Venice

For leaving Athens, we had a transfer from the flat to the airport. After the arrival and seeing the transit system and distance, we opted to pay for the ride for personal transfer. The owner of the flat took us along the coast road and older neighborhoods, but more spread out than the central city. It was a nice drive and we had a small discussion of the Greek "crises". At the airports, we found it quiet, modern and somewhat efficient. We were gearing up for the flight on Aegean airlines. It is new to us and we didn't no what to expect.
SURPRISE! It was not a crowded flight, only 2 hour flight, 1 screaming baby behind us, and HOT FOOD served to everyone. Bowled us over. I don't know if it is Italian airports or not, but passengers don't deplane or load from the same gate. Each time we have been bused to the airplane, or off the plane to the terminal, even if it is just around the corner. Strange and not very effecient


We caught the water taxi, a few minutes walk from the airport down to the docks, across the lagoon to our designated stop. Boats were everywhere, some speeding, lots of wakes and our slow boat was passed quite a bit. Someone met us and led the way to the apartment, along canal banks, over bridges and down side streets. This place was very charming, old beams, some old bricks showing but newly remodeled and very nice. It still had some large closets and built in kitchen cupboards, very old world style. We enjoyed the place very much.

So after our first shock of the day, breakfast, we did our usual walking around, 1st day to the Rialto bridge and neighborhoods. The bridge is in scaffolding for repair, so not much to see. Plenty of people crossing tho. The main street is chock full of shopping, all with the same stuff, plenty of cafes and people. Lots of cruise ships in, at least 5 the first day. Some of the route is in small alleyways, over small and large bridges, all very quaint and pretty much what you see in pictures. There are several gondola stops and large boats for the Grand Canal. We opted not to take either, the gondola was 80 euros for 30 min and up to 4 people in the boat. They are pretty decked out and nice to look at. The Grand canal boats are the main transportation from beginning to end if you don't want to walk. But a 1 way trip is 7.50, no matter where you get on. There are some spectacular buildings along the way and large churches. But we saw many of these from the walks too. Along the side streets we would come across squares, churches, fountains and small cafes. Charming.

Day 2, we walked to St. Marks square, via some back roads and spent a little time in the square and down on the waters edge. It was very busy, crowded and over the top. The church is quite ornate, and very large. You can tour inside the basilica, but like at the Vatican and St. Peters Basilica, a long line to go inside. Hours of standing in the square and shoulder to shoulder inside. So we thought we would just have a sit and coffee. Oops, there's that location thing and you pay a pretty price for the setting. Up to 12 euro for a cup of coffee! We had a soda and take away sandwich and stood against the wall. Anyway, it was nice to see it and the Venetians didn't waste their money on plain stuff. This picture of the large church on the water is across the square and quite an impressive sight.

Some things we noticed on the walking and wondered about was how buildings cope with the water and tides, those on the canals. Not everyone has waterfront, where does the sewage go or how is it handled, where does the water come from. Everyday you can put out a bag of trash at the door and street guys come an take it away. The streets were very clean, no trash except a little in the canals, mail is delivered and deliveries are all made by hand on a large hand truck. There are no cars or scooter, not even bikes on the island. Even an ambulance ride is by water. We did find it very interesting, but also very expensive. Most meals ran about 23 euros and 2 in particular were breakfast of 3 muffins or croissants and 3 coffees, and a lunch of 3 tapas type appetizers and 3 glasses of wine. Most beers rans about 7.00. Gone were the days of pizza or pasta for about 6.00e, in Greece. Wine was cheap tho.

Check this out

I can't resist looking in bakeries or patisseries. From the street, one patisserie has huge glob of meringue and Bill and Shirley drooled over them until we finally bought one for them to share. You can see how big it is and neither one wanted to finish it!

Yumm or yuck

Athens Day 2

Today we decided to tackle the big hill behind our flat. Actually, since there is a monument up there and roads, we wanted to check  it out, take some bread, cheese, meat and wine and have a picnic. It's called Filopapos hill, and the monument is to a Roman general. There are some other ruins up there but the best is the view. We are higher than Mars hill and have an outstanding view of the Acropolis. We now see the Parthenon that we missed yesterday. Holy smokes is it HUGE. And like most of the other ruins, covered in scaffolding. So the story is when the Venetians ruled the area in the 1600s, they launched a mortar attack in 1687 from this hill to the Parthenon and destroyed a good portion of it.
The Parthenon is 490 feet above sea level, completed 2500 year ago. It is the largest Doric temple in Greece, 228 ft long, 101 ft wide and 46 columns in all. There are/were many statues and carvings and reliefs in it and it served as a temple to Athena and as the treasury of Athens (safeguarding city funds). It is constructed of white marble from a quarry 16 miles away and probably has more than 100,000 tons of it, was constructed in about 10 years and would have cost over a billion dollars (by todays dollars) Even from our viewpoint it was impressive. It made the other temples on the hill look small.

