We flew back to Athens early this morning. TJ still isn’t feeling well so he took it easy while I did a little more sightseeing. I checked out the upscale Kolonaki neighborhood that is packed with fancy boutiques, trendy restaurants, swanky cafes, private art galleries, every designer brand name under the sun and Athenian socialites. Needless to say, I didn’t hang out here very long. My intention was to cruise through this area to get to a cable car that would take me up a mountain for nice views of Athens. However, I saw a mountain of stairs to get to the mountain, decided panoramic views are overrated and turned around.
My next destination was the Ancient Agora and I decided to cruise Pandrosou Street on my way there, primarily because I’d seen it on Samantha Brown’s travel show. It is kind of fun to follow in the footsteps of Samantha Brown and Anthony Bourdain! The Agora was Athens’ meeting place in ancient times and was the place where all administrative, political, commercial and social activity took place. Socrates and St Paul both hung out here back in the day. There are a few remaining structures including the Temple of Hephaestus, the Church of the Holy Apostles and the Stoa of Attalos (which is now the Agora museum) and a lot of ruins in the complex.
After checking out the Agora I made my way back to our hotel to see if TJ was feeling well enough to do a little last minute shopping with me. He was! We did a little browsing, had lunch at the Hard Rock Café, then went back and made a purchase or two. We just finished packing and are going to try to go to bed early since I have my alarm set for 2:45am tomorrow morning to get to the airport! Bleh!
It has been a great trip and unfortunately, all good things must come to an end!!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Santorini
We flew into Santorini in the afternoon and checked in to our digs for the next few days. We were welcomed to our hotel by friendly owners who offered us a glass of local wine. Our room is cute with water views, lots of character, a kitchenette, dining room table, nice bathroom and has a little exterior sitting space as well. We were hungry after a day of transit so walked into Santorini’s main town, Fira, for dinner. After realizing our hotel was a bit farther from the action than we thought we decided to rent a car for the next couple of days.
We got our car and a road map and set off the next morning. Santorini’s landscape is truly impressive as it is the result of numerous volcanic eruptions. Our first destination was the northernmost town on the Island, Oia, which was adorable!
Next we cruised through the Island’s most happenin’ town, Fira. Then we drove South to Kamari Beach. I knew that we were going to Santorini in the off-season, but I didn’t know that meant the entire island would be hibernating! The entire town set on Kamari beach was boarded up with padlocks on the doors. The whole strip along the beach was closed. It is very bizarre and kind of disappointing to wander through what feels like a ghost town while imagining how cute and lively it is during the busy season.
TJ wasn’t feeling well again and needed some rest so I dropped him off and tucked him in then headed back to explore Fira a bit. Again, it was totally eerie. I stood at the peak of Fira and looked down over the town and didn’t see an inkling of life! There wasn’t a sole in site and not a single shop was open. There were a few restaurants open for business and that was about it! There were a handful of tourists in the town below along with some locals, but the majority of town was boarded up and shut down. It seems the entire island sleeps through the winter.
On our last full day in Santorini we hopped back in our rental car and went cruising. Our first stop was a wine museum and winery. Fun! We drove by several other wineries, drove to one of the highest points on the island, checked out another resort village called Perissa , then headed north back up to Oia to watch the sunset. We parked and walked along the marble path through the picturesque town. Again, I had to imagine what an adorable, bustling little town this must be during the warmer months of the year. This is a village that rents ultra-chic villas for $2,000 a night, sells gold and Versace and is arguably the best place in the world to watch the sunset.
It was peaceful and quiet to meander along the street while admiring the architecture, colorful and white-washed structures carved into the volcanic rock, scenery, views and sunset but I am a little sad to have missed the hustle and bustle of Santorini. I at least wanted to poke my head into the trendy boutiques, jewelry shops and souvenir shops. The most activity we saw was construction work and nine street dogs that seem to enjoy having the town to themselves. I guess that means I’ll have to return someday! On the positive side, it was nice to not have to throw elbows to secure a spot for the sunset, play chicken on the narrow roads with other rental cars, be amongst the hordes of tourists, or be subject to the prices for accommodation and car rentals that will triple in the high season. Santorini is a lovely island and we enjoyed our time here.
