Archive for September 30, 2006

Athens take two – Sat 30 Sept

Saturday, we awoke to a lazy morning, hardest thing was to find out the AFL Grand final Score, giving up on Greek, CNN & BBC TV & finally resorting to www.afl.com.au to learn Sydney lost by one point. After a leisurely start we wandered down to the Mykonos town again, daring to re-enter the maze, found a restaurant for lunch .. too many restaurants to chose from … eventually we sat down to a simple meal…then we wandered back to the hotel for an afternoon by the pool… and yes another Lemon, Lime & Bitters (since we had trained the barman). What is becoming the “norm” for us – we had an interesting trip to Athens…

  • our coach from the hotel to the airport forgot to pick us up, and had to come back for us; the hotel was only 7 minutes from the airport, so was not a bit deal, just angst.
  • the Olympic Airlines plane was only a 50 seater propeller plane, a new experience for Liz – travelling in a small plane, the trip was smooth (noisy) and quick.
  • the taxi trip from the airport to central Athens, last week cost €48 (AUD$80) travelling at 160kph, ….. this time only cost  €25 (AUD$42) travelling at 120kph. The signs at the airport indicate a typical taxi trip to the city should be €35 ??
  • upon arriving at our central Athens boutique hotel, we were informed there was a problem with our room, and it had not been fixed, hence as they were booked out, they had arranged for us to be transferred to another 5 star hotel, and they would pay for the taxi ride.

Whilst our new hotel, the Metropolitan is quite nice (typical large 5 star hotel), it is 2 kms out of town, near the bay, hence we lost our advantage of being able to go for a walk thru the central city streets, where all the night action is, and also walking to the Acropolis tomorrow…

Leave a Comment

Hey all! I am currently in BERLIN!!! After travelling for 2 crazy days of travelling, we arrived in Berling yesterday afternoon! So far Berlin is great! very cultured! One thing that I cant get my head around is that you can get Beer on tap at maccas! you would love it james!

So I was in Venice 2 days ago, for a day! So hetic! I quite like Venice! It is strange not seeing any cars! Venice is more romantic than Paris I must say! And quite alot of hot guys there too! Corfu and Venice are competing for my favourite place so far!!

Today is going to be quite busy! Going for a tour around berlin, then shopping in the afternoon and then a show tonight! and then a club tonight that doesnt open till midnight!! AHH!!

Loving you all!! MISS YOU ALL!!!  only a few days left! kiss kenny hello for me fiona! mwa!

Comments (2)

First Night on Mykonos – Friday 29 Sept

img_6871a.JPGI  am (ie: we are, & Liz blogging) sitting relaxing on a lounge chair beside the hotel swimming pool , the barman has learnt how to make “lemon lime & bitters” for us and has now just served us strong filtered coffee (its impossible to get weak coffee in Greece!! – actually this cup is about the best I have had all holidays!). The sun is shinning, the sky is reasonably clear, and there is a light breeze.

We did swim in the pool for a few minutes, though I wish the Greeks would find out about solar heating for their pools – the water is freezing.

Well I think the island has redeemed itself, the main town of Mykonos is so much nicer then Fira on Santorini. It is certainly still made up of shops and restaurants but is located on the sides of two pretty bays with beautiful clear water lapping at the edges. I suppose it is a bit more like the Greece we imagined. 

img_6795a.JPGLast night we found this restaurant with tables right up close to the waters edge overlooking the setting sun. It was nearly a Shirley Valentine experience where she dines with her table and chairs being lapped by the Agaean Sea. Could have sat there all night, it was delightful. It was in a part of the town they call Little Venice because the water of the bay laps the foundations of the buildings. So Ellie is in Venice and we are in Little Venice.

Even though the main town of Mykonos is much smaller the Fira in Santorini we had an interesting experience walking back to our hotel. Instead of following the waters edge we decided to cut through the shops img_6827a.JPGwhich of course were still all open with hundreds of people around walking up and down the laneways (there was a cruise ship in town, tonight there are 3!!).

We headed off in what we thought was the right direction but whenever we tacked left or right in an attempt to come out the other side of the town we would always come to a dead end or we would find ourselves wandering back up streets we just walked down. This continued for sometime. It was like a giant maze, and because the buildings are two stories high and the laneways narrow and keep changing direction you can’t see far enough ahead to get a sense of where you are heading. We felt rather foolish. We ended up retracing our steps back near to our starting point near the restaurant and then followed the waters edge – that way we knew we couldn’t get lost. By the time we had walked up the steep hill to our hotel we were exhausted and sweaty.

Today is Friday and it is very warm. It is not long now before we head home and it is difficult to not start thinking about jobs and household chores and the normal routine.

img_6847a.JPGWe jumped back on another boat to visit the island of Delos with its famous archaeological site with ruins from the 6th century BC – ruins of houses and shops with beautiful Greek columns, including a house where Cleopatra of Greece lived, and a Sanctuary to the god of Apollo (the myth says that he was born here), there are also ruins of other people who lived there including the Romans and the Jews. The museum on the island holds a multitude of statues and vases and ordinary objects that have been carefully excavated from the site and carefully put back together. It was a fascinating place and well worth the visit though tiring with lots of walking in the hot sun.

We have spent the rest of the day having a siesta and then relaxing beside the pool. And now to begin thinking about dinner  – where shall we dine tonight? Not having to cook is just wonderful!

img_6882a.JPGWe back tracked thru Mykonos town, looking for a restaurant we saw in the previous nights lost wanderings; could not find it, so we chose a wonderful outside restaurant, under a pergola covered in a bougainvillea in full bloom. With Greek music in the background, and a giant eucalypt free above the bougainvillea, we enjoyed our traditional Greek dishes (food is getting better), and watched the waiters entrap passing tourists to dine in their restaurant .. there is quite an art to it and a obvious strategy or ploy.

Comments (1)