Delphi & Athens again

And, finally, after we left Kalampaka, we drove about 3.5 hours to Delphi. We drove through fog, snow, rain and sunshine and arrived to a downpour that started about as we stepped out of the car. It just made sense, then, to start our visit there by going through the Delphi Archaeological Museum. (I have pictures but didn't include them here.)

Fortunately, the rain let up while we were inside the museum, so we grabbed some quick sandwiches from the gift shop area then headed to the outdoor sites...

Pictured above: The Treasury of Athenians, the Temple of Apollo (where the oracle would sit), an engraved wall, the theater, random impressive stuff, us in front of the Temple of Apollo, and the Temple of Athena (where one had to go initially to get permission to see the Oracle). Sadly, the stadium at the main site and the gymnasium on the way to the Temple of Athena were both closed for the season.

From there, we drove the 2.5 hours to Athens (with a stop for coffee and snacks, of course) and found our AirBNB (near the airport, just outside of Athens) just after dark. We met with our enthusiastic host, walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner (upon our host's recommendation), and finished out the day. 

Wednesday, we set out in the gusty wind to get our required covid tests for our flight the following day (thankful for the lab recommendation from our host!), stopped at a couple bakeries, and drove to the airport. We parked there, went inside for some paperwork we'd need for the flight and then took the metro into the city. (Driving and trying to park in the city did not sound appealing.)

Above: Nathan walking in the Athens Flea Market, us having figured out the metro system well, a view of our rental car and AirBNB, us across the street from our AirBNB (in front of the Aegean Sea), the view from our AirBNB, and me freezing in the wind before hurrying back to our place. 

For what it's worth, it seemed like March 1 was the magic day when a great number of the shops that had been closed when we first arrived in Greece decided to open. The Athens Flea Market and neighborhood shopping areas were notably busier and there were a lot more people out and about. (It looked, too, like it might be spring break for a number of European colleges and schools based on the number of young person groups we saw.) It was fun seeing more things open but we actually preferred the quieter time when we had first arrived, when things were still closed for the season and there were fewer people. :)

And then we somehow managed to pack everything back into all our bags, wake up crazy early to get to the airport, and fly home. Whew.

Back in a bit with more wrap-up sorts of things...

Meteora

From Santorini, we flew back to Athens, rented a car, and drove about four hours to the town of Kalampaka (also written as Kalabaka). We checked into our AirBNB then took advantage of the remaining daylight to drive the Meteora loop. (Similar to when we arrived in Santorini, the forecast indicated this might be our only good weather day. It's almost like the bad weather was following us, right?)

Meteora is a rock formation/area and home to amazing Eastern Orthodox monasteries built precipitously on immense natural pillars and boulders. It's also a UNESCO World Heritage site (as was the Acropolis). 

It was amazing. The pictures don't even do it justice. Wow.

The next day, we were scheduled to do a scramble tour with Visit Meteora but it was raining and windy and yucky. In the end, the scramble tour was cancelled and we were offered the option of going on the hiking tour instead...which we considered but ultimately decided against, in favor of waiting a day to see if the weather improved enough to do the scramble tour. Instead, then, we spent a quiet day enjoying the comforts of our AirBNB--doing some laundry and reading and just relaxing. We headed out for lunch and to drive the loop again in the misty conditions (and ventured over the crest and found snow). We also found some short hikes after the rain had mostly stopped...to hidden monasteries in the rocks and caves and ruins.

Again, the pictures don't do it justice. It was eerily cool. Oh, and that bottom right photo is the town square in Kastriki, a nearby village. We were trying to go to a geologic museum there but it was closed.

The next morning, the scramble was still canceled (the rocks were too wet) but it wasn't actively raining or windy. So, we went on the hiking tour...which turned out to be a private tour with just us and our awesome guide, Kostas. He led us around the area, sharing stories and background and his love for the place. 

As part of the tour, we also went into one of the monasteries (Varlaam) before finishing our fabulous hike. It was a lovely way to spend our morning and one of our favorite things.

