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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We finally had an exciting flight. Our flight from Istanbul to Thessaloniki had a thirty minute layover in Athens which, needless to say, was not enough time to get through passport check. It would have been had the Athens patrol not sent us back out into the regular airport area after passport control instead of connecting us directly with a gate. So, as a result, we had to go through security again. Then, boots in hand, we took off running to our gate and luckily, our second flight was delayed! So, after much ado, we landed in Thessaloniki, Greece. I am sure many of you have not ever heard of Thessaloniki and if it makes you feel better, the taxi driver even said to us, “You chose to have your vacation HERE?” Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece and is near North Macedonia (I am sure that helps!). For folks who read the Bible, Paul wrote a letter to the Thessolonians in the New Testament. It’s that Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki had several ruins to see and a great waterfront walk which was a very busy place on a Sunday. I think perhaps Paul might need to write another letter because I saw a lot more drinking than I did church going on Sunday! We spent Monday seeing more ruins and an endless amount of monuments. We have named the monuments “man on stick”, “man on stump” and “head on stick”. We have figured out that to become a man (or in one case a woman) that is worthy of a stick or a stump, you must be one of four things: brave, stupid, lucky or a really good bullshitter. That’s it. Or possibly really rich in which case you might be high on a stick but no one really knows who you are. After our tour of sticks and stumps, we hopped on the train and headed to the city of Kalambaka. Kalambaka is the base town to visit Meteora. Meteora is a holy place that has monasteries built on top of huge cliffs. You may recognize Meteora from the James Bond movie “For Your Eyes Only” which put Meteora on the tourist map. The first monks built the monasteries on the cliffs to be closer to God. They started by carrying the rocks on their backs and building ladders to get up the sheer cliffs. Then, a few hundred years later, they figured out a pulley system to hoist the rocks to the top. One monk spent twenty years hauling rocks and finally had enough to build a small chapel. Then, he died. That would really stink. And he didn’t even make stick or stump level. We took a private tour and our guide explained why all the Orthodox churches look the same. All the frescos were made the same to tell the people how to get into heaven. People could not read so frescos were the way they taught people lessons. Therefore, every church tells the same stories so they all look alike. Mystery solved. As we made our way to the monasteries, I had to be sure my knees and shoulders were covered. And pants did not count. Even in pants, I had to wrap a scarf around my waist like a skirt. Bill could wear pants without a skirt but not me. Those sinful knees were evidently too much to take even in pants! Our tour guide explained that the monks did not want to have sinful thoughts because then they would have to go to confession more often. Seriously? You dedicate your entire life to being a monk and your day is so busy you can’t tack on an additional confession so that Sally doesn’t have to look stupid in pants with a skirt wrapped around her? I wanted to point out that God had not given Adam and Eve a closet full of clothes when he created them but I kept my mouth shut for a change. The views from the cliffs were amazing and the hundreds of stairs we climbed were well worth the effort. By the end of the day, our tour guide had convinced us that every word in the English language was created by the Greeks. I am thinking that somewhere in the future, our guide will be a man on a stick….he was quite the bullshitter! We leave tomorrow for Athens and Aegina where we will see a lot more ruins and shards and pots. Until the next blog….cover those sinful knees! Ratings for Thessaloniki and Meteora: Overall: 8 Points of interest: 8.5 Ease of communication: 8 Ease of transportation: 7 Friendly people: 8 Food: 7 Cost of living: 7 Weather: 10 Bill’s favorite thing: Monasteries (amazed at how they built them 600 years ago) Sally’s favorite thing: Monasteries Bill’s turn again: Hey guys, im back and more cantankerous than ever.. This blurb is called ….lines. So we are all used to begin in lines to do certain things. Checkout of a store, ride a ride at an amusement park, or anything Disney. But im going to start with something that happens to me in the states in stores and finish here in Europe. Whenever i go into a store in the states (or the islands), mostly grocery, since that is where i do most of my shopping, after a few minutes i usually have identified a store nemesis. This is the person that is in your way, and doing something stupid no matter where you turn or go in the store.. Generally in the