2017 Italy and Greece - Day Ten - Trip Summary

I thought I’d put on last post on my blog as we close out this trip.  I don’t recall if I shared all the funny stories that went on.  But one story that kind of began our trip home that I don’t think I included was the following…..

 

As I said in a previous post, we were picked up at 3:30 AM and taken to the airport via cab.  Upon arriving at the airport, we got all our luggage out of the back of the cab.  As I started to look for my gear, I could not see my backpack.  It was not on the ground.  We looked everywhere.  It was not in the cab and it was not on the ground.  Everyone began to think that I had left it on the ground back at the BnB in Athens.  But I remember distinctly placing it on top of my suit case in the back of the cab.  We all started to worry a bit.  Then, someone noticed Michelle who was sporting a new backpack…mine!  She had accidentally picked up my  backpack and assumed she had hers.  We all died laughing there on the curb but I had a huge sigh of relief exhale when I saw it on her!  We were all tired but it was a fun moment at the end.

 

Our trip home actually turned into a struggle in Chicago…for all of us.  I think Scott and Michelle, who flew stand by on American Airlines ended up going from Chicago to Phoenix at the last minute and stayed the night there.  Denise and I, well, we did not get on the last flight to SLC.  No seats.  So we ended up in a really, really nice Hyatt Regency.  The TV big screen in our room was HUGE!  Never had one so large in a hotel room.  But we were in the executive wing they said.  Anyway, we were tucked into bed at about 9:30 PM.  But prior to going to bed, it looked like we were going to fly to Denver and get a one-way rental car to drive to SLC.  The price of the car would have been $40….crazy cheap.  But, around 4 AM, I woke up and looked at the SLC flights and they had actually improved.  So I listed us on the first flight out.  I really thought the family of 6, who were stand by the night before and did not get on, would be back in the morning.  But no…they never showed up.  We were #1 and #2 on the list and as it turns out, we got seats.  So we arrived home around noon thrilled that we were not driving from Denver!

 

Some things I have enjoyed and\or would do differently on this trip:

 

1.        The Amalfi Coast was amazing.  I think Cinque Terre is equally fun to be in for enjoying night life and walking trails.  But, we will never beat the boat trip that we had along the Amalfi Coast down to Capri.  Pretty amazing that was.

2.       Staying in Atrani, next to Amalfi, was perfectly fine.  It was a small walk from there to Amalfi but not a big deal.  There are plenty of small towns one can stay in along that coast and get to by bus.  All pretty nice…all pretty quiet I suppose.

3.       Santorini…the villages (Fira and Oia) were awesome to visit.  Very touristy.  You get outside these villages into the more flat lands…you’d think you were in Elko, Nevada.  Very arid and dry.  I think I enjoyed our BnB the best here.  It was roomy and very comfortable for all.  However, driving to and from the villages took a couple of years off my life (crazy driving).  If I were to return, I’d probably look for a place closer to the beach or in one of these two villages and not get a car….now that I’ve seen the island.

4.       My one regret with both Santorini and Amalfi was the lack of getting into the beautiful ocean waters that we were surrounded by.  I know seeing the places and all the shops are fun and important to do.  But getting to the beaches and spending an equal amount of time there would have been a nice thing for me.  But I was definitely in the minority from that regard on this trip.  And that’s ok.  Another time, I hope.

5.       Athens…I think our BnB was nice and well located.  But based upon what we did, staying closer to that Plaka district might have eased some of the walking we ended up doing.  I honestly did not realize the night life and shopping was so important to Scott and Michelle.  If we were to travel again together, I’d make sure that we were placed more closely to such so we would have the energy to go with them on such.  Denise and I both felt bad that we were not up to going back out and walking to Plaka the one night.  We had a nice night at the eatery we went to.  But it would have been nice to keep the two couples together too.

6.       Athens…I would have loved taken a day to get out to the beaches somehow, some way.  That would have been fun as I hear they have some nice ones there.  We did not have a lot of time as we wanted to see as much of the archaeological stuff as possible.  And we did.  But in a future trip to Athens, getting outside it would be a fun thing to do.  We talked about driving out to Corinth and Sparta.  So maybe that would be something to do in the future.

 

Last thought…would I do this trip again with another couple, especially Scott and Michelle?  In a heart beat.  Now that I know better how we each travel, I think each trip that we might take together would only get better on how we’d plan, execute and enjoy the vacation.  It turned out really nice.  I’m tired.  I wonder if I ever want to travel again because of the stand by stress.  But give me a few days…and I’ll be ready to go again!

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2017 Greece - Day Nine - Athens Church Services and the journey home.

