After a bit of a sleep in we woke to an overcast and blustery day – not really inspiring tourist weather. We did however venture across the lake on a ferry to Menaggio. Whilst waiting for the ferry at Verenna Kath spotted a long row of very small cars all lined up next to a small stream. Obviously a meeting of the Bianchina car club – I’ve never heard of them either. Being a car lover I had to have a good look and in fact would have loved to spend more time looking at these Noddy sized cars.
Menaggio was nice but I am sure would have been nicer on a sunny day, although it did not stop several fishermen. After a walk around it was beginning to drizzle so we decided to find a cafe to take refuge in. To my pleasant surprise the cafe we found had a big LCD screen which was about to show an Australia soccer match. Two hours later we walked out slightly deflated after a 1-1 draw but nevertheless we were dry. The ferry boat ride back was not quite as bad as the one over but Kath still chose the comfort of the cabin whilst I supervised Liz on deck.
We chose a great restaurant for dinner called MonAmour (not particularly Italian) where Kath and I shared a saltbaked sea bass for main course. Very moist and tasty. When we returned to the hotel Kath suggested she and I go down to the bar for a nightcap whilst Liz watched a movie in our room which was directly above the bar terrace. There was already a rowdy group of 6 out on the terrace so we decided to sit inside. The waitress, a London born lady who has lived in Italy for the last 26 years, told us in her Eastend accent that one of the rowdy group (in fact the loudest of the rowdy group) was an Aussie girl who had just order yet another round of drinks. As the waitress went to take the drinks out I offered to open the door for her and as she went through she said to rowdy girl “there’s two more of your lot in here”. There was no going back from here as she insisted we join them on the terrace. We then had a very funny and enjoyable couple of hours as Emily (rowdy girl, 30 year old derivatives broker for Citibank in London) introduced us to her fiancée Lee (cockney lad, also a banker), and the two American couples they had befriended and were keeping entertained. Even Bruce, one of the Americans, proclaimed that they were usually the loud ones but were no match for Emily. Anyway a few drinks and a lot of laughs later (and another American couple welcomed into the circle) and it was time to be kicked out of the hotel bar. Kath and I went to our room whilst the others kicked on to a local bar. In the room Kath suggested I join them for one more, so needing little encouragement I went off in search of them. As it happened this wasn’t too difficult as they had not gone too far and I could hear Emily! The evening finally came to an end at about 1am when Emily looked at Lee and in a sheepish voice said “honey I think I need to go home now”. They are returning to Verenna in 10 months time to get married, after having fallen in love with it when they were here last year, so were here on a final reconnaissance – it should be one wild party!
Sunday 20th June
For some unknown reason I am slow to get up this morning! Again the weather was overcast so sightseeing was not a great option. We decided not to take a ferry anywhere but did go for a walk in the drizzle to the small river that Kath had visited earlier in the week. And I am really glad we did as not only did the fresh air no doubt do me good, but the river was very interesting and, as billed, is very short. What it lacks in length though it makes up for in force and noise. There are several houses next to it just before it reaches the lake and it would be like living next to a jet engine testing factory 24/7. Those people in Sydney under the flight path don’t know how lucky they’ve got it.
Kath fell in love with a small car – I don’t know if it was the design or the “Dukes of Hazard” bright orange livery but personally I’ll still be pushing for a red E-Type Jag. Near the tiny car was another great find – another beach, well a small corner of gravel near the water. Undeterred the girls spent about half an hour there looking at the range of colourful pebbles and skimming stones on the lake.
A lazy afternoon was followed by packing in readiness for our departure tomorrow as we leave Lake Como for Milan and a stopover night before saying goodbye to Italy and hello to Greece.
At some stage last night Emily recommended a restaurant which served great lobster spaghetti so when we walked past it on our search for a restaurant for dinner we decided to give it a go. On Emily’s recommendation I tried the lobster spaghetti and was particularly impressed when my green lobster was brought to the table, pincers still snapping, to be introduced to me before being sent off to the pot! 20 minutes later we were reunited and I have to say he and the tomato sauce were beautiful with the spaghetti. What I wasn’t expecting was the size of the meal, which was after all just first course, but would have been a normal main course back home. Needless to say after finishing the spaghetti and my “proper” main, a few more pounds had been packed on. Kath had a steak for her main and Liz had grilled salmon so she was very happy.