The rest of the day was spent back at our AirBNB, getting a late lunch, and checking out an interesting mushroom museum. (Technically, it's the Natural History Museum and Mushroom Museum.)

And we ended our evening as we did every evening during our stay in Kalampaka...enjoying a fabulous dinner at the Meteoron Panorama restaurant. This place was recommended to us by our AirBNB hosts and was so delicious the first night that we went back every night. Here's a sampling of what we ate and drank there:

Yum! And that last shot is the view from the restaurant. Amazing.

Sidenote here to comment about the pace of dinners in Europe. They definitely enjoy dinners and meals at a different pace than here. We knew this from our time in Europe before and really embraced it this time...which was wonderful. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner experiences...particularly on Santorini and here. Places would bring us some combination of shots of pre-dinner drinks, dishes of olives, shots of post-dinner drinks (often made specifically at that restaurant), and small desserts...just as a matter of course (without any extra charge). If we'd been typical Americans and just asked for the check as soon as we'd finished eating (which we saw some others do), we'd have missed out on so much goodness. Also, our waitresses at both Meteoron Panorama and Kokkalo Restaurant in Fira were fabulous and we had a great time chatting with them!

(Honestly, those were some of the best drinks and bites. I'm not sure if it had anything to do with the fact that it's off season and they were just grateful for the business or if it made a difference that it was just us and not all five of us. Regardless, we loved it.)

And then we continued on from Kalampaka...

Santorini

Next up is Santorini. We spent the longest there, so this will be a long post. :) 

Santorini is "the" Greek island...the one people think of with the whitewashed buildings and blue domes and gorgeous sunsets. Officially, the island's name is Thira and it's part of a small archipelago...and site to one of the largest volcanic eruptions--the Minoan eruption about 3600 years ago. Thanks to that eruption, Thira is crescent shaped around the crater. (There are a number of smaller islands around the crater, too, but Thira is the main inhabited one and what people mean when referring to Santorini.)

I'm sure many of the other Greek islands are fabulous and hope to visit some of them someday. :) We chose Santorini because we had to make a choice, and Santorini sounded beautiful and popular enough to still be at least somewhat active during off season. We weren't disappointed. 

Also, for those who are curious, we opted to fly from Athens to Santorini (rather than take a ferry...because I get seasick and because in off season the ferry schedules were less reliable and because we didn't want to spend the extra travel time so were willing to pay the higher cost to fly). 

TUESDAY. We took the short flight from Athens and ended up spending extra time at the small airport waiting for one of our bags. Thankfully, we'd put Apple trackers in each of our bags so were able to tell that it was actually in the airport. (Seriously, this was awesome for our peace of mind.) Our best guess is that it fell off the conveyor belt somewhere along the way, and the small airport didn't have the right personnel to get access to that area to retrieve it quickly. Given that we at least knew the bag was there and given that we knew that first day on the island was potentially our only good weather day, we eventually left the airport in our little rental car (without our bag). We got checked in to our AirBNB in Oia then headed right back out. We'd hoped to do the famous Fira to Oia hike but were running out of daylight and had missed the bus that would have brought us to Fira so that we could hike back to where our place was. Instead, then, we opted to drive ourselves to the Skaros Rock offshoot of the hike and just do that part. 

Skaros Rock is a small peninsula off the west coast of the island. Given its elevation, it was once a defensive fortification and you can still see remnants of that. Also, a small church now exists on the far (west) side of the promontory. We hiked down to the little church and back up to the nearest town and enjoyed the sunshine. 

From there, we found our way to the city of Fira (one of the main cities) and wandered a bit before the skies opened with the forecast rain. A nice couple directed us to an open restaurant for dinner. It was fabulous!

WEDNESDAY. The next day was grey and rainy. We enjoyed our morning hot drinks on our patio and Nathan made a friend. From there, we ventured to the south of the island (Oia is on the very north end and it's a small island) to the Akrotiri Archeological Site. The structure protecting the site was quite impressive and we appreciated being indoors for a bit. After that, we drove to the nearby Akrotiri Lighthouse and scrambled our way out to the tip. It was wet and windy but also very cool and beautiful.