October 22, 2017

Today is Sunday and we had a lazy morning.  We had looked up where the time church services began in Athens.  They have only one small building that facilitates two branches, a Greek speaking branch and an English speaking one.    Anyway, in the morning, I used Google Maps to map our walking steps from the metro station where we would get off.  I took pictures of it since I would not have a data plan active to get live data.  I was good to go.  This would be our first time to try the metro system.  We all got ready and headed out by 11:15 AM.  Church services started at 12:00 PM.  Following the metro was easy to do and to get to our metro stop.  Upon exiting the metro station, I pulled up my map images on my IPad.  It looked really quite obvious to me where we were.  So off we went walking.  Scott, he began to fiddle with his map who had an active GPS going.  At one point Scott said, we are going wrong.  I said no way...these were the instructions Google Maps had given me.  So we kind of butted heads.  So Scott said, you guys follow your maps, I'll use my phone and the GPS and let's see who gets there first.  I was stupid and said OK....pretty stubborn.  Well, after walking quite a ways and asking many people if they knew where I was, no one could tell me.  So Denise finally convinced me to turn on our data plan ($10) for the day.  As soon as I did that and brought up Google Maps., it was clear that we were well off the beaten path and had to back track.  It turns out that the images I captured were not from the metro station, but from the city center that had the same name as the metro.  

I think Scott got worried that we would get lost and was going to send out a search party.  But we found our way easily to the church with a GPS tracking.  I don't know what I was thinking by not following the GPS he had on his phone.  He was not using cellular either, I don't believe so it kind of caused me to think his was not tracking right.  Anyway...I felt bad that I did not listen.  Stubborn old man I am.

Church services were awesome.  I really enjoyed the wonderful members there.  Funny thing...Scott looked across the foyer and said, I know that guy.  He could not remember his name, but remembered his face.  The fellow, he immediately remember Scott.  Turns out, his name is Paul Hamm and now works for the State Department (Embassy).  Scott was YM President and Paul was his counselor!  Small world.  Paul invited all of us to his house for dinner after church services ended.  We had a scrumptious meal that his wife put together quickly of pulled pork, with BBQ sauce, some yummy vegetables and grapes.  So nice of this family to quickly host us.  Once we were done, Paul then drove us to our last archeological site, the cemetary that sits just outside the old city wall.  We thought it would be open until 7.  We arrived at about 5:40 only to find out it was closing at 6 PM.  The lady did not want to let us in.   We said that we would be quick.  So she let us in for free...even thought we had passes from the combo ticket we had purchased.

Once we were done there, I wanted to take the metro back to our BNB.  Scott, he wanted to walk it all again.  He really loved walking around that Acropolis area.  So again, we split up.  Denise and I were to take the metro.  Scott and Michelle were going to walk it.  Denise kind of wanted to walk it to get one last Gyro and a few other things.  But we were pretty tired and it seemed pretty far.  So we went ahead and jumped on the metro. However, at our first point where we were going to transfer trains, we heard that our next stop was closed down by the police and our train would just go through it.  So we would not be able to transfer to our last train.  So we ended up coming up to the surface to also walk home.  It turned out to be a good thing as it put us right in one of the squares where there was lots of Gelato....and....Gyros.  So Dense paid 2,30 euro for a very tasty Gyro.  She was a happy girl which helped ease the walking pain we both felt.  So we grabbed the food and walked back to the BNB.  We then packed our stuff, showered, and then plaid cards until Denise game up the ghost and went to bed.  I was not too far behind her.  But I could not sleep knowing that our flights tomorrow would be close.  So it was a sleepless night for me.

I am writing this from our flight to Newark from Rome.  We already have flown from Athens to Rome.  Our cab driver was right on time...3:30 AM.  Abraham was his name.  What a great guy.  He said he would return to get us (he was the cabbie who picked us up from the Athens airport).  I was so impressed with him.  Our first flight was at 5:55 AM which arrived in Rome at 7 AM.  This flight left at 9:50 AM.  Scott and Michelle, who fly stand by on American were waiting for their flight to Chicago to depart.  It will be interesting to see if we all get home tonight.

This has been an interesting trip traveling with friends.  It can bring you together or drive you apart.  I hope through it all, that we will want to do this again to another part of the world.  I don't know, they probably will not want to.  We are not the 'walkers' and 'night owls' that we might have been in years past.  I'm looking for ways to cut the steps down and to be as rested as possible so it can be enjoyed to the fullest...the little bit that I see.  My friends, on the other hand, they enjoyed walking endlessly.  They loved the social scene in the evening hours.  I don't blame them, it is nice.  Anyway, I can't imagine doing this trip without Scott driving us to think out of the box.  We wouldn't have been on boats for a full day or riding donkeys up a cliffside or finding crazy different shops (Hanzel and Gretel's).  The Hayden's made it fun.  I'm glad to be going home...but we will miss them.