middle of the aisle talking on their damn phone instead of getting their business done..Sometimes you have to take drastic measures, like moving their cart out of the way or bumping it.. Or stopping in front of them as subtle hints.. Generally doenst work but it makes me feel better. And you can bet you will run into them in the checkout lines, especially at the automated machines in walmart, backing up the entire process. So lets move to Europe, especially the Italians. They have decided that in every major historical museum or monument, that they want everyone going thru in a line.. Not single file, but kind of a mob mass all moving in the same direction.. Now this may work in some instances but in the Uffizi in florence, the Doges palace and St Marks Basilica in Venice, and the Vatican museums in Rome, this theory absolutely sucks. These places are so big that one can easily spread out from the herd and enjoy what you want to see in a calm unrushed time frame. I grew up in Atlanta and spent many days at 6 Flags when i was young, and as soon as the gate opened, my friends and i would run like hell to the back of the park where no one was yet.. Same theory. But NO, the Italians think its more fun to herd you thru these amazing places and treasures in a moving mass making it almost impossible to stop and enjoy what you want to, or move along to other stuff if the current area doesnt capture your attention. The absolute worst was the Vatican Museum. The individual halls in the museum were approx 30’ wide and 200’ feet long with the pieces along the walls. In the halls would be nothing but people 8-10 wide and from end to end, butt to balls. Even if you wanted to see something it was almost impossible to stop.. Then you had the tour groups. From 10-30 people with earpieces on so they could hear their leaders. They would mass in the halls and stop and then they were almost impossible to get around.. This whole experience was miserable..You would think the vatican had enough cash to not have to herd everyone thru like wildebeasts, but obviously not.. So we had a couple of tour groups that became our nemesis in the Vatican museums, and we finally got past them when we emerged into fresh air and had enough room to escape.. Last note on this, the Sistine Chapel is the highlight of the vatican museum. No pics allowed and there were so many people inside as to be totally impossible for me to enjoy.. The painting are amazing but the environment was horrid.. Glad I did the vatican, but i would not do it again.. Next time : things that run on tracks!! Istanbul has been an interesting few days. First, the people have been very welcoming and kind. We have not felt uncomfortable in any situation so that was a pleasant surprise. The woman in Turkey have been able to vote since the 1920s so as far as Muslim countries go, it seemed a little more modern than I imagined. A large number of the younger women do not wear headscarves at all. Bill did notice that only men sit at the cafes and “hang out” which was different and stood out to us. One thing that we did not like was the call to prayer that took place about 5 times a day. They do the call through loud speakers at the mosques and to us, it sounded like someone strangling a cat. I know some people find it peaceful but we did not. We were in one mosque when the praying was taking place and I had to cover my ears because it was piercing to me. The first day, we explored a few small mosques and enjoyed the simplicity of them. We wandered about the city and found that most of their stores were in pockets of the city grouped together. For example, on one street, there were over 15 huge bridal shops. On another street was the men’s wear. Then, we had musical instruments. My favorite street was the Turkish Delights street! The smell of the spices and candies was amazing. I wish I could describe it but the smell was such a unique blend that I do not think words could do it justice. The closest I could come would be to say it was like taking all the best smells you have ever smelled and putting them into one shop. I hope the pictures will help you gain some sense. Following the spice markets, we hopped on a ferry and crossed over the Bosphorus into Asia. We were very excited to set foot on another continent even if it was only for lunch. We wandered through the street market which was full of fish, spices, fruits, nuts, teas and many other food products. It was a wonderful walk. Once we were back on the European side of the city, we headed over to the Basilica Cistern. As we entered, Bill read that the cisterns had been built by Hadrian. If it were not for Hadrian, there really would not be anything cool to see in the world. The man was a building maniac! After the cistern, we wandered into the Egyptian market for some more spice smelling and then settled into the hotel for the night. We woke up on Saturday to dreary weather. We really can not complain because we have been so lucky with the weather on our trip but it was yucky. Rainy, cold and windy. We decided to go on a formal