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| Dan in front of Zepplion |
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| St the Olympic Stadium |
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| Temple of Zeus |
Monday, April 8, 2019
Athens Day 3
Since it is getting late I will divide day 3 in two parts. Actually just spread the entry over 2 days. Yes we woke this morning to rain. It is the perfect day to take the on and off bus and see the national archeological museum. Unfortunately so did several other tourists and since it was raining all the great seats in the bus were taken. We had walked most of the area near the hotel and to many of the sites the past two days so it was mostly the outskirts we missed
We had umbrellas this time so we were set. No rain getting to the bus but the 15-20 minute wait to buy tickets to the museum had us very happy we had umbrellas. The museum is very well done and we followed Rick Steves guidebook tour of the museum since of course we forgot to download the audio tours before we left home and the internet even though WiFi is all over and the speed is less than optimal.
Surprise of surprises we finished about the same time as others since the people who purchased tickets right before us were also leaving and waiting for the bus to arrive. During our waitthe wind came up consequently as we finish the day with only 1 umbrella. Good thing we are down sizing.
We head back to the hotel to await our transfer to the port. We decided to get there 30 minutes before boarding so as to not have any worries about being late. The waiting room when we left the ship had tons of seats like an airport gate does. So we get there at 5 to five. Our cab driver drops us out side the port terminal gate, with little English he points to go through the gate and we are right there. There is a food kiosk next to the waiting area and damasks is this where the 6pm boat to hydra leaves from. The guy says yes. No worries it will arrive at 17:30 and leave at 6pm. The waiting area is not inside but outside Witt the wind and breeze. Luck for it stopped raining. Well sure enough a boat shows up at 17:40. Everyone off and new people are boarding. We get to the front with our paper ticket and we are told we must change it for a really ticket and we are scheduled to leave from the other boat that has been parked for the past 45 minutes. We run to the other end of the terminal, get to the boat. I wait while Dan changes the ticket We ARE the last on. The captain tried to leave but the gate person said we were coming. I finished loading the luggage and Dan returned with our appropriate tickets He came aboard and the boat left. This was the last boat of the night. So even though we were more than 1 hour early we almost “missed the boat”.
Surprise of surprises we finished about the same time as others since the people who purchased tickets right before us were also leaving and waiting for the bus to arrive. During our waitthe wind came up consequently as we finish the day with only 1 umbrella. Good thing we are down sizing.
We head back to the hotel to await our transfer to the port. We decided to get there 30 minutes before boarding so as to not have any worries about being late. The waiting room when we left the ship had tons of seats like an airport gate does. So we get there at 5 to five. Our cab driver drops us out side the port terminal gate, with little English he points to go through the gate and we are right there. There is a food kiosk next to the waiting area and damasks is this where the 6pm boat to hydra leaves from. The guy says yes. No worries it will arrive at 17:30 and leave at 6pm. The waiting area is not inside but outside Witt the wind and breeze. Luck for it stopped raining. Well sure enough a boat shows up at 17:40. Everyone off and new people are boarding. We get to the front with our paper ticket and we are told we must change it for a really ticket and we are scheduled to leave from the other boat that has been parked for the past 45 minutes. We run to the other end of the terminal, get to the boat. I wait while Dan changes the ticket We ARE the last on. The captain tried to leave but the gate person said we were coming. I finished loading the luggage and Dan returned with our appropriate tickets He came aboard and the boat left. This was the last boat of the night. So even though we were more than 1 hour early we almost “missed the boat”.
Sunday, April 7, 2019
Athens Day 2
I am behind on blogging but ahead on drinking. So I guess all is equal. So this morning is a repeat of yesterday. Back to the wood store, then the fit bit store to pick up a new charger and then off to some antiquities. Today Hadrians library and the ancient agora. I must say I have learned a lot about Ancient Greece that I did not know before. We close down the Agora since it closes at 4pm. This is a problem seeing all these sites with early closing since it isn’t the summer season with things staying open late. Oh we added the National Garden, the Olympic Stadium and the Temple of Zeus. We have done all this on foot as everything is very close.
The best part of today was we didn’t start at 8:15 am like our days on the ship but 10:00 am. We have to get in as much as possible since it is supposed to rain tomorrow. We haven’t had 1 day of rain the entire trip but I think our luck isn’t going to last. The plan for tomorrow if it does rain is to go to the archeological museum. Rated 3 stars by Rick Steves and also recommended by several of our tour guides.
