My first Xmas overseas...

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My first Xmas overseas...in Athens, Greece...

I never would've guessed that Athens would be the first place I'd ever have a Xmas away from Mexico and my family and friends, at first I thought It'd be in London, but as I said in my previous post, it was just too cold...
I arrived in Athens, I believe, on the 23rd of December 1980, and got settled in the youth hostel, which is listed as the very 1st Youth Hostel of the YHA (Youth Hostel Association).

I remember the day I arrived quite clearly, due to my dilemma on the 'Magic Bus', and also because it was such a welcoming place run by very friendly people.

This Youth Hostel was located close to Syntagma square, downtown Athens, so it was the perfect location to be close to everything you want to see in Athens, and also at walking distance from the Acropolis (pictured above).

It was an old building and had a lot of character, it was also the most economical Y.H. I ever stayed throughout my entire backpacking life!
It was only about $1 a night, and it included breakfast!! OMG!!

So cheap... What was the downside?...
I think the beds...they were bunk beds, 2 or 3 in every room and the spring-base of each bed was so worn out that they all bent drastically, so I had the bed above me nearly on my face... but who cared... it was only $1 USD!!

I could've stayed there longer, but you are only allowed to stay up to 5 nights, at least back in those days.
So I figured, I'd stay there for Xmas and then head down to Israel, which I did.

Anyway, that first day I had a look around the square and saw the change of guards in front of the Hellenic Parliament in Syntagma Square (see video below). It was an interesting experience I'd never seen before, I didn't even know they did that in Greece...

So, December 24th came about and we wanted to celebrate Xmas eve, as it is always celebrated in Mexico, so, I and another Mexican friend had a great Greek sandwich meal for Xmas dinner at the hostel and then we decided to head out to a bar with some of the other guys who were staying at the same place.  

We found a great wee bar just a couple of blocks away, so we went in, my friends started ordering drinks and, up until then, I had refused to drink alcohol, so I was just going to order a Coke at the bar...

Then the bartender said "Where are you from?" Mexico I said, then she quickly pointed at a bottle of 'TEQUILA Cuervo', sitting on the shelf. and she said, then you must like Tequila, right?
I wasn't going to look bad saying "No, I don't drink" so I lied and said "Sure", ok, she kept on... "so you'll have Tequila, right?"... she said... Well...why not...

My very first shot of Tequila ever, in a Greek bar in Athens, served by an Egyptian bartender...go figure!

I tried to remember how people did the 'Tequila thing' back in Mexico, I'd never tried it before, with the lime and salt and all that, so I faked it and... down it went!
UUUOOOPAAAH! As they say in Greece....I think I felt my eyes pop out...

Then I had another one and then another...not sure at that stage how many more because the bartender said, "the next  one is on the house"... not sure how I paid or how many free shots I had.
I was drunk before I knew it... for the first time in my life...

My Mexican friend found me and together we zigzagged back to the Y.H. which by that time was closed! Yup, there was a curfew and we were supposed to be back by 11 pm...it was way past that!

What to do? 
We walked back and stumbled across a little hotel, we went in and somehow we managed to get a room, way more expensive than the Y.H. but we had no choice...

The next day I had a terrible hangover, my first ever... and everything was closed, of course, December 25th in a Greek Orthodox country...nevertheless, we decided to go up to the Acropolis with my head about  to explode....the streets were empty, and couldn't even find anything to eat...then, after getting to the top of the hill, we discovered that it was closed for the public holiday...what?...No way!

Well, what a first Xmas overseas that was!
Was it an unforgettable Xmas?
​It sure was....