Miscellaneous Athens sights

In looking back at our photos, I find several interesting, but not worthy of an entire blog.  They are offered here.

Candles in church can be purchased in various thicknesses for prices ranging between 30 "cents" (most of those in the photo) to one Euro.  Many people buy and light several of these thin ones (perhaps memorializing various members of the family?).  When lit, they are placed in a revolving sand tray within a large glass enclosure.  A woman (not pictured) monitors the process, repositioning candles toward the center and revolving the sand tray as necessary to avoid burning the next parishioner.  She also removes the candles when they have burned about half-way down and puts them in a large plastic garbage bag; the wax is then recycled into new candles.


One expects that translations sometimes don't quite get it right.  Here's a couple we found amusing: 

Outside a hair salon trying to appeal to international tourists.  We wondered if they got any of the other translations wrong.  

 We wondered how those lamps would taste!

 

Burberry is HUGE here.  We've seen it on handbags, shopping carts (the "rollies" that people take to the Farmer's Market), umbrellas, scarves, as "accents" on all kinds of clothing, etc.  But this was clearly the most extreme!

This man is carrying  multiple individually wrapped large rolls of  paper towels slung over his shoulder.  He sells them by poking his head into small shops to ask if they need such supplies.

This hotel is a 5-minute walk from Syntagma Square (major site of demonstrations).  We've passed there a zillion times, but only recently craned our heads high enough to notice the bougainvillea.  The plant starts at the ground floor, on the right side of the "Hotel Metropolous" sign.  It must have taken years to get this huge.  It climbs up more than 5 stories--each of the top 4 balconies has a branch.  Also, what appears to be a section in front of the light-colored building on the right is actually a branch floating over the street, suspended by a cord from the middle of the top level (if you look carefully, you will see a white diagonal line holding it up).

We don't quite "get" the popularity of jeans that look like they are threadbare.  These are among the most extreme we have seen. These are NEW moderately expensive pants.  The edges of the "worn"  parts are outlined in rhinestones! (The orientation of the photo is correct--the mannequin is lying down.)  The other pants, behind the gold colored handbag on the right, has wide slashes in the fabric every few inches and rhinestones scattered throughout.  

 

The jeans (above) were at a neighborhood store, not at Dolce & Gabbana.  Ironically, we took the left-side photo on May Day (see earlier blog).  Please note: the least expensive item on the list is a T-shirt for 225 Euro (about $300).  The most expensive is a handbag: 2040 Euro (about $2700).  

Judging by the people coming out with shopping bags, they were doing a brisk business both times we went by.   Meanwhile, in the street right outside the store, thousands were parading to protest deep cuts in workers' pay, accompanied by higher taxes.  Some of our professional colleagues have described 50% or more involuntary reductions in their salaries.  But D&G appear to be doing fine, thank you!  :(:( 

 

 

Athens was essentially a big village up until the last 100 years.  There was no master plan for growth, so streets go every-which direction and several street names are repeated.  (Google maps doesn't always know this.)  Most of the narrow side streets were eventually made one-way for better traffic flow.  Nevertheless, this is a typical scene.  The truck with the blue top is parked to make delivery.  The yellow top can't get through, nor can the traffic behind him.   Plus, we've noticed that one-way signs are merely a suggestion, especially to motorcycles. 

But as the video shows, apparently also for many cars.  This side street connects to a major thoroughfare (6 lanes wide; three in each direction) that runs next to Syntagma square (which is about two blocks away).   So several of these cars will pull out of a one-way (the other direction street) to join traffic.  Or they will pull into a driveway and negotiate a three-point U-turn.  Sure!  Why not?  BTW: because this street is so close to Syntagma and the Parliament building, there is always a contingent of police (and on demonstration days, soldiers, too) nearby.   Apparently, they are too busy to think about parking tickets.  Generally, when we walk by the large, air-conditioned vans that hold communication equipment and riot gear, they are sitting inside, drinking "cafe freddo" and talking or emailing on their cell-phones.