While we were out there, our AirBNB host let us know that the airline had finally recovered my bag and delivered it to our host, who placed it in our room. (If you're ever in Santorini and looking for an AirBNB, we have an amazing recommendation!) Our host also provided a lunch recommendation near where we were, which was appreciated since many places aren't open during the off season.

After lunch, we did our first ever wine tasting at Estate Argyros then sought out Nathan's afternoon coffee and found that at an amazing bakery (that I'd seen recommended online in numerous posts and that we happened upon by accident). We took our yummies and walked the couple blocks to the Kamari Beach. Obviously, it's the wrong season for swimming or even wading but we enjoyed some leisurely beach-combing before driving back to our AirBNB. Shortly after getting back, the skies opened again, causing literal rivers of water in the streets and walkways. (We're told this was very unusual.)

THURSDAY. It was very windy! From our AirBNB, we walked just down the "street" and then down the almost 300 steps to Ammoudi Bay and around the tip of the island for a bit in the wind. (Normally, there are busy restaurants and shops down there, but everything was closed during off season.) Nathan made another feline friend who followed us for a bit and then we hiked back up to town.

Once back in Oia, the sun came out momentarily and we took full advantage to run around taking pictures of the gorgeous town. 

As we drove to do lunch in Fira, the clouds and cold wind came back but that didn't stop us from getting gelato after our lunch. ;) 

From there, we went to maybe my favorite museum during our trip...the Koutsogiannopoulos Wine Museum, also known as the Cave Wine Museum. We went through the fascinating museum (yes, in a cave) and then did another wine tasting there. After that, we got Nathan's coffee and desserts then drove the island some more and ended up in the village of Emporio where we explored on foot...such interesting and beautiful stuff! 

FRIDAY. On our last full day on the island, we stopped at a pottery place (also, see here) recommended by our AirBNB host (a friend of hers) who showed us his process and work there at Earth and Water Pottery. From there, we drove to the highest point on the island and walked around the Holy Monastery of Prophet Elias there in the high winds. (It was closed to the public for the off season.) We followed that by driving the 22 switchbacks to what was probably the second highest point on the island...the Ancient Thira site.  

It was soooo gusty up there!! The lady manning the ticket booth thought we were insane, for sure. Nathan actually had to hold my hand to keep me from blowing off course a few times. But. It was an amazing site and story and we had it all to ourselves. :) 

From there, we drove down to Fira for lunch and some shopping and gelato...then back to Oia for some shopping...and then finally enjoyed one of the celebrated Santorini sunsets. (It rained during all the other sunsets while we were there.) We made our way to the Old Oia Castle to enjoy the view. 

SATURDAY. Saturday morning we appreciated the sunrise as we headed to the airport to catch our flight back to Athens. 

That bottom right photo was along the drive to the airport...a hillside of homes shaped like windmills (without active "blades"). I just thought it was cool...and interesting. I wished we could go inside them and was curious how they handled all the curved walls. 

And then we boarded our plane and said goodbye to Santorini...

Athens

Guys, I have soooo many pictures from this trip. I grouped them as best I could and am just going to go through quick posts from each location, and then I'll do a trip wrap-up at the end. 

I'll start with Athens, since that's where we started. 

So, we flew into Athens and took the metro from the airport to Syntagma Square. We walked the short distance (2 blocks?) to our AirBNB and got settled. Our first full day in Athens was overcast but lovely, and we did a LOT of walking. Places we walked and visited that first day:

Parliament - to watch the changing of the guard (we didn't stay for the bigger, weekly changing of the guard that includes a parade, though). We found it interesting that the guards are accompanied by two soldiers...one escorts the guards to and from when they change and one stays with the posted guards. As the newly posted guards take their places, the soldier who stays with them checks them each meticulously to make sure their uniform and tassles and other accessories are all just right.

