Apollo, Athens

Advantages: fun, charming and diverting city with plenty of interesting things to see and do; great variety of bars and restaurants
Disadvantages: has some shonky areas, may bring you to spend more than you'd like

...The city of Athens, Georgia, USA, is one of those eclectic university towns scattered all the way across the country. If you're an American and a seasoned college student, you know all about what that means - an infinite variety of bars, pubs, theatres and crack houses. And, of course, a vast number of students to take advantage of whichever of these vices may take their fancy. In this particular case, it's the enormous campus of the University of Georgia which has set up shop in this interesting town. Athens is about 70 miles from Atlanta, anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half drive depending on various things - the traffic, whether there is a thunderstorm present, or if someone has managed to cark it somewhere along the road and has thus blocked it in some manner. Once you're out of the suburban and ugly sprawl of Atlanta you... Read review

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Advantages: A tense, suspense filled drama
Disadvantages: None

...As far as space films go, I am not a big fan so it was with some trepidation that I took this one in. After a few minutes, it is clear that this is going to stand head and shoulders above the rest which is due, in large part, to the immense performance of Academy Award Winner Tom Hanks, but also to a tremendous true story of bravery, skill and hope. A year after the epic moon landing of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 13 was scheduled for a moon landing of its own. The original crew of Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) and Ken Mattingley (Gary Sinise) are just days away from the launch when Mattingley is pulled from the team due to the belief that he may have been exposed to infection. Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) steps inand after a routine launch, disaster strikes, leading to the immortal line "Houston, we... Read review

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Advantages: Vibrant, cheap excellent public transport. Famous historic sites. Eating out
Disadvantages: Not as 'Greek' as it used to be. Poor air quality. The drivers!

...I'd been to Athens before, but not since 1973 so I was fully expecting a lot of changes, and to a greater extent I was right. For example, I was probably amongst the last tourists to be allowed full access to wander all over the famous Parthenon on the Acropolis hill. Since then it has been fenced off and variously concealed behind one piece of scaffolding or another, and is rumoured to stay that way for decades. I remember that summer of '73 with some trepidation - it was damned hot to be in a city and the traffic was truly awful, with blue fumes from two-stroke 'pop-pops' everywhere. Since then, cars have got a lot cleaner, but regrettably more numerous. Of course, going there in the October half-term holiday helps with the air-quality too! WHERE IS IT? It's the capital of Greece and lies in the province... Read review

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