Category: Greece

Greece: Athens & Environs

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After our highlights tour, we had four more full days in Athens.  You might wonder what we did.  After checking into the Ava Hotel, a boutique hotel nicely located in the Plaka neighborhood, we just wandered the neighborhood enjoying lunch at Yiosemi, a nearby café where the cheese pie and the orange pie (really cake) were yummy. Then we dined on an outside upper level terrace with a marvelous view of the Acropolis.  It’s stunning at night and the Parthenon especially, lit from within with a golden light while the other lights are whiter.  

Backdrop at Yiosemi

The next day we had the morning free for catching up on paperwork, as the Chief Penguin would say, or for me writing my latest blog post.  That afternoon after lunch at Adrianos (another Greek salad and some meatballs) we went to Cape Sounio, about an hour and a quarter south, to see the Temple of Poseidon.  Poseidon was the god of the sea.   

Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio

Our driver was again the marvelous Kostas.  Kostas had been with us on our all day highlights tour and is both a skilled driver and a warm and friendly guy who shared comments on the scenery and Greek life.  Our tour guide this day was Helen, who like all our guides, completed the three year Greek guide training course, and was very well versed in the history and importance of the ancient sites.  

The Temple of Poseidon commands a spectacular location high above Sounio Bay looking out over several islands.  This site has had little restoration and much of the temple is missing, but it is worth visiting.  Flightless birds, a turtle and other wildlife added interest.  And again, as we were up high, it was exceedingly windy!  Helen told us that the waters below in this area are especially challenging for mariners.

Our son, Tim, and his good friend, Dino, had both recommended that we visit Sounio and also that we make the trek to Delphi.  Delphi is the site of the temple to Apollo, god of the sun, and also where the Oracle at Delphi delivered prophecies and answers to questions.  I well remember first learning about the oracle when I studied Latin in high school.  At Delphi there is both the site which includes remains of the temple, but also a stadium, a theater, and treasure houses.  There was a series of treasure houses, each one for the elaborate gifts to Apollo from a particular city.  Once these treasures were handed over, they were not given back nor were they visitable. 

Temple of Apollo at Delphi

Kostas was our driver once more, and this time, Georgia was our guide.  She took us first to the Delphi Museum which contains a comprehensive collection of statues, sculptures and the like from all the historical periods in Ancient Greece.  Some of them are in great condition, others less so, but the lighting is just right, and it was a great way to start our tour.  

Youth Antinoos who drowned in the Nile (1st century AD)

With Georgia’s commentary in the museum in mind, we were better able to visualize Delphi as it might have looked thousands of years ago. 

 The trip to Delphi is long, 2 ½ hours by car each way, but along the way we saw lots of greenery, agricultural fields, and then we began climbing into the mountains.  Delphi is gorgeous with the mountains around it and the setting only adds to the experience. Kostas introduced us to a great little family restaurant in the town, To Patriko Mas, where we enjoyed another Greek salad and some grilled shrimp (langoustines, really, with their heads).

On our last full day, we walked, and I mean WALKED!  The Chief Penguin and I logged more than 20,000 steps or 7+ miles!  Our morning walk was to the National Garden and then on to view the Academy of Athens, a magnificent structure with gold and other colors on the pediment—gave us an appreciation of what the ancient temples must have looked like!  

Partial view of the Academy of Athens

Back to the hotel before a 40 minute walk, partly uphill, to lunch in a small restaurant in a courtyard called Ama Lachei.  Here we had our best meal in Athens.  After this indulgent lunch of lamb, chicken, Greek salad, and cheese croquettes plus wine, we walked through the local farmers’ market (what a colorful array of tomatoes, eggplants, lettuces and peppers) and then meandered the long way back taking in some of the sights in the Monastiraki district.  

Lamb kebab with tatziki and pita bread

We were booked at another fine restaurant farther away for the evening, but opted to return to To Kafeneio where we had had dinner previously.  This time we ordered just a few snacks including the lemony dolmades (stuffed grape leaves).  We changed the clocks back an hour, slept longer than usual, and arose to begin a very long day which will end in our arrival at Newark Airport late tonight!

I should note that all but one of the restaurants we sampled were recommended by and booked for us by the folks at Journy.com. This online travel specialist provided us with a daily plan of suggested activities as well as restaurants for both here and Rome. We highly recommend them!

Sidewalks in Athens are usually stone, most gray, but some this pinky red color or yellow, and done in blocks of 49 little tiles. Can be a bit slippery.

Note: All text and photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved). Header photo is the mountainside town of Arachova, on the way to Delphi.

