
But what was most striking and what actually reminded me my home are people or rather their looks and expressions on there faces. Somehow I compare what I see with London, as I spent there the last year. Well there everyone seems relaxed, dressed how they like it, not hurrying anywhere . They just live there there lives and apparently happy ones. In Athens, though, people leave impression of stress and concentration. I haven't seen many smiling faces around...
On a bright side, I found that getting around the city to be fairly easy. Metro is very clean and all labels and announcements are repeated in English. But even if this was not the case navigating metro with just three lines is not rocket science 
So for me it was a transportation method of first choice. Much faster than busses and cars with all the traffic around the center.
Being in Athens, there is no way I could miss the opportunity to see Akropolis. I haven't spent much time there. Weather was rather ugly and a great part of it is under reconstruction (apparently a permanent one!). But even what I managed see was great. Having read so much about ancient greece seeing parphenon with own eye was a terrific experience! Wish I spent more time there and wish there was some kind of an audio guide cause I barely understood what those locations were!
A picture worths a thousand words, so here it is!
