Greece Get-A-Way

Sunday travel

Monday, September 24, 2012 |

Today started early. Ferry back to Athens leaves the port at 7am. It was a different boat than the one we took to the island. The boat back was much smaller. Had a nice trip back to the main land. Decided to skip the anxiety of public transportation and took a taxi to the Airport Holiday Inn.

Very nice way to end our time in Greece. Went to the hotel restaurant for dinner, then napped and then back for dessert and coffee.

Tomorrow we fly back to Amsterdam.

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Santorini Day 6

Sunday, September 23, 2012 |

Day 6 Saturday
This will be our last day on the island so we just take it easy at the beach. Found a place to have breakfast and will be able to use there beach chairs and umbrellas for the day.
Also able to have lunch delivered right to our beach chair.
Mitch got a massage ..

Went to God's Garden Restaurant for dinner. Then to Bobs Bar for drinks.. Not the first time we have been there.. We like the waitress.. and the drinks are half the price of the beach bars. So we have drinks, then do some shopping and then back for more drinks..

It was a good last day on the island.
Tomorrow will be an early start .. Have to catch the Ferry at 7am ...

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Santorini Day 5

Sunday, September 23, 2012 |

Day 5 Friday
Today we decided to check out more of the island by local bus. Went first to the capital city of Fira. It too has very narrow streets and many pedestrian only areas were many of the shops and restaurants are. We rode the cable car down to the Port and had lunch. Then rode the cable car back to the top. Wanted to spend the afternoon at a different beach. Decided on Red Beach. Had heard that rather than the sand being black, like the other beaches, it was red.

cable car to port

old port at Fira

Found the bus to red beach and got to the stop.. But to our surprise there was no red beach. We were at the waters edge, but it wasnt a beach? Mitch had seen a sign at the intersection with arrow to Red Beach. So we walked back from the bus stop to the intersection and began walking. Then the road ended and the dirt path up and around the mountain began. At this point i knew there had to be a beach some were.. People were walking back from the direction we were going , and they were wet... So there must be a beach? But were going up the mountain? Around the edge of the point and there is it... Red Beach. But you have to continue hiking down to the beach. We stood for a while admiring the scene and then decided we really didnt need to swim at the Red Beach today. Better head back.

the view to Red Beach

So far we had done ok with the bus.. Red beach is the last stop on this line. So we just wait and get back on. When they called the stop for Perissa, the bus was standing room only and driver only opened the front door and we were at the back.. We were stuck !! So paid the fee back to Fira were all the bus lines begin. But it is so far away from were we want to go... So we decide to get off at another stop and try to make our way back in the direction of Hotel. Got off the bus, crossed the street and waited. About 20 minutes a bus comes and we get on. when we tell the ticket guy were we want to go he says.. " no not this bus". Yells at the driver and they stop at the next stop and let us off...
There on the side of the rode we wait, and wait, about 30 minutes pass, a bus comes by but it is going to the airport.... another bus comes by, but it is going to Kamari. We need to go to Perissa... Another 30 minutes pass , Mitch has even tried to get the attention of passing taxis. that isnt working either. Just up the rode is a Shell gas station. We discuss if the right bus doesnt come soon we will walk up to the station and try to get someone to call us a taxi. concerned that we will not be able to make our request know, unless someone at the station speaks English..... Just as we have gathered our things and talking more about walking to the station. The right bus finally comes !!!! Of course we have to pay again.. But at this point we dont care.. We just want to get were we need to be..
At the pool bar this evening. Leftorous (one of the owners) suggests we take the bus to the winery the next day..... We both agree No more Santorini bus for us any time soon... Better for us to stay close to home.....

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Santorini Day 3 and 4

Sunday, September 23, 2012 |

Day 3 wed. we took a See Santorini in a Day Tour. Began by bus to the highest point on the island. It was a cloudy morning so the pics werent that good. Learned some interesting facts about the island;
Hundreds of years ago it was inhabited by mostly Italians. They build several castles on the island. In more recent history, Greece was ruled by the Turks for 400 years. 90% of Santorini island was destroyed by an earthquake in the 1950's. Most people left. the ones that stayed began to rebuild. So most of what we see on the island today is new. sense the quake. In the 1970 it began to become a tourist destination.

Then we went to the port and took a wooden boat to the Islet of Nea Kameni to the volcano. I was not able to walk all the way up to see it. We went as far as the first meeting place with the guide and then waited for the rest to return.