Athens: Highlights Tour

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ATHENS—ANCIENT SITES

We docked at Piraeus, a port and suburb of Athens, and were to be there all day and overnight until disembarkation the next morning.  We had arranged for a private all day tour, Highlights of Athens, and Ellen and Bob joined us.  Our driver was skillful, there was traffic, but nothing like in Jerusalem, and we were in the city in no time.  There our guide, Eleni, and the Chief Penguin went off to buy our entry tickets while we three waited in the van in the parking lot.  It was tightly packed with buses angling their way in and out almost scraping the side of the van.  A veritable ballet as buses and our van backed and filled and danced around each other!

Eventually, they returned with the tickets (took about 25 minutes even in the special line for tour guides, mostly because of all the forms that the ticket seller had to complete by hand!); then we were off to the Acropolis.  A native Athenian, Eleni studied journalism before spending three years studying and getting certified as a guide.  She’s been doing this for five years and told us she had done back-to-back tours every day since April.  She only does English language tours and just for Americans.  In her opinion, we’re nice, easy guests, and we have a sense of humor.   The last cruise ships arrive at Piraeus fairly soon and then things quiet down for a few months until spring. 

 Eleni was a superb guide!  Filling us in on the background for each monument and temple (her “blah blah” as she called it), she delivered mini history lessons. But, equally important, I’d say, she gave us a real sense of the flavor of Greek society and culture. 

Climbing with the crowds at the Acropolis

Ascending to the Acropolis and the historic buildings on this citadel is an upward climb on slippery stones and steps and requires perseverance.  The weather was lovely, but very very windy, and the site jam packed with people so we slowly inched along, winding around until we reached the top.  The first impressive sight was the Herodeon Theater, built in the 5th century BCE, to hold approximately five thousand people (see header photo).  It’s still in use today for theater performances.  Lovely with tiered seats and looking toward a series of open arches.  

Continuing up is the Temple of Athena Nike, built about 420 BC.  It’s a small temple and delicately beautiful.  From there you climb a bit more to reach the pinnacle and the piece de resistance, the Parthenon.  This massive temple is simply stunning and it’s amazing to think that it has existed here for three thousand years.  It’s hard to capture in words just how magnificent it is. Also of interest is the Erechtheum and the Porch of Caryitids.

Visiting the Parthenon
Erechtheum and the Caryitids

After descending, we had an early lunch at a restaurant serving traditional Greek fare (moussaka, stuffed cabbage rolls and the like) and then proceeded on to the Agora, Athens’ ancient civic center with its lovely colonnade, and finally, to the Temple of Olympic Zeus.  

Colonnade of the Agora

Little of this temple remains, but one collapsed column lies in pieces along the ground in front.  This fallen noble column is a striking sight against the few columns that still stand.  

Temple of Zeus

While riding between stops, we enjoyed seeing the architecture of Parliament (elegant with a restrained grandeur) and the beauty of both the Academy of Athens and the former public library. All in all, it was a grand adventure, and we felt we both gained in knowledge and perhaps worked off a few pounds!

Note: Text and all photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).

Greece: Patmos, A Small Gem

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PHOTOGRAPHING PATMOS

This tiny Greek island, which I’d never heard of, is a gem.  We were anchored here for about 10 hours and again, the tenders were run by the local authorities.  The Chief Penguin and I had signed up for another of the ship’s excursion offerings, “Images of Patmos,” and this time we were delighted with the program.  Our guide, Carolyn, is a British woman and artist (ceramics and sculpture) who has lived here for 35 years.  She was knowledgeable about all aspects of the island albeit a bit wifty.  But, unlike the other day’s outing, this excursion focused on photography and covered a variety of landscapes and architecture during the roughly three hours.  What was also good was that the group of thirty plus was divided between two vans and guides so that we were part of a smaller, more manageable group.

Patmos is very dry and for many years relied on water delivered by ship from other islands until a desalinization plant was built here.  Formed of volcanic rock and limestone, there are lots of scrubby bushes, but just one one area that is forest. Farming is done with terraces on the slopes.  Only 3,000 people live here, and Carolyn told us everyone knows everyone else. 

We began by stopping to see some local fishing boats tied up at shore and Carolyn pointed out various reflections in the water.  We then had a view of Petra, a large rock outcropping in the water, but the sun was at the wrong angle for a good photo.  Our next stop was a boatyard, then to a farm to see a small private chapel.

Local fishing boat
At the boatyard

We later left the bus for an extended walk/climb to see three historic windmills dating from the 1500’s.  They were restored in 2010 with contemporary parts made to replicate the old ones, although they have not been in use since the 1950’s. I found these bulbous stone cylinders with their spider-like arms fascinating and took many photos.  There was also a lovely view here up toward the monastery on the opposite cliff as well as down to the sea.