Other things we saw on the walk around, streets and sidewalks covered with motorcycle or motorcycle parts and scooters parked everywhere!  Actually, this whole motorcycle/scooter thing is because in a little tiny storefront there is a cycle repair shop.  There was barely any room in the shop to work on a bike much less park them so... they're all parked in the street.   Surely, you probably know what the blue and yellow building is.

As we came down from the hill, we ended up at the base of the Acropolis again and because we didn't have our picnic, we decided to stop for gelato.  Hate to say it but the gelato is even better than Tillamook Ice Cream.  

Athens Day 1

The ferry ride from Naxos to Pireaus (Athens port) was an uneventful 5 hours. We could pretty much sit anywhere except business class and I think we ended up in the air seats, like airplane seats but way more comfortable and roomy. The big shock came while driving with our transfer driver. I thought Panama traffic was bad! She pretty much scared everyone in the car and I was in the front seat. Learned a few Greek swear words too, but she got us there safe(?) and sound.

The flat is in the city around the Acropolis, actually on the back side of a large hill, blocking views of the Acropolis. This is like Rome, all living on top each other, but we noticed very little car and scooter traffic on our road. It also had a better kitchen than some of the past flats and a real coffee maker. We savored real coffee the next morning before searching for breakfast.

So first morning out, we walked the base of the hill behind us and that led us to the Acropolis, easy.

The ACROPOLIS. The heart of Athens since the beginning of record time 6800 bc. The limestone plateau with 100 foot shear cliffs, fed by a permanent spring was a natural fortress. The Mycenaeans ruled the area around 1400 bc and Athena, the patron goddess of the city was worshipped here from 800 bc on. Then the Persians invaded, in 480 bc, everyone evacuated and abandoned the city, it was destroyed and burned to the ground. But the Athenians fought back, drove out the Persians and Athens was victorious. By 450 bc Athens was at the peak of power and flush with money, but the Acropolis was still abandoned. Pericles, leader of Athens at the time started a building phase and between 450-460 bc, the Parthenon, Erechtheion, Propylaea and temple of Athena Nike were built. These are all the buildings atop the Acropolis. The Parthenon and the Acropolis have lived through the Roman Empire, with looting and destroying, it became a Christian church, in 5thc AD with pagan sculptures removed or renamed. The Turks arrived in 1456 and converted it to a mosque and also stored gunpowder. The Venetians ruled from the 1600s and lobbed mortars in 1687 and wiped out the Turks. With  Greece independence in the 19th century, the minarets were torn down and other post classical buildings atop the Acropolis, and turned into an archeological zone.

Today there is a lot of scaffolding, lots of tourist, and restoration and excavation going on everywhere. We just walked the perimeter of the hill, through the old agora (market), through the winding streets now with lots of cafes and shops. It was pretty amazing. And to see all the recovery and restoration still going on was pretty cool. The first ruin /ancient building we came to was a theater. The arched wall is the back and we looked through to the seating area. Concerts and shows are still put on there and seats about 50,000.

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

Hadrians library

We also walked up Mars hill, a nob close to the Acropolis, but what a view. Hopefully the movie insert works. It shows the sprawl of Athens and this is only a half way around view. It was stunning to see how far spread out the city is. It also gave us a better view of the Acropolis as we were too cheap to buy an entry ticket, climb more hills and stairs to see the many ruins up there. All in all a great day

Naxos

The leg to Naxos was aboard a pretty nice ferry, almost like a cruise ship. This had escalators, only working when loading, not unloading, business class section, air seats, grills, outdoor seating. Thankfully it was not crowded and we just parked in the eating section, regular seats not air, and occupied ourselves for 2 hours. This stop is just to kick back, do nothing before heading into Athens.

Our BnB is a little strange, like being at camp with all the beds in 1 room. Kitchen facilities are scarce and after our shock this morning of finding there was no hot water, we headed out for coffee and breakfast and kept walking, along the harbor and in the old town.