After waddling home we crashed into bed ready for a big transit day tomorrow.
Monday 21st June
We woke to the nicest weather yet as you can see from these photos from the balcony of our room – pity we leave today.
Checkout was at 11am which we just managed with a minute to spare. Offering a 10% discount for cash seemed a good option to using the credit card so Kath walked up to the bank to change some travellers’ cheques. This sounded easy in principle but the first bank said their equipment was down (whatever that meant) and the second (and only other) bank refused to cash travellers’ cheques! Most frustrated Kath returned to the hotel and explained the saga to the receptionist who rang the first bank. All of a sudden they were able to process travellers’ cheques now! Eventually Kath returned from her second trip only slightly less frustrated as they had a limit of €1,000 travellers’ cheque exchange each day. We scrounged through all our available cash and came up with €1,398 which was €3 short! It was a bit of a farce really as we were turning pockets inside out but the receptionist finally put us out of our misery by saying not to worry about the €3.
The first thing on leaving the hotel was a walk to the ATM to replenish our cash supplies!
We had plenty of time to get to Milan, which was only about one and a half hours away, so decided to take a trip across the lake on the car ferry and drive down the other side of the lake via Tremezzo to Como before heading into Milan. While we waiting for the ferry we noticed that some of the mountain peaks in the distance seemed to have slightly more snow on them than earlier in the week so it was obviously still pretty cold up high.
The drive down the lake was lovely, especially as the sun had started to shine for the first time in days. Tremezzo in particular looked beautiful and we were disappointed that the poor weather had meant that we had not ventured there before. It will be high on the priority list for next time!
Lunch beckoned and as Liz was feeling a little car sick and had perked up when she saw a very rare McDonalds sign as we approached Como we decided to try and find it for her. Easier said than done as the McDonalds direction signs were few and far between and occasionally it was a guess which direction to take at a fork in the road. Amazingly however we found a parking site when we thought we must be close and decided to walk from there. The first street we came to there it was right in front of us – obviously someone up high was looking out for Liz.
As well as a McDonalds, Como also has a beautiful church!
After lunch we went for a pleasant stroll by the Como waterfront before finishing the drive to Milan. Liz was interested in going on paddle boats at Lake Como (not enough time) whereas I was more interested in a paddlewheel garbage collection boat that was paddling around gathering flotsam and jetsam from the lake’s surface using a perforated conveyor belt – must be a boy thing. Anyway I’m the cameraman so the cleaning boat is in and the paddle boats are out.
We stayed in the Milan Airport Novotel for convenience more than anything but Liz was happy because it had a pool (albeit cold) and I was happy as it had internet access and a printer so I was able to print the Aegean airline boarding passes to help with tomorrow’s check-in.
Having a very average dinner in the hotel bar, Liz, who never fails to amuse, came up with one of her best comments yet about growing up – unfortunately Liz has banned me from including it in the blog but it is in the official diary so if any of you are at her 21st birthday party it might get mentioned if my memory is still working by then. All I can say is that Kath and I just cracked up and laughed so loud in the middle of the Novotel bar we caused heads to raise all around.
Back to the room to watch another soccer match before bed. Kath is beginning to get a bit miffed now as the soccer has taken over in the evenings and is stopping us watching the last episode of Glee!!! The thing is that it is Liz, as much as me, whom is now keen to watch the soccer. She has even worked out that referees are biased and blind (especially when Australia is playing).
Tuesday 22nd June
We woke up at 7am to finish packing, have breakfast and get to the airport to drop off the car by 10am. As we drove into the Hertz car return bay I was very relieved to be handing back the keys without having damaged the car and more importantly without having damaged Kath and Liz! I won’t say we couldn’t have done it without Jane’s help (our TomTom guide for those of you who haven’t read the first blog) but I am sure that she eased the burden on Kath and me as she simply recalculated a new route in seconds when I misinterpreted her directions (very rarely) whereas Kath may not have been so agreeable, particularly around narrow inner city streets.
