At first, the political unrest was just making us uncomfortable. We monitored the protests and marches and told ourselves all through April that we'd be okay. They're not picking on tourists! When the images of the May Day protests made the front page of the Financial Post, we went from uncomfortable to nervous. Smoke bombs, riot squads and violence.. but we told ourselves that it was concentrated in the Parliment area. I googled our hotel and we're roughly 3km from that area. It doesn't seem far, but that's the distance from the lakeshore to Bloor. If there was a riot at Union, we wouldn't know in Yorkville.
But when those 3 people died, Gary and I had a long discussion. The protestors are hurting innocent people now. Throwing smoke/fire bombs into a bank? The people who died, including a pregnant woman, just couldn't get out in time. And they've stormed the Parthenon!! One of their national treasures! They tore down the fencing around the temple of Athena that's over 2000 years old to put up protest signs!! That's getting out of hand. No respect for people's safety or property. Plus, the Parthenon is about 4 blocks from our hotel. 
So that's when we cut Athens from our trip. However, I was still holding out hope that we could go to Santorini. There has been no riots, protests, anything from the islands. But the problem is getting there. We'd have to fly through Athens and change planes. I argued that the airport was probably outside of Athens, the way Pearson is to Toronto, but Gary pointed out that the airports were on a 24 hour strike. Again. If we fly to Athens and they go on strike, I'd be spending my vacation days at the airport, waiting for them to reschedule my flight. Forget it!!
So.. no more Greece trip. Which is soo sad. Not just for Gary and I, but for Greece! If anything, you'd think they'd want tourists to go and spend money. Their hotel, restaurants, shops and tours just lost revenue from Gary and I. So sad. And apparently, a lot of Bulgarians go to Greece on their big Long Weekend coming up, but the Bulgarian government has issued a statement yesterday urging their citizens NOT to vacation in Greece.
I hope everything calms down soon. Less violence, more talking.
2 comments:
Awww....so sad to hear that you guys had to cancel, but it is definitely crazy there right now. Are you going to try to go somewhere else?
We are now going to the south of France!!! Not our first choice, but a great destination none the less!!!
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