Blogs from Attica, Greece, Europe - page 15

Friday 1st July, 2011 Another day another chance to pack. We went down to breakfast and then back to the room. Moved our bags to reception, again as previously arranged to leave them for a little while. Pat had suggested that we have a look on the internet and see if there were any British war cemeteries on Rhodes that we might look at. Having searched the CWGC website we found that actually there was and that it wasn't too far from us. We left the hotel at 11 o'clock and basically headed along the coast. The new harbour/marina works that are going on here are very extensive. It has what looks like lots of individual berths, so maybe a marina. We found the cemetery area of town, the Greeks are very good at clumping things ... read more

It was hard leaving our home away from home in Agios Gordios – the dreamy settings and moreso the way the taverna’s family made us feel like part of their family. We boarded the Olympia Palace, a Minoan Cruise line ferry which shuttles between Itay and Greece. We swam and watched the mountainous coast of Greece drift by. Our digs that night were a short drive from the dreary stuffy port town of Patras – we crossed the channel on the world’s longest antiseismic (earthquake ‘proof’) suspension bridge which was waaay futuristic in sharp contrast to the surrounding terrain and towns. We reached Nafpaktos which is a trendy spot for well-heeled yo9unger Athenians it seems – lovely vibrant spot we would put on our list of go back to places in Greece to explore with more ... read more

Though we were terribly homesick by this point, we pushed ourselves to complete a half-day tour and make the most of our time in Athens. The guide took us past Hadrians Arch, the Temple of Zeus, and the Olympic Stadium now hosting the Special Olympics. We even saw the large torch burning in the sky. In Syntagma Square we saw protestors and police in front of the Parliament building. Incidentally, Greece claims to be the first democratic government. We then drove past the famous British hotel, the University of Athens, Academy of Athens, and the National Library - all of them neo-classic architectural wonders. We learned that Greece is 96% Orthodox Christian - a rather amazing statistic considering this is the origin of polytheistic pagan mythology. We then ascended up to the Acropolis and took a ... read more

For the weekend, we went to the island of Aegina. This island is so close to Athens, it is considered by some to be a suburb of Athens, especially with the hydro-foils making the ferry ride super-quick. Even though it may be a suburb, this island was beautiful in that it provided all of us a couple days of rest and relaxation to move about at our own pace. Swimming at our own pace was enjoyable, eating at our own pace was enjoyable, and having the time to pursue our own interests was enjoyable. The ferry ride over to the island took about 90 minutes and then we all checked into our hotel. We visited an archeological site first, and then we had lunch. After lunch, it didn’t take long before most of us were swimming ... read more

So where were we? The next stop on our tour of old stuff in Athens was Hadrian's library, which is actually a collection of multiple buildings (a bath, church, homes, and a library). We decided to go after 2nd nap which put us at about 1:30 in the afternoon. This is not an ideal time to be outside in Athens in June. For the first time in our lives we busted out the umbrellas on a crystal clear day in an vain attempt to avoid heat stroke. Proof positive we live in North Dakota. The site had remnants of a fresco from a church that made use of some of the ruins as well as a tile mosaic floor with a hearts motif (perhaps made by ancient teenage girls?). The library was just a pile of ... read more