Hello, Mykonos Mykonos, Greece

Mykonos, Greece

We started the day by saying our fond farewells to the owners of the hotel in Santorini. OK, not quite true, we really started the day with brekky closely followed by ‘holy crap how am I going to fit all this stuff back into the suitcase’. I swear I’ve only bought a few meagre souvenirs but my bag feels 10 kilos heavier. Lugging it up the stairs and the steep driveway was of course loads of fun.

Eventually we were on our way, one the same twisty treacherous-looking road we were driven up only a few days previously. We were running a little ahead of schedule (always a good thing!) so we had time for a break, and I enjoyed a proper Greek coffee. Although I guess it was only 90% of the proper Greek coffee experience, as nobody was available to read the coffee grounds in the bottom of the cup and tell me my fortune. But hey I can take up that task myself, today… by staring into the mystical coffee grounds I can sense the universe is trying to tell me something..something about travel to exotic faraway lands…

In other words, about 20 minutes later the ferry arrived to take us all to Mykonos. Although there are some things here that run on ‘island time’, the arrival and departure of ferries is definitely not one of them. We were all corralled in our departure lounge, er, shed before the boat arrived, and I knew all the people departing the ferry were similarly rounded up in the hold, ready to be ejected the very moment the doors opened. The departing passengers all took to the ramp like fat kids to chocolate cake, they were quickly chased out by the cars that also had to get out of there as quickly as possible, all accompanied by the whistles of the coastguard and ships crew making sure nobody was foolish enough to stop for just one more selfie – it was all go, go, go.

Just as the last of the passengers were departing (with cars still coming down the exit ramp at the same time), our shed full of people were unleashed, and off we went, hurried along again by the crew, ensuring the shortest possible turnaround time for the ferry. As soon we were onboard it was a scene of unmitigated but energetic chaos – unintelligible announcements echoed through the hold, as did several few members all shouting different directions, so ensure we all put out luggage in the right place, and went to the correct area. One thing I did hear quite clearly was a very strident shout to the stragglers – “Hurry up! The boat is leaving NOW” and sure enough I swear the last passengers were still running across the ramp as it started to lift and before we knew it the journey was underway.

We found our way up to the ‘VIP Area’ – which sounds very posh… and I’m sure it was, maybe some time back in the late 70s. The shiny gold-and-smoked-glass balustraded stairs lead us to the beautiful gold-tinted mirror ceiling tiles – luxury at its finest, once upon a time. Much to my surprise, there was no sudden outbreak of the Solid Gold dancers doing a Donna Summer number … but it felt like it could have happened. Decor aside though, it was still comfortable, though with the high-speed ferries being much more enclosed than their slower cousins, there wasn’t much in the way of a view out the windows.

The four hours passed by very quickly, and included visits to two other ports on the way. But before we knew it, it was time to be corralled down into the hold again, ready to be all spat out onto the shore as fast as possible. We did as were told like so many cooperative sheep, and were soon on the shore, ready to play that fun “which one of these 5000 people holdings signs is the one for us?” game. This time it was a lot smoother than arriving at Santorini – we found our guy in a few minutes, didn’t have to dodge half as many cars or busses, and it wasn’t long at all before we were all bundled on a very fancy and comfortable Mercedes 20-seater, for the 20 minute ride to the resort.

On Santorini, when we were heading to Mykonos, a few people advised us to enjoy the view in Santorini because you won’t get it in Mykonos. And first impressions seemed to reinforce that these people were right. The landscape looked much more like a desert, very very dry, brown, and a few hardy plants here and there doing their best to survive, It’s a very different look to the volcanic appearance of Santorini. We did pass by some beautiful bays and the landscape did get a little friendlier – its no Santorini, but not what you’d call ugly by any means. The architecture is also quite different – ll the building are still white, but much more square with rounded corners – no arched roofs like Santorini.

At the resort, we were greeted as we exited the bus by a gentleman who immediately tagged our luggage and said “we’ll look after it” looks like there was to be no heavy-lifting this time – a pretty good first impression. Then we turned the corner to walk in to reception…I think all seven jaws collectively dropped as we entered a massive hall, dominated by large animal sculptures, artworks, a massive bar, fancy seating, and enormous picture windows letting in views of the beach and ocean. This place really knows how to create a first impression. While we were checking in, someone was already preparing us a welcome drink, which we took on the terrace while some poor sods carried our luggage to our rooms. Once wed downed the drinks our concierge explained a few features and facilities of the hotel, then led us all to our rooms individually. As far as service goes, these people have it pretty much perfected I’d say. This is the most expensive accommodation we’ve booked on the whole trip, and it really shows.

Next it was time for cocktails by the pool (ok, one of the pools), as you do, and a wander around to check out the facilities. I took the chance for a nap while the other spent some more time pool-side, and in the hot salt-water indoor pool in the day-spa area. Yes this place does pretty much have everything. Including quite a few stray cats – so I’m happy, as you know I do spend most of my time just taking photos of other peoples cats. Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera with me when we peered over a ledge and saw momma cat still feeling her two kittens … pretty much a cuteness overload, hopefully I can catch a picture of them later sometime.

Dinner was at a restaurant nearby, more delicious fresh greek food, a massive mixed grill of sausage, chicken, pork, and minced beef, washed down the a lychee martini. After that was the struggle to waddle up the hill back to to hotel.. but what greeted us was the impressive site of the pool area all lit up like christmas … very impressive all over again. Coming back to our room we noticed housekeeping had been by, turning down the bed and putting some slippers by the side, another nice touch.