National Gardens - we didn't spend much time here, just walking through and enjoying the scenery on our way to the next site (I have pictures, but none here)...Nathan particularly liked all the orange trees

Temple of the Olympian Zeus - an introduction to scale and being impressed by the largeness of it all (again, I have pictures but didn't include them here)

Pananthenaic Stadium - we climbed the 107 steps, saw all the past Olympic torches and walked on the track...very cool

Arch of Hadrian - pictured in the middle just below

Acropolis Museum - an impressively large museum and a nice place to visit before actually going to the Acropolis (to get a much better feel for what the Acropolis used to be). They had all sorts of artifacts from the Acropolis that have been preserved here, and the entire building actually sits over another archeological site--a neighborhood that had been discovered and preserved and then saved further by building the museum over it. (Side note, a number of the floors in the museum are transparent. Maybe don't wear a dress or skirt that day if you go, lol.)

The Acropolis - and then we walked the short distance to the Acropolis and climbed the site to see all the different things there. (For those who might not know, The Acropolis refers to the entire rocky outcrop above the city and all of the structures there.) It was very cool. And we were thankful to be there during off season so that it wasn't utterly crowded or hot.

From top to bottom, left to right: entering from the south entrance, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus...us in front of the Parthenon...the Erechtheum (just next to the Old Temple of Athena), and me at the Propylaea.

Mars Hill - after descending from the Acropolis, we climbed Mars Hill for the view (and saw an awesome street busker who'd managed to get himself up on a high gate as we were leaving)...we then wandered a few streets of market type stalls/tables before entering...

Ancient Agora - the Ancient Agora was a gathering place located to the northwest of the Acropolis. We wandered the Stoa of Attalos (a columned, covered walkway commonly for public use), saw the Church of the Holy Apostles, enjoyed the surprising statutes of Socrates and Confucius and were impressed by the Temple of Hephaestus.

The next day was sunnier and involved even more walking, actually. Without a clear plan, we mostly just wandered through the nearby neighborhoods and shopping districts and found ourselves climbing Filopappos Hill and taking in the view (and the monument and the Prison of Socrates)...

That last picture is the Stoa of Attalos again, with the Acropolis in the background, and a metro train in the foreground. Also, zoom in on that yellow box in the top right corner. It made us smile. :) 

Not pictured, we also enjoyed the Athens flea market, found the Central Market, ate plenty, and just plain explored. And that was our time in Athens. Whew.

The next morning, we gathered our stuff, walked back to the metro at Syntagma Square, got to the airport and boarded our flight to Santorini...

Greece Recap

Hi. So, as most of you know, Nathan and I recently got home from a fabulous 25th anniversary celebration trip to Greece. I've shared photos on Facebook as they happened and will do some more sharing here. While I'm trying to organize those thoughts, though, here is a quick day-by-day for the sake of having it recorded somewhere and so you can get an overview of what we did.

Friday, Feb 18: Travel day! Headed to the airport after noon and caught our long flight from Denver to Frankfurt.

Saturday, Feb 19: Started the day somewhere over the Atlantic...landed in Frankfurt and had a layover before catching our flight to Athens. Landed safely, took the metro into the center of town, and walked the few blocks to our AirBNB. We got settled then walked back out to find some food before crashing for the night.

Sunday, Feb 20: Headed out into Athens for the day! Watched the changing of the guard at Parliament...walked through the National Gardens to the Temple of Olympian Zeus...after walking through there, walked to the Pananthenaic Stadium (climbed the stairs, saw all the past Olympic torches and walked on the track)...walked to the Arch of Hadrian then visited the Acropolis Museum and archaeological site...found a late lunch nearby then visited the Acropolis...walked to Mars Hill and through a market area...visited the Ancient Agora site...dinner and gelato nearby before finally walking back to our AirBNB. Whew. 

Monday, Feb 21: Found a great coffee/pastry shop to grab breakfast then walked to Syntagma Square to sit and people watch...wandered and eventually climbed Filopappos Hill...late lunch and ice cream donuts...shopping and wandering Central Market...back to the AirBNB for a rest before dinner and dessert and more wandering...just enjoying the city.

