- A spinning wheel (non-functional, as far as I could tell)
- A clarinet
- At least seven typewriters
- At least ten old sewing machines
- A trombone
- All the pocket knives and pocket watches my heart could ever desire
- Doorknobs
- Hammer-and-sickle pins/cufflinks
- Naked dolls
- Clothed dolls
- Unidentifiable bits of metal
- Unidentifiable bits of glass
- Shoelaces
- A toilet
- Furniture bits, claw-foot lamps, desks, chairs on chairs on chairs
- Gadgets and gizmos aplenty, whozits and whatzits galore
- Thingamabobs? At least twenty (but who cares/no big deal/I want more. I want to be where the people are, etc. etc. please, dear reader, get my Disney reference)
- Tiny shops crammed with ersatz piles of books and newspapers spilling out onto the sidewalk (think Bookman’s Corner in Chicago, only much much smaller)
- Panpipes, ocarinas, mandolins, instruments whose names I don’t know
- Komboloi and worry beads
Seriously, I’m simultaneously glad and sad that I don’t actually live here (or rather, won’t be living here in about a week), because I would buy ALL of the things.
(maybe not ALL of them. but many of them. and my living space would shrink dramatically.)
Monastiraki is where it’s at – Ermou, Mitropoleos, the tiny streets between them, all the way into the Plaka. Around the Acropolis, Dionysiou Areopagitou, Adrianou, Apostolou Paulou, you get lots of sidewalk sellers, interesting jewelry, ephemera, and a ridiculous variety of random things.
Also, there’s a Kilo Shop where Ermou ends, near the Thisseio station, near the sex shop (it has the words SEX SHOP in big letters, so I figure that’s what it’s called). As in, you pay per kilo for most things – clothes, shoes, bags, hats, scarves, etc. They’ve got a pretty wide selection, plus some eclectic pieces/parts, and people leave you alone while you browse (major plus in my book).
The crowds are a bit crazy on weekends. It’s an overwhelming sort of experience, but with a steadfast heart you can wander/push your way through, and it’s definitely worth it.
Tomorrow, the plan is to hike Mt. Hymettos, a few km away from the apartment, and a few km up. I’m even going with other people this time! Crazy, crazy stuff. Hopefully it works out; it’s been on my list of things to do here since before the interim break.
I have one more paper to write, on a topic that really, really interests me.
And then?
This is the last week. It still hasn’t hit me. Maybe it won’t, not until I’m on the plane home…
ta hypomnemata 