tour to see the palace, the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Our group was a small group of 7 which was good for us. The other thousands of people on other tours were not so good for us but we survived. The palace was very different from our expectations of a “palace”. It was not a large building. It was a compound made up of many small buildings and was a city unto itself. The palace was first built by the Ottomans and then everyone who invaded Turkey for two thousand years added onto it. Did you know Turkey only became Turkey in 1923? I was surprised by that information but then I attended Stockbridge High school so we never learned about “that side of the world”. After the palace, we sludged through the rain following our guide with her broken red umbrella over to stand in line for the Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia is the oldest and largest religious center in the world. It started out as an orthodox church which burnt down. Then, they built the current building in the 500s. It was also a Christian cathedral. When the Ottomans invaded in the 1100s, they turned it into a Mosque. They also painted over many of the original mosaics that the Turks are trying to restore to this day. We enjoyed our tour of the mosque even though it was prayer time and the call was very, very loud. The tour to the Blue Mosque was a disaster. It was under complete renovation so nothing inside or outside was actually visible. Plus, the mosques require you to remove your shoes which was fine if they provided a place to do so. The Blue Mosque did not so it was a massive mess trying to take off wet shoes on wet marble with a hundred people (plus wearing a scarf on my head that kept falling over my face!). Also, according to our guide, the “shoes off” policy was not really a religious thing, it was basically to keep the carpet nice. Seriously? A country known world wide for its amazing rugs can not figure out a better system than wall to wall carpeting? Huh. We ended our tour day with a drop off at the Grand Bazaar which we walked straight through and headed back to the hotel. I liked the smaller Egyptian market place much more than the Grand Bazaar. We leave Istanbul with a mix of feelings. We really liked some parts of it and did not like other things. I am pretty sure when I look back on our time here, I will remember the wonderful smells and not the smell of the stinky feet at the mosque! Early morning flight to Greece so on we go backwards through history! Ratings for Istanbul: Overall: 6 Points of interest: 7 Ease of communication: 8 Ease of transportation: 7 Friendly people: 8 Food: 6.5 Cost of living: 6 Weather: 5 (one good day; one rainy day) Bill’s favorite thing: Basilica Cistern Sally’s favorite thing: Basilica Cistern and spices We had an early morning flight to Montenegro and luckily, the flight was on time and rewarded our ‘wake up at 4:30am’ efforts. We landed in Podgorica which was the capital of Montenegro. It was a small city and easy to navigate. We rented a car at the airport and made our way over to see the main attraction in town….a cathedral. I know you are shocked! Montenegro’s main religion was Eastern Orthodox and we immediately had lots of questions about their religion. At the cathedral, the people walking in would stop and kiss the door. Then, they would wait in a line to kiss an icon that stood at the center of the church. Then, they would wander about and stop at different objects kissing each one. They would kiss the feet and hands of statues, picture frames, glass cases, etc. Then, they would back out of the church and head on their way. After the kissing cathedral, we found a monastery that was built in a cave. It had very simplistic drawings of Jesus on the walls and I found it very peaceful (and much more inspiring than the Vatican!). There were a few more kissing people in the monastery as well. Later in our trip, we talked with a local who explained that the kissing was a sign of respect and one would kiss whichever icon represented the saint to which one was praying. He also explained that throughout the complicated history of Montenegro, the people held tightly to the Eastern Orthodox religion because it maintained their identity until the invaders left them alone. Very interesting conversation! Leaving Podgorica, we headed out past Lake Skadar, through several tunnels and over the mountains to the seaside. Our Airbnb was located near Budva and had sweeping views of the Adriatic. My pictures do not do justice to the beauty of the area due to a haze that hung over the area. We arrived in the rainy season so we did not have any bright sunny days to burn off the haze. The next morning, we headed over the mountains for a day in Cetinje which was the historical capital of ancient Montenegro. Montenegro has been invaded by just about every surrounding culture including Venice, Hungary, Rome, Germans, etc. The official language is Montenegran but they teach English in school starting in the second grade and then they learn a third language by