We got our car and a road map and set off the next morning. Santorini’s landscape is truly impressive as it is the result of numerous volcanic eruptions. Our first destination was the northernmost town on the Island, Oia, which was adorable!
Next we cruised through the Island’s most happenin’ town, Fira. Then we drove South to Kamari Beach. I knew that we were going to Santorini in the off-season, but I didn’t know that meant the entire island would be hibernating! The entire town set on Kamari beach was boarded up with padlocks on the doors. The whole strip along the beach was closed. It is very bizarre and kind of disappointing to wander through what feels like a ghost town while imagining how cute and lively it is during the busy season.
TJ wasn’t feeling well again and needed some rest so I dropped him off and tucked him in then headed back to explore Fira a bit. Again, it was totally eerie. I stood at the peak of Fira and looked down over the town and didn’t see an inkling of life! There wasn’t a sole in site and not a single shop was open. There were a few restaurants open for business and that was about it! There were a handful of tourists in the town below along with some locals, but the majority of town was boarded up and shut down. It seems the entire island sleeps through the winter.
On our last full day in Santorini we hopped back in our rental car and went cruising. Our first stop was a wine museum and winery. Fun! We drove by several other wineries, drove to one of the highest points on the island, checked out another resort village called Perissa , then headed north back up to Oia to watch the sunset. We parked and walked along the marble path through the picturesque town. Again, I had to imagine what an adorable, bustling little town this must be during the warmer months of the year. This is a village that rents ultra-chic villas for $2,000 a night, sells gold and Versace and is arguably the best place in the world to watch the sunset.
It was peaceful and quiet to meander along the street while admiring the architecture, colorful and white-washed structures carved into the volcanic rock, scenery, views and sunset but I am a little sad to have missed the hustle and bustle of Santorini. I at least wanted to poke my head into the trendy boutiques, jewelry shops and souvenir shops. The most activity we saw was construction work and nine street dogs that seem to enjoy having the town to themselves. I guess that means I’ll have to return someday! On the positive side, it was nice to not have to throw elbows to secure a spot for the sunset, play chicken on the narrow roads with other rental cars, be amongst the hordes of tourists, or be subject to the prices for accommodation and car rentals that will triple in the high season. Santorini is a lovely island and we enjoyed our time here.
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki is the second biggest city in Greece and is said to be the cultural capital. We spent the day seeing Thessaloniki’s sites including the White Tower, the Palace ruins and the remains of the castle, walking along the waterfront tasting the local food and beverages – including Starbucks. TJ sure likes his Starbucks. A dark cherry mocha was a nice addition to his day.
What I found most interesting about Thessaloniki is that it has an amazing blend of old and new. We’d see churches built as early as the 4th century completely surrounded by colorful, modern apartment buildings. This city has so many layers and more are currently being uncovered!
We left bright and early the next morning for the airport to fly to Athens and then to Santorini!
What I found most interesting about Thessaloniki is that it has an amazing blend of old and new. We’d see churches built as early as the 4th century completely surrounded by colorful, modern apartment buildings. This city has so many layers and more are currently being uncovered!
We left bright and early the next morning for the airport to fly to Athens and then to Santorini!
Meteora
Later that afternoon we took four different buses to get to Kalambaka, a base to see another World Heritage site, Meteora. We arrived late in the evening and found our hotel. It was kind of eerie because the lobby had a wood fire burning and lights on, but we couldn’t find anyone working there. I poked around the hotel (1 floor with 8-10 rooms) and learned that we were the only guests there! Uhm, creepie? We thought about picking a room and taking a key or going to find another hotel, except it was late and that would have been a pain. While we were contemplating, TJ found a door bell and rang it and out appeared a friendly fellow wearing a “where’s waldo?” sweater. We picked our room then headed to a tavern on the corner for dinner.
The little tavern was cute with a friendly waiter and a wood-burning stove. Here we had the best meal we’ve had in Greece! I was tempted to stay in Meteora another night just to eat at that place again! We had Greek salad, spicy sausage, pork souvlaki (kind of like a kabob), home-made red wine served in a tin pitcher – all classic Greek food but for some reason extra delicious at this establishment!