Leaving the car, it was a short walk with the bags to the baggage drop area where we had no problems although we did notice that our combined luggage now weighs 67 kilos so we are already 7 kilos overweight and are only half way through the holiday (and souvenirs).
The flight to Athens left on time and was pretty uneventful. I had pre-arranged a car to collect us from the airport and Nikolas was duly there with a sign. The moment we stepped out of the airport and before Liz could even react I declared a Greek truce on “spotto” – every taxi (and there are thousands of them) is bright yellow - I would have looked like a punching bag!
Driving round Italy was an experience but relatively straightforward and easy. I’m very pleased not to be driving in Athens though as it is complete and utter chaos. Even Nikolas admitted it was a disaster as we were weaving through narrow streets with cars and motorbikes coming from all directions. It was at this point that we realised that cars do not stop for pedestrians which was a good lesson to learn before we started walking. The other thing that was frustrating Nikolas was that the garbage trucks were going round narrow streets at 4pm in peak hour traffic because “they want to sleep in the morning when they should be collecting the garbage”. Maybe this is an indication of some of Greece’s problems – although Nikolas has already assured me that everything has calmed down after the recent riots.
The Electra Palace where we are staying is a lovely hotel in the old part of town with views from the rooftop swimming pool to the Acropolis.
After settling into the room it was straight up to the pool for a swim, spa and sunbathe which was so nice after the less than summery weather we had in Lake Como. Down one end of the pool was an outdoor shower which everyone had to use before swimming. To get to it I had to walk past a fairly large elderly lady who was sunning herself topless – hmmmmm..... I didn’t know where to look.
Feeling relaxed and refreshed after the swim it was time to head out for dinner at a traditional restaurant off the main tourist strip recommended in the Berlitz guide we have for Athens. We sat outside on a beautiful balmy night under a plane tree. We all chose lamb – Liz with spaghetti, Kath with eggplant and me with potatoes, olive oil and herbs. We also had a side of Tzaziki dip. The lamb was fantastic. It was tasty, succulent and just fell off the bone – it must have been cooked for hours. It was one of the nicest and least expensive meals we have eaten on the trip so far. The Greek beer and wine got a positive review as well! Feeling well and truly satisfied we took a lazy stroll back to the hotel via some small streets and the obligatory busker who tonight was playing a beautiful version of Ava Maria on the recorder.
For the first time so far the camera stayed in the bag for the whole day today.
Wednesday 23rd June
Even though we all thought we hadn’t slept well, we must have been tired as we woke up at 9.30am and had to rush to get down to get to breakfast. Liz was entertained by 3 cats roaming the outdoor breakfast area having play fights whilst I had trouble walking past yesterday’s “sunbather” every time I had to go back to the buffet, although I almost didn’t recognise her at first with her clothes on.
Finally hitting the road we decided to head to Syntagma Square where the City Sightseeing Bus has its nearest stop. As we approached the Square we could hear chanting over a megaphone, then we saw police at roadblocks so there were no cars jostling for position on the roads that yesterday were seething with cars. It seems Nikolas’ opinion that everything was fine again wasn’t quite accurate and although this protest march seemed peaceful, needless to say the Sightseeing bus was not going to be turning up! Plan B was to walk to the Acropolis so we turned round and set off up the hill.
On the way up the first monument we see is the Odeion of Herodes Atticus which held up to 5,000 people. It was restored in the 1950s and is now used for summer performances in the Athens Festival.
Once we reached the top of the hill we passed the Beule Gate before walking in through the Propylaia (gateway) which almost looks like a small temple rather than a gateway.
Back to the Acropolis and another prominent structure is the Erechtheion and in particular the southern facade with the Porch of Caryatids (supported by the six female figures – caryatids). All of the 6 caryatids are copies, with four of the originals in the Acropolis Museum, one in the British Museum and one lost during the Ottoman Empire (when it was used to house the governor’s harem!) The Erechtheion brought together the worship of Athena and Poseidon and on the northern porch there is a hole in the roof and the floor where apparently Poseidon struck with his trident.
