I arrived in Athens just in time to rendezvous with my two friends for dinner.
After, we walked through the streets and gazed upon the Acropolis in its nighttime splendor while relaxing on the square. Not too long after, a couch-surfing individual that one of my friends had been in contact with, arrived to socialize. (We were being hosted at another couch-hotel by a generous student).
Honestly, we were pretty skeptical.
He took us down a questionable alleyway that was very close to abandoned in terms of human presence. My other friend and I were lagging behind and looking at each other with concerned faces. However, one friend courageously (or blindly) surged forward, and after swinging open an ominous wooden door, we were greeted by a lively, yet eclectic open atmosphere.
An upstairs level was accessed via stairs and an external porch, the open rooms play host to changing art exhibitions; unfortunately, I can’t recall what the gallery was exhibiting at the time. I remember it being dark and creepy, it may have centered around some context of violence.
The ground floor had your standard bar and the individual associated with it. The four of us settled into a couple of chairs at a table, and the ladies ordered some sangria while the man ordered a beer.
To describe the couch-surfer as a “character” is to term it lightly. He was amongst the unemployed population of the suffering Greek population, and freelances in electronics repair. If you imagine a conspiracy theorist and an anarchist in one body, this fellow would be pretty close. He was also an avid smoker (as are most Europeans).
Calling it a night, we bid αντίο to our strange friend and strolled back to our couch-host’s apartment to rest and strategize for the next day. (This is when I found out that none of us are adept at falling asleep before midnight).
CestLaJu 