The following morning we set out to see the monasteries carved into the tops of massive rocks protruding from the town of Meteora. We took a taxi through the town of Kastraki up to Moni Megalou Meterou (Grand Meteora Monastery), which is built on the highest rock in the valley. Accessing the monasteries was not easy! The earliest monasteries used to be reached by climbing removable ladders. Later hoists were introduced and monks were hauled up in nets. It wasn’t until the 1920’s that stairs were carved into the rock and brick access roads were laid. Thankfully this was the route we used to access the monasteries!
We walked from on monastery to the next until we’d seen them all. We’d talked to our hotel manager that morning about our route for the day. He recommended taking a taxi to the first monastery, walking to the others and then taking a foot path back to our town, Kalambaka. We stopped in at the tourist office in town and the lady there gave us a map and confirmed that we should take the foot path back to town. So, we took their advice and enjoyed our monastery tour. After we saw the last monastery we headed down the foot path to Kalambaka. We trekked a little ways down the path until we realized how dangerous it was! I am confident that our hotel manager and the lady at the tourist office have not taken this path! The steep rocks were covered with moss and were very slippery. TJ started slipping down a rock and we realized that a terribly dangerous route so we climbed back to the top and discussed our next strategy. It was a long, cold walk on the road back to town and there weren’t any taxis or buses from where we were, so I decided hitching was our best bet. I put my thumb out and sure enough the first car to drive by picked us up!
There were two Greeks, probably about our age, and their Malaysian friend in the car. They were headed to the first monastery, then back down to town. We climbed into their car and figured we’d either catch a taxi at the first monastery or wait for them to finish their visit and go back to town together. We not-so-patiently waited in the freezing cold for over an hour while they toured the monastery. We didn’t see a single taxi or have any other way to get back to town so we waited. We met another couple from the U.S. at the monastery who were in the same predicament as us. They had the phone number for a taxi company but all of the phones were broken! They started walking back to town and we felt lucky to have new Greek friends with a car!
We got our lift back to town, picked-up our backpacks and dashed to the bus station as we were minutes from missing our bus. TJ’s good deed for the day was paying for a taxi to go up and get the couple we just met. He knew that if it was us walking down in the freezing cold we’d sure appreciate a ride! His good deed worked! As we were on our bus leaving Kalambaka for Thessaloniki we saw the couple back in town. It was a good thing TJ did something good to counter-balance all of the naughty things he does! I think he forgets that some Greeks speak English so when people who have body odor walk by and TJ shouts “Speedstick” they just might understand!
We arrived in Thessaloniki in the evening. We were hungry after a day of hiking, hitching and travelling! We had dinner at another taverna on the corner then called it a night.
The little tavern was cute with a friendly waiter and a wood-burning stove. Here we had the best meal we’ve had in Greece! I was tempted to stay in Meteora another night just to eat at that place again! We had Greek salad, spicy sausage, pork souvlaki (kind of like a kabob), home-made red wine served in a tin pitcher – all classic Greek food but for some reason extra delicious at this establishment!
The following morning we set out to see the monasteries carved into the tops of massive rocks protruding from the town of Meteora. We took a taxi through the town of Kastraki up to Moni Megalou Meterou (Grand Meteora Monastery), which is built on the highest rock in the valley. Accessing the monasteries was not easy! The earliest monasteries used to be reached by climbing removable ladders. Later hoists were introduced and monks were hauled up in nets. It wasn’t until the 1920’s that stairs were carved into the rock and brick access roads were laid. Thankfully this was the route we used to access the monasteries!
We walked from on monastery to the next until we’d seen them all. We’d talked to our hotel manager that morning about our route for the day. He recommended taking a taxi to the first monastery, walking to the others and then taking a foot path back to our town, Kalambaka. We stopped in at the tourist office in town and the lady there gave us a map and confirmed that we should take the foot path back to town. So, we took their advice and enjoyed our monastery tour. After we saw the last monastery we headed down the foot path to Kalambaka. We trekked a little ways down the path until we realized how dangerous it was! I am confident that our hotel manager and the lady at the tourist office have not taken this path! The steep rocks were covered with moss and were very slippery. TJ started slipping down a rock and we realized that a terribly dangerous route so we climbed back to the top and discussed our next strategy. It was a long, cold walk on the road back to town and there weren’t any taxis or buses from where we were, so I decided hitching was our best bet. I put my thumb out and sure enough the first car to drive by picked us up!