The last but one photo above taken from the Acropolis is of our hotel and the outdoor swimming pool – with the zoom lens of course. The view from the other direction is below.
We spent a few hours on the Acropolis and could easily have spent longer but decided to head down to the Museum. As noted above the museum was extremely well presented and housed thousands of original and recreated artefacts as well as hosting a very interesting video presentation on the Parthenon. Another unusual aspect of the museum is that it has been built above an active archaeological dig site and part of the museum’s floor is glass, allowing you to walk over the excavated ruins. Kath absolutely loved the Museum!
Quotes of the day from Liz –
1. At about 3pm and feeling hungry Liz stated “I’m never going to go on a diet” – we’ll see
2. At about 5pm Liz was pestering Kath to go with her for a swim when we got back to the hotel. Eventually Kath let out a “Hmffffff...” of exasperation. After a couple of seconds silence, Liz piped up “so is that a yes Hmffffff or a no Hmffffff?”
We ate at another tavern tonight, this time along one of the main shopping alleys, but not before we had shopped our way along it. We found one excellent shop where Liz bought a lovely summer dress. They had a very vocal finch in a cage which Liz was enthralled with as she is missing her budgie Romeo. The girl who served us was of Greek/Irish descent so whilst she has lived in Greece all her life she speaks perfect English with an Irish accent that she has picked up from her mum.
For dinner I had Moussaka which is something I used to love but hadn’t had in years. I’m definitely going to find a good recipe when I get back as it was delicious. After dinner we headed back to the hotel where I took the night time photo of the Acropolis from the hotel pool deck.
Thursday 24th June
After breakfast we set off for Parliament House in Syntagma Square to get there in time for the 11am changing of the guard. In front of the tomb of the unknown soldier, two guards stand like statues for an hour (except for a brief march on the half hour) before undertaking an elaborate changing parade on the hour. Not only do the guards wear a very fetching uniform, including pom poms on their shoes, but they also perform some very interesting steps in perfect synchronisation. John Cleese obviously visited this place before he invented the Ministry for Silly Walks sketch! We may have to rename this holiday the Monty Python tour after the “gourd haggling”, the “more ******* gondolas” and now the “ministry for silly walks”.
After the display was over Liz spent 20 minutes sketching the Parliament House building and watching the pigeons in the square before we moved on to Hadrian’s gate and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. The Temple of Olympian Zeus was the largest temple built on Greek soil at 250m long and was dedicated to the “father” of Greek Gods. Not much remains today, but the few massive Corinthian style columns left standing bear witness to what would have been a mighty temple. Hadrian’s gate was built by the Athenians for Emperor Hadrian in 131BC with an inscription on the Acropolis side reading “This is Athens, the former city of Thesus” and on the other side an inscription reading “This is the city of Hadrian and not Thesus.
Nearby is the Panathenaiko Stadium, built in 329BC to host the Panathenaic Games, and restored by a Greek benefactor in time for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Walking back to the hotel past the National gardens we experienced another impact of the civil unrest - all but one gate was closed due to the day’s protests!
Back at the hotel Kath and Liz went for a swim whilst I took a taxi to the bus station to get the tickets for Saturday’s trip to Lefkas where we are meeting the boat on Sunday. The area around the bus depot is pretty much derelict and I was glad that the taxi driver, who spoke good English, was kind enough to go into the bus depot with me to find the particular bus company’s office amongst the dozens in the noisy dirty and smoky depot. It really was an unpleasant place and when we did eventually find the right dingy office the guy behind the glass screen made me feel as though I was imposing on him to buy the tickets.