Windmills of Patmos

Continuing on foot, our last stop was a meandering walk through the narrow streets of Chora, the capital.  The town is built around the Monastery of St. John which was founded in 1088 in honor of the author of Biblical Book of Revelations.  During the 16th and 17th centuries, Chora was at its peak, and ship captains and other wealthy folks built beautiful homes which today are all whitewashed stone. Many have knockers on their colored front doors depicting an animal or a human hand. The town was lovely and still and the streets deserted as everyone was attending an important religious celebration.  Once the service was over, motorbikes and individuals on foot began to appear.

Door Knocker in Chora
Monastery of St. John
Scene in Chora

Note: All photos and text ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved). Header photo is the Windmills of Patmos.

Greece: Rhodes & Santorini

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PAPHOS TO RHODES

We docked at Rhodes at noon.  I am not a big fan of small boats or ruffled water and so always prefer it when we dock rather than anchor.  If we anchor, then we have to be tendered in to shore.  You usually go in the ship’s lifeboats which are well equipped, but small.  In Paphos, I watched the tenders (what the lifeboats are called when they are used for this purpose) rock from side to side crossing over and back from the ship to the shore.  I wimped out and decided to walk the promenade deck instead.  The Chief Penguin, being much less fazed by motion, ventured out solo and enjoyed his tour of some of the old sections of that island.

Rhodes is encircled by fortification walls, some going back to the Byzantine era.  In the main district, the streets are narrow and lined with a mix of restaurants, cafes, and small shops.  Lots of leather goods, ceramics, and jewelry plus the usual T-shirts and hats proclaiming Greece and Rhodes.  Given the many different peoples and cultures who have resided here, churches,  synagogues, and mosques with crosses, steeples, domes and minarets punctuate the skyline.  After the walls and all the lovely stone arches, perhaps the most stunning building is Palace of the Grand Masters.  It looks like you expect a castle of old to look!  

We spent about two hours on our own just roaming around and checked out the ruins of a Catholic Church, peeked in the Suleyman Mosque where several men were at prayer, walked on the pointy stones through several residential streets, and then trudged up hill to the Palace.  Some of the shops were clearly for the tourists, but overall this felt like a real place, and I loved all the walls and the architecture.

Palace of the Grand Masters in the background

SANTORINI

Overnight we sailed to Santorini and anchored here about 8:00 in the morning. Santorini is built on lava rock and limestone and sits in a caldera, a crater that is the result of volcanic activity.   We signed up for one of the ship’s excursions which was called Panoramic Santorini.  We took the tender the short distance to Athinios, a somewhat depressing port.  The local authorities require the cruise ships to use their tenders so we were on a slightly bigger double decker boat.  

Black sand beach at Kamari

We then boarded a bus for the winding hairpin turn after hairpin turn up the mountain to Mount Elijah the highest point.  If you arrive at the old port at Fira, the capital, you have a choice of walking 600 steps up the cliff, riding a mule up the same steps or riding the cable car, the latter being most people’s preferred option!  Cars and buses have no access to the Fira port, hence our arrival at the other one.

We were initially disappointed since it was foggy and misty on the climb to Mt. Elijah and no reason to get out of the bus.  The next stop was at the Santo Winery.  Here we had some nice snacks of olives, tomatoes, and cubes of cheese plus a bit of the local white. The spacious terrace had plenty of tables and seats.   For those so inclined, there was a well stocked gift shop with wine, of course, but also olive oil, soaps made from olive oil, mugs, candies, and other tourist trinkets.  I didn’t buy anything.  

From here, we proceed to Kamari, a beach town.  It’s noted for its black sand which, to my mind, is really gray pebbles and not smooth sand at all.  With only about three streets of shops and restaurants and the promenade along the beach, there was nothing much to see and, in no way, did it merit an hour of our time!  After this, we had the option of returning to the ship via tenders or getting off the bus in Fira and seeing something of the town on our own and then returning by cable car and tender.  

Simple architecture, elaborate iron work

We opted to see something of Fira and were really glad we did!  Here were the much lauded and much photographed all white buildings with blue trim or blue shutters or blue doors.  Along with several churches and mosques, each of which had some color on it be it blue, coral or a golden yellow.  We had a simple lunch of chicken gyros and sausage gyros with fries and tatziki overlooking the sea and the cliff side below.  After we located the cable car entrance, we continued on foot uphill on stone steps for quite aways winding along the top of the cliff.  This was a vigorous walk, but the views and the architecture were marvelous making it a worthwhile endeavor. Finally we saw what we had been expecting all along. And despite the lack of stunning photos here, it really is beautiful!

Notes: I tried to upload several photos showing domes and steeples, but they wouldn’t load correctly (poor Internet connection, I think). Photos and text ©JWFarrington.