The trip started off a little rough. It was the first time I had ever booked a car company to take me to the airport so I wouldn't have to convince one of my friends to pick me up at 5 am and the driver called and said she was running 30 minutes late. I didn't have an extra 30 minutes so I ended up driving myself to the airport and leaving my car for the 16 days I would be gone. When I arrived at the airport it was raining and in my rush to get out of the car and make the shuttle bus I dropped my purse and even though it never fell out of my purse the screen to my phone shattered. Then on my flight from Austin to Philly where I was laying over there was such bad turbulence that I got sick on an airplane for the first time ever! The good news... it all got better from there!
After an over night flight we arrived in Athens early on Sunday and checked into the hotel but since the rooms weren't ready yet we decided to walk the 10 minutes to the Plaka (old part of Athens) to get some food and do a little exploring. It was my first time trying lamb souvlaki and I've decided that is my new favorite Greek dish. We walked through the labyrinth of streets full of little shops- some nice, some tourist traps- and restaurants until we were ready to head back to the hotel. Our 20 minute walk back turned into about 2 hours as we found ourselves on the wrong side of the Acropolis and had to walk all the way around it to get back to where we needed to go!
The next morning was the start of our tour of mainland Greece. After an early morning wake up call and my first Greek yogurt with honey in Greece for breakfast we were on our way to Olympia with stops along the way to an open air theater that is still used for plays with acoustics so perfect that if someone was standing in the middle of the stage and dropped a coin you could still hear it perfectly from the very top of the theater. Mycenae was the first ruins of the trip and we were rewarded with a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains and the nearby ocean after a short hike to the top. We spent the night in Olympia at a beautiful hotel with dinner overlooking the land below and a gorgeous sunset.
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| Open air theater |
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| Mycenae |
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| View from dinner in Olympia |
We visited the ruins of Olympia the next morning. I sometimes find visiting ruins a little disappointing because they are just that, ruins. You have to use you imagination a little bit to envision what it would have looked like in its original form and all of the statues that have been found have been moved to the museum to protect it from the elements for future generations to get to see. Protecting it makes sense but it would still be even more incredible to see it in the spot where it was actually put thousands of years ago. The pillars for the temples were so large that when lying on its side in pieces with my 6'3" brother standing next to them, he looked small! Seeing where the Olympic torch is lit (still using a magnifying glass and the sunlight) and then carried around the world to where the next Olympics will be held was kind of surreal and walking on the field of the "stadium" where all the games were played was really fun! Women were not allowed to participate or even view the Olympics when they were first played and the participants were all nude when they competed originally... glad that concept has changed!
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| Where the Olympic torch is lit |
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| In the Olympic Stadium |
While the Olympics are the most well known competition today there were other sites where games were held as well including our next stop on the tour Delphi. Nestled into the side of a mountain, the scenery was a pretty breathtaking place to house the temples, theaters, and stadium of the ancient civilizations and required a little bit of stamina to get there. We hiked up the many steps and steep slopes all the way to the top to reach the stadium but were rewarded with a great view of the surrounding area.
When planning this trip we debated a little bit about whether we should include Meteora in the tour and I am really happy we did. Perched on top of high rocks sits 6 different monasteries that are still working monasteries. Some of them still have to use a cable to get groceries and people back and forth to the monasteries! The first monastery we went to was St. Stephens mostly due to the fact that it has easy access for visitors to get in and out. I loved the vivid colors of all the frescos painted on the walls in the chapel there. Quote from my brother "it looks like its from a James Bond movie" which was followed by our tour guide saying the next monastery is where the James Bond movie "For Your Eyes Only" was filmed.
Friday was our last day on the mainland and we spent it back in Athens with a tour of the new Acropolis museum which was constructed with plexiglass floors so you can look below to where the antiquities are being excavated from the earth which is a really cool concept that I had never seen before. On the top floor there is the border of the Parthenon that wraps completely around the top floor and part of it is actually tiles taken from the Parthenon and part is replica (many of the pieces are housed in the British Museum in London). We also toured the Acropolis during the day seeing the Parthenon up close and getting a good view of the city of Athens at its feet.
