The old and the new

 I love historic Athens, but new Athens, no, not so much.

 This will probably shock Greeks and Europeans in general, but when it comes to the sea and sun, it's almost impossible to impress a Caribbean person!

You see we are accustomed to a warn beautiful sea and powdery white sands, but that doesn't exist anywhere on the Mediterranean or Aegean coasts, where the water is damn cold year round, and the sand, gravely.

However, It's places like this that the late Aristotle Onassis and Jackie O,  (Jackie was John F. Kennedy 's widow and she married the Greek billionaire Onassis) and other billionaires, millionaires and pretenders have frolicked for decades, regarding it as heaven on earth, I guess!

So, at the exclusive seaside area on the Aegean called the Athens Riviera, around 20 kms away, there are at least 23 major hotels numerous  lavish holiday homes, luxury cars etc.

We only visited this 'haven', as it's included in the Hop on Hop off system though.

You know, my life has really ironic, for when it was necessary to learn history (to get ahead in school), I hated it😡. 

I think it was only when I got to my thirties, that it became an obsession with me, so former great civilizations such as in Peru, Guatemala, Mali, Greece etc, flew to the top of my bucket list!

So, excuse me if modern cities and coastal beauty just don't excite me.

Unfortunately though, since I am having difficulty winning the lottery, most great historic areas will have to remain unvisited until I reincarnate!😥

But that's an aside.

After visiting the 'Riviera,' it was wonderful to return to old Athens with its amazing architecture and living history told through fantastic marble statues and ruins, and learning about their significance centuries ago.

 Incidentally, Athens has so many ruins, that when they were excavating for their subway system, they ran into numerous previously undiscovered treasures, so they had to change plans often. (See 2 of the accidentally discovered sites above).

This old parliament building is now used to host small conferences.

The Archeological Museum

It was great to return to the old city and especially to disembark at Hadrian's marble arch, constructed 131- 132AD. (Below).

Hadrian was considered the 'benefactor emperor' and his arch is part of the wall that was built around Athens.

Yesterday, they had a taxi strike, but they were back at work today and that is when we experienced Athenian gridlock, for many older streets are very narrow.

Now I understand why these tiny cars and  scooters are so popular here!

Despite how narrow and winding they are, I love their character and none more than the cobblestone pedestrian street below  Syntagma Square. 

Don't ask me its name though, as it's Greek to me 😊.

However here, you can get a taste of everything from roasted corn, street musicians and hustlers to high end brand name products, at the luxury shops on this street.

Man roasting his corn right there.

A musician, no doubt hoping to be discovered, performs.

And of course, internationally famous Greek dishes are available at every turn as there is no shortage of restaurants and sidewalk cafes in this beautiful old city.

Yup, this is my scene!😊

Beehive

 The Beehive musical currently running at the  Lake Worth playhouse in Florida is a delight. 

It features outstanding female chart toppers from the 60’s including Diana Ross and the Supremes, Tina Turner, Aretha Frankly, Janice Joplin and many more. 

And the actresses who performed are super talented.

It’s a high energy performance from start to finish and the dress and hairstyles brought back fond memories 😊. 

Nostalgia all the way.  

The playhouse itself is quaint and charming, having been built in 1924. 

And it has maintained it’s character. 

I was particularly fascinated by the ceiling and the stage.     

The box office is tiny and dated and so was the bathroom I hear!

 

I attended the performance with a group from the Tamarac Senior Center.

 We went to the performance after a pleasant sit-down dinner nearby. 

As usual, I enjoyed the camaraderie. 

Lake Worth, or rather what I saw of it, seems to be a little historical town which comes to life on a Friday night when people flock to the sidewalk restaurants, some of which have live bands.  

I was rather curious about the lack of street lights once we left the main area though.

 Actually I had believed some residential areas were having power cuts until I realized that the houses had lights and it was just the streets that were dark😡. 

However, It was a wonderful outing, professionally organized and we all returned home safely, having been 

taken there and back by a competent driver.

Tamarac Seniors