Blogs from Greece, Europe - page 497

Doug and I met up in Vienna and caught a flight to Athens. We were grateful for the warm, sunny weather, which made it more enjoyable to be out and about. We got up early the first day and were at it by 8:00 am. We went to the Acropolis first, where you can see the pictures of the Parthenon, Athena Nike Temple and the two theatres. There is massive restoration taking place there now, so we only took side-view shots of the Parthenon and couldn't get a good shot of any structure there. It was probably due to this construction going on, but our impression of the Acropolis as a whole is that it didn't meet our expectations. Based on photos in magazines and also the Olympic coverage with the aerial shots, that wasn't what ... read more

So we leave Yeovil and end up in Halkidiki on the Kassandra peninsula in Greece for 2 weeks. We got to our hotel at bout 130am/2am and was to be up and at the hotel bar at 10am the next morning for our welcome meeting with the rep. That was a waste of an hour into our day the possibly couldve been better used catching up on sleep. Anyways we signed up for a meal and a quiz night in Hanioti for that night. We had a wee looksie around the village of Hanioti and found the beach which looked decent enough and a look round the shops which all sold the same things really but then its catered towards the tourists. Went out to the meal at an italian restrauant and meet some other people ... read more

Need not have worried about the weather, the day dawned bright and sunny (again). Watched the sun light up the castle and the rock above us. Drove up to the entrance gate for an earlyish start - before any tour buses. The site at Mystras is a deserted medieval Byzantine town - although some parts were occupied until quite recently. There are lots of partly ruined and intact houses, churches and monasteries. There is also a large palace complex which is being restored. This part of the Byzantine Empire was lost to the Franks in the middle of the thirteenth century - they built a substantial castle on the top of the rock - and then recovered in the 1260s. It then developed into a centre of learning and administration for the later Empire. It ... read more

Wednesday 5 October: Across the Taigetes After breakfast we headed to the north end of the bay, left the car at the road end and set off in search of the old castle, Paleokastro - a few traces visible from the landward side. After a few minutes walk around the end of the promontory the castle came into view on the hilltop overlooking the sea. So we walked steadily up the hill and up through the rather decayed but still impressive gatehouse. Superb views looking back across the bay. Followed the wall walk around the outer barbican and then climbed to the citadel part of the ruins. A big site, originally a classical fortress a long time before the crusaders came this way. After a break from the sun under a convenient tree we walked ... read more

Tuesday 4 October: Monasteries and castles Another bright, if crisp, morning. After an excellent breakfast. We decided to retrace our steps to Dmitsana and take the road down through the gorge. Several old monasteries le in the gorge, we went in search of the Philosophou, learning a little more of the greek alphabet at each sign! Found our way to the new monastery and were welcomed by a monk who insisted we partook of greek delight. We then went on the walk to the old monastery, up and down along a rough path to a crumbling ruin set on a cliff ledge. Amazing location. Took the dirt road to Prodromou clinging to the opposite side of the gorge, amazing views (and drops). Four wheel drive is a marvellous thing at times. Dropped down out of ... read more