Blogs from Nafplion, Pelopennese, Greece, Europe - page 2

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Europe » Greece » Pelopennese » Nafplion May 24th 2017

Our day in Nafplio has been far less historic and more focused on helping the local Greek economy. We spent the morning shopping in the little boutique shops and had a wonderful Greek lunch! After lunch, we walked along the cliffs to a beautiful and serene beach. Last night was the deck BBQ on the boat, so Scott and I were both a little sluggish after partying a little too late last night. Yesterday afternoon we left Itea and passed through the Canal of Corinth on our route to Nafplio. The canal is 4 miles in length and 70 feet wide; barely wide enough to get the boat through! It was amazing to see from aboard and there were even some locals standing on a bridge above the canal watching! After passing through the canal we ... read more
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Europe » Greece » Pelopennese » Nafplion May 16th 2017

Monday 15thMay We drove through Sparta trying to find the road we needed to take us to our next stop just down the coast from Nafplion. Not finding the right road was fortuitous as we did find the statute of King Leonides so John jumped out and took photos. We are driving like Greeks now. The first rule of driving in Greece is that there are no rules. Well there are but as our guide to driving in Greece points out in the first sentence; “Greeks do not always follow the rules of the road”. We have taken to driving half in and half out of the hard shoulder and avoiding pot holes no matter what side of the road that requires us to drive on. We’ve noticed that the Greeks like to put on their ... read more
Views down to the town beach
Lunchtime
Proof of how many steps there are to Palamidi fort

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese » Nafplion May 11th 2017

How about a bit of a change? We have done a city - Athens, a few museums, greek temples by the score,a handful of Cyclopean remains , the sea, the sand , the mountains and the monasteries. Let's do Venetian. It is easy travelling in Suzy to be able to do different things. We are not tied down to any one place. So let's go in search of marble pavements, the Lion of St Mark , a looming castle in an elegant small town which was contested between the Turks and the Venetians for years. It has a fair share of history in its medieval streets and holds the distinction of being the first capital of independent liberated Greece. Throw in a swanky marina full of yachts, the Bourtzi, picture perfect castle set in the cobalt ... read more
The Bourtzi
What's in the chocolate box?
The Venetians were here

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese » Nafplion May 9th 2017

Where in the world is Suzy today? She is sitting in another dusty car park hoping to get into this fascinating place before the bus loads turn up. But before we set out I grabbed the paracetamol and threw two down in the hope that they would make my back stop aching. I don’t know if it is the bed in Suzy, the hiking up and down hills and steps or the fact that I am not exercising or swimming . Whatever it is my sciatic nerve feels trapped and I have “toothache “ in my hip. Glenns chesty cold seems to be heading for a chest infection. He hits the antibiotics Even with all these niggles we are still making the most of this trip and nothing is going to stop us doing what we ... read more
Approaching the gate
You need a giant to lift some of those blocks
Ancient Myceanae  the entrance to the beehive tomb

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese » Nafplion June 13th 2016

A tender today because of the small harbour and today we were on one of the large tours. A 25 minute bus ride to Mycanae with another commentary on ancient Greece and mythology. The Mycenaen Acropolis 1400 BC overlooks the Argive plain. The site was excavated by Schilemann in 1874. The main entrance to the citadel is the Lion gate which is 12 metres high and 5.5 metres thick. It was built in the period 1350-1200 BC. The site gives an indication of the life and work of the Myceneans including the family of Agamemnon Who provided material for the Homeric poems. Great views of the olive trees and the plains. We then stopped at the Treasury of Artemis - the best preserved example of a tholos tomb (1250) BC. Next stop Palamidi Castle. A fortress ... read more
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Entry to Treasury of Atreus
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Europe » Greece » Pelopennese » Nafplion May 15th 2016

We left Athens this morning for a brief visit to Mycenaean territory in the Peloponnese. We had a good long look at Mycenae itself, with its famous Lion Gate. The setting is magnificent, above the plain running north from the sea and between two mountains that provided natural protection on north and south. Then a brief visit at a workshop where they're trying to reproduce the methods used in ancient times to create vases and bronze statues. On to Tiryns, another Bronze Age city that's slightly older than Mycenae. They're so close to each other that they must have been bitter rivals. We arrived at Nafplion, a port town that was occupied by the Venetians for many years. You can see it in the older buildings (and in the gelaterie!) It has a really Italian feel. ... read more

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese » Nafplion April 24th 2016

The allocation of a week to the Pelopennese was really a matter of splitting up the time we have between the mainland and the islands. One week is really not enough to properly check out all of the ancient sites in a part of the world so rich in recorded history. But one week it was to be if we were to give ourselves time to visit a couple of the islands. I suppose it was really me being lazy but we had in mind joining a tour if we could find one that genrally met our needs. There are a lot of options.You can join tours on large buses that transport you to the various sites quickly and efficiently. Most of those will have a guide. The tours seem to be 3, 5, 7 or ... read more
Arachova Viotias
Breakfast at Nefeles
Through the dust storm

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese » Nafplion July 19th 2014

À 9h02, tous nos bagages sont sur le quai. Nous attendons quelques minutes les voitures qui ont nous être livrés à la marina en espérant que la nôtre sera d’une bonne grosseur car on dirait qu’on a plus de bagages qu’en partant de Montréal. On est soulagé en voyant arriver un Toyota Rav-4. Ça devrait rentrer ;-) Nous débutons notre périple routier par le Canal de Corinthe : impressionnant. Par la suite, nous nous dirigeons vers Mycènes. En arrivant, une averse ! Nous n’avons pas vu de pluie depuis si longtemps que les filles décident de rester dehors. Heureusement, ça ne dure que quelques minutes et nous pouvons par la suite profiter du site. Il est vraiment impressionnant de voir toutes ces constructions encore debout après près de 3500 ans. Par la suite, nous nous dirigeons ... read more
Mycènes
Mycènes
Porte des lions - Mycènes

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese » Nafplion May 20th 2013

Athens city of history and birth of civilization. We had heard so many stories about Athens and Greece--dirty, unfriendly, broke no services crime demonstrations work stoppages. Well none of that was true during our visit to this historic and ancient city. The graffiti is bad and you notice it from the time the train leaves the airport on your trip into the center of the city. However the airport is efficient clean and easy to navigate and we had no problem locating the train platforms, we did have help from very friendly local Athenians. Upon arriving at Symntagna square we then hailed a local yellow cab to complete our journey to our hotel. Our first night we ventured a few blocks from the hotel and found a great Italian restaurant and of course the ever present ... read more
Acropolis from Ancient Agoura
Long ballastrade of museum ancient agoura
Museums of Ancient Agoura

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese » Nafplion June 21st 2012

Took a morning bus the short 40 or so minute drive to Epidavros. This is technically another great healing center of the ancient world, just like the Asklepion that I visited in Bergama. But, the true claim to fame is the theatre. It's hands down one of the most impressive, largest, and best preserved ancient theatres in the world. The acoustics actually are the most remarkable thing about the place. You can be all the way up at the top, and be able to easily hear a person down on the stage. The ancient Greeks didn't need microphones! Plays are actually still performed here. I think that's a great thought - all of the great Greek plays that we still read today were not only typically first performed here, but to this day audiences go and ... read more
In a beautiful setting
In full bloom
Countryside




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