There were two Greeks, probably about our age, and their Malaysian friend in the car. They were headed to the first monastery, then back down to town. We climbed into their car and figured we’d either catch a taxi at the first monastery or wait for them to finish their visit and go back to town together. We not-so-patiently waited in the freezing cold for over an hour while they toured the monastery. We didn’t see a single taxi or have any other way to get back to town so we waited. We met another couple from the U.S. at the monastery who were in the same predicament as us. They had the phone number for a taxi company but all of the phones were broken! They started walking back to town and we felt lucky to have new Greek friends with a car!
We got our lift back to town, picked-up our backpacks and dashed to the bus station as we were minutes from missing our bus. TJ’s good deed for the day was paying for a taxi to go up and get the couple we just met. He knew that if it was us walking down in the freezing cold we’d sure appreciate a ride! His good deed worked! As we were on our bus leaving Kalambaka for Thessaloniki we saw the couple back in town. It was a good thing TJ did something good to counter-balance all of the naughty things he does! I think he forgets that some Greeks speak English so when people who have body odor walk by and TJ shouts “Speedstick” they just might understand!
We arrived in Thessaloniki in the evening. We were hungry after a day of hiking, hitching and travelling! We had dinner at another taverna on the corner then called it a night.
Delphi
The following morning we caught a bus to Delphi. We arrived at 2pm and it turned out that the historic sites closed at 3pm, so we had to wait until the next day to see them. Delphi to me felt similar to our Leavenworth, except it was a holiday so all of the shops were closed.
Let me side track for a minute. TJ and I are having amazingly bad luck with things being closed or unavailable. We’ll go to a restaurant that has “breakfast” on the menu and when we order it the response is, “not today.” I cannot tell you how many items we’ve tried to order that have been unavailable. We ordered crepes but the reply was “we have crepes after 7pm.” The entire town of Delphi was closed because of a holiday. We aren’t sure why the Temple of Olympian Zeus was closed early in the afternoon on a weekday. We aren’t sure why shops that have a sticker in the window saying “internet” don’t have internet. Baffling!
Anyway, In the 6th – 4th centuries BC, Dephi was home to oracles, which were believed to speak for Apollo. The Delphic oracles were the most powerful in Greece. When the oracle was consulted for divine advice, she inhaled fumes, entered a trance, and then mumbled something that was interpreted/translated by a priest. Maybe the oracles were innately intelligent divine beings, or perhaps they’d inhaled too much sulfur, which radiated from the cavern’s walls?
We didn’t see any oracles while we were in Delphi, but we did see Ancient Delphi. The ruins of this World Heritage site are nestled on the side of Mt Parnassos and overlook the Gulf of Corinth. We enjoyed hiking around and checking out Ancient Delphi. Our favorite sites were the Temple Apollo, the theater and the stadium.
Let me side track for a minute. TJ and I are having amazingly bad luck with things being closed or unavailable. We’ll go to a restaurant that has “breakfast” on the menu and when we order it the response is, “not today.” I cannot tell you how many items we’ve tried to order that have been unavailable. We ordered crepes but the reply was “we have crepes after 7pm.” The entire town of Delphi was closed because of a holiday. We aren’t sure why the Temple of Olympian Zeus was closed early in the afternoon on a weekday. We aren’t sure why shops that have a sticker in the window saying “internet” don’t have internet. Baffling!
Anyway, In the 6th – 4th centuries BC, Dephi was home to oracles, which were believed to speak for Apollo. The Delphic oracles were the most powerful in Greece. When the oracle was consulted for divine advice, she inhaled fumes, entered a trance, and then mumbled something that was interpreted/translated by a priest. Maybe the oracles were innately intelligent divine beings, or perhaps they’d inhaled too much sulfur, which radiated from the cavern’s walls?
We didn’t see any oracles while we were in Delphi, but we did see Ancient Delphi. The ruins of this World Heritage site are nestled on the side of Mt Parnassos and overlook the Gulf of Corinth. We enjoyed hiking around and checking out Ancient Delphi. Our favorite sites were the Temple Apollo, the theater and the stadium.