So in short it looks like we’re in for a a very luxurious couple of days – I’m typing this from the balcony with a cool breeze blowing, the music from the grand piano at the restaurant drifting down, and a view out to sea. This, as they say, is the life.

So long, Santorini Santorini, Greece

Santorini, Greece

Today let’s tone down the history lesson a bit – after yesterdays big essay there’s not that much to report on today, it was a pretty quiet one.

We spent a part of the morning wandering the streets and doing a little shopping – finally picked up some small souvenirs.. small being the important word, I hope nobody has great expectations when it comes to gifts, but the suitcase was full enough when we left home, never mind trying to cram more stuff into it.

After the shopping we all grabbed takeaway lunch to enjoy by the pool at the hotel. This was soon followed by that other important holiday tradition – a big afternoon nap. So as I said, a pretty quiet day today.

For dinner we returned to the restaurant we visited on our first night – Parathiri Restaurant. Pretty impressive that Nicki from the restaurant remembered our names from the that visit. Perhaps we really did cause that much trouble the first time 🙂 Then as part of our grand farewell tour we went back to Tropical, the Australian-owned bar with the American barmaid – had to go say goodbye as she’d been so friendly every time we walked in. We stayed there a while, just soaking up the atmosphere and not really wanting the time in Santorini to come to and end. What a jaw-droppingly beautiful place, I had a rough idea of what to expect by seeing so many photos when we arrived – but it just doesn’t hold a candle to the real thing. Just an amazing view that I don’t think even the residents could ever get sick of.

One small piece of history I did forget – If you thought (as I did) that the word ‘Santorini’ sounds Italian rather than Greek, that’s because it is indeed Italian. The island was named after the chapel of Saint Irene, in approx 1204.

For us, however, its goodnight Irene – our last night on the island has come to a close. It will be a bit of a wrench to leave this place. But we still have a lot of holidaying yet to do, and Mykonos is calling…

Driving around the caldera Santorini, Greece

Santorini, Greece

The day started with another wonderful hotel breakfast and a discussion on how to spend the day. After weighing up the options we decided to hire a van and driver for half a day for a private tour around the island. It ended up being a fantastic idea. Our hotel host gave us a detailed list of must-see places, including where to have lunch and even what to order, so when our driver Panos arrived, we were all set.

He took one look at the list, declared there was no way we could get it done in four hours, so we left it in his capable hands to take us to what he thought were the best places on the list. Although only having lived in Santorini for four years, he had a very detailed knowledge of the area and its history. I hope you’re sitting comfortably, as today we have quite a lot to learn about this wonderful island.

Santorini is a caldera – basically the outside part of a volcano that is left when the inside part collapses. There are a few islands that make up this volcano. Santorini (of course), then Aspronisi and Therasia make up the other parts of the caldera. In the centre are the islands Palea Kameni and Nea Kameni (old burnt island and new burnt island). These islands have been forming and changing shape since around 47 AD. The last eruption, a small one, was on Nea Kameni in 1950. Some of these early massive volcanic eruptions also caused enormous tsunamis, and it believe this is why the Minoan civilisations collapsed around this time. Our driver also suggested that these tsunamis were the real story before the ‘parting of the red sea’ story in the bible. Sounds feasible to me.

We drove up to the northern town of Oia. (Pronounced ‘ee-a’). On the way there the volcanic nature of the island is readily apparent – just climbing a few feet would see surrounding rock would change from black volcanic stone, to white pumice, and then to a red rock full of iron. With half the island made of pumice, there mustn’t be a soul (or sole) on the island with rough-skinned feet…

Panos talked about the buildings – how they are all white with blue doors or windows, and the churches all have blue domes. He said there were three possible reasons for this. The first – it is representative of the ocean. Second – blue and white are of course the colours of the Greek flag. Third was the one that he says he knows to to definitely be the real reason why everything is painted white – because white paint is the cheapest! He also noted that all houses get repainted every single year. I guess this means you can always trust a greek painter to do a good job.

But back to Oia. On the approach to Oia is Santorini’s narrowest point – only 1.2kms across. From the car we could see the sea from both sides. Until 1956, Oia was the capital city of Santorini. But when the earthquake struck in 1956, it hit Oia the hardest – damaging or destroying 80% of all the buildings in the area. Understandably, most residents left – in 1977, the population was down to about 300, but during the eighties many buildings were restored and it is least some of the way back to its former glory. Oia lived its past as the rich end of town – you could tell, as many of the walking streets were paved with marble. It is, of course, amazingly picturesque, perhaps even more beautiful than Thira, but based on the same style, a city clinging to a cliff face, marked out in white and blue. We walked a few of the streets when I suddenly heard someone yelling out to all the tourists “Sorry! Please move to the side! Sorry!”- we very soon saw why. Just as there has probably been for a good many hundreds of years if not more, there was a man guiding a fully laden donkey (carrying about 8 big gas cylinders I think) through these narrow streets which probably were not more than 6 feet wide. I guess it’s an everyday occurrence in Oia, but it was a first for me, seeing a donkey still being used as a proper working animal. But with streets so steep, narrow and twisty – it makes perfect sense, and a donkey is still the best tool for the job. Alas it all happened too quick for me to get a picture, so you’ll have to take my word for it.

