On our trip to Greece last month, we spent a day in Athens. It wasn't really the main draw for us, but since we had half a day to spare, we might as well tour the city for a little bit. So we took the metro to Akropoli station on the red line, and upon exiting the station, we saw the ruins right away. Far on top of the hill, but clearly visible from the station exit.
To enter the Acropolis area and the slopes around it cost 20 euros. Paying 10 euros extra would get you a 5-day pass and access to some of the other ruins as well, about five or six of them. That still sounded like an awful lot of money to go see some bricks and pillars.
I saw the Parthenon from afar, and then I saw Olympieion from outside the fence, and they just kinda looked the same to me. Parthenon had more pillars, Olympieion had fewer; Parthenon was high up on a hill, Olympieion was on lower ground; I honestly don't care if there were pillars under the ground or under the sea or in the sky--they were pillars all the same. Okay, so they were built thousands of years ago. Right. Still not interested.
I've made it a point not to do something or visit some place just because everybody else does, unless it's free it has some significance to me. This was the same reason why I didn't visit the Louvre when I was in Paris. I took a picture outside it, because I happened to pass by, not even knowing for sure if it was indeed the Louvre.
So I'm an uncultured bumpkin. The only paintings I know are the Mona Lisa and some of Van Gogh's, which I don't understand what's so good about. I've heard of some of the Greek gods and goddesses, read some of their myths, but let's get real--pretending to care about the one god I'm supposed to worship is already enough of a chore, I really could do without any more of them in my life.