Athens
Ahhhhh, Athens! We arrived in Athens in the morning and took a bus to our hotel, which is ideally situated on a quaint pedestrian only street lined with taverns, shops and cafes. Our room was definitely on the smaller side, but we didn’t mind because it was cute and clean and had a perfect location right in the heart of Plaka.
We spent our first day wandering around the different neighborhoods in downtown Athens, each of which is unique and full of character. Our neighborhood is the old Turkish quarter and is said to be the most attractive and atmospheric part of Athens. I agree! It is very cute! We had a nice meal at the Plaka Taverna and were pleased with how prices in Greece compare with Israel. At the Plaka Taverna we ate a three course meal including vegetable soup, bread, spaghetti for me and chicken for TJ, dessert, wine, soda and water for the same price two meals at McDonalds cost in Jerusalem. Food and prices are much better in Athens!
We checked out Monastiraki, the market district, which was full of shops and street vendors who all seemed to be selling jewelry and handbags. It seemed that everywhere we looked there were adorable little cafes and taverns with sleek furniture, romantic lighting schemes and good cuisine! We were pretty disappointed with the food in the Middle East so we are in hog heaven in Greece! The Thisio neighborhood, situated at the base of the Acropolis is super swanky and is full of Greeks and tourists lounging and having a drink or a bite to eat.
On our second day in Athens our first stop was the Acropolis to see the famed Parthenon! The Acropolis is a city of temples, with the Parthenon being the most well-known and impressive. It was originally dedicated to the goddess Athena but was later declared to be the province of the gods. The Parthenon was built in 438 BC on the highest part of the Acropolis and “epitomizes the glory of ancient Greece.” The Parthenon is made of marble and is the largest Doric temple built in Greece. It was built to house the gold-plated statue of Athena and to serve as a treasury. Despite being enclosed by scaffolding, the Parthenon was a very impressive site as were the panoramic views it provided over Athens.
We had lunch at the Hard Rock café where we ate familiar food and learned how badly the recent riots in Athens have affected businesses. Apparently, patrons at The Hard Rock have decreased by 80% and the restaurant hosted just 6 tables of guests on New Year’s Eve. The buildings in the area surrounding Syntagma Square (where the riots were concentrated) are charred from fires and have other battle wounds.
We visited Syntagma Square after lunch where we saw Greece’s Parliament, which was formerly the Royal Palace. In front of the Parliament building is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is guarded by the presidential guards. We enjoyed watching the guards in their attire of shorts kilts, tights and shoes with pom-poms do an interesting changing of the guard routine. TJ wonders what they did to screw up and be assigned to that crappy post.
In the afternoon we visited the Temple of Olympian Zeus. The temple took more than 700 years to build due to insufficient funds. Only 15 of the 104 original columns remain. The temple complex closed 15 minutes before we got there so we admired the temple from its periphery.
TJ was still feeling under the weather so he took an afternoon siesta while I checked out the shops! I didn’t see anything I wanted to buy or even look at in the Middle East, but Greece is a different story! I spent a couple of hours poking my head in different shops until it started raining and everyone shut their doors and went home! We are headed back to Athens for a day before we fly home and I am hoping it isn’t raining so I can purchase a thing or two!
We spent our first day wandering around the different neighborhoods in downtown Athens, each of which is unique and full of character. Our neighborhood is the old Turkish quarter and is said to be the most attractive and atmospheric part of Athens. I agree! It is very cute! We had a nice meal at the Plaka Taverna and were pleased with how prices in Greece compare with Israel. At the Plaka Taverna we ate a three course meal including vegetable soup, bread, spaghetti for me and chicken for TJ, dessert, wine, soda and water for the same price two meals at McDonalds cost in Jerusalem. Food and prices are much better in Athens!
We checked out Monastiraki, the market district, which was full of shops and street vendors who all seemed to be selling jewelry and handbags. It seemed that everywhere we looked there were adorable little cafes and taverns with sleek furniture, romantic lighting schemes and good cuisine! We were pretty disappointed with the food in the Middle East so we are in hog heaven in Greece! The Thisio neighborhood, situated at the base of the Acropolis is super swanky and is full of Greeks and tourists lounging and having a drink or a bite to eat.