Pictures...

Great picture of Denise and I at church.  Notice my casual attire.  Probably the only time in my life I've gone to church in jeans.

Artifacts from the old cemetary.....

Happy girl...street break and a 2 euro Gyro!

One last group picture before we separate and find our own paths home.  Kind of how life is I suppose.  You walk it with good family and friends.  But sometimes you must part and do it alone.  Fortunately, others come along and assist.  Thanks goes to my lovely wife and Scott and Michelle for creating a wonderful, memorable, trip to the Amalfi Coast in Italy, Santorini, Greece and Athens, Greece.

2017 Greece - Day Eight - Olympiad, Temple of Zeus & Acropolis

October 21, 2017

Today was a slow start to the day.  We all slept in...around 9 AM before we actually got up and going.  We did not get out the door until about 11 AM.  We headed firstly to the the Olympic Stadium for the first modern day Olympic Games.  It was about a mile walk there.  It is a nice place, very narrow in its track design.  They run a marathon race each year that starts in Marathon and concludes at this stadium.  It was fun to see.  We also ran into a young couple from Virginia who asked us to take a picture.  I said  no way, jokingly, and the guy said, what are you...Mormons?  Scott had a BYU shirt on.  Gives us away all the time.

We then re-traced our steps to the Temple of Zeus.  A nice set of very large columns that still remain standing except on column that was blown over in an intense storm.  We had been here before looking in from the gate.  But we went inside this time since we bought these combo tickets.

We next walked to the Acropolis Museum to see many artifacts that have been found around this area.  It is funny as they have a stone that has some engravings that you can barely tell are engravings.  But underneath it, there is a complete story telling you why the engraving was done.  You look at it and go...really?  How did anyone today know what the sculptor was thinking and sculpting.  Pretty funny.

After leaving the museum, we actually stopped at a corner cafe quite near our BNB.  It was a nice little place where we got 'non-walking Gyro' and a wrap.  Here you can get your Gyro as a plate.  It has all the same stuff on the plate that you would get in a 'sandwich' gyro that they would make for taking on the run.

After eating lunch, we finally took the hike up the Acropolis to go see the Parthenon and many other neat, very old things.  The view on the hill is awesome of Athina (Athens).  We have had such nice weather here...the whole trip.

We came off the Acropolis hill at about 5:30 PM and headed into the social area (Plaka) to walk and walk and walk.  No, actually, we had some ice cream at a place named Hansel and Gretzel's.  We then went into their 'Flea Market'.  Scott found a place for Gyros for 2 euros.  Cheap.  So he a had to buy one even though we were going to eat dinner fairly soon.  But the big reason we were there was to find Michelle a small leather backpack purse.  It took a while, but we had success.  Denise, she bought some little 'evil eye' trinkets to take back to the little kids.  I know she would buy more if she were not married to me.  I guess I've put the fear of Tim in her.  I honestly feel bad about this.

After success of buying a leather bag, we found the place the Hayden's ate at last night.  We all ordered 'appetizers' and we ended up with a mountain of food...much more than we wanted. So we brought some home for tomorrow.

Well...one more day on our trip.  I think we're going to try to get to church via the metro tomorrow.  I hope it is via the metro as it is over 5 miles away.  But, according to Denise's watch, we have walked 9 to 10 miles each day.  So, I guess we could walk to church and back and call it a normal day.

Pictures....

The first modern day Olympic Stadium.  I remember seeing the contestants run around it in the Amazing Race!  :-)

What is left of the Temple of Zeus.  They consider this holy ground over here.

Some artifacts found in the Acropolis Museum...

I liked this one as it showed how they used pulleys to lift these massive stones....

A 'plate' gyro...

One of two stadiums found on the slopes of the Acropolis...

The Parthenon...

 

Athens sprawls around the Acropolis.  This is only a small section of it around the Vetos hill....

Taking a rest...

They have 75,000 pieces found that they plan to use to re-build the Acropollis....

A pretty street...

Night shopping...

A night view of the Acropolis....

2017 Greece - Day Seven - Athens and more...

October 20, 2017

Travel day...no sleep last night...for me!  I don't get it.  I was awake until 1 AM knowing that I had to be up at 5:30 AM to get ready to be on the road to get to the airport.  Very frustrating.  But unlike the Amalfi departure, I was able to fall asleep at some point.  I don't know what is up!

