It was all Greek to me-Part 1 « Of Soups and Souffles

Posted by: inkinmyveins | October 21, 2007

It was all Greek to me-Part 1

What a whirlwind the past 2 weeks have been! The travel, the sights, the tours-oh, what a mad rush!

The trip to Greece wasn’t as relaxing as we’d hoped it’d be; but that was only because we’d gone a bit crazy with the number of places we’d see. By we, of course, I mean me. However, we did accomplish a lot-we went, we saw, we ate. Since all the spots we saw deserve mention, I’ll divide this log into 4 parts. And for a change of writing pace, I’ll do it itinerary style. So, without further ado, here’s the first leg of our trip:

Oct. 5, Friday:

3am-Couldn’t sleep very much. Got up, showered, packed last bit of luggage and puttered around waiting for the airport shuttle to arrive.

7am-Took off promptly on Continental Airlines. Rather impressed with this airline; although the food and entertainment were nothing to write home about, the staff-both ground and air-seemed slightly less disgruntled than the ones you usually have the misfortune to come across. (United, you taking notes?)

12pm-landed in Newark, NJ; not much more time than to scarf down some Airborne and water before heading out on our connecting flight to Athens.

Oct. 6, Saturday:

12pm-Arrived a bit later than scheduled. Lingered at the airport long enough to collect baggage, and vouchers from the travel agent come to greet us, before we were put in a cab to take us to our hotel in the Plaka area of Athens.

1pm-Trying to ignore the creeping fatigue in and planning to do the National Archaeological Museum after a wash up and some proper food. Too famished to get started on the Greek dining experience, so pop over to the Noodle Bar right next door. (They make a mean Nasi Goreng, by the way). The Greek experience can wait. Barely get through half the meal before exhaustion hits us both like a tidal wave and we send any thought of traipsing around right out of our heads-the price one pays for flying coach.

7pm-Woke after a dead sleep. Tooled over to the rooftop lounge with a fantastically close view of the Acropolis, lit beneath by soft lights. Very memorable experience, accentuated by a great glass of Retsina and a calm, quiet night with a gentle breeze.

Afterwards, walked around the buzzing Plaka, and Syndagma and Monastiraki Squares, before coming across a neat taverna with a view of the Acropolis, and an assortment of mezedes so great that we didn’t even bother looking at the rest of the menu. With some ouzo, in accompaniment to the soulful twang of the bouzouki, it was the unforgettable experience.

We finished the night walking back through the other part of the Plaka. What vibrancy; what life! If only the joviality of communal dining and the tasteful, patient enjoyment of food as an art could be as easily available in SF as well….

Oct. 7, Sunday:

8am-Got an early start after breakfast and set off on the local Metro to the National Archaeological Museum. Spent the next four hours looking at famous exhibits like the statue of Poseidon, death mask of Agamemnon, the jockey of Artemision, the Kouros Thebes, and the bust of Minotaur; among statues by Praxiteles, Archaic pottery, remnants of several different civilizations, and several other samples of one of the oldest inhabited nations in the world.

Interestingly, posing by the exhibits-however tame-is a strict no-no. I have no difficulty picturing the most probable incident that led to such a rule-some uncouth American juvenile with the archetypal ignorance and disregard for another culture doing something absolutely inappropriate and distasteful by some statue.

Just about caught the Evzones’ Changing of the Guard Ceremony at the Parliament in Syndagma Square before we returned to the hotel.

2.30pm-Headed out for some lunch at a cheery open square at the Plaka; feasted on heavenly Gemista-a dish I will be gorging on a number of times this trip. Set out after for the three historic ‘must-sees’-the Acropolis, the Ancient Agora, and the Roman Agora.

Unfortunately for us, all three of them were closing early that day, so we rushed through the Ancient Agora, with the Temple of Hephaestus

its backdrop of the Acropolis

before we began the arduous climb to the Erechtheion and the Parthenon, located all the way up on the Acropolis hill. However, it was worth the strain.

Couldn’t make it to the Roman Agora before closing time, though. We then made our way painfully down to Anafiotika, the Tripodon, and the churches of Agios Eleftherios and Kapnikarea

before we barely made it back to the hotel. Too tired to even venture out for dinner; S., being the dear that he is, got us dinner.

Oct. 8, Monday:

9am-Joined a tour group to go see all the historic ruins and sites. Mixed bag of nationalities, age groups and personalities, and a tour guide who spoke excellent Franglais.

First stop was the Corinth Canal,

and then Epidavros, testament to the amazing acoustic engineering that goes into an amphitheater; where the plays of Sophocles were once staged

before stopping for lunch and going on to Mycenae, where the tombs of Agamemnon and his wife, Clytemnestra lay, alongside ruins of the Mycenaean civilization.

The trip here had taken pretty much all day, and the journey took us by fish farms on the serene Saronic Gulf

and onwards along the spectacular Ionian Sea.

We passed quaint seaside towns with fortresses,

and the peaceful co-existence of culture, history and industrialization,

before heading west onto the town of Olympia. We had crossed much of the Peloponnese area of Greece.

Oct. 9th, Tuesday:

8am-Not exactly a day I want to remember. Breakfast and onto the archaeological site of Olympia. Had just stepped out of the tour bus when it started raining cats and dogs within seconds. Made a bad judgment of trying to get back to the bus to grab our umbrellas and get back to the guide before she went into the site; but no such luck. The bus had apparently vanished right off the face of the earth and we lost complete sight of the guide. We ended up with no extra money to buy our own ways in-the guide had our passes, and our bags were stuck in the bus-so we spent about 3 hours looking for the damned bus and cursing everything. Oh, and did I mention we were soaked to the bone? Managed to snap a few pictures of the ruins’ site whenever I paused from ranting and making S.’s day even more miserable than it already was.

12.30pm-The rain finally seemed to abate and the bus apparated back to the earth, so we continued our journey onwards to Delphi. The trip took us past olive groves,

the pleasant contours of Greek Orthodox churches,

by the Corinthian Gulf,

Bauxite mines,

and over streamlined bridges into Central Greece,

and up Mt. Parnassos,

before docking at Delphi, a tourist town with great mountain views at the foot of the Delphic Oracle.

Oct. 10th, Wednesday:

8am-Breakfasted and headed to the site of the Delphic oracle. Went around the museum first, where we saw remnants of the once magnificent town of Delphi.

Walked around the site which housed the ruins of the Delphic Oracle and the different temples devoted to Athena, Apollo and Zeus.

Nice, uphill hike and down before heading out to lunch and then driving up and down mountain roads, north to the area of Thessaly.

Oct. 11th, Thursday:

8am-Woke refreshed after a good night’s sleep in the mountainous town of Kalambaka. Headed out to Meteora, home of monasteries perched precariously on monolithic cliffs amidst spectacular scenery.

Had to wear a borrowed ’skirt’ at one of the monasteries ’cause apparently pants are a no-no. For women, that is. Looked a priceless ass wearing that ghastly thing, by the way.

Foggy and rainy up here, but breathtaking views. Felt sorry for the tour group having to hitch themselves up the steep stairs; too many elderly dears in there. Yards in the monasteries very pretty too.