Feb 7 Athens, Greece part 2

Tame homeless cats and dogs were everywhere in Athens and they appeared to be well fed, relaxed and so unafraid of the crowds of people that they laid down and slept anywhere and were either ignored or treated very well by all passerbys. It was awesome to see, these cats are affectionate and content, social and so relaxed they were purring and some looked as though they were so happy and content that they were smiling. Some kneaded the ground where they sat looking up at you with such gentle love and kindness on their faces it was truly something to behold. What is it that makes these cats behave so differently than the feral cats of Canada? My hubby and I have been feeding a black cat twice a day for about 2 years and have never been able to even touch him, never mind pet him or pick him up; he is as skitzy as a wild cat ever was yet makes it on time for his two meals every single day, ungrateful little bugger! Look at these cats in Athens   http://www.littleobservationist.com/2014/10/29/46-stray-cats-athens/

And then there's the homeless dogs too
http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2013/06/greeces-stray-dogs-loved-and-cared-for-by-many/

I also heard of water bottle recycling stations everywhere in Greece and for every empty plastic bottle put in the machine out comes a handful of dog or cat kibble. Is that a great idea or what? I can just picture the homeless dogs and cats reactions to the people appearing with a plastic bottle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t_NkUrlRUM

We heard some of the history and mythology of famous gods and goddesses as well as mention of Ari Onassis, his famous wife and girlfriend, tragic children and his shipping empire.

There’s amazing art as well as graffiti all over Athens, some crude, some very well done and very beautiful. I also saw many artful posters, signs and marquees on the drive back to Piraeus. We passed a wonderful big new building under construction and learned it was to be the new Opera house and city Library.

our lunch menu

ancient walking stones

 going back to the bus

 Ciao Athens

The tour guide told us of how difficult it was to construct their subway system in time to host the 2004 Olympic Games as the workers kept finding historical artifacts and had to stop work until all finds were carefully preserved. These discoveries continue to halt the progress in making the subway longer but the 20 miles of track they have completed has helped the traffic situation a lot in this busy city of 3 million people. I’d go back to visit Athens in a minute; the Plaka District was one of my favorite places in all of the Mediterranean, also known as the Neighborhood of the Gods. I could easily spend a few days in this neighbourhood.

http://www.athensguide.com/plaka.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t_NkUrlRUM