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Published: August 8th 2007
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Parthenon, Athens
The facade of the Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens. Having just returned from an amazing trip to Greece, I decided to document my trip for family and friends who want to know “a little more” about my adventure. Numerous visits to ancient sites, many cans and bottles of Mythos beer, great people, lots of laughs, and 496 photographs later, here’s a taste of my trip to Greece and the first of three blogs.
Earlier this year, I felt a case of the travel bug and began to think of places around the world I would like to visit. Destinations such as Prague, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, and Ireland all crossed my mind, but one country stood out among the others - Greece. Having completed my undergraduate degree with a major in Classical Civilization and having already visited Italy, I thought this was the logical next trip.
It is not a strength of mine to make decisions involving a lot of money, so I conducted a VERY broad and thorough search for the best tour that would cover all the sites I wanted to see in Greece. Finally, I discovered the fourteen day “Essential Greece” tour offered by Transat Vacations which included an eight-day bus tour of the
Hephaisteion, Athens
The Hephaisteion in the Athenian Agora is perhaps one of the best preserved temples in the area. mainland, a four-day Greek Island and Turkey tour, and 3 days in Athens. After a few months of going back-and-forth, I booked the tour on May 17th, and a few weeks later, on June 15th, I was waiting at the airport to start my Classical Greek Adventure.
During check-in, I was informed that the plane would be making a stop in Montréal where we would change planes and pick-up more passengers. Thankfully, this was only a 55 minute flight with only an hour or so lay-over before the approximately nine-hour flight to Athens. Arriving in Athens, I was greeted by a number of Transat Vacations representatives who guided passengers through the airport to the buses ready take us to our respective hotels. Looking out the bus windows, I was surprised at the city’s density and was informed by our Transat rep. that over 4 million people live in Athens, but during the summer months, the population drops to around 1.3 million due to the locals beating the city heat at the beaches and islands. I arrived at the Titania Hotel around 10:30am and quickly changed clothes to prepare for my first full-day in Athens. When I returned to the
lobby to meet the tour rep. for the orientation meeting, I was the only one there and thought, right, I’ve already missed everyone! Luckily, I met Pat and Michelle who were also on the Essential Greece tour (later to find out that we were the only three at the hotel to participate in this specific tour with the bus portion preceding the cruise). Following a quick drink of ouzo and orange juice, the three of us took off to explore the city.
We were warned not to visit the Acropolis mid-day as it would be packed with tourists and terribly hot, but nevertheless, we attempted the climb, and were shocked to find very few visitors! The Acropolis is a magical place and I can only compare it to such landmarks as Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, and Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris which I have visited over the years. Although the Temple of Athena Nike and part of the Parthenon were covered in scaffolding, it was still possible to get a sense of the site’s sacred history and iconic nature. We then descended the Acropolis and walked through the ancient agora (market) and to
Lion Gate, Mycenae
One suggestion regarding the missing lion heads is that they were carved from gold and have since been lost. the Hephaisteion.
Before dinner, I walked up to the National Archaeology Museum and saw some of the spectacular artifacts, such as the Dipylon Amphora, the bronze Horse with the Little Jockey, and the stunning koroi (full-size, male sculptures dating from around the 7th century B.C.) that I had studied and memorized from small photographs in textbooks. After meeting Michelle and Pat for dinner and walking through a rather sketchy area of Athens, we finally found a great restaurant for drinks and dinner.
The next morning marked the beginning of the bus tour of the Greek mainland. In total, there were twenty-two of us on the tour with plenty of extra room on the bus. Settling myself at a window seat, we took-off for the Corinth Canal, a masterpiece of engineering begun in Imperial Roman times and finally completed in 1893, which allows for a safer and easier sea passage around the top of the Peloponnesus as opposed to around the dangerous southern tip. After a quick photo stop, we continued to the ancient site of Mycenae. Here was the picturesque and iconic Lion Gate under which visitors have passed since the 13th century B.C. A short bus ride
Mycenae
With the plains of the Peloponnesus in the background. away was the Treasury of Atreus, a conical tholos tomb dating from the 14th century B.C. Following lunch at a banquet hall that was preparing for an evening wedding reception, we continued our journey to Epidaurus, famous for its theatre dating to the 4th century B.C. which has amazing acoustics and could seat around 14,000 individuals. After climbing to the top of the theatre and taking a wrong turn on the way back to the bus, we carried-on to Náfplio. Once the capital of Greece, Náfplio is a quaint, costal town that is now a summer destination for tourists with its many hotels and resorts. After this busy (and hot) day, we arrived at our hotel and jumped in the pool before dinner. Our tour guide soon discovered that we all looked forward to the end of each day when we could jump in the hotel pool and have a relaxing social time before dinner.
The next day we set-out for Sparta, a city that is synonymous with its generations of ancient peoples living the “Spartan” way-of-life. After driving through the modern city, our bus driver guided us through the amazing and rocky Taygëtos mountain range where he navigated
steep cliffs of 1350 feet in height (perhaps not the day to sit by the window!) before reaching Mystrás. Here, our tour guide requested that we all stay close to him and on the paths due to the scorpions and snakes (a good scare tactic in order not to loose any wandering tour members). Beginning at the top of the site, we walked down the winding paths and through the Byzantine churches and chapels with stunning frescoes decorating their walls and ceilings. Back on the bus and around a few more steep cliffs, we were greeted with a stunning view of the Messinian Gulf and arrived at the beautiful Messinian Bay Hotel in Kalamata with its rooms overlooking the sparkling Gulf.
The next day began with a stop at the ancient site of Olympia where the first Olympic Games were reported to have taken place in 776 B.C. Following a brief visit of the museum, we converged with the many other tour groups exploring the ruins. Three of the monuments which truly stand-out are the Temple of Zeus which collapsed due to an earthquake and where stood Phidias’ monumental statue of Zeus, the circular Philippeion dedicated by the Macedonian
Theatre, Epidaurus
Performing in the theatre at Epidaurus. King Philip II, and the stadium. Our next stop of the day was a wonderful tour of the Mercuri Winery Estate and a wine tasting next to the vineyard. My table, which included Joann, Peter, Karen, Pat, and Michelle certainly took advantage of the three full bottles of wine and were even offered extra bottles from other tables. After tearing us away from the wine, we had a brief stop at the Church of St. Andrew before arriving at the Porto Rio Hotel in Pátra on the Ionian Sea. Following a swim in the Sea with the amazing backdrop of the Porto Rio Bridge and a wonderful dinner, we took a walk up the bar-lined coast and half-way over the bridge before tuning back to the hotel.
I’ll end the first part of the Classical Greek Adventure here. The next blog will include Delphi, Thessaloniki, and Metéora. Stay tuned…
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Kiin
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Great Pictures!
Hi, Colin!! Long time no see, and good to see that you are doing well! Wow, you are all over the world.. Those are great pictures! Makes me wants to go to Greece, too...! :D Please keep me updated on how you are doing! Have a great summer!