We arrived into Athens a few days ago on a flight from Naples through Rome. At the moment we've only seen Athens but from that I think I can safely say that Greece is amazing.
After getting off the bus in downtown Athens we made our way down the road to the district known as Plaka. Our hotel is the Student Travellers Inn which is located in a quite pedestrian street across the road from a small shaded park. The first afternoon we just decided to go and get a glimpse of the Acropolis. As we made our way through the Plaka all of a sudden it came into view. A little different to what I thought it was. I didn't realise that a lot of the mountain is built up castle like with man made brick. I guess I always thought it was just a temple on a natural hill. That evening we decided we would try a little bit of local cuisine. Gyros! Ever since my first one I can't stop eating them. They are delicious.
The next morning we got up nice and early for the Acropolis. We made our way up the steep hill to be greeted but the 2500 year old Parthenon. The building is currently being restored so scaffolding is everywhere but it really looks like it's in dire need of restoration. It's quite amazing to think that they were able to built buildings like this so long ago. It would of been amazing in it's day, complete with a roof and the huge state of Athena that use to sit inside. The Acropolis was very windy and of course super hot with the 38*C sun belting down on us, so after slowly making our way around the various temples we went and sat in the shade overlooking the Ancient Agora. That afternoon we checked out the theaters at the bottom of the Acropolis before making our way down the street to the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Now this is impressive. The temple that use to sit here was apparently as 90 meters by 40 metes and had over 100 columns supporting it's roof. There are only 15 columns left there today but it gives you a good idea of how big it was. It would have made the Parthenon look small.
The next day we went for a walk through the Ancient Agora and the Roman Agora. These are the ruins that sit at the bottom of the Acropolis. They're probably the same size as the Roman Forum in Rome but a lot older. On the hill in the middle of the Ancient Agora sits one of the best preserved temples in Athens, the Temple of Hephaestus. I think I may of taken an hour of video just on this temple alone. We also went into the museum in the middle of the Agora which is definitely worth a visit. The museum houses a collection of artifacts that were found on the site. They even have a recovered Spartan shield. Very cool.
Greece has surprised me a little. I was always expecting to like it but I think it's safe to say I love it and I will come back one day for sure.
Nafplion & the Peloponnese
Well after the enjoyment that was Athens we decided to head to the untraveled south of Greece known as the Peloponnese. It's was apparently home to one of the prettiest towns in Greece, Nafplion.
We headed to the train station early to try and organise our train ride down. Only thing weren't going to go as planned. At the train station we were told that trains no longer run to Nafplion and they haven't done so for the past 3 years. Ooh! That wasn't in our plans. Our map clearly stated that we could travel there by train and even the guide book said we could get the train to the small town near by called Argos. But "No" we were told. You can only take the bus. Well we had a rail pass that we wanted to use so we weren't going to spend all that extra money on the bus if we could get the train half way. So we decided to take the train to the half way stop of Corinth and then catch the bus from the station across the road, or at least that was the plan. We arrived into Corinth and walked out of the train station to be greeted by the most remote hole on earth. And to top of all the planning there was no longer a bus station across the road from the train station. We ended up having to pay a taxi to take us 6 kilometers down the road to the bus station before buying our ticket to Nafplion which departed about 2 hours later. All this work and in the end we only saved 2 Euros. But the lesson learnt from this is that you can save money if you are willing to swim through shit.
That evening we arrived into Nafplion bus station and to our delight the town was everything we thought it would be. It's a small quaint town on the coast built in the Venetian style. The cobblestone streets are lined with small cafes, restaurants, shops and hotels and it is one of the nicest places in Greece to walk about or just hang for a few days. That evening we took a sunset stroll around the water front just admiring the forts built above the blue, blue water.
The next morning after a little bit of a sleep in we decided to walk up to the 857 steps to the fortress of Palamidi which overlooks the old town. Just like evening thing else in Europe is amazes me the places that they choose to build there biggest structures. The castle is more than impressive even though it has seen better days. The part of the fortress facing the water is still in condition but the rest of the castle that expands along the hill tops is laying in ruins.