I couldn’t get out fast enough and head back to the hotel where the taxi driver received a well earned tip for his assistance. Anyway it was a job well done as at least we know we have seats booked on the bus as we can’t afford not to get to Lefkas as the boat will not wait for us! On the way back I was saying to the taxi driver that I was amazed at the number of motorbike riders, maybe 20 – 30%, not wearing helmets, especially as the traffic is so chaotic. Apparently it is supposed to be law to wear them but a lot don’t and the police don’t enforce it. There must be a lot of head traumas here. Often the motorbike driver will be wearing a helmet but the pillion passenger, young child or girlfriend, won’t!
Unfortunately Kath had a migraine this afternoon so we decided on room service for Liz and me (much to Liz’s delight) as Kath went to bed early. Hopefully she is feeling better tomorrow morning as we have a full-day bus trip booked to Delphi which leaves the hotel at 8.15am. Before bed Liz talked me into watching a movie with her – Big Momma’s House! Kath was probably lucky she wasn’t subjected to it.
Friday 25th June
Kath is feeling much better fortunately so we are raring to go when the bus arrives. It is a slow start getting out of Athens in peak hour traffic but an hour later we hit the highway and are on our way. The drive itself was pretty uneventful and we arrived at Delphi around 11am. One interesting thing that Lena the guide explained on the way was why there are so many half finished houses around the place and believe me we’ve seen a lot. Firstly, parents buy a block of land and start building a house as a place for their daughter to move into when she gets married. When they have spare money they do some more work on the house and when they don’t have spare money they stop. I can’t see Ku-ring-gai Council being able to deal with this concept! This pattern repeats until hopefully they have finished the house before their daughter marries. I’ve told Liz not to get excited as this tradition won’t take off in Australia! The second reason is similar but is for people who are preparing to retire and want to build a retirement house, usually in the town they were born, and build it over several years as funds are available. Lena also pointed out the masses of white and red Oleander bushes along the roadside – we were to see more at Delphi as well. As an aside, one thing that hasn’t been too good for Kath’s hay fever in Athens is the number of Privet trees (she couldn’t believe one lady saying what a beautiful fragrance it was – ‘was it honeysuckle?’).
Anyway back to Delphi. It was great having Lena to explain the various ruins, what they were for, who built them and who they were dedicated to, but I have to admit that she was confusing me with gods and legends by the end of the tour. Delphi was the spiritual home of Greece and one of the most famous aspects of Delphi is the Oracle which was popular between the 8th and 4th centuries BC – where people went to Delphi to seek answers about the future. In reality it was similar to modern day fortune tellers who provide answers that could be interpreted as having been correct whatever the actual outcome. A woman sat inside the Temple of Apollo and would go into a trance before her unintelligible mutterings were interpreted by the priests who passed on the answers (i.e. they made them up to suit). In addition to the remains of the Temple of Apollo there is a partly restored Treasury House as well as an amphitheatre and a long and narrow Stadium. The Stadium is up a fairly steep hill and as we only had limited free time I went up on my own at a brisk pace. There were several larger tourists puffing and panting their way up and one American in particular was not too impressed when she finally got to the top and asked in a loud voice “is this it?” I thought it was well worth the climb.
Very impressive also was the modern museum just below the Temple of Apollo in which many original artefacts and carvings are beautifully presented. Again it was great to have Lena explain everything but by the end of it my head was spinning. It was also great to be in a museum where photography was allowed!
Although the bus trips to and from Delphi were not a great way to spend 5 hours of a day, the experience of Delphi was well worth it in my opinion.
At about 8pm the girls decided they were hungry so we left the hotel and went back to the nearby area where there are a lot of traditional Tavernas to have dinner. Kath and I decided not to have a main meal but sample several Greek starters along with a nice big Greek salad. We had stuffed vine leaves, fried peppers stuffed with cheese, local sausage and some large sardines (which we had worked out through a conversation with the waiter were in fact anchovies). Liz had a huge grilled chicken breast which one of the local stray cats got to share! It was a balmy evening and the area around the taverna was filled with Greek music to add atmosphere. This photo is of the street alongside the taverna.
Tomorrow we leave Athens for a week as we catch the bus to Lefkas (5 hours) where we stay overnight before boarding the 51’ S/Y “Alexandros” on Sunday. Let's hope it's smooth sailing!
Bye for now.
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