middle school! Montenegran was similar to Russian so needless to say, we conquered ‘thank you’ and that was about it! For most words, we just said, “kushbushshugabado” because that is what they all looked like. They were at least 13 letters long with only one vowel most of the time! Impossible! When we arrived in Cetinje, we stopped by the tourist information office to get some tourist information….logically. I walked in and asked for a map. A large man looked at me, smiled and said, “I can not map” (you must hear it with a Russian accent for full appreciation). I responded, “No map?” to which he said, “Ya, I can not map”. I wasn’t sure what the exact purpose of the tourist information office was but it certainly was not information for tourists. Without a map in hand, we made our way through the historic area which had been turned into several small museums. We gained insight on Montenegro’s history which was interesting. At one museum, the girl gave us the cost breakdown of the entrance fee…”It is $3.00 for museum. It is $2.00 for the topographical display of Montenegro”. Well, that must be special if it was separate so we bought the complete ticket. After going through the museum, the girl led us to the special display area. It was a huge room filled with a map of Montenegro that showed all rocky mountains and the lake. Bill laughed and said he was not sure why everyone had wanted to invade them over the years because the entire country was just one big rock! To prove our point, our afternoon was spent exploring a local cave which was quite large and had some cool formations. One guide said Montenegro had over 200 caves and one said over 2000 caves so somewhere in that small range! On day three, we explored the historic town of Budva which was a walled city on the sea. It reminded us of Venice without the waterways so we were glad we were here in the off season because high season would have been a crowded mess. The city was small and easy to navigate so it was a quick visit. After Budva, we stopped by a restaurant and had a great lunch by the sea. Always a good day! Day four was a long day with an added challenge…rain! We have not had rain on tour days since we left the States so we have been spoiled. Unfortunately, the rain came on a day when we had all outdoor activities planned with no option to change plans. We drove to Kotor which was another walled city and realized quickly that exploring with two cruise ships in port and all passengers with umbrellas was not going to be a pleasant experience. We made our way through the town and then decided to go ahead with our drive to Croatia. There was only one road from Kotor to Croatia so it was a simple drive but the road took us all the way around the Kotor Bay which was a bit long. We arrived in Dubrovnik just as the sun began to push through the clouds. Parking in Dubrovnik was challenging but we finally located a parking garage at the top of the hill. The old city in Dubrovnik was surrounded by a wall and was quite large. Dubrovnik is also the main filming location for Game of Thrones so for those of you who watched that series, you may find some familiar sights in the pictures. Even in a walled city, there were tons of cathedrals…and steps. We had decided to “walk the wall” around the city but quickly changed our minds when we discovered the cost was $33.00 each and there were over 1000 steps involved over a mile long hike. We voted paying that much to be tortured was not on our agenda since this leg was our relax and recuperate leg! Our final day in Croatia we were met with a sunny morning! We explored one of the old forts next to the old city and had some wonderful views. Our drive back to Montenegro had sweeping views and I loved the fall colors on the mountains. Our last stop was the Podgorica cemetery. We had tried to see the cemetery our first day but when we arrived, hundreds of people were there and they were all carrying flowers. Since we could not find anywhere to park, we had to skip the cemetery. So, on our back into the city, we stopped by again and we were able to visit. As you can see from the pictures, the cemetery was full of flowers and every grave was immaculate. It was a nice way to end our very peaceful week. We fly out tomorrow to Istanbul, Turkey. I am a bit nervous about this leg because the city is massive and it will be the first Muslim city I have ever visited. With Bill’s knees showing and my blond hair (okay, white at this point), I am not sure what our reception will be. Fingers crossed all goes well! Ratings for Montenegro/Croatia: Overall: 8.5 Montenegro/7 Croatia Points of interest: 6 Montenegro/7 Croatia Ease of communication: 8 Montenegro/7 Croatia Ease of transportation: 8 Montenegro/6 Croatia (due to parking challenges) Friendly people: 8 Food: 8 Cost of living: 10 Montenegro/5 Croatia Weather: 7 Bill’s favorite thing: Relaxing on the water Sally’s favorite thing: A room with a wonderful view and quiet! |
AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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