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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   2326 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for May 26, 2023

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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It looks like you won't be going to the parts I went to, other than Athens, in which I only spent a day. I've also been to Mykonos and Santorini, which are filled with tourists which you said you want to avoid. But my impression is that the economy thrives on tourism, so I don't know how it easy it is to avoid tourists completely. The advantage of this though, is that unlike Italy, which is similar in many ways, most people there seem to speak English.

A Greek Uber driver who goes back every summer told me each island is very different from the rest. Mykonos is boring in my opinion unless you like to dance at clubs. It's known for as a place for partying. Santorini, which is popular with couples, is stunning. Oia, which a very beatiful city on a cliff, was packed with tourists, and that was in May. I think it gets a lot busier in the summer. I've also heard good things about Naxos.

Athens was filthy. Almost every building is completely covered in bad graffiti up to a certain height. The ground is very dirty. Everyone says to avoid it. It does have some cool ruins though and a few old buildings. In the more touristy areas of Athens everything is overpriced and there are Africans aggressively trying to sell bracelets on the street. But it's easy to find areas without many tourists. It's a huge city. Most of it is ugly and gross though.

It's definitely one of the more interesting countries I've been to and I would love to go back and explore more. For example, on those two islands, particularly Mykonos, there were a lot of vehicles that had clearly been abandoned for a very long time. And again, just an astouding amount of graffiti in certain areas. It's obviously a somewhat dysfunctional country. Every part I went to was very different from the other parts though, and my impression is that there were a lot more things to do there.

One tip: Google Maps isn't very accurate in Greece.

Africans aggressively trying to sell bracelets on the street

I have spent one night in Athens years ago (literally only the night) and it was spent walking around for hours with an African guy trying to sell me a "friendship bracelet" by proving we are friends now. He wasn't very good at it

Naxos is awesome - highly recommended for the history there.

Athens was filthy. Almost every building is completely covered in bad graffiti up to a certain height.

And don't forget the brothels... they're called "studios" there, and there was a truly surprising number of them when I went last summer.

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