More travel adventures from Greece. When leaving Meteora, we arrived at the train station to catch our train to Athens. There were already about 15 people waiting and one of them mentioned that the train was not coming. I went to the ticket desk and the woman said the train was not coming so we needed to take the bus to the next train station and get on the train there. So, we waited for the bus to come and get everyone. Then, we drove to the next train station, got on a train, went several stops and got off to catch our train connection to Athens. We were very lucky that the train to Athens had been delayed as well because we were thirty minutes behind schedule. After an exciting start, we made it to Athens with no more unforeseen occurrences. Our first night in Athens, we stayed out near the port in Piraeus so we could catch our ferry to Aegina the next morning. We wandered about Piraeus and found the marina so we could look at boats and eat by the water. Overall, Piraeus did not have much to offer but it was a nice stroll. The next day at the ferry port, a woman was conducting a survey on Piraeus so we needed to answer several questions about our stay. One of the questions was, “Would you recommend Piraeus as a destination for others?” to which we both laughed and said, “Only if they need to catch a ferry out!” I am guessing she got that answer a lot because she smiled and nodded knowingly. Our ferry ride destination was the island of Aegina which was a little over an hour away from Athens. Aegina was famous for pistachios so Bill was very excited to arrive. As soon as we arrived in Aegina, we felt at home. It felt good to be back on an island again. We enjoyed lunch by the water watching the sailboats and ferries come and go. Then, we made our way to the car rental place to pick up our car. Since we were early, they gave us a small car and said our SUV would be ready for pick up that evening. When we picked up the SUV at dinnertime, it was one of the rattiest cars we have ever rented…and that is saying a lot given we were in the Dominican Republic for 6 months! The rental guy did not even bother to do the car inspection because it had so much damage on it, we could not have added any more dents! We were very lucky the weather was so good because it was a convertible but the top would not stay on no matter what we tried! Aegina had several archeological sites that were quite interesting. The temple of Aphaia was located on the top of the mountain and (according to my daughter) was one of the most well preserved temples in Greece. We managed to beat the tour groups and had the place almost to ourselves. There is a theory that the Temple of Aphaia, the Acropolis and Temple of Poseidon form a perfect equilateral triangle which would have been some impressive math 2500 years ago. It would be very simple to check that fact with today’s technology but I am guessing the Greeks just like the thought of it so they don’t want to mess it up with any pesky facts. After the temple, we ventured around the island to a seaside area for lunch. I am now going to start a rant about dogs in restaurants so if you are one of those people who insist on taking your dog to a restaurant, then stop reading now. You have been warned. Dogs are pets. They are not children. They do not belong in restaurants, churches, on ferries, or any other public buildings. They belong in parks. In backyards. In doghouses. I don’t want to eat with your smelly dog. “My dog doesn’t smell, I bathe him”....all dogs stink, you just can’t smell him! Leave your dog at home. He won’t be lonely. He won’t die before you get home. You don’t see people with cats or birds taking their pets to restaurants. Because they are pets! When we arrived at the restaurant, a couple came in with their smelly little poodle. Evidently, they missed the fact that Greece is obsessed with cats. Cats roam about freely and everyone in the neighborhood feeds the cats. Cats rule Greece. So, the couple wander in and their smelly poodle starts yapping away at the large, yellow cat lounging in the sun. It was only about 10 seconds of yapping before the yap turned into a yelp then a whimper and we knew the cat had won the battle. The dog owner was very upset and went to complain about the cat. Bill and I were laughing because we could just imagine the manager’s response which was “keep your dog away from our cat then”. So, the wimpy dog had to sit in his owner’s lap while the large yellow cat called several of his friends over to taunt the dog endlessly. Bill and I were very entertained and those cats received several shrimp tails and heads for being our heroes of the day! Our trip back to Athens on the ferry went smoothly and we easily caught the metro over to the hotel. Our hotel had a rooftop bar with amazing views of the Acropolis so it was a nice way to end the day. We woke up early the next morning in an attempt to beat the crowds to the Acropolis. Evidently everyone else had the same idea! We beat most of the tour groups so it was not too bad and the weather was perfect. After the Acropolis, we headed to the Acropolis Museum which was interesting. We then walked over to the Olympic Stadium for a few pictures and then onto the Temple of Zeus. The Temple of Zeus has always been a favorite of mine but this trip it was covered in scaffolding. So, no good pictures but at least they were working on it so it will be there in the future. At this point, our feet were dead so we grabbed some food and headed back to the hotel. Our last day in Athens was a little calmer as we finished off with the Ancient Agora and the Keremeikos (ancient cemetery). Once back at our hotel, we settled in for the nightly street entertainment. We had an accordion player, a clarinet player whose dog ‘sang’ along with him, a violinist and several guitar players. The issue was that they all played different songs at the same time so it made quite the cacophony! The violinist usually won the battle which would have been lovely if he knew any song other than the theme to Dr. Zhivago. Ah, another memory for the books! Tomorrow we head to Cairo for our private tour of Egypt, Jordan and our safari. I do not know if or when I will have time to post another blog but I will do my best. If it is too crazy, you may not hear from me for a few weeks! Ratings for Aegina and Athens:: Overall: 8 Points of interest: 9 Ease of communication: 8 Ease of transportation: 8.5 Friendly people: 9 Food: 7 Cost of living: 7 Weather: 10 Bill’s favorite thing: Acropolis and pistachios Sally’s favorite thing: Ancient Agora
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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