On our second day in Athens our first stop was the Acropolis to see the famed Parthenon! The Acropolis is a city of temples, with the Parthenon being the most well-known and impressive. It was originally dedicated to the goddess Athena but was later declared to be the province of the gods. The Parthenon was built in 438 BC on the highest part of the Acropolis and “epitomizes the glory of ancient Greece.” The Parthenon is made of marble and is the largest Doric temple built in Greece. It was built to house the gold-plated statue of Athena and to serve as a treasury. Despite being enclosed by scaffolding, the Parthenon was a very impressive site as were the panoramic views it provided over Athens.
We had lunch at the Hard Rock café where we ate familiar food and learned how badly the recent riots in Athens have affected businesses. Apparently, patrons at The Hard Rock have decreased by 80% and the restaurant hosted just 6 tables of guests on New Year’s Eve. The buildings in the area surrounding Syntagma Square (where the riots were concentrated) are charred from fires and have other battle wounds.
We visited Syntagma Square after lunch where we saw Greece’s Parliament, which was formerly the Royal Palace. In front of the Parliament building is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is guarded by the presidential guards. We enjoyed watching the guards in their attire of shorts kilts, tights and shoes with pom-poms do an interesting changing of the guard routine. TJ wonders what they did to screw up and be assigned to that crappy post.
In the afternoon we visited the Temple of Olympian Zeus. The temple took more than 700 years to build due to insufficient funds. Only 15 of the 104 original columns remain. The temple complex closed 15 minutes before we got there so we admired the temple from its periphery.
TJ was still feeling under the weather so he took an afternoon siesta while I checked out the shops! I didn’t see anything I wanted to buy or even look at in the Middle East, but Greece is a different story! I spent a couple of hours poking my head in different shops until it started raining and everyone shut their doors and went home! We are headed back to Athens for a day before we fly home and I am hoping it isn’t raining so I can purchase a thing or two!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Tel Aviv
I don’t have a whole lot to say about Tel Aviv other than I think it is a pretty nice city. Tel Aviv has everything we needed and more and the beaches were lovely. We were in Tel Aviv during Shabat so the city was fairly quiet. We spent a little bit of time exploring, but quite honestly we spent most of our time at the beach and in a pub, perhaps logging more time at the pub…
The only bummer about Tel Aviv was our hostel, which looked really cute on the website. To sum it up, it was not cute, at all. Is plywood really an acceptable replacement for a glass window? Is it ok for a room to not have a heat source in the middle of winter? When I complained to the guy working there that our room is freezing and asked if there is a warmer room he replied that I should rely on my husband for body heat. Uhhh... Oh and is it normal to blast “Sweet Home Alabama” at 2am?
While there were a handful of soldiers on every corner in Jerusalem we didn’t see any military presence in Tel Aviv. The city seemed very far removed from the situation in Israel until it hit the media that Hamas has new missile launching capabilities with ranges that can now reach Tel Aviv. That was a little disconcerting to learn, but fortunately we did not see any missiles during our stay in Tel Aviv.
This morning hopped in a taxi at 2:30am and headed to the airport. Overall, despite our sicknesses and injuries and difficulties, we’ve enjoyed our time in the Middle East, but are excited to head to Europe. Athens here we come!
The only bummer about Tel Aviv was our hostel, which looked really cute on the website. To sum it up, it was not cute, at all. Is plywood really an acceptable replacement for a glass window? Is it ok for a room to not have a heat source in the middle of winter? When I complained to the guy working there that our room is freezing and asked if there is a warmer room he replied that I should rely on my husband for body heat. Uhhh... Oh and is it normal to blast “Sweet Home Alabama” at 2am?
While there were a handful of soldiers on every corner in Jerusalem we didn’t see any military presence in Tel Aviv. The city seemed very far removed from the situation in Israel until it hit the media that Hamas has new missile launching capabilities with ranges that can now reach Tel Aviv. That was a little disconcerting to learn, but fortunately we did not see any missiles during our stay in Tel Aviv.
This morning hopped in a taxi at 2:30am and headed to the airport. Overall, despite our sicknesses and injuries and difficulties, we’ve enjoyed our time in the Middle East, but are excited to head to Europe. Athens here we come!
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