Boat docked at Volcano

Then we boarded the boat again and stopped just off the coast of Islet Palea Kameni and I swam from the boat toward the hot springs. We only had 30 minutes so didnt get to spend as much time in the warm water of the springs as I would have liked. Then back on the boat and to the Island of Thirasia. There we stayed in the port and had lunch and ice cream and just relaxed and took in the sun. The village was way up top. We decided not to climb the 150 + steps to the village.

Swimming in the Hot Springs

We then returned to the main Island of Santorini to the port at the city of Oia. Again the village is way up from the water. Mitch took the 200+ steps to the top. I took the donkey ...

the city of Oia is at the northern most point of the island. It s famous for the sunsets there. The village is very crowed and narrow walkways. lots of shops and restaurants. But by the time we found the meeting place to catch the bus back to Perissa, we didnt have time to find a place to watch the sunset from there. We did get to see a good amount of the island.

Day 4 thurs.
After the busy day of yesterday , today we took it easy at the beach most of the day.
Had the breakfast at the resort. Then found a place at the beach we would like to have lunch and took one of there umbrellas and chairs. Most of the beaches here are what they call organized beaches. So the tavern or restaurant just across from the beach sets up the chairs and umbrellas for their customers to use. and they will bring you drinks to the beach. If you dont use a restaurant beach you will pay to use the chairs and umbrellas. And the sun here is very hot! I need an umbrella.

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Santorini Day 1 and 2

Wednesday, September 19, 2012 |

Arrived in Santorini yesterday afternoon. The slow Ferry ride was very nice and relaxing.
The Ferry stopped at three other islands on the way to Santorini.

Island of Paros

Port at Naxos

Port at Ios

We arrived Santorini around 3:30 monday. Thought we had transfer arranged from the port to the hotel, but ended up taking a taxi. Which was not bad. Because we shared the taxi we got to see another village on the island before arriving were we are staying in the village of Perissa. Arrived at the hotel only to discover his computer booking system had made a mistake and he didnt have a room for us. But he had made arrangments for us to stay at a hotel down the road for the one night. So we got a bonus !! Two places for the price of one. Kind of a bummer to have to move again, but the place we stayed monday night was very cute.. Horrible shower !!! And stupid twin beds again!

Room at first hotel for one night only

Tuesday morning got up and tried to find a place to do some laundry. Come to find out no public laundry. Only a service laundry. So we paid the 9 euro to have our laundry done and we went to the beach. Perissa Beach is pretty cool. On one side of street is the beach the other side is restaurant and shops.

Perissa Beach. Beach on one side, eat and shop on the other.

Once we got moved we went up to the main street and got a few snacks and breakfast for wed. Today Wed. we are doing a tour. Santorini in a day. will see the island and then go by boat to the volcano and swim in the hot springs. then to a smaller island for lunch. Back to Santorini. to the village of Oia to watch the sunset. Time to leave for tour.. will post pics and more tomorrow.

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Sight Seeing in Athens

Sunday, September 16, 2012 |

Today we did the total tourist thing.. First watched the changing of the guard ceremony at the Parliament building and then went on a open top tour bus around part of the city.

Did stop at the New Acropolis Museum and tour that. kind of interesting to see what the Parthenon looked like when it was originally built .

Had a great lunch today. Pork Slovakia and potatoes. And dinner was pretty good. I had beef gyros, Mitch had meat-balls in spicy sauce. But tonight had Greek wine and liquor. Still dont know what she said it was ... But it was good :-)

Tomorrow we head to the island of Santorini.

Mitch in front of our hotel

Antique District seen from bus

Guards at Parliament

Panathenaic Stadium

I watched as this young police man helped this older woman across the street and up onto the sidewalk. It was so sweet.

athens street

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Acropolis, Aeropagus and Agora

Saturday, September 15, 2012 |

Todays mission was to visit Athens ancient sites. Acropolis, Aeropagus, and Agora.
We had a hard time finding the entrance to the acropolis, but eventually found it. climbed to the top to of hill to visit the Parthenon and other various temples.

Parthenon

Temple of Athena

View of Athens from Acropolis

Just below Acropolis is Aeropagus. Aeropagus was site of ancient court and site were Paul addressed the men of athens as recorded in Acts 17

View of Agora from the rock hill of the Aeropagus.

After climbing to the top of the Aeropagus we decend down to the Agora. The Agora was the market place and the center of life and lots of activity in the early centuries. I had hoped to find the remains of the "Alter to the un-known God" that Paul spoke of in his address to the men of Athens. But we searched all over the Agora and didnt find it. I tired asked several people, and no one understood what I was looking for.. But we did see lots of interesting remains of the ancient agora .