Jetty made from huge boulders of granite

Really crystal clear water

Naxos is a quiet town, few cars or scooters, small streets and shops and lots of places to eat. It is not on the cruise ships stops so no crush of people but they get plenty of tourist from local ferries. There is more than just the harbor town, many roads into the mountains and other coast. Naxos is known for being more fertile and growing more produce. Their claim is Kitron, liqueur made from citron leaves, (don't know what that is) kefalotyri, hard cheese made from sheeps milk, and beaches

Open sea side Naxos from the Causeway

This is Apollo's temple, unfinished

Little side street scene  

Overall, this was nice little relaxing stop between the hustle and bustle of Santorini and the upcoming  big city of Athens.  

Santorini

Fira

After a fast 2 hour ferry ride, we arrived at the island of Santorini. This island is actually a giant caldera with the still active volcano top in the middle. Most of the settlements are along the 15 mile long island. The west side is a sheer drop-off, 1000 feet,  into the caldera and the east side slopes gradually to the sea. Several earthquakes have broken part of the caldera rim apart and now there are 3-4 separate islands. It is beautiful here and very different and there are small villages, grape farms and beach communities. Cruise ships love this place. Yesterday, we counted 6 in port. And they disgorge the people to swarm through the small, narrow labyrinth of streets lined with shops. And of course restaurants, cafes and bars with views. However, there are no docks for them, only for the ferry boats. Ship tenders arrive at the old port and then to get up top it is either cable car, hiking up 587 steps or ride a donkey up. Arrival at the ferry is easier, a switchback road for cars and buses has been built. Steps are available too.

Our street

Our Patio

 Santorini is a whitewash of homes and blue domes. Many are homes carved into the mountain sides, caves to start with, and therefore keep it cool. They are unique and old ones have been redone and kept the style. We have a cute little place with arched doorways, all plaster, white and blue. It is very charming. Our little street looks quiet except anyone and everyone rides their scooter or quad down it to get home. Voices carry here too and we here anyone coming down the street if they are talking. The main square is chock full of people, shopping, eating, driving thru, catching the bus. Crowd overload.

OIA
Our second day we took the local bus to OIA (EE AH), a town at the tip of the island. It's fame is sunsets. But first it was just a small village, then was destroyed in a 1956 earthquake and with smart marketing rebuilt itself and hit it big with the blue and white theme. Actually the colors are very soothing and calming. Ochre or a yellow is also used. But the theme of the blue dooms and white houses dates back to when the Ottomans ruled for 400 years. Greeks were not allowed to fly their blue and white flag. But in Oia, the whole town was one big, defiant banner for Greece. Today, people flock for shopping the streets and visiting to see the sunsets. It too is on a cliff and there are many cave homes. So we shopped, strolled, gawked at the scenery. It was quiet then, the crush coming around sunset. We did come back the next day for a sunset, the first cloudy day we've had but it still was a good view.

There are over 500 churches on the island, many private. Most are small but some are very large. These are Greek Orthodox churches and there are some Catholic. The guide told us that churches with a clock tower are public and all the rest are private, just little worshipping places. Some look like overgrown pizza ovens

 Day 3, we took an island sightseeing tour and it included going to the ancient town of Akrotiri and the excavations going on there. This community survived here more than 6000 years ago, had 3 story buildings, indoor plumbing and art. Spectacular things have been found here and it was very interesting. They were living on this island along the coast and were wiped out in 17th century BC when the volcano erupted and covered them in ash. Next, we ventured to a beach town, tourist made and pretty much cafes and restaurants along the beach. We did see an old Christian basilica of Ayia Eirini. This is interesting because the name translated to Greek as Agio Eirini, which is St. Irene which turns into Santorini. Next stop on the tour was a monastery on the highest point on the island, way up there. About 1800 ft above sea level. Then a bit of wine tasting and finally up to Oia for the sunset. This is pretty much pick a spot with clear viewing, amongst the hoards of people. Of course there are restaurants and such and walkways. We were just venturing to the end of the island, found a pretty clear spot and WINDMILLS! It was perfect. And no one but us. So we sat and watched the sunset.