On the way back from Oia, Panos explained a little about the churches – there are a few hundred of them all over the island, and almost all of them are privately owned. The privately owned churches are each dedicated to a particular saint, and will only open on the ‘names day’ of that saint – where there a parties and celebrations to honour that saint on their names-day. He also spoke about the architecture – noting that almost all buildings (except the churches with their domed roofs) have an arched roof – this is due to arched roofs being less likely to fall in when there’s an earthquake. It also gives Santorini its pretty unique look – certainly a lot different to suburban Sydney. We also saw a great deal of unfinished buildings in Santorini, a bit similar to our drive from the airport to the hotel in Athens. It’s not just all due to the Global Financial Crisis, but rather the way the building regulation system works. In order to get your licence to build, you have to complete the frame, the bare bones of the building. Once you do that you have the licence to build and then you can take as many years as you like to save up for the cost of actually completing the building, so they can stay in their skeletal state for 5 or more years before being completed.

Speaking of driving – at first it seems to be just pure chaos on the roads, but there’s definitely a method to the madness. In addition, almost all drivers have an amazing level of skill in judging just how narrow a space their vehicle can fit through – though the scrapes and dings on many of the cars suggest not everyone has the same level of skill. Still, it really was impressive watching Panos thread this big Mercedes 8-seater van through some narrow roads with cars parked either side – I don’t know how he does it. It also gives me a great deal of respect for the full-size tour buses that somehow manage to navigate the narrow streets. In Sydney it would just be a massive fight with everyone expecting to get right-of-way and just blasting horns. But here it’s much more polite – when a bus is coming all the other cars dutifully get as close as they can to the side of the road to let it pass. If someone suddenly reverses out, generally the people will wait patiently for them to get on their way. Then there are the bikes and scooters that just go wherever, whenever, treating lane markings and stop signs as a kind of pleasant decoration, rather than any kind of order that should be obeyed. The island is very low on crime and has only one police station, so I imagine the road rules aren’t strictly enforced. It’s amazing there’s not carnage on the roads considering even the roads that go up the side of the mountain have very small guard rails or walls, if any.

Our next stop was a monastery right up on the highest hills at the north of the island. Six monks still live here, and enjoy spectacular 360 degree views. We passed many vineyards on the way to out next destination. Wine is Santorini’s main export, and all the grape varieties how here are unique to Santorini as they thrive in the volcanic soil. The vines don’t stand up on trellises like were used to seeing. Instead, the vines are trained and weaved into their own ‘basket’, which then allows the leaves to point inward and shelter the grapes – and also protects them from the strong winds that hit the island particularly during the winter. It’s a very smart idea, one that I think has been use for hundreds if not thousands of years.

Perivolos was our next stop – home to one of Santorini’s few sandy beaches. Unlike what we’re used to in Sydney, the sand was black, or at least dark grey. I guess its not great surprise on a volcanic island, but it sure did look different. There’s also a ‘red beach’ on the island whose sand came from the iron-rich rocks.

Moving right along, to make sure we saw as much as possible in the hours we had, we headed to the archaeological dig at Akrotiri. Akrotiri was a Minoan settlement, destroying in about 1600 BC by one of the huge volcanic eruptions. The settlement was destroyed, but much like Pompeii, was also well preserved. At present only about 3 percent of it has been excavated. But already the archaeologists have found that it contained buildings three stories high, and pipes for carrying both hot and cold water. Quite amazing facilities to have for something over 3000 years old. It was fascinating to see the work done so far, the recognisable buildings, and the big jars used for storing goods, probably oil and so forth. Unlike Pompeii it seems the inhabitants had plenty of warning (by way of earthquakes) that trouble was brewing – as so far no bodies have been found. It seems to have been a prosperous place and a major trade centre as goods from many parts of the world have been found there, so it must have been difficult to leave. I’ll know that feeling only too well in a few short days when it’s our time to leave, too.

The last stop on our tour was The Dolphins – the restaurant recommended to us by George at the hotel. Perry and I had a platter of Santorinian food – tomato balls, olives, feta, Santorini’s famouse incredibly sweet cherry tomatoes, Santorinian fava beans, and caper leaves. Why did I never know of caper leaves before – they’re like vine leaves for dolmades, but they taste of capers. Delicious. The restaurant was right on the sea – lapping at the shore about two metres from our table.

And before you know it, four (and a bit) hours was already up, and it was time to bid Panos a fond farewell for all the driving and the interesting history he gave us. It was great to see someone so proud of their home even if it was for a him a relatively new-found one. He dropped us back at the hotel, and it was time to relax, get an important afternoon nap in, then head out somewhat later for another delicious dinner. This town sure knows how to cook.

Tomorrow is already our last full day in Santorini – not sure what the plan is yet, but that’s half the fun of being on holiday, just go with the flow. Whatever it is we get up to, you’ll be hearing all about it later.

Relaxing in Santorini Santorini, Greece

Santorini, Greece

Today started with a sumptuous breakfast at the hotel, with beautiful fresh fruit and veg, meats, pastries, fruit juice (OK that was basically cordial, not fresh). One thing about food on this island – I’d say much of it is grown locally, since the cost of transport must be pretty high to gets things in from another island or the mainland. As a result, very place we’ve eaten has had the most amazing tomatoes, freshest cucumbers, and the olives are of course incredible.

