Blogs from Attica, Greece, Europe - page 21

Dag 8 - Athene Aangezien onze fijne vriend Dmitris ons aangegeven had dat hij ons om 8 uur met zijn sprankelende gezelschap zou komen vereren, stonden wij allemaal om genoemde tijd okselfris, kant en klaar om hem te verwelkomen. Maar wie er kwam, geen Dmitris :(. Om half negen besluiten de dames alvast in de ontbijtgelegenheid te gaan zitten en om 9 uur sluiten de heren aan de ontbijttafel aan. Nog steeds geen teken van Dmitris die ondertussen wel door Lex zijn bed uit is gebeld. Volgens zijn vrouw komt hij er aan. Om half 10 komt meneer aanzetten en geeft aan dat wij de afgesproken tijd niet goed hebben gehoord. Hij heeft volgens hem duidelijk 9 uur aangegeven, hoor!!!! Bijzonder dat 7 personen het allemaal niet juist hebben gehoord!! Jaap en Lex laten het ontbijt ... read more

It is so hard to believe that we are headed back to Europe but this time we get to enjoy it with most of our family! Monday was busy with a trip to the eye doctor to try to pass the peripheral vision test (failed in February!), a much-needed pedicure, and a final visit to the bank to pick up the euros we had ordered before going home to weed my gardens, clean the house, and pack our bags! We awoke early Tuesday morning to grey skies but knew that we were heading to a place where the weather promised nothing but sunshine and hot temperatures. We loaded the car and headed to my sister's, the central meeting place! We arrived around 8:30am, well shy of the time that was agreed upon (remember my need to ... read more

Day to leave! I was quite done with relaxing on the beach, it was time to go back into routine. We packed the tent which unfortunately we have to carry back now :(. The mat I got before was very helpful and packing was smooth. Breakfast was the last remaining Greek yogurt and then we decided to get some fresh bread from the store. I said bye and thanks to the great staff, and they said "see you next year", and I could not help but think - hmm, its possible, though I make it a point not to go to same place again, but if I want to just sit and relax on beach this nice and known beach is as good as any. Anyway, that's for next year who knows where Greece will be ... read more

As of writing this it is Saturday, 30 May. While I will be overseas for the summer as part of my study abroad element to my degree I chose to visit Athens for a brief two-day trip. I arrived in the evening on Thursday, 28 May. In order to reach my hotel in central Athens I hopped on the Metro at Eleftherios Venizelos Airport to the Monastiraki area of the city. The ride from the airport to this area was approximately 35-40 minutes. One of the most fascinating features of Athens in my opinion is its topography: soft green mountains fill the horizon in many directions from the city. Areas around central Athens are hilly so naturally many streets are quite windy without uniformity or symmetry. My two-full days, Friday and Saturday, were spent exploring the ... read more

Geo: 37.9792, 23.7166Relief comes to mind when I call recall arriving in Athens. With Greece being the focus of the journey and missing our connecting flight due to bad weather in Shanghai I think we could be forgiven for thinking we were never actually going to arrive there. After an unscheduled overnight stop in Frankfurt we walk through the arrival gates at Athens airport to be greeted by a very tall dark greek man holding a sign with my name on it. The greek man greets us and immediately takes my bag out of my hands. My bag has come to feel particularly heavy after two days in transit. He lifts the bag almost to his shoulders and walks purposefully towards his taxi with us following. Within minutes we are speeding toward the city and I ... read more