Silly me

I am in Athens again and the other day, I visited an aunt of mine that I hadn't seen for years. She lives by the sea, very close to one of the biggest marinas of Greece. It is an area of great beauty that I used to know well as a child. So I figured that a walk along the marina was in order, to refresh old memories and see what's new. But as I have noticed more than once in this trip, the city of my childhood has been altered so much that I can hardly recognise it!

A sculpture on a public square, that I hadn't seen before was not a big surprise. And the sea and coastline are, obviously, pretty much the same. So I started my walk with the false impression that nothing much has changed. Silly me :)

The winter sunshine added an even more pleasant vibe in my little expedition and I enjoyed the feeling that I look like a tourist in the city that I grew! The camera hanging on my neck, the slow steps and the wandering look that I had, were definite signs that I was on the "tourist mode" :)

But as I was getting closer, I was "welcomed" by closed gates and security cameras. It took me a while to realize that I cannot actually go in the marina. The playground that I used to enjoy so much as a kid, is now a guarded area!

It is of course the area with the most expensive and most extravagant yachts. Wealth has to be protected, doesn't it?
At least they left enough sidewalk for the common people to walk and after a while I reached the part with the less valuable boats and I had the chance to get closer to the sea!
I even saw a couple of humble fishing boats! Among all that display of shameless luxuriance, they looked so small and out of place!

During the whole walk I kept turning my lens either to the boats or to the block of flats that surround the marina. And I couldn't stop wandering what is like to have that view on your balcony :)