The next morning we decided to take a day trip out to Mycenae to check out the ruins from some of the bigger civilisations of the Peloponnese. We went across the road to the small bakery were we picked up some kind of pizza bread for breakfast. Within a matter of 30 minutes this proved to be a mistake. My stomach started turning and before to long I had food poisoning. That was it for our planned day trip. I spent the rest of the day in bed sick. And unfortunately for me it stayed with me for a few days after.
On our second last day I popped some pills and finally got out to Mycenea. There isn't that much left to see at the ancient sights except for a few palace and city foundations but there were some very cool tombs still intact that are worth a visit.
On our last day we decided to head out to some of the local islands and bought a full day cruise to the islands of Hydra and Spetses. I wasn't sure what to expect from this but it actually turned out to be a good day. Very long but good. The island of Hydra has a feeling that I think you would get from most of the islands. It has white washed buildings built around a fortified harbour surrounded by crystal clear blue water. We were only here for about 3 hours which to be honest was probably long enough. In the afternoon we visited the island of Spetses which I think was a bit take it or leave it. once again it had beautiful crystal clear swimming water but there wasn't that much to the town.
We are now back in Athens and have finally been able to by our tickets to Turkey on the overnight train. Tomorrow we leave for Kalambaka for 1 night before moving on to Thessaloniki for 1 night.
We headed to the train station early to try and organise our train ride down. Only thing weren't going to go as planned. At the train station we were told that trains no longer run to Nafplion and they haven't done so for the past 3 years. Ooh! That wasn't in our plans. Our map clearly stated that we could travel there by train and even the guide book said we could get the train to the small town near by called Argos. But "No" we were told. You can only take the bus. Well we had a rail pass that we wanted to use so we weren't going to spend all that extra money on the bus if we could get the train half way. So we decided to take the train to the half way stop of Corinth and then catch the bus from the station across the road, or at least that was the plan. We arrived into Corinth and walked out of the train station to be greeted by the most remote hole on earth. And to top of all the planning there was no longer a bus station across the road from the train station. We ended up having to pay a taxi to take us 6 kilometers down the road to the bus station before buying our ticket to Nafplion which departed about 2 hours later. All this work and in the end we only saved 2 Euros. But the lesson learnt from this is that you can save money if you are willing to swim through shit.
That evening we arrived into Nafplion bus station and to our delight the town was everything we thought it would be. It's a small quaint town on the coast built in the Venetian style. The cobblestone streets are lined with small cafes, restaurants, shops and hotels and it is one of the nicest places in Greece to walk about or just hang for a few days. That evening we took a sunset stroll around the water front just admiring the forts built above the blue, blue water.
The next morning after a little bit of a sleep in we decided to walk up to the 857 steps to the fortress of Palamidi which overlooks the old town. Just like evening thing else in Europe is amazes me the places that they choose to build there biggest structures. The castle is more than impressive even though it has seen better days. The part of the fortress facing the water is still in condition but the rest of the castle that expands along the hill tops is laying in ruins.
The next morning we decided to take a day trip out to Mycenae to check out the ruins from some of the bigger civilisations of the Peloponnese. We went across the road to the small bakery were we picked up some kind of pizza bread for breakfast. Within a matter of 30 minutes this proved to be a mistake. My stomach started turning and before to long I had food poisoning. That was it for our planned day trip. I spent the rest of the day in bed sick. And unfortunately for me it stayed with me for a few days after.
On our second last day I popped some pills and finally got out to Mycenea. There isn't that much left to see at the ancient sights except for a few palace and city foundations but there were some very cool tombs still intact that are worth a visit.
On our last day we decided to head out to some of the local islands and bought a full day cruise to the islands of Hydra and Spetses. I wasn't sure what to expect from this but it actually turned out to be a good day. Very long but good. The island of Hydra has a feeling that I think you would get from most of the islands. It has white washed buildings built around a fortified harbour surrounded by crystal clear blue water. We were only here for about 3 hours which to be honest was probably long enough. In the afternoon we visited the island of Spetses which I think was a bit take it or leave it. once again it had beautiful crystal clear swimming water but there wasn't that much to the town.
We are now back in Athens and have finally been able to by our tickets to Turkey on the overnight train. Tomorrow we leave for Kalambaka for 1 night before moving on to Thessaloniki for 1 night.
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