When we finish today it will be our second day with over 17000 steps unfortunately I’m sure it does not offset the wine we have been drinking nor I did not mention all the gelatos in the past 2 weeks eating sensible at breakfast does not offset all day.
Athens
We have our first full day to ourselves but we leave the ship at the last minute. The original plan was to take the train or metro to a stop near our hotel and walk to the hotel. After learning the metro stopped on the other side of the port and it would be difficult to walk with our non carry on luggage we changed to plan b which is take the taxi.
Check into the hotel and with in 15 min our room is ready. It is a great room, small but has a balcony. We leave the bags in the room, talk with the front desk and we are off. The first stop is the fit bit store to buy a charger for my fit bit seems it didn’t get packed and I have had no charge for the past 4 days of course nothing in his store; they will bring it down tomorrow. One errand off the list.
Dan has decided he wants to buy some raw olive wood so this means we have to try and find a lumber yard Google to the rescue. On the way we look at one of the several shops selling olive wood. This proves to be educational. Apparently most wood comes from the island of Crete. The sell the wood by cu/meter. Dan really doesn’t have any idea of how much he wants let alone in cubic meters. I located 2 shops in Athens One is north the other one is south. We locat the metro and with only having to change terminals because of a miss map reading we are off
Athens is like a lot of other cities in that similar businesses are located adjacent. As we are walking to the business we pass no less than 6 flooring stores. We going into 1-2 of them to learn you can’t buy raw olive wood in side the city. We are unsure how every gift shop has it to sell but in a finished state how are they getting it.
We plug onward, following my gps on the phone. We locate the shop and and it turns out it is a cabinet shop. Well Dan and the owner are having a grand discussion of techniques used to make cabinets. Seems he is aware of US by watching u-tube videos. Dan is giving him web sites to look at. Finally the guy says he has a friend who might have raw wood. He give us the address we are able to get directions from google maps and we are off Stop at a restaurant near the metro stop for lunch and a bathroom break.
We find the wood store and they have what Dan is looking for. It is comical since this guys English is only fair and we have no Greek. After looking at wood in the mill for “forever”. Dan decided on a piece and gets a quote of $40 euro. This is apparently a great price according to Dan. We will return tomorrow and the owner will contact her shipper. We may be sending wood home.
Since it is only 2:30. We head to the acropolis. I need to get one historical site in today. Now the realization that the Greeks built everything on a hill and if you think it’s flat you are in for a surprise. The good news about going late in the day is there are less crowds. Our weather has been great and in the late afternoon the climb to the top is doable. And I do mean climb. It is amazing that this is 2500 years old and still standing
As we desend it is time to return to the hotel and rest our weary feet, sit on our balcony and have some wine. The hotel staff supplied a small bottle and a few snacks. Revived we try and call the kids. This hotel provides a phone with free international calls. Surprise they don’t answer. Scott did email he was sorry to miss it but it came up as a spam call. Oh well what is the use of free calls if no one answers
Check into the hotel and with in 15 min our room is ready. It is a great room, small but has a balcony. We leave the bags in the room, talk with the front desk and we are off. The first stop is the fit bit store to buy a charger for my fit bit seems it didn’t get packed and I have had no charge for the past 4 days of course nothing in his store; they will bring it down tomorrow. One errand off the list.
Dan has decided he wants to buy some raw olive wood so this means we have to try and find a lumber yard Google to the rescue. On the way we look at one of the several shops selling olive wood. This proves to be educational. Apparently most wood comes from the island of Crete. The sell the wood by cu/meter. Dan really doesn’t have any idea of how much he wants let alone in cubic meters. I located 2 shops in Athens One is north the other one is south. We locat the metro and with only having to change terminals because of a miss map reading we are off
Athens is like a lot of other cities in that similar businesses are located adjacent. As we are walking to the business we pass no less than 6 flooring stores. We going into 1-2 of them to learn you can’t buy raw olive wood in side the city. We are unsure how every gift shop has it to sell but in a finished state how are they getting it.
We plug onward, following my gps on the phone. We locate the shop and and it turns out it is a cabinet shop. Well Dan and the owner are having a grand discussion of techniques used to make cabinets. Seems he is aware of US by watching u-tube videos. Dan is giving him web sites to look at. Finally the guy says he has a friend who might have raw wood. He give us the address we are able to get directions from google maps and we are off Stop at a restaurant near the metro stop for lunch and a bathroom break.