Then it was time for the Intrepid Travellers to wander around the laneways of Thira (or Fira). Very crowded, but at the same time that made it feel very much alive. One thing about this city is you need sturdy footwear – the walkways are all pebbles set in concrete, but as the concrete wears away it’d make for a bit of a spiky experience. The bigger challenge is looking where you’re going while marvelling at all the shops and the (again) amazing views that appear each time you turn a corner… so far I’ve managed not to fall over 🙂

On the more mundane side of things I also put some washing in to be done – but it wasn’t so mundane when we saw Peter, the laundrette’s pet rabbit. Very calm he was too, just sitting there expecting to be patted like cat. So of course we obliged.
Speaking of mundane what else can I tell you about Santorini. It has no rivers, so all drinking water is either gathered from the (infrequent) rain or shipped in. For tap water there is a desalination plant, but as soon as we arrived we were advised not to drink the tap water as it’s too salty. Maybe there’s such a thing as a desalination-ish plant.

All this walking around is thirsty work, so it was time for a beverage (a healthy orange juice) at cafe/bar with (once again) amazing views. Maybe just take it for granted that everywhere we go in this place has amazing views, and I’ll leave it at that. It really is like nothing else I’ve ever seen.

Since today was basically a relax/do nothing day, we spent the afternoon by the pool at the hotel, I even went for my regular once-every-few-years swim. the last time would have been Hawaii in 2013. This was followed by a short afternoon nap that became hours long… these thing happen when you set an alarm for 5AM instead of 5PM..but hey, we’re on holiday time, may as well enjoy it.

Dinner was on the roof of one of the restaurants, delivered the as-expected “amazing views”, and another nice opportunity to watch the sun as it slowly dips… then it’s as if the whole sun just drops out of the sky in 5 minutes. It’s a pretty incredible show, and one that happens every single day – as if this place was not pretty enough already.

That was about it for this ‘relax’ day – it’s the kind of thing you’re meant to do on holiday, and I think we did a pretty good job of it. Let’s see what we can all get up to tomorrow.

Sailing to Santorini Santorini, Greece

Santorini, Greece

Aww… ‘Sailing to Santorini’ sounds kind of romantic doesn’t it? Having to get up at 5am kinda takes the polish off it a little though. Still, could be worse, I could be getting up at 5am to go to work – so really can’t complain. Checked out of the hotel without too much drama and somehow managed to cram the seven of us into two taxis – our driver had great Tetris skills to squeeze four bags into the back of the Skoda.

For a country that has about 6,000 islands (only about 227 of them inhabited), it comes as no surprise that Athens has a huge and bustling port, at Piraeus – about 15 mins from our hotel. Without any fuss at all we found out way onboard, stowed our luggage, and made our way up to ‘business class’. I don’t see any lie-flat seating, but it’s a very nice lounge area, with chairs and tables and plenty of room to move around. We nabbed seats right at the front of the boat, which gave a grand view as we sailed out into the Aegean Sea.

The Ferry (it seems strange calling it a Ferry, such was the size of the thing) made two stops before Santorini: Paros and Naxos. To my untrained eye they both look quite similar – white-rendered buildings clinging to somewhat barren hillsides – but still a beautiful sight.

Seven pleasant hours after we set sail, it was finally time to arrive at Santorini. For the whole journey the water was very calm, the boat very steady, happy to say I didn’t feel at all seasick (would you believe seven hours is the longest I’ve spent on a boat as far as I can remember)

With about ten minutes to go before Santorini we were unceremoniously ushered (or quite possibly chased, it felt more like) out of the Business Class lounge to get ready to depart. I guess the turnaround time are pretty quick because even before wed left there was someone dragging out a vacuum cleaner getting it ready for the next crowd who were boarding at Santorini. We were all sent to what was essentially the hold – the massive open space at the back of the boat where the cars drive in. So our very comfortable and calm cruise ended with about fifteen stifling minutes in this very noisy hold, scrunched in with hundreds of our fellow cattle, er, passengers. It was a bit of an odd way to end such a nice trip. Before too long though the massive ramps lowered and Suddenly there was Santorini ready and waiting for us. So off we all marched, mercifully there weren’t any cattle prods but I was starting to wonder, they were that keen to get us all off the boat as soon as possible.

What we walked into then could only be described as chaos. When thousands of people arrive all at once, they all have to get to their hotels, so there were dozens and dozens of cards and people holding signs – and plenty more people trying to get us to stay with them. This was all in the main street near the port, where huge buses and clumps of suitcase-wielding tourists mingled, with scooters and bikes doing their best to weave around all of them. How people don’t get run over each day, I just don’t know.

Eventually we found our driver, and started the long, steep ascent up the side of the caldera. Gob-smackingly beautiful views were mixed with skilled driving as we slowly wound our way up the hill with all the other vehicles – including a few semi-trailers, goodness knows how they make it up that road at all.

After about 30 minutes we arrived at the hotel, and again before long we were seeing those truly incredible views, but this time from our rooms. Its quite amazing to look out into the caldera, and see the central volcano, and a number of islands, all rising out of the pure blue water … it really is picture-postcard stuff, an “I can’t quite believe this is real” moment. The place we’re staying in is huge – a lounge/kitchen, with separate bedroom, bathroom, and walk in pantry/closet. All that and a little rooftop terrace as well. Can’t complain!

We took a short walk into the town of Thira – once you get past the rough-hewn main road, with minimal footpaths or usually none at all, you enter into a square full of shops and restaurants, with charming laneways running off in many directions – up hill and down dale. Being built effectively on the side of a mountain does make for a lot of ups and downs.

