Blogs from Greece, Europe - page 481

Yesterday, I took a 12 hour bus tour to see the Corinth Canal, ancient Mycenae, the town of Napflio and the theatre at Epidavros. This was not a tour one could DIY. There just isn't the public transportation in the area, so I signed up for this tour. Only about 15 of us in a big air conditioned coach. The guide didn't stop speaking for the entire trip, she had to tell us about everything. Ancient Mycenae dates from 1500BC, from the time of Agamemnon. We also went into the fabulous domed tomb. This part of the trip was so windy that it could take your breath away, and knock you off your feet. And very sunny. As part of this tour, we had lunch in a large restaurant, all catered for us. Traditional Greek food ... read more

The last day of the land portion of this tour. I slept pretty well after our busy busy day. We actually got to sleep in a bit today. Breakfast was in a large room in the hotel. This was one of the best of the trip with scrambled eggs, bacon, rolls and orange juice. At a little after nine we boarded Niko's bus for a short drive to pick up Vee. She gave us a bit of a city tour as we headed for our tour of the Acropolis. We had to park at the base of the mini-mountain but the climb wasn't difficult at all. Vee sat us down in the shade just below the entance to the ruins while she explained the history and significance of the site. Then we joined the huge crowds ... read more

James here. Believe it or not, our train actually arrived in Cairo on time! Though we were driven a little mad by our temporary guide who constantly sang the song from 'The Wedding Singer' throughout the night, but with a few variations. The next day we arrived back in Athens, happy to have a break from busy Cairo. We had booked one night in Athens, planning to make the ferry ride to Santorini the next day. We decided after checking in to our room to go and book the ferry. Well, apparently there's a world cup going on at the moment and all the fans of the losing teams are going to the greek islands for a few days.... Meaning that most of the ferries were booked out! The only passage we could get without missing ... read more

Today I climbed up to the Acropolis. I saw the Parthenon, it is most impressive. I wandered around it several times. On top of the hill, it was so windy that I couldn't wear my hat. Fortunately, it's still quite cloudy here. Periodically, the sun is covered by clouds to give us a respite from the rays. But it's just not hot here at all. What's going on? As I was leaving at about 10 am, the multitudinous tour groups started to arrive. They're funny to watch as they hundle around their leader fearing to wander off. However, everything is well explained to them, unlike my tour, which I read from my guide book. Then I walked to the Temple of Zeus. A mostly ruined temple with only a few of the hundred or so columns ... read more

It's cold and windy here in Athens, not what I expected. The flight into Athens was a comfortable BA flight complete with movie that I didn't watch and hot chicken lunch that I did eat. And this was the same price as the Easy Jet flight - no comparison. I am so jet lagged, I am not sleeping when I am supposed to and tired during the day. I am finding this trip more difficult to adjust to. Perhaps because I wasn't well rested before I left. Since it was overcast, I went to the Natrional Archeological Museum. Lots of old things. The Minoan treasures are great. And I saw the death mask of Agamemnon. Somebody check my spelling. There were so many statues from each period of ancient Greece, Archaic, Classical and Helenistic. Truly awesome ... read more