We find the wood store and they have what Dan is looking for. It is comical since this guys English is only fair and we have no Greek. After looking at wood in the mill for “forever”. Dan decided on a piece and gets a quote of $40 euro. This is apparently a great price according to Dan. We will return tomorrow and the owner will contact her shipper. We may be sending wood home.
Since it is only 2:30. We head to the acropolis. I need to get one historical site in today. Now the realization that the Greeks built everything on a hill and if you think it’s flat you are in for a surprise. The good news about going late in the day is there are less crowds. Our weather has been great and in the late afternoon the climb to the top is doable. And I do mean climb. It is amazing that this is 2500 years old and still standing
As we desend it is time to return to the hotel and rest our weary feet, sit on our balcony and have some wine. The hotel staff supplied a small bottle and a few snacks. Revived we try and call the kids. This hotel provides a phone with free international calls. Surprise they don’t answer. Scott did email he was sorry to miss it but it came up as a spam call. Oh well what is the use of free calls if no one answers
Friday, April 5, 2019
The end of shipboard pampering
Today’s post is really about 2 days ago or what seems like forever. We arrived in Piraeus the port in Athens. Today we opted for an optional excursion to Delphi. We will have a car in a few days but Delphi is north and would be some what out of the way. After arriving on the bus I am very glad we did not drive. It was approximately 3 hours from the port and traffic going in and out of town was crazy. Of course this meant another early day. So far we have not had a leisurely morning or day. Every day has been full to the brim
The trip to Delphi allowed us to see the country and topography. The central of Greece is farm after farm. It is near the base of mount Parnassos and overlooks the Gulf of Corinth. It is undoubtedly spring break and there are school students everywhere. Many groups and tourists. Glad to have a guide to clarify what we are actually seeing and some of the history behind what happened at Delphi. I think the mystic is now lost on me. The process is once you have been selected to have an audience and ask the oracle your one question, you deliver your sacrifice and pay the fee. The you ask the question. There is a high priestess (Pythia) present who is breathing and sniffing some sort of hallucinating vapor, she goes into a screaming trance then when she falls asleep the messenger of Apollo of his underlings “ translates” the answer. To me it seems like you could forget the Oracle and just find an Apollo messenger and get a straight answer. Clearly these were the guys with the political muscle. They actually are making the political decisions. It is an amazing place to be able to visit that people from 2500 years ago frequented.
The end of the day after returning to the ship we have dinner, have to pack because we leave the ship in the morning. Before we leave we are back to our favorite bar and it is like visiting with old friends. We hope to meet them again as they have signed up for two more tours. We finally get to have a leisurely breakfast and then we are on our own.
The trip to Delphi allowed us to see the country and topography. The central of Greece is farm after farm. It is near the base of mount Parnassos and overlooks the Gulf of Corinth. It is undoubtedly spring break and there are school students everywhere. Many groups and tourists. Glad to have a guide to clarify what we are actually seeing and some of the history behind what happened at Delphi. I think the mystic is now lost on me. The process is once you have been selected to have an audience and ask the oracle your one question, you deliver your sacrifice and pay the fee. The you ask the question. There is a high priestess (Pythia) present who is breathing and sniffing some sort of hallucinating vapor, she goes into a screaming trance then when she falls asleep the messenger of Apollo of his underlings “ translates” the answer. To me it seems like you could forget the Oracle and just find an Apollo messenger and get a straight answer. Clearly these were the guys with the political muscle. They actually are making the political decisions. It is an amazing place to be able to visit that people from 2500 years ago frequented.
The end of the day after returning to the ship we have dinner, have to pack because we leave the ship in the morning. Before we leave we are back to our favorite bar and it is like visiting with old friends. We hope to meet them again as they have signed up for two more tours. We finally get to have a leisurely breakfast and then we are on our own.
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Trip to Delphi
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| Sunrise in Athens |
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| On the way to Delphi |
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| Temple of Apollo |
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| 2500 year old capitol |
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| Dan at the theater |
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| The theater of Apollo |
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| The Sacrificial site before talking to the Oracle |
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| Part of the original temple |
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| Looking to ask our question of the Oracle |
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Various Photos from Peloponnese
The theater at Epidavros Beach town at Kardamyli 5 Euro lunch View from the drive View from Fortress Driving...
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Since I am 2 days behind in blogging and really tired tonight I will post the photos and write more in the AM