Tuesday, Feb 22: Took the metro back to the airport and caught our flight to Santorini...spent extra time at the airport there since they lost one of our bags...eventually left, got our rental car and got checked in to our AirBNB...given the forecast (knowing this was likely our only good weather day on the island), we headed right back out. We'd been hoping to do the Fira to Oia hike but didn't have enough daylight left so did the Skaros Rock portion instead. Found ourselves in the rain in Fira and found a wonderful dinner before getting ourselves back to our AirBNB for the night. 

Wednesday, Feb 23: Much chillier so drove to the Akrotiri Archaeological Site and walked through that...found the Akrotiri lighthouse and enjoyed scrambling out to the tip in the rain...lunch at a seaside taverna and the airline finally delivered our lost bag to our AirBNB host...wine tasting at Estate Argyros...got dessert and beachcombed at Kamari Beach...back to our AirBNB...downpour...found an open restaurant for dinner...

Thursday, Feb 24: Very windy day! Walked down to Ammoudi Bay and around the tip of the island...hiked back up as the sun came out for me to take some pictures of Oia...drove to Fira for lunch and gelato...visited a very cool cave wine museum and did another wine tasting there...coffee and desserts and driving around the island...exploring the village of Emporio on foot...dinner in Fira again before back to our AirBNB.

Friday, Feb 25: Another very windy day! Lazy morning then off to Earth and Water Pottery (friend of our AirBNB host--bought some beautiful pieces)...drove to the highest point and walked around the monastery there then drove to the maybe second highest point and visited the Ancient Thira archaeological site...drove back to Fira for lunch and gelato and some shopping...back to Oia for some more shopping and enjoying the beautiful sunset (first one while on the island) at the Oia castle...dinner at a Cretian restaurant...back to pack.

Saturday, Feb 26: Another travel day...enjoyed our last sunrise in Oia then flew back to Athens, rented a car and drove (about 4 hours) to Kalampaka...checked into our AirBNB then took advantage of the remaining light to drive the loop of Meteora monasteries...terrific dinner then back to our place for the night.

Sunday, Feb 27: Had planned to do a scramble tour this morning (with some roped rock climbing/scrambling) but the weather had other ideas (cold, rainy and windy) so decided to have a quiet day instead...did some laundry and reading...drove the loop again in the misty conditions (and found snow on the other side of the mountain)...did some eating and shopping in town...found some short hikes to hidden monasteries and ruins...dinner and back to our place.

Monday, Feb 28: The scramble tour was still a no-go so we switched to a hiking tour and had a fabulous morning with our guide, Kostas...visited one of the monasteries during that...back to our place for a bit then out for lunch and dessert and visiting the mushroom museum...dinner and back to our place.

Tuesday, Mar 1: Up and checked out and drove about 3.5 hours to Delphi...visited the Delphi Archaeological Museum then the archaeological site...then walked to the Temple of Athena and back...into town for a bit before getting back on the road...arrived at our last AirBNB just after dark and got settled...walked to dinner then back for the night.

Wednesday, Mar 2: Headed out in the gusty wind to get our covid tests for our flight home (thankful for the lab our host recommended) then stop at a couple of bakeries and head for the airport to park (and go inside momentarily to get some paperwork for our flight) and catch the metro back into Athens...shopping in the flea market area that we'd become familiar with when we were initially in Athens...lunch and gelato then back to the metro and airport and AirBNB...chilled for a bit before getting gas and dinner and figuring out how to pack everything.

Thursday, Mar 3: Up VERY early to get to the airport for our early flight from Athens to Munich...four hour layover before catching our long flight from there to Denver...through customs and took the shuttle to our off site parking, to discover that our van was COVERED in bird poop, lol. Drove back to Fort Collins, washed the car, and finally home. Whew.

And that's what we did. Back later with more details and stories and photos. :)