h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm going to Athens on Saturday with Mrs G. It's a holiday, but Mrs G is going to attend a course in conversational Greek for six days. The course is Monday to Saturday in the mornings, so we'll have the afternoons and evenings together.

We'll be staying in a hotel in the centre of the city (near Monastiraki) so we'll be right in the middle of the area with all the antiquities and restaurants. The course is on in the suburbs, but there's a metro that will bring Mrs G out to it each day. I'll stay behind in the centre and sight-see. I've been told to go to all the boring museums in the morning, so that we can go to interesting ones together in the afternoon.

We're coming back on the Monday, so we'll have 9 nights altogether in Athens.

There are a few things I particularly want to see:

The Keramikos - the old Potter's Quarter, which has a cemetery from about 300 BC - many of the old tombs are still intact or have been restored.

The Museum of Cycladic Art - before the Greeks, before the Myceneans, a civilisation existed in the Cyclades islands who made beautiful minimalist sculptures. Much of Henry Moore's style is said to be inspired by this art.

The Monastery of Dafni, about 6 miles from the centre of Athens, has the greatest collection of Byzantine mosaics in the world. The building was damaged by an earthquake in 1999 and has been closed for restoration, but I've heard that it is now open two mornings a week. I'm having difficulty finding out, though. Might have to wait for another visit.

There's a Greek Orthodox church in a cave under the Acropolis ("Our Lady of the Cave") which might be worth a look.

There's also all the stuff I've seen before as well. I'd like to get good photos of the Tower of Winds and a view of the Acropolis towering above the city. I intend to wander around the flea market, to look at the "Mask of Agamemnon" in the museum, and perhaps to go again to the Museum of Greek Music, with the history of "Greek" rembetika music (in reality Turkish) laid out clearly.

We're abandoning our two now-adult daughters. They can look after themselves for a week.

Good times ahead.

It all sounds wonderful and I'm sure you'll have a great time alone and together

Is there such a thing as a "boring" museum? I'd plump for these every time

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cycladic_female_figurine_2.jpg

http://old.cba.ua.edu/insurance/ihof

I think that might qualify. I'm sure there might be a few things "interesting" in there, but seriously, what would possess a person to go out of there way to enter such a place?

Above was in reply to GB's question of "boring" museums.

I suspect "boring" differs with each person. I recall being in a museum in Kuwait, with my companion who exclaimed he had seen a lot more interesting things than the innards of a cat. Meanwhile, I was across the room, fascinated by the well-preserved coelacanth, caught some years previously, proving they were not extinct.

A friend once stranded me for an hour in the Victoria and Albert, looking at ivory triptychs. I almost passed out from the excitement. Then I escaped: the rest of that museum was fascinating.

Have fun, Gnomon and Mrs!

Don't tell them that rebetiki is Turkish....er, please...we want you back in one piece...

And tell us whether the American Restaurant is still there near Syntagma Square.

Wikipedia claims that Rebetika is Eastern melody to which the Greeks have added Western harmony, so in that sense it is Greek rather than Turkish.

There once was a vicar of Kew
Who kept a church cat in a pew;
He taught it to speak
Alphabetical Greek
But it never got further than μ ...

Testing: μ

Perhaps only works in Entries?

Not an original limerick, I'm afraid.

Darn it, that mu didn't make it either.

But it never got further than mu

--isn't quite so effective.

Good limerick, though. Put it in an A-space.

I'm actually strangely fascinated now.

TRiG.

If they have an exhibit of the Crimson Permanent Assurance, now THAT wouldn't be boring.

Great limerick

You will have to let us know how the EU/IMF/Troika's attempts to eradicate the old "What's a Grecian urn" pun are getting on.

(Was trying to go to Greece last holiday but flights didn't work out - went to Portugal instead. PIGS tour to be completed next year)

Baffling, isn't it?

There once was a vicar of Kew
Who kept a church cat in a pew;
He taught it to speak
Alphabetical Greek
But it never got further than µ

You're a !

Surely you did that with Magic!

Back from Greece. Arrived home at 00:05 this morning (Tuesday).

Kalimera.