He didn’t care that I was alone; he didn’t ask if I was waiting for someone to join.
The server there was friendlier than my neighborhood bar back in actual Paris, and quickly found me a table despite it being a busy Saturday evening. He didn’t care that I was alone; he didn’t ask if I was waiting for someone to join. He was more interested in why I was in Athens and wanted to tell me how great his city is. The same thing happened on my way to the ferry port to meet my friend the following day. “There are a lot of new hotels opening soon in Athens,” the taxi driver said in near-perfect English. “We hope people will stay longer before going to the islands and see our city.” I’m glad I did. And doing it alone gave me a different insight into the gritty but gorgeous Greek capital that’s all too often overlooked. – Lane Nieset