Water clock... Not sure how that worked?

What left of the foundation of the Alter to 12 Gods

Row of shops

Getting late tonight. will post more pics in the morning.

Tried more Greek food for dinner tonight. Moussaka made with egg plant and mince meat. And Baklava for dessert. All good. Cant wait to try more tomorrow.

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A Visit to Ancient Corinth

Friday, September 14, 2012 |

Today we took a bus tour to the ancient city of Corinth, including a stop at the canal of Corinth.
Were the canal is today there was once a paved road that was used in the first century to move ships and their goods from the Ionian Sea to the Aegean Sea across dry land. It was faster and safer than sailing around the Peloponnesian peninsula.

After stopping at the canal we drove by the beach that was once the port of ancient Corinth. this is the port were the Apostle Paul arrived in Corinth.

Remains of First Century Port of Corinth

Then we continued to the excavation site and museum of the ancient city of Corinth.

Acropolis of Ancient Corinth

A portion of the Agora in ancient Corinth, The Agora was the cities market place. The place were all went to buy and sell and converse with their neighbors and friends.

Also in the Agora was the Bema. A platform for public speaking. When you wanted to address the crowd or when new laws needed to be made known... This is most likely one of the many places the Apostle Paul spoke to the Corinthians. You can see the Acropolis in the back ground.

Todays menu consisted of mostly all Greek foods. Breakfast at the hotel we tried two of the traditional pastries of Greece. After we returned from Corinth we had lunch at a sidewalk Cafe. I had traditional gyros. Very good.. Dinner we went to sidewalk restaurant recommended by Hotel . I tried the grill sampler. So i was able to taste several Greek style meats. Lamb was the only one that i would not order again. The sausage, ground beef chicken and bacon were all very good.

tomorrow we visit the Athen Acropolis , Aeropagus and Agora.

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Arrived in Athens

Thursday, September 13, 2012 |

Made it to Athens today. Flight was only 3 hours from Amsterdam. Not sure what is going on, but this is the second flight were I have had a crying, kicking baby in the seat behind me?? At least this flight was quicker than the 8 hour flight to Amsterdam.

Finding the hotel from the metro station was interesting. It really wasnt very far, but always seems farther when you are pulling luggage along .. The streets here in this neighborhood are very very narrow. Hope to have some pics to post tomorrow. Just didnt have time today . Arrived here it was already after 4 in the afternoon.

Our hotel has a view of the Acropolis from the roof garden. Went up and checked it out after dinner.
Dinner was at a street side cafe in the shopping district, not far from the hotel. I had traditional Greek salad, which was mostly tomatoes. tomatoes are not one of my favorite foods, but the salad was good. Mitch had Cesar salad.

View from the roof

Tomorrow morning we take our 1/2 day trip to ancient Corinth to see the place were the apostle Paul lived and preached for almost 2 years. So excited..

Should have a few more pics tomorrow.

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Amsterdam for a day

Wednesday, September 12, 2012 |

Well we both made it to Amsterdam. Our plan to meet at the airport lounge didn't work out. Because I had luggage to get at baggage claim and once you go to bag claim you cant get back in to the secure part of the airport with out a boarding pass. So I went to baggage claim and waited for Mitch to find me....
He did, and we made our way to the Ibis Hotel . Had lunch showered and took a nap.

After the nap we went for a short walk out side and because the weather here is cooler than we were expecting we decide to stay in tonight and catch up on our rest.
The hotel has a pizza and pasta restaurant so we went there for dinner. Now for a little tv and more sleep :-)

FUN Foreign TV game ; try to guess what the commercials are advertising.. cant understand one word they are saying. Sometimes we can figure it out other times have no clue! LOL fun....

We will have to save exploring Amsterdam for another time.

Fly to Athens in the morning.

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Departure in Less than 48 hours

Monday, September 10, 2012 |

Well it is time to start getting all the final details wrapped up and get ready to go. I think I have transportation arranged for all the family doctor appointments that are taking place while I am gone. Mail arranged for. Banking done. Everyone will have groceries. Hope I'm not forgetting something!!

Now it is time to get packed.

My packing strategy for this trip is pack light because of all the moving around we will be doing. So I'm taking a medium size checked bag and one carry on for the cameras and lap top.

I'll start with the essentials in the checked bag; bathroom stuff, snorkels and masks, beach towels, and meeting shoes, then fill the remainder of the bag with how-ever many items of clothing will fit. Starting with the swim suits.

I cant wait to see my husband again!!!

As of this posting.. Less than 24 hours to departure!

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