Blogs from Attica, Greece, Europe - page 17

Athens Greece.... read more

Day 178 Thursday 14th July 2016 – Larnaca to Athens We have a 1.00pm flight today so it is a nice easy start to the day, we had breakfast in the apartment and then packed and got a taxi at 10.30am to the airport. As we arrived we saw three dogs entering the airport and at first glance we thought sniffer dogs then looked at the people with them and they were tourist. It turned out they were dogs from the Nicosia Dog Shelter going to new homes, they were being put into cages in the terminal for their flights, first time we have seen dogs lining up for a flight. This is a quick flight to Athens only 1.5 hours making sure we got stamped in, we have been to Athens twice before ... read more

We split up today. Kevin stayed Round Piraeus and I took a Hop on Hop Off bus tour of Athens. It was good to have a look around having last been in Athens in 1979. It was disappointing to see graffiti everywhere and the scaffolding around the Parthenon. So glad that I saw it all those years ago. I got off and had a walk around the markets. Bought some delicious pistachios and then went into the fish market. Pleased to note that it did not smell. Fresh produce everywhere. The displays by the vendors were interesting with the fish bent in the middle and displayed "like soldiers" as one of the vendors explained to me. Aftr a walk around the surroundings streets I got back on the bus and eventually the boat. Piraeus. Kevin headed ... read more

On Monday we had a long day touring Delphi and we had a busy evening preparing to depart the next morning, so there wasn’t time to properly describe that interesting day. Now we can give you an update about what we saw and what we did. We had booked both our Greece tours over the internet a few months before the cruise. We had used the Viator web site because we have dealt with them before and have been happy. Here in Greece the delivery company is actually called “Chatours”, but they are essentially a local branch and they performed to the same standards. Our tour was scheduled to pick us up at our hotel at 7:50. That had been one of several mandatory criteria we had for selecting a hotel in the first place. Anyway, ... read more

I didn’t know what to expect when we landed, nor did I have any considerations for what I really wanted to accomplish while in the capital city Athens felt similar to a tropical desert, but with many instances of brightly foliaged trees, bushes, and very active birds. It smelled tropical, likely due to the sea which you can see if you’re high enough in the city. Trees with wisteria-like purple blooms, bright pinks, magentas, reds, and then brown grass and sand and red stone. Trees ranged from large-trunked palms, to scrub (the common plant along the mountains), to some conifers along mountain basins. While riding the metro it was nice to see the European-style graffiti: brightly coloured with many intricate designs. I was always a fan of the graffiti in Italy, and had forgotten my affinity ... read more