To cut a long story short (because it’s late and I’m tired) there were ‘volcano’ celebrations on for it being the last Sunday in summer. This ultimately consisted of some not-too-exciting fireworks launched from the volcano itself – but the view itself is so spectacular during the daylight hours, it would take a hell of a lot of fireworks to do it justice.

Dinner was incredibly tasty at one of the local restaurants – all fresh, all delicious, and the staff were very patient with some of our intrepid travellers’ shenanigans. (Hopefully they’ll let us come back!).

A bit of a late night sit-by or swim in the pool rounded out he night nicely – looks like our time on Santorini is going to really relaxing, and chock-full of natural beauty.

One day in Athens Athens, Greece

Athens, Greece

This is our only full day in Athens – but instead of rushing around we started with breakfast at the hotel – again overlooking (well, underlooking, if thats even a thing) the Parthenon. Really impressive brekky too – heaps on offer, and happily lots of good greek cheese and greek yoghourt.

We enquired about tours from a nearby tour place, we figured this would be the best way to get a look at the sights of the city in a limited amount of time. They were pretty unenthusiastic about the whole thing and it was going to quite expensive – so Perry got onto his regular limo company (that sounds posh!), and they were able to get us a van and driver for four hours at a much more reasonable rate. Fortunately our driver was an enthusiastic man who was clearly proud of his city and his country – so not only did he drive us around, he was kind enough to fill us in on a bit of history along the way.

First stop, the Acropolis and the Parthenon. Just to get this straight – the Acropolis is the rock upon which the Parthenon is built. I wasn’t real clear on the distinction before arriving here, but now it’s all good. Getting there was a bit of a feat – lots of steps, which was lot of fun in the 30 degree heat … so a bit of a challenge when you’re as unfit as I am, but we made it. And wow, what a sight! There’s a lot of restoration work going on, covering one whole end of the Parthenon, but it’s still an impressive sight – and amazing that any of it is still standing considering it was built around 438 BCE. With so much restoration work going on it’s a little hard at times to tell what is original and what is not – for example the Caryatids (the columns sculpted to look like women) on the Acropolis are actually ‘fakes’, with the real ones on display at the safer environment of the Acropolis Museum. Still, what an amazing piece of history to be wandering around, to think that Socrates was probably wandering around the same land that we were.

In an hour I was pretty sure I was burnt to a crisp despite the hat and sunscreen, so we all went off to visit the Acropolis Museum. Early in the first century AD, much of the Acropolis was damaged by the Persians – but such was the reverence the Greeks had for the place that they managed to salvage much of what had been there, and bury it to keep it safe and hidden. Very will hidden, as it happens, as it wasn’t re-discovered ’til the 1800s. Much of what was found is now located in the Acropolis Museum. Pretty amazing to be looking wonderful huge marble sculptures that are thousands of years old, and even something as mundane as a vase is fascinating when you consider someone probably last dined off it over 2000 years ago – kind of mind-boggling in a way.

Time was ticking so it was time to move on, our driver took us to the 1896 Olympic stadium – still holding up quite well since by these standards it’s pretty young. He took us past some beautiful university buildings, and also to the tomb of the unknown solider, where we watched the changing of the guard. The guards here are picked from the elite soldiers as they perform their compulsory 12 months national service – only the best (and tallest, apparently) are chosen. It can’t be an easy job having to stand there rock solid for an hour, with hundreds of tourists posing for photos, and there’s always some idiot who think it’s funny to make faces, or try and get them to laugh, etc – I don’t know how they put up with it. Then again I don’t know why there’s always that one idiot who thinks they’re being big and clever and original by trying to get a reaction out of the guards.

The uniform is fascinating, and our driver explained a bit about it – the skirt contains 400 pleats to denote to 400 years that the Ottomans had a hold over Greece. The pom-poms on the shoes were used to hide small weapons when all else failed. Our driver also helpfully explained they had knives hidden in them with the aim being to “Kick the Ottomans in the nuts, to stop them from reproducing” (his exact words)! The shoes have multiple pins in the soles to amplify the sound of the marching and to make it very clear to all and sundry when the soldiers approach.

The process of changing the guards was undertaken with, quite literally, military precision. The new guards marched up, were inspected (and corrected) by the officer in charge – he straightened their hats, sorted out their tassels, made sure they were presentable for the task ahead. The old guards, with a great degree of ceremonial marching designed to show off those pins on the soles of their feet at a guess, slowly marched off, probably quite grateful to get out of the sun that they’d been standing around in for an hour.

As out tour drew to a close we saw a few more impressive sites – a very modern statue depicting the Marathon (which I didn’t get a photo of, but google is your friend if you would like to see it ), parliament, the main square of Athens where the protests take place.

The afternoon was spent by the hotel pool, plus a bit of nap-time. Very important business when you’re on holiday.

For dinner there was no choice – we had to go back to Smile and spend some more quality time with Connie. She was once again in fine form, and we had another delicious meal.

Tomorrow we start at the very un-holiday-like time of around 5AM, to get up in time to catch to ferry to Santorini. I’m sure there’ll be some good sleeping being done once we’re on the boat!

As for Athens, what to make of it? You can’t get a good feel of a city in a little over 24 hours, but there’s no denying it had a long and storied past, bringing so much to the world thousands of years ago. I can only hope it has a bright future ahead as well. As long there are people around like Connie, it’s pretty much guaranteed.

