fh_trips | Athens, Thursday Evening

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fall break 2018: zakynthos and athens

Athens, Thursday Evening

The sun set above a city that was, improbably, full of people who spoke English with a heavy Greek accent - at least until you thought about it for five seconds and realized Portalocity was involved.

But that aside, the sun was setting, and the Greeks retreated to their dining halls to feast and talk endlessly before bedtime.

[[ ocd up! ]]

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This massive inn hosts not just a labyrinth of small rooms for visitors from across Greece, it also has stables and multiple dining rooms for everyone's perusal. Guests will probably want to make use of the long stretch of the inn - including its lovely courtyard, which hosts a beautifully detailed pond, a pretty fountain, and large flowerbeds full of colorful flowers.

...because the rooms are tiny. And your toilet is a pot in the corner.

At least everyone had a very nice bed? Two a room, even ~~or one big one for hijinx~~.

But don't expect much else from these walls, folks. At least someone will be by with wine (or a non-alcoholic beverage) and flower petals later?

[[ your room assignments are here! Please make sure to keep anything posted here to PG-13; anything else can go in your personal journal. ]]

Edited 2018-10-11 17:47 (UTC)

Fenris walked into the room and looked around in approval. "Now this is more like it!"

This reminded him of the Imperium. Not the bad parts, he shoved those memories aside immediately and with feeling. The aesthetics.

Nell had to at least check out the room she was assigned to. And she could at least leave her things here. As for the sleeping, well, she'd spent the other nights sleeping in the forest, she could do that here, too.

Dinner is an extremely serious affair in Athens. Many Greeks poured into the dining hall for a great feast, and the tables were filled with eggs of different birds, fresh seafood, cheeses, olive oils, local vegetables and game meat from the day's hunt.

The Greeks chatted and argued loudly as they ate, about everything from romantic entanglements to philosophy.

It is lovely, and even moreso that night has fallen: fire lights the courtyard and more pillows have been set out along the walls for people to sit. Walk around, enjoy the sight of the fountain, watch the flowers, or just partake of the copious amounts of beverages that are served here.

(Of course there's wine.)

... or you could hang out with the horses instead, you strange person, you.

It sure is an ancient Greek city, full of life. Large, painted marble statues of heroes and guards line the main roads, there are as many pots as you'd like to buy, and plenty of people hoping to make a drachma by cheating you.

At least Portalocity has thoughtfully changed all your tender to drachmae.

Edited 2018-10-11 17:51 (UTC)

This open-air theatre can be freely accessed by anyone at no charge. Tonight, you may watch actors perform The Knights, one of Aristophanes's famed comedies.

'A sausage seller, Agoracritus, vies with Cleon for the confidence and approval of Demos ('The People' in Greek), an elderly man who symbolizes the Athenian citizenry. Agoracritus emerges triumphant from a series of contests and he restores Demos to his former glory.'

A play? Why not. Breq found a seat next to a group of enthusiastic people who had clearly seen the play before. Overhearing their conversation was a good way to fill in the gaps in the story that her lack of cultural context created.

Sabine was less into theater than other arts, but she still appreciates it. And when else was she going to go back in time to see this?

She was here, knowing she'd probably be confused, and was willing to go with it anyway.

Nell was fascinated by all of this and more than happy to sit and watch the play. When would she ever get a chance to do anything like this ever again?

Lana found her usual roommate there, and came to sit next to her. She was dressed in local clothing, violet with a red and yellow design, belted with the leather she'd bought in the first city.

"Hello, Nell. Have you been enjoying the trip?"

"Oh gosh, yes," Nell said cheerfully. "This is amazing! I never dreamed I'd get to see anything like this in my life. Though, truth be told, if you said it was all a crazy dream, I'd be inclined to believe you."

[OOC: Sorry, I've been rather sick for the last week and missing things everywhere.]

"So much of what happens on the island falls under that," Lana answered. "But I'm fairly sure it's real." She smiled. "If you couldn't have dreamed it, it can't be a dream, can it?"

[OOC: No worries at all!]

Nell giggled. "Guess even my dreams have gotten crazier here!"

"Is that a good thing or a bad one?" Lana asked, grinning.

"Oh, I'd say it's good," Nell said. "Even if the whole Fandom thing here turns out to be just a dream, well, it's a pretty nice one. To have this kind of freedom and be in a place where it doesn't matter that I'm female and everyone's so nice... It's good."

Lana thinned her lips. "I'll never understand the grief you've gotten for being female. I hope you know you're every bit as good as a man."

"It's such a different world here," Nell said. "I never quite even dared hope that I'd ever be out of there."

She winced a little. "Not that I don't still feel guilty about just disappearing and leaving him alone so soon after Leah died. They did save me, you know."

"That's understandable," Lana admitted. "But you can appreciate that and still want more. And now you can get it."

"I guess I can," Nell said with a smile. "And I'm gonna get all I can out of this."

Some things never change: here, much like in Limni Keri, local fishermen return as the sky darkens. The harbor is a hub of activity even now, full of traders running from place to place and cargo moving from one end to the other.

Walk a little further, and you'll find something close to a quiet beach. You can always dangle your feet in the water, go for a little swim, or watch ancient Greek triremes go by, solid in their prime.

Ok, now these? These were proper ships. Fenris was again walking along the harbor to look at them.

Possibly to see if there was one they could quickly smuggle through a portal.

Good thing he had no idea how to arrange a portal.

Or wander the streets in search of something else. What? Well, that's up to you.

*flops*

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Athens, Thursday Evening

HOTEL φάτνη

Rooms

Room 305

Room 211

Dinner

Courtyard

Stables

Athens

Theatron

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Piraeus, the Athenian Harbor

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Streets of Athens

OOC