TTC versus Athens METRO

So I realized that I have become a metro rider criminal...You see, here in Athens, they trust you so much with paying the correct fare (1 euro = 1.60 cdn) that they don't have those turnstiles and suspicious TTC workers watching your every move as we do back in Toronto. You go to an automated ticket purchase machine, and pick Student (50 lepta) or Adult (1 euro) and you simply validate your ticket in the open style entryway. And since I have been following my trusty coworker Tori (a fellow American but lover of Greece), I have been buying my reasonably cheap Student ticket, even if I am not enrolled in a Greek university. I feel a bit guilty in doing this but I feel I better suit the category of student than an adult, since I have been going to school for 23 years of my life!!!

And talk about modern and clean! The metro stations have exhibits in them, glass elevators where there are no finger prints and nasty snotmarks, and lighting that belongs to an art gallery. I swear they look like hotel lobbies of a 5 star hotel!

Another beauty about the Metro is that you have 1.5 hr to do what you want. Hop on the metro, go shopping, have a latte, and hop back on --as long as you do it within the time restraints. I don't know about you but I always make sure to hop on the next TTC bus in fear that my transfer will expire. (Remember that TTC driver who made you pay that extra fare because you crossed the street to get a drink from the corner store, before catching your next bus???)

I love Athens Metro.