After the constant go go go of the first week of our trip that was fantastic but tiring I was looking forward to taking off to the islands for a little exploration but mostly rest and relaxation. First stop was the beautiful island of Mykonos! I've read articles in celebrity magazines and watched TV shows on the travel channel about the party life of Mykonos and how it is a place for celebrities to see and be seen but I have to say I had an entirely different experience. We stayed in a hotel called Manoulas Beach that was a few miles outside of town but had easy access to town with the public bus stopping directly in front of it. Our hotel was beachfront and felt like heaven when opening the doors to our balcony and taking in the view while lying on my bed and listening to the ocean waves lap the shore. We ate lunch and dinner on the beach at the nearby restaurants and just stared at the ocean and the sugar cube like buildings that dotted the island. It was really a perfect place to relax and just enjoy being on vacation in a place so incredibly beautiful.
For our final destination we headed to Santorini- the one place that when planning this trip I declared that I was not going all the way to Greece without seeing the famous Santorini! Known for its cobalt blue waters and famous sunset watching from the edge of the cliffs, Santorini is the southernmost island of the Cyclades group of Greek islands. It consists of a still active volcano that erupted years ago and sunk part of the island into the water and is often referred to as the lost city of Atlantis. The volcano created steep cliffs that the towns of Fira and Oia have built up on the edge with labyrinth of streets full of stairways with shops and restaurants. I had to admit that I was happy I work out regularly to be able to go up and down all the hills and stairs all day long but all those hills and stairs let me enjoy all the yummy food Greece has to offer without any guilt! Before I left for Greece, I was told I needed to try Baklava and eat Octopus and both were great suggestions to pass on to anyone going.
We spent a day in Santorini just walking around the town of Fira and getting lost looking in all the shops and enjoying the view. One highlight for me was going sailing and getting to go into the volcanic hot springs and snorkeling in the cold water near the red sand beach that was so blue and clear its unlike any other place I have been to. We had lunch the next day on the black sand beach and dinner in the town of Oia where we had another great view of the sunset. Our last day on the island we decided to take a tour of the volcano which I'm not sure any of us realized actually involved hiking to the top but once we arrived at the top I knew the hike was worth it. When we got back to the main part of the island we took the donkeys up the set of 590 stairs to the top which was an interesting experience all on its own trying to make our way up along the wall and trying to avoid the other tourists who decided to walk down the same path. (I wouldn't suggest walking the same path the donkeys take!).
Greece has always been a dream destination for me. When I returned home someone asked me what was something I didn't like while I was there. I had to really think about it and the answer was nothing. It was a dream destination that still seems like it was a dream. It's full of absolutely breathtaking scenery and not just in the islands where I expected it to be gorgeous but everywhere we went was another beautiful view. I have never really been a Greek food fan here in the US but over there I really enjoyed almost everything I ate and the people were very friendly and fiercely proud of their country and their history. I was very happy that I only saw one McDonalds and not a single Starbucks while I was there and that the country has maintained a sense of self but at the same time was very easy to navigate and get around because many people do speak English there.
Tips for those traveling to Greece:
- If you are doing the "typical" mainland tour then spring for Meteora as well- it was worth it!
- When taking the ferries around the islands we booked the middle priced seats and were glad we did because the cheap seats did not give an assigned seat and for just a couple of Euros more it was definitely worth it.
- Also when taking the ferries it is worth it to arrange your transportation to your hotel ahead of time because when you get to port there are not a lot of taxis around to take.
- Be in decent physical shape when you go because if you can't climb the stairs and the hills you are going to miss out on a lot!
- Don't wear your favorite swimsuit to the volcanic hot springs because the sulfur floating in the water can ruin it.
- You can make reservations at the restaurants in Santorini so you can get the best view of the sunset.
