Back in January, when I received my plane tickets in the mail, I remember staring at the portion from Bangkok to Athens and wondering what I had gotten myself into. How on earth would I, a person who had seriously considered buying a boat in Puerto Rico so I didn’t have to get back on a plane, get through a ten hour flight without a complete nervous break down?

How? I slept right through it.

I consider myself cured and I’d like to thank my new friends Kolonopin and Lorazapam. I’d also like to thank myself for being insane enough to buy an around the world plane ticket despite a paralyzing fear of flying. Goodbye Achilles Heel! Hello, Athens, Greece!

After years of studying the roots of civilization, art and architecture… I stood on the acropolis, stared at the Parthenon and I had a moment.  In spite of the teeming throngs of tourists and residents, it is so easy to get pulled into the magic of Athens. Around every corner there is something ancient: from the colossal Temple of Zeus to the foundation of a house. They can’t even dig for subways around here without discovering entire neighborhoods, partially preserved underground.

I had heard that Athens is smoggy and polluted but (and this may be because I’m still washing off the smell of Bangkok) I just don’t see it. Little cobblestone alley ways wind around the whitewashed neighborhood below the acropolis and each turn reveals more cafes and coffee shops to explore. And explore them we did…trying anything on the menu whether we could pronounce it or not.

From the history to the architecture to the food, it all just feels epic. I felt epic by osmosis. I felt grounded in the linear path of history, but transported back in time. It was both familiar and foreign. A celebrity sighting in marble and bronze.

And now, seeing as I am a person of questionable future direction, I must go consult the Oracle of Delphi.