Well not really, although I think there are some Michelin starred English chef's but.........as the french say.....I dont know what....

As to Greece. My guess is that they will have their shit together, at least well enough that it does not destroy the image of the games on TV.

It will definitely be a challenge, one that I personally don't think that they will be able to accomplish without the assistance of the IOC. I have been to Greece, both the islands and Athens. Granted, this was 9.5 years ago on our honeymoon, but a few thoughts. We were there for 2+ weeks, on and island tour ending for three nights in Athens. Unfortunately it was 2.5 nights too long in Athens. At the time, Athens was extremely polluted, very dirty and lots of garbage. Transportation was interesting, both on the subway and the taxis. It was very overcrowded with many poor people either begging or selling trinkets and junk on the street. It was not high season yet either. Constant construction that always looks unfinished. If you don't think that it is polluted, think about this: they have instituted a law that depending on your license plate, you can only drive every other day, to reduce the amount of traffic and pollution. Also, I personally found a lack of "hustle" with the hospitality industry, and on a few occassions ran into very indifferent employees, who could care less if you were there or not.

That being said, I don't think that the IOC will let Athens fail. I think that they will do anything it takes to make this successful, because of the backlash that they have received in awarding Athens the Games. They need to save face on this, and will ensure that it is successful.

Mark

[quote]Granted, this was 9.5 years ago on our honeymoon, but a few thoughts. We were there for 2+ weeks, on and island tour ending for three nights in Athens. Unfortunately it was 2.5 nights too long in Athens. At the time, Athens was extremely polluted, very dirty and lots of garbage. Transportation was interesting, both on the subway and the taxis. It was very overcrowded with many poor people either begging or selling trinkets and junk on the street[/quote]

are you it wasn't last Summer? Looks like nothing's changed.

"Definition of world hell/heaven"

Jeeze fella. Can't you take a joke. It was poking fun at some of the European cultural stereotypes. And BTW, I'm not from the USA.

Gee, what a shame if there aren't a million luxury hotel rooms for the pols and NBC brass. What a shame if they can't transport 1,000,000 people all over the place. I think it is a good bet that somehow competitors will toe the line and earn a few medals.

I am really glad Greece got the games, no matter what "disasters" are likely to generate outrage. I think it would be good for the Olympic movement if they just can't generate the logistics to shake the money tree the way they might like. Too damn much money in the Olympics and a few American professional sports.

I guess that is why I am a triathlete. We don't have that problem.

"I am really glad Greece got the games"

I am to. Athens is where it all began so it's good to see the games go "home". Let's just hope they can pull it off without too many problems. Security is one issue that should be a major concern.

[reply] Constant construction that always looks unfinished.
Mark[/reply]

The reason for this is there's a tax break as long as the building is under construction. So most new buildings in Athens are deliberately left unfinished.. It's odd, but no stranger than the US tax laws on offshore operations from the Leave No Corporate Loophole Behind Act this year..

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"It is a good feeling for old men who have begun to fear failure, any sort of failure, to set a schedule for exercise and stick to it. If an aging man can run a distance of three miles, for instance, he knows that whatever his other failures may be, he is not completely wasted away." Romain Gary, SI interview

I haven't been there myself for several years, though the article makes it sound like nothing's changed much in Athens. My parents do go there for several months every summer, and they are much more optimistic. There have been significant improvements and progess in almost all infrastructure projects (stadiums, freeways, etc) in the last year or so since the IOC put Greece on warning. One of the problems, as the article alluded to, is that almost every project that has to dig will run into archaeological artifacts. At that point it's no longer a construction site- it's an archaeological dig. I commend the Greeks for wanting to preserve their heritage and not just destroy their cultural treasures in the name of progress, but the laws that protect these sites have brought virtually every project to a standstill at some point or another. I believe (not certain about this) though that recent law made it more expedient and efficient to recover these artifacts and move on with the construction so things have sped up a little. I'd really love to see the Greeks succeed at this- and I think they'll pull it off by the skin of their teeth, so to speak, with more than a little help from the IOC and the rest of the EU.

A few more comments

Don't get me wrong, I really like the idea that it is back in Greece. In university I studied Ancient studies as a minor, one of the main reasons why we went there for our honeymoon. And back then one of the jokes that we heard constantly was that they had to stop every foot they dug for the subways, as they constantly were running into artifacts, and as was stated, it became an archaelogical dig.

Now that being said, I always liked the sarcastic remark that most of the stuff dug up is everyday utensils, bowls dishes etc. Think about all your silverware and dishes in your cubboard, and someone discovering it 3000 years from now. Oh my god, I have found a $20 Walmart set. This is priceless!!!!!

I completely agree that these archaelogical finds in the beginning were extremely important in telling us out the ancient greeks lived, but come on, how many bowls do the museums need now? I am glad to hear that they have found a way to expedite the digs these days.

Just more of my 2 cents. I would love to go back to Greece and tour more of the islands, that's for sure

Mark

I love Greece and I go there almost every Summer. My favorite mainstream islands are Rhodes (the Southern, part, from Lyndos to Prassonissi is not crowded at all not even in July/August at it's simply breathtaking) and Crete, where you have to spend at least 2 weeks just to get a glimpse of the whole island.
I think that given the hills that they have in those islands, should Greeks take this tri thing seriously, they could kick some ass in no time!
Filippo

Going to Athens for anyone from North America or northen Europe can be a bit of an eye opening and mind expanding( or closing) experience. However, the irony is the reality that many large cities around the world outside of North America and northern Europe are in many cases much worse. If you want to visit a "real" large city, I suggest Bangkok, Calcutta, Delhi, Bombay, Nairobi, Jakarta, Saigon, and many others. Here you will experience, chaos, pollution, poverty, human oppression and the struggle to exist, like you have never seen before. You will also see many who are strangely very happy with all of that. For 2/3 of the worlds population this is the reality.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

If this year's FISA rowing Junior World Champs are any indication of their readiness for the Olympics...then I say no.

Culturally, historically, I think Athens is the perfect choice.

But- This will not be an olympics for the athletes... At least in some of the sports, I think Athens will not be able to pull it together in time, and there will be less-than-perfect racing conditions...may say potencially disastrous racing conditions. Personally, I think Olys2004 are going to be a mess for the athletes. Definitely more of an Atlanta than Sydney. But as Im going as a spectator, it's going to be great. No matter what, it's the Olympics!

Ziva

I've never been to Greece but I'd sure like to take the 'Wild On' version tour of the place. But then I'd like the wild on version of just about anywhere...how do they find those places???