Monday is our last full day on the island and we treated ourselves to another bus ride to a local Micro Brewery!  The Donkey Brewery where they

brew 3 beers, 2 pils and an IPA,  Yellow Donkey, Red Donkey and Crazy Donkey.  Tasted all three and even the IPA wasn't bad.  It was a very small operation.  2 guys running the bottling operation right there in the tasting room!  One guy would put the empty bottles onto a conveyer where they would travel about 5 ft to the washing/filling/capping machine and the other guy would put the full bottles in the cases.

As an added bonus, within walking distance of the breweries were a couple more wineries!  Smaller than the big one we saw on the tour and very hospitable!  Tasted some nice wines and even bought a couple of bottles.  The rest of the day was spent at our little place finishing off some left overs and of course enjoying the new wines.  We did treat ourselves to dessert at a nice restaurant with a view of todays sunset.  Tomorrow we catch a noon bus to the port for our 3:30 ferry to Naxos.  Stay Tuned :)

Crete

Crete, our first Greek isle. Actually a big island, I think the biggest and some large towns, Chania, where we stayed and Heraklion being the biggest.

Cooking facilities

From the balcony

After surviving the Ryan air flight, we took a bus to town and walked a few short blocks to the Bnb. The owner also runs a bookstore on the ground floor and his mother was there to greet us. It was a nice little flat, all the conveniences of home, and then some, and a quiet side street. We were able to walk a short way and were then inside the walls and the historic old town and harbor. Old town is a warren of small streets, filled with shops and cafes and sidewalk tables. A lot of typical tourist stuff but some nice things and good bargains. Lots of tourist and all pedestrian. We wandered thru most of the streets over 2 days, along the harbor wall, ate at cafes, had cool drinks and gelato. All good and pretty cheap. One meal we got 3 different dishes, typical Greek, Tzatziki (yogurt cucumber dip) yum, chicken souvlaki and a gyro. We tried it all and will repeat as necessary. Also got some good wine, olive oil, chess and bread for our own happy hours. Loaves of bread are only 1 Euro and a liter of water 22 cents! There are lots of squares and some beautiful churches and a part of town has some archeological digs, dating back over 4000 years ago and old.

Lighthouse at Chania

Coast drive

Church along the way

We were scheduled to stay here 4 nights but in order to get the ferry to Santorini, the next stop we needed to take a 3 hour bus ride to Heraklion. The one and only ferry leaves at 9:30a,so that meant getting up to the bus station at 5:15 AM. So, we opted to find lodging in Heraklion for that night and take an afternoon bus there. A much better idea, then we were able to stroll the street of Heraklion near the flat, eat and enjoy the harbor view. 

The drive was interesting scenery. Crete is basically a desert island, dry, cactus and grows olives, grapes and potatoes. The coast has lots of coves and a few sandy beaches. Some picturesque holiday areas and villas could be seen along the way.

The one night stay in Heraklion was right down on the port, the main road and bus station near. The flat was really small, had nice views from the balcony but a bit noisy with the motorcycles needing to blast around the streets. All buildings are stone, no sound proofing and noise just echoes all over the place. Our host was extremely helpful in meeting us, showing places to walk to and stroll and eat and took us to the travel agent to buy ferry tickets. His flat is pretty basic, doesn't really have a kitchen and a new bathroom experience for us. It was basically a wet room, all tile, with a small sunken area to step into when you shower for the water to be contained and drain. But nice hot water.

Next stop Santorini!

Rome things

Quirks and impressions of Rome.

First, it is a huge city and has all the problems that go with that. Lots of people, cars, scooters. It seems it is all big blocks of buildings, stores on the bottom, flats/apartments above. People live on top of each other. We've seen all sorts of electrical configurations and plumbing nightmares to have a modern world. The "stores" on the ground floor are mostly like a storage unit with a garage door for the front. Small, a few items for sale but everything from shoes to DVDs, mini marts, laundry. Driving is very similar to driving in Panama, pray and use the horn. We were not that impressed with the city, it is dingy, in need of repair and somewhat dirty. But food is fairly cheap and plenty of sidewalk cafes. Good places to watch traffic. Transportation is also cheap and easy to get around. We walked around many parks, but they mostly are fenced off or very weedy. Not exactly garden oasis. On the plus side, wait staff was very friendly, we had no trouble with speaking no Italian besides Ciao and gelato, no matter what flavor is very good. A little  glimpse of Rome life.

Toast anyone?

A good NY lock

And in Greece too

Double parking or wherevever

Old Roman window

Where to go?