It’s Greek Festival season in our area, so this week’s
t-shirt brings us back to our travels to Greece.
As with all the T-shirts in the pile, this trip has been
some years ago. However, it was a very enjoyable and memorable trip. We
actually started our adventure with an unexpected extended layover (our
connecting flight was late) at the Munich airport. If there is anywhere that
you need to spend a layover in, it’s Munich. My husband is German-American, so we had planned to enjoy a German platter with authentic dumplings and brats and good German beer. The extended layover allowed us to enjoy a Bavarian pretzel and more beer. We even picked up my favorite stuffed guy/keychain who sings
and some other Oktoberfest things.
Back
to Greece…
Our adventure in Greece started in Athens. We arrived
late, more like very early morning, and were taken to our hotel by “the crazy
cab driver“ who drove on the dividing line of the freeway. One of the things
that we first noticed was that people were still out that time of night. Later
we learned, that it’s “essentially the law” in Greece for people to be out at
night and party.
While in Athens, we enjoyed the views from Lycabettus
Hill, toured the Parthenon, had an incredible dinner in old town Plaka (with
the world’s most delicious dolmathes),
toured a Greek coin museum, and even browsed through a Greek Farmer’s market.
We then took the ferry to Mykonos. The Greek ferries were
top-notch: we were in first-class and at the front of the ferry. The seats were
very comfortable and had table service where I had my first Greek coffee; medium
sweet, of course, and got some good, hot food. We had brief stops at different
islands, which were each a photographer’s dream.
Mykonos is known as the party island, and it lived to its
reputation. Like in Athens, people party to the wee hours of the morning. We
saw the famed windmills and pelicans that hung out in restaurants. It was also
the island where my husband was first kissed (on the cheek) by a guy!
We also enjoyed some enjoyable
diving and beach time. Drinks were named rather provocatively – and I do not
think I can repeat their names in this post. I also was able to use some of my language skills to make
the bus stop, since we almost missed our hotel. Thank you "Books on Tape"... I was too cheap for Rosetta Stone.
Mykonos was also our jumping point to Delos, one of the
most important archaeological sites in Greece.
We spent a whole day in Delos where we had a guided tour. The
excavations on the island (the entire island is an archaeological preserve) are
among the most extensive in the Mediterranean. Lots of walking was involved,
but so well worth it.
Of course, no trip to Greece is complete without a visit
to Santorini. Santorini is probably one of the most beautiful islands in the world.
The view from Fira at sunset is probably one of the places where one can feel “on
top of the world” (The other place is on the summit of Mauna Kea in
Hawaii). Oia is a bus ride away from
Fira and also has beautiful views. One of the young girls in our tour said that
this city is even more beautiful.
We also enjoyed touring the ruins of Akrotiri; Santorini’s
equivalent of Pompeii - enjoying views from a Greek winery, the beaches at the
other side of the island, and lunch at a fabulous seaside taverna where I had
my first moussaka. My husband became hooked on moussaka from that time on. Now
I am craving for moussaka; I think I’ll grab an order or two from the festival
next week.
Oh, last but not least – on our final evening in Greece
in Athens, we enjoyed a couple of drinks and a small snack at the rooftop
lounge of the Gran Bretagne overlooking a glistening “white spotlight lit” Parthenon.
It was really quite awesome!
Yassou!
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