Athens vs. Rome

So, September 1st rolls around, and here we are, back at the Athens International Airport. Emily and I coincidentally head out on the same flight to Rome, and to commemorate such a wonderful trip, we wanted to go out with a bang. With the flight at 6am, booking a room and waking up at 2 or 3 hardly seemed worth it. How sneaky we could be, we so cleverly devised, if we instead came to the airport at night before they close, and spent the night over a bottle of wine, reminiscing over our fabulous times in Greece!

But how early in the evening would we have to come? Where could we stow ourselves for the nights without looking too suspish? How to even go about obtaining the answers to these questions? Somehow calling to inquire about "When does the last flight of the evening leave" or "How late will you let me walk into the airport" feels inherently suspicious, while the truth ("Oh, we just want to booze it up and sleep on the marble floor") smacks of an alcoholic hobo, which I equally wanted to avoid. Being a foreign guest, it feels somewhat un-kosher to lie unconscious all night (while undoubtedly charging your ipod in a random outlet) in the entryway to a major international airport.

As it turns out, the Athens airport never closes and not only is refugee behavior kosher, it's practically welcomed. Even around 1 am, I can honestly describe the airport as "hoppin' " with travelers drinking their "frappés" (a foamy ice coffee that has apparently become the lifeblood of Greeks) and socializing in airport cafés. By the gates, young and old persons like have awkwardly draped their bodies across those airport chairs, serenely catching some shut-eye before their pre-dawn flights.

Frankly, we should have known. All throughout Greece, Emily and I have noted this "make yourself at home" sort of behavior. On each ferry we took, you'd find people sleeping on towels in corners (and, really, main hallways); in every restaurant, you're expected to waltz in and choose your table (never waiting to be seated); and not once did we ever see a "no smoking" sign obeyed. (Emily sincerely devoted hours to estimating Europe's rate of cancer.)

So as we wheel our cart with all our Earthly belongings through the airport, we were instead in the position of not being able to find a single corner to call our own. Fortunately we found a sketchy hallway of some closed ticket office and dutifully set up camp. Perhaps even a little too much when people would curiously duck their heads in to see where our music was coming from... Our secret bungalow wasn't particularly well-suited for sleeping, however, with books for pillows and marble for mattresses, but we'll say that was part of its charm.

Groggy-eyed, we deemed it morning around 4am, check our bags and headed off to Rome. You know, all in a day's work.

We arrived in Rome, famished and ready to again nap and charge our electronics. However... I'm going to use a bad analogy here. Remember that movie Dirty Dancing where the rich socialite girl ("Baby." Yeah, THAT was a good call) is at her family's trendy, prim country club but then hangs out with Patrick Swayze's poorer, knows-how-to-have-a-good-time staff friends? Yeah. If Athens was where you dance and booze the night away, Rome was where you fold your napkin properly across your trousers.

My God, I was embarrassed just to be seen at that airport! We're walking past designer store after designer store, trying not to run into some crisply suited color-coordinated man as we distractedly gaze at another. We quickly wrote off napping in public, jacking their outlets, and even (for a while) buying food when the one kiosk was a flurry of important-looking Europeans with chiseled faces and sarcastically small espresso coffee cups and saucers. Would you have wanted to step into that? Not unless you like getting fed to the lions, you wouldn't.

Anyway, Italians are intimidating and Parisians will apparently resent my very existence, both huge departures from the hospitality and jovial good times we found in Greece. All the claims about hospitality and being relaxed seem to be true.

Greece ruled.