« Shared obsessions and home decor 101 | Main | Paris, je t'aime (for Funke) »
July 06, 2007
Athens culture: A-F
It's been about a month now, and we're starting to find our way around Athens. Much of the time I'm assessing it in light of Pittsburgh experiences, probably not fair considering how much I'm still in love with Pittsburgh.
Anyway, here's a bit about our Athens experience so far...
*Books: at first we couldn't find a single used book store in Athens. I was going nuts, wondering what kind of college town wouldn't have a smattering of cool bookstores (maybe look at the paragraph above for what students are doing with their time...)? But finally we drove by a quirky little hole-in-the-wall that I'm looking forward to exploring.
And the public library, well, I got spoiled by the Carnegie-endowed library system of Pittsburgh, where I could do as much research in the public library (sometimes more!) than I could at Pitt. From a quick perusal, it looks as though most of the books in the local library were obtained in the 1970s. However, the UGA library is quite nice, and I now have a card.
*DUI schools: There aren't too many things I dislike about Athens, except for the proliferation of DUI schools. I've never seen so many in one place in my life! And what I hate worse is when they give the school a cute name, like "Dawg House DUI School." It feels like it's giving a drunk driver a pat on the back, like, aww, you got caught this time, come to our cute little school and make things better. Urgh. Drunk driving is not cute, and nothing associated with it should sound cute. Plus the DUI schools are only a symptom of the problem of too much alcohol+too young and stupid drivers on the road. It makes me nervous sometimes being out on the road, especially since I've already been feeling a little more edgy driving since I got pregnant.
*Film: I found an indy theater in Athens that we went to for the first time last night, to see Paris, je t'aime. It's in a refurbished factory, and has a nifty wine/beer/coffee cafe in the entranceway, and you can bring your drinks into the theater. Tim enjoyed watching the movie with a European beer in hand, though perhaps a red wine would have been more appropriate. I *heart* independent and foreign films (and cool theaters to see them in)! The next one we want to see is The Golden Door, telling the story of immigrants coming through Ellis Island (wait, I never wrote about our NYC experiences, such as Ellis Island!)
*Food: well, food in Athens definitely can't compare with the cosmopolitan food found in Pittsburgh, especially Oakland (probably surprising to those who aren't from Pittsburgh, but there's an enormous number of international students who come to study and it really has influenced the kinds of foods around town, not to mention the actively preserved immigrant roots of Pittsburgh itself).
I miss the Strip District!! And the farmers markets all around the city. I found one in Athens that I was really excited about, but we got there, and there were just a few little tables and a handful of vegetables. Nothing like the proliferation we were used to.
But, in Athens' favor, there are many interesting latin American restaurants (and grocery stores) around--Mexican, Cuban, Columbian, Salvadorean--that we'll have fun checking out. And a couple of odd combinations, like a German-Turkish sandwich shop.
I've also found a few stores I want to check out when I have the chance--a fish market, an Indian grocery store, and a couple of gourmet food stores.
*Football: well, I think Athens probably gets almost as excited about football as Pittsburgh, but I can't imagine it being nearly as much fun! Go Stillers!
'Way Down South | By Tim and Jo | 10:00 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://covblogs.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/10422
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Athens culture: A-F:
Comments
Did you like Paris, je t'aime? I thought the previews looked interesting, and our little indy theatre is showing it.
Posted by: funke at July 6, 2007 10:24 AM