We were all up and on the road to the airport at 6:30 AM to catch a flight to Athens that left at 8:20 AM.  We have been nervous about this flight for a while due to the fact it was Ryan Air who loves to ding people for oversized luggage.  They make it very clear that it HAS TO MEET their standards.  Anyway, the airport was a stone throw away from our BNB.  So we were there quickly.  Ryan Air had put a bulletin email out saying that getting through security at the Santorini airport is very slow and to get there 2 hours early.  We got there 1.5 hours early.  It was not too bad getting through security.  But this little airport had no room for everyone.  It got kind of tight in the waiting area.  Once Ryan Air started checking boarding passes, they also made every person put their luggage in their rack.  Denise was a nervous wreck.  But we both passed with flying colors.  Glad I bought a new carry on suit case.  I don't think my other bag would have worked.  And it would have cost 50 euro ($60) to have them check it.  They nickel and dime you.

The flight to Athens was a mere 30 minutes from wheels up to wheels down.  Pretty quick.  At the Athens airport we hailed a cab.  Abraham was our driver.  Really nice guy who spoke pretty good English.  Once we got into the city, he began to give us a tour as he drove us to our BNB.  It was fun to hear him call out places of interest.  We also booked him to pick us up at 3:30 AM Monday morning so we can get to the airport by 4:00 AM to catch our flight to Rome.  I hope he does not forget!

Our BNB is really nice.  It does have on problem.  One of the rooms, the bed was broke by the last people who stayed here.  The host has it semi-fixed and useable.  Scott and Michelle volunteered to take it.  I offered to do rock, paper, scissors.  But they did not want to compete.  

After unloading our stuff and changing into some shorts to walk around, we turned into pioneer children that walked and walked and walked.  I think Denise said that we walked around 9 miles according to her measuring device.  We first walked a ways to get to a plaza where Rick Steve's walking tour of Athens begins.  We took the tour, stopping along the way to get some treats, lunch and so on.  It was a nice tour.  Once the tour was complete, we then bought some combo ticket that allowed us to see a variety of sites for a bit less.  We started with the Agora...the ancient center to Athens.    There were a ton of ruins there to see and photo.  The Rick Steve's tour took about an hour to see Agora.  Once that was completed, we set off to make the steep climb to the Acropolis.  We walked about 10 minutes up a gradual hill to the entrance gates only to find them closed.  We thought it was open until 10 PM. But we were wrong.  It closes at 5:30 PM.  So we'll get after it tomorrow.

At that point, I was suggesting that we get a taxi to take us to our BNB.  Our feet were so tired.  But Scott kept insisting that we were real close to our BNB.  I said, no way.  I felt like it was on the opposite side of the Acropolis.  So Scott pulled it up on a map app and sure enough, we were only .4 Km from the place.  It took us a few minutes and we were there.  Yahoo!!

At this point, dinner needed to be figured out.  Scot was adamant to go back into Plaka, the social area to eat.  Denise and I, we were to beat to walk that far again.  So we decided to just find something close.  While we were sitting there, Scott suggested a couple of eateries close by.  One sounded real good.  So I put some shoes on and off we went.  It was a family run, hole in the wall place.  But the guy who served us, showed us all the homemade dishes they were making.  We had some really good options.  We ate a ton, way too much, for only 19 euros.  Pretty reasonable.  

On the way to our restaurant, we discovered a really nice bakery. And those call our names!  So we bought a few things before dinner and returned after.  That's what Denise and I do when traveling.  We love the little bakeries.

Our night is done...I've showered, doing my blog and soon I'll be sleeping deeply catching up on what I never got last night!

Pictures....

Waiting in the airport...

Our ride off of Santorini.  Ryan Air is such a nickel and dime airline.  Pretty amazing.

Some photos while on our Rick Steve's Athens audio tour.

They stand guard at a tomb of the unknown soldier like we do.

Lots of Greek Orthodox churches around....it is the home of this church.

Athens has lots of commercialism in the downtown area.  But the streets are really narrow in many places.  Fun to watch cars and motorcycles zoom in and out.  You have to be careful walking.

My brother has a place where he can transfer is USA work gets too boring...

This is a central plaza where the train station is found (yellow building).

This is the beginning of some of the ANCIENT things we saw...

How did this one get in here...not so ancient this flea market is.

This was a voting machine that they used when establishing themselves to be democratic and vote.

A water well in Agora...

The Acropolis from afar....

Pictures of our BNB....nice place.  Interesting colors.  Interesting things found inside.

We are not quite sure what this represents and why it is in the family room of the BNB.