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John: After a lousy transfer and night at Malpensa from Bologna, we get the 11.30 am 2hr 10 min flight to Athens, Greece. Teo and Spyros meet us at the arrivals lounge at the airport, take us to our hotel in Piraeus, and then for a drink and light meal at a waterside cafe, offering suggestions for our week in Greece. What lovely relatives we have around the world!! The weather is wet and miserable on the day of our arrival, but not for long.
After Teo and Spyros drop us back to the hotel, we go for our usual orientation walk, walking through the docks and eventually entering the offices of one of the local Greek travel agents. Nikos provides us with more ideas including how to best do a walking tour of Ancient Athens and offers us an immediate discount if we book a three island one day cruise.
Loretta: Day 2 day involves familiarising ourselves with the metro and train system before catching the train to Thissio and then walking along a variety of ancient ruins before arriving at the Acropolis.
The Acropolis surpasses our expectations and is just amazing. It was a glorious sunny day and fortunately we were able to explore and appreciate this amazing structure without the hoards of tourists that would be here during peak season. Situated on top of a hill that overlooks the busy city we saw the Propylaea, the Temple of Athena Nike, the Erechtheion and finally the Parthenon.
We make our way to Hadrian's Arch and the temple of Olympian Zeus which again, is breathtaking. We then walk into the city centre of Athens passing Constitution Square (Syntagma) the House of Parliament, the Memorial of the Unknown Solider & the National Library.
In the evening we go back to see Nikos, our friendly travel agent to book our cruise tickets, but due to predicted rough seas on the following day, we are sold a full day bus tour to Argolis with the cruise booked for the following day.
Day 3: We were up by 5.45am as we needed to catch the metro to an arranged pick up point near the Acropolis Metro which involves three changes. We board a mini Mercedes bus with around fifteen other people and a tour guide with excellent English. We manage to get out of Athens (peak period) and travel the coastal road along the Saronic Gulf to the Corinth Canal, which connects the Aegean Sea with the Ionian Sea. The bus pulls over to allow us a closer view from an overhead bridge.
Back on board we head to Epidavros, an area that was known for its healing springs. The Epidavrians founded the sanctuary of Asklepios, a centre for healing known throughout the ancient world and a theatre which had amazing acoustics(John, standing at the top of the theatre 60 metres away, thought he could hear me call him a "Malaka" under my breath, but it wasn't true). The temple of Asklepios was also located here and was erected between 380-375BC.
After farewelling the dogs and cats who greeted us upon arrival we're back on the bus and head to Mycenae an area which gave its name to a period and civilisation that evolved throughout the entire Greek world between 16th & 12th century B.C. With darkening clouds above us, we walk through the Lion's gate, a structure that was built 1250B.C. The view from the top of this hill is incredible and enables us to see for some distance: olive groves to the right and acres of citrus fruit to the left. This whole area is part of the Peloponnese and Mainland Greece-and was naturally strongly defended, evidenced by the massive wall that encased this ancient centre.
We stopped briefly in the port side town of Nafplia, the first capital of modern Greece with its Venetion fortress of Palamidi and the fortified islet of Bourtzi. This was a picturesque seaside port with views to the islands. A walk to the fortress would have been great, but this we would have to do on another occasion.
We then travelled on to see the palace, the Lioness Gate and the tomb of
Agamemnon. The tomb was an impressive conical shaped structure which was partly covered over by soil.
Lunch followed at a Greek restaurant located in a Nafplion village before we boarded the bus to return back to Athens.
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Lucy Anne dont forget the Islans! Best part of Greece! Dad and I enjoyed it very much, more than the City! I know you will enjoy it too!
Peter Nelson Hi John & Loretta, I've just read your blog from go to Greece & I understand your exhaustion. It sounds both exciting and sometimes stressful - an intimate and honest account of your journey. You've definitely talked me out of using a Eurail pass when we go next year. We'd love to catch up when you return in January. Contact me if you need to be picked up from the airport. Have a wonderful white? Christmas. This also serves as your Xmas E-card. Love, Peter & Lindy