Goodbye Amsterdam, Hello Athens Athens, Greece

Athens, Greece

Hello Athens
Up and at ’em relatively early this morning, for the transfer to Schiphol airport. It was a chance to take one last look at the beautiful city of Amsterdam.

Schiphol is very well organised, the security check area is very smart with the way the trays for putting your stuff in are arranged around a few circles – so more people can go through security compared to the usual single queue. The way it automatically gives out the trays and takes them back at the end is all very clever.

The part I can’t figure is that I think I’ve bought two souvenirs but my bag which was half full in Sydney is now completely chockers. Think I’ll have to pull everything out and re-pack it once we get to Athens.

First flight was great, in a small plane with only two seats each side. Business class wasn’t really comparable to the Garuda flight on the way over. For Swiss, the short-haul business class means an economy seat but with nobody sitting beside you. But, you do get a much bigger luggage allowance, which is why we chose it.

What we didn’t choose was a delay – somewhere around half an hour I think. But knowing we had a nearly two hour wait at Zurich, it wasn’t anything to worry about.
Being Swiss air, it was very nice that the first thing we were all given was, of course, a little piece of Swiss chocolate. (Good chocolate, too). Flying over the countryside was beautiful – rolling green hills, rivers, fields, as far the eye can see. As we approached Zurich, tidy Swiss villages came in to view, and forests, even some ruins of a castle (I think) atop a hill. It all made me think that next time we come this way, a visit to Switzerland is worth putting on the to-do list.

At Zurich we didn’t see much – just the walk from one gate to another. But at least the second flight left right on time. This plane was a bit bigger, a bit more modern, and a bit more legroom. But no chocolate… still not quite sure if the trade-off was worth it 🙂

Descending from the clouds, we saw a very different landscape – the lush greenery of Switzerland replaced by a much drier, browner view. Welcome to Greece! And welcome also to our next intrepid traveller who was waiting for us, we are now a band of 7!

It was a balmy (ok, sticky) 28 degrees, but luckily the aircon in the car that picked us up was OK, and we arrived at the hotel in one piece. I don’t know if this was all because of the financial crises that have hit Greece recently, but the trip between the airport and the hotel was full of half-finished and abandoned buildings, boarded-up buildings, and it mostly a little bit grim. At least there was the occasional goat to lighten up the mood 🙂

The hotel has a very grand entrance and foyer, looks very fancy indeed. The rooms themselves though have more of a ‘faded beauty’ about them – though it was nice in a way to see this old-school touches like the hotel stationery with envelopes for sending letters (remember letters? Those are the things that used to arrive in the letterbox before it was all just bills and junk mail). The air-con is more con than air, but I think it’s still under 30 degrees in the room so that’ll do.

We all popped up to the seventh floor terrace for beers – and a great view of the Parthenon. I’ll have to get back there with the zoom lens. I think we’ll be taking a half-day tour tomorrow which is bound to be going past these sites as well.

Dinner tonight was at “Smile” – a very aptly-named restaurant just a few minutes walk away. Run by the wonderful Connie and her family, she was a laugh a minute as soon as we walked in, and kept us entertained (and extremely well fed) the whole night. What a wonderful find – if ever you have friends visiting Athens, tell them they must visit ‘Smile’. The food was incredible, even, dare I say it, eclipsing Stalactites in Melbourne. But I guess its only fair that we’d have the best Greek food we’d ever had, in Greece.

First impressions of Athens – we’ve really only walked a few of its streets, and maybe our view of it is affected by everything we’ve heard for ages about all the economic issues, but it does at first glance seem a little down-at-heel. But places like Smile are a very effective reminder that it still has great heart and plenty of energy.

Last day in Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Already it’s our last full day in Amsterdam. So after delicious crepes for brekky (made even nicer with a visit from the restaurant’s cat) it was to get a look at the city from a different angle, by going on a canal tour. And what a fantastic day for a canal tour – gloriously warm and sunny.

It was a really interesting tour, too. Our captain, Henk, had a really good knowledge of Holland, and the way Amsterdam expanded throughout the years. And of course there were tons of pretty building to take photos of which is always a bonus.

With so many people in a city trying to share the canals at the same time, its inevitable that sometimes two boats will want to be where only one will fit. It seems like there’s two systems to managing the traffic. Firstly, you sound the horn, or radio ahead to say you’re going under a bridge or turning a corner. Secondly, you shout and wave your arms around and exchange, umm, ‘friendly banter’ with the other boats near you, until somebody wins. It was pretty funny to watch – especially when what looked like a bunch of, how do you say, rich and powerful dicks didn’t get their way. You know, like when you park your Honda in the spot the old Lexus driver thinks he was born to park in. Good work, Henk!! Toward the end of the tour things were getting hectic on the canal – we had to wait about five minutes at one point to let a whole bunch of boats through that were congesting the canals further up. Anyone who has a thing that floats was out on the canals today – all for the start of Sail, I guess.

Leaving the boat, we crossed the road to the Manneken Pis Frites – the best fries in all of Holland, voted No. 1, etc etc. But, to be honest … they weren’t the best chips ever, not even the best chips we’d had in Holland. The cheese sauce on them (one of about twenty sauces you could choose from) was delicious though.

Next up, we were on a quest to find the ‘IAmsterdam’ sign that crops up in so many tourist sites about Amsterdam. It was down near the Rijksmuseum, only about a 10 minute tram ride away. The place has heaving people – it was hard to get any kind of photo just due to the sheer volume of people milling around, but I guess that’s half the fun, and it’s good to see so many other people enjoying this city as much as we were. Also good to see was a whole row of painted Miffy’s – part of the celebration for Miffy’s 60th Birthday.

We took a tram a few stops back toward Centraal and checked out some of the tulip and bulb markets – none of which we could buy and bring back of course, but it was interesting to look at. Perry went back to the hotel, and spent a little more time looking for and finally wandering around the ‘9 streets district’ – said to be full of cool little shops. Maybe I should have covered all nine streets, because the ones I saw did have some nice shops, but many of them seemed to be just residential. Ah well, at least I can say I’ve seen it – or at least a part of it.

Dinner was Italian – the only Dutch peculiarity was a very good one – getting Frittesaus with our chips. I always maintained that eating chips with mayo is the best way to do it – and to basically have a whole nation agreeing with me on that is a nice feeling. These people are sensible 🙂

And that, as far as Amsterdam goes, was pretty much it. We leave early tomorrow to go to Athens, so that’s the end of the sightseeing, the shopping, the relaxing, the photographing, the wandering around … all finished, all done. Such a shame, I could happily have stayed here longer, but I’m sure the next parts of the holiday will be equally exciting.

I’ll miss the accent, the language, hearing “Dames en Heren…”. I’ll miss the ding ding of the trams, the well thought out public transport, the beautiful old buildings with their time-worn foundations leaning on each other for support. I’ll miss the easy-going air and friendliness of the locals .. OK that’s enough I think it’s safe to say I’ll miss Amsterdam just a bit.

Until next time, tot ziens!

Rotterdam, and Den Haag Rotterdam, Netherlands

Rotterdam, Netherlands

Today was a chance to get out and see a bit more of the countryside – a while ago we’d both seen pictures of the new Markthal (Market Hall) in Rotterdam, it definitely looked like a cool place to visit.

Breakfast at a little place near the hotel was “niet zo goed” … yup, not so good. Not awful, but there was one guy trying run the whole place and he was struggling a bit. Actually, just about every bar /restaurant we walk past has a sign out the front saying they are looking for staff. So if you need a job, and you enjoy working in the food industry, come to Amsterdam!

We topped up some extra money on our ‘OV-chipkaarts’, and helped our other intrepid travellers buy theirs. Train travel in Sydney might be less-than-reliable, a bit dirty, a bit noisy, a bit… crap. But, it is cheap! It does cost a bit more to get around by train in Holland. For example the trip to Rotterdam today was about 15 euro each way, so currently around $AUD 22, for a 50-minute train ride. Not whinging, just noting the differences. The trains in Holland are fast and clean and (mostly) on time.

Arriving at Rotterdam, we pretty quickly got a good idea if why this city is renowned for its modern architecture. The station building itself is pretty spectacular.

We took a walk around, heading toward the Markthal, and walking through a shopping street we found another tourist essential: Poffertjes. Tick! I looked at the menu such as it was, and thought yep I can do this – finally took a chance to use my (extremely limited) Dutch. I don’t think it was too convincing, this is how the conversation went:

Me: “Hallo – een groote poffertjes alstublieft” – (a big serve of Poffertjes please)
Poffertjes seller: “Sure, that’ll be 5 Euro thanks. Where are you visiting from?”

Oh well. At least I tried.

But man, the poffertjes were awesome! Freshly cooked, and smothered in butter (which quickly melted over the poffertjes) and generously dusted (drowned) in icing sugar. Awesome! Definitely the snack we needed to keep us going on our long journey toward to Martkhal… which was about 5 minutes away.

The Markthal building itself is pretty amazing – a giant horseshoe about 12 stories high – with apartments all along the outside, and dozen of food stalls and restaurant on the inside. I guess it’s a handy place to live if your a foodie who like having fancy produce just a moment away. There was an amazing array of foods, much of which looked delicious. Except for the herring. Sorry, I may be half Dutch but I definitely didn’t get the half that thinks pickled herring can be considered a food. And no, I wimped out, I didn’t try it. Perry did, and his first impression was basically “cat food”.. he’s no fan of it either. Sorry, but we’ll stick to the poffertjes.
Lunch was at the straightforwardly-named “Burgers and Wine”. You can probably guess what we had for lunch.

After that it was time to again farewell the rest of our intrepid travellers, as they headed back to Amsterdam, while we had another mission. Yesterday we found the old houses that my Dad used to live in – and since I wasn’t well organised enough to do this yesterday, today we headed off to Den Haag to find the house where Perry’s Mum lived for a few years.
It’s pretty easy to navigate the Dutch train system – the website is helpful, comprehensive, and has the all-important (to me at least) ‘English’ button. Also the information boards are easy to follow, and usually I can kind-of get the idea of some of the announcements. So off we trotted to Den Haag, eventually. The delays hit us again – but apparently it was due to a fatality on the track, so can’t blame the train networks for that.

Arriving in Den Haag, it was a lot less Rotterdam, and a lot more Amsterdam. As the train approached we started to see canals, narrow houses, it was all looking quite familiar. We found the tram that would take us out to were we needed to go, and it was there that the similarities with Amsterdam quickly faded. It’s a quite different city to both Amsterdam and Rotterdam. It was certainly a more multicultural city, and with a lot of relatively-new buildings, not really having the architectural flair of Rotterdam.

As we approached Perry’s Mum’s street though, it was in a lovely tree-lined part of town, and before long we found the house – the place next door was for sale, so hey if ever you wanted to get back into the neighbourhood, now is the time 🙂
We grabbed a few photos (in the beautiful warm sun) before heading back on the tram to Den Haag Centraal.

The tram stops near Centraal all had really nice wooden floorboards for the platforms, made a nice change! And that was it for Den Haag – back on another train and headed back to Amsterdam..arriving right on time, pretty much to the second.

When we got out of the train and into Amsterdam … it was suddenly as if the population had doubled or even tripled. Today marks the start of “Sail” – a massive Sailing festival that happens once every five years, with tall ships from around the world converging on the town, and goodness knows how many other ships boats dinghies barges and whatever else. And people. Lots and lots of people. Apparently it brings about a million visitors to the town … so it’s no wonder the streets we just crazy-packed this afternoon. It also explains exactly why we had so much difficulty booking accommodation for our originally planned dates (next week).

Dinner this evening was at “Humphrey’s”, a small-looking restaurant right next door to the hotel. As they say, appearances can be deceiving – when we went inside I think the restaurant somehow took up two of the adjoining properties as well, it was massive! Happily, the food was absolutely brilliant, 26 euro for 3 courses – and was incredible value. I had a carpaccio, veal steak, and sorbet for dessert, and all of it was top notch, delicious, high quality … definitely felt like it was a lot more expensive than it was. So that was a big win for dinner. Anyone heading to Amsterdam, I can recommend Humphrey’s very highly. Our other intrepid travellers that dined with us also left feeling very impressed.

With full bellies and feeling very lethargic, we still managed to make to one more bar for a drink, before calling it a night. We pretty much felt obliged to visit a gay bar since we hadn’t yet, so we headed off to the closest one, the delightfully named “Prik”. I don’t know if it was too late in the evening, or maybe too early – but it was pretty dead. Still, we did what we set out to do – turn up, having a drink, and leave again. Mission accomplished.

And that brought us to the end of another big eventful day – lots still to do, and only one full day left to do it in…but I’m sure we’ll make the most of it.

A visit to Eindhoven – part 2 Eindhoven, Netherlands

Eindhoven, Netherlands

After the brief walk around the streets of Eindhoven, Uco picked us up in his car and we drove out to Eersel, another town that Dad lived in as a child. I didn’t realise quite how far our of town it was, so thanks to Uco for deriving us that far. It was surprising when he let us know that if we kept on this road for another 20 minutes, we’d be in Belgium. What was even more surprising was that in another two hours you could drive through Belgium and be in France! Considering when at home it would take us about 9 or 10 hours just to drive to a different state, it still kind of boggles the mind to think you could easily drive through a number of different countries in just a few hours.

For as long as I can remember, we’ve had a photo of the house in Eersel up on the wall in the hallway, and also a watercolour painting that Uncle Jaap (Uco’s father) brought over on one his visits. So it was pretty amazing after a good drive, and a walk down a few tree-lined paths, to see that actual house. Still standing, but no longer with a thatched roof – still, the moss growing over the tiled roof still gives it a nice hat. It might sound strange but it was a little bit like the ‘Empire State Building’ moment we had back in You know, something you’ve known about your whole life which you’ve only ever heard about and seen in pictures… so to be there at the actual place, yeah it was pretty cool. Anyway, before the owners came out and started asking us why we were loitering, we got back in the car.

By this stage the sun was starting to break through the clouds a bit, which was so nice to see. We stopped in at the Wings of Liberation museum – we were a little late to get in to the museum itself, but out the front there’s a great bistro/bar so we enjoyed a drink and another chance to chat. Gezellig, as the Dutch say 🙂

After that Uco was kind enough to take us back to his home in Son, where we had the pleasure of meeting his wife Cita – it’s so great to finally meet these people you only normally hear about from Facebook (or even letters in the post, in the olden days!).

Unfortunately time was marching on, and we already had plans to catch up the rest of gang for dinner – so sadly it was time to leave Eindhoven. Again, Uco was kind enough to drive us to the train station, and then it was time to say our goodbyes. I can’t thank Uco & Gerda enough for their generosity and hospitality on this day – we really enjoyed it. And it was a fantastic opportunity to get out of town, away from the ‘touristy’ places, and a chance to see the city where Dad grew up. I doubt he’d recognise Eindhoven itself, much of it looks to be quite modern, especially around the university and the High Tech Campus – though the Philips factory is still very much there, which I believe has been a constant in the city for a good many years.

For the return journey, the trains were all working like clockwork – we departed exactly on time, and arrive back at Amsterdam Centraal the exact minute the timetable said we would. When that happens in Sydney it’s usually a pretty big surprise 🙂

Catching up with our intrepid travellers, we headed out for dinner at The Alley – the place we had breakfast the day before. To describe their dinner … well it wasn’t bad, but let’s just say they do a fantastic breakfast and leave it at that. After dinner we took a bit of a wander around the streets and canals, but before too long, our good and almost-constant companion, the rain, was back again. So we cut the night a bit short – but to be honest I can’t complain about that, it was such a big day so I was pretty much ready to sleep anyway… which I guess I proved by cutting short the write-up of the day – ah well hope I don’t lose too many marks for turning in my homework a day late 🙂