We have wanted to travel to Greece for so long! I had pictured the beautiful blue sea, and the white buildings up on a cliff for years. As soon as the weather warmed up we were on our way to a Grecian vacation, err I should say holiday. Josh was in charge of the hotels and island hopping logistics. He used a great website for our hotel planning called SantoriniDave.com
Athens
While in the UK many of our
pals had traveled to Greece, and they all agreed that Athens was horrible.
Don’t waste your time they said, but I saw things differently. There was a
bunch of ancient ruins, and just cool stuff all together- so as a compromise we
planned just 1 day in Athens to get it all in. To add to a crazy travel day
already, while at the airport we shipped our precious pups to Texas.
After the dogs were sent off
to their plane, we boarded ours. As a surprise Josh booked us in business
class. I am a seasoned traveler, but it’s always on a budget, so this was a huge
treat for Harvey and I. Let me just tell you, business class gets lots of perks and pampering and I enjoyed every second of it.
Here is one of the many photos of us landing in Athens and flying
over the islands. It was just like the movies and how I had imagined, it was so beautiful.
Our first hotel of the trip
was the Novotel Athens. These hotels are usually just a decent place to sleep, but
this one was way different, in a good way! The rooftop had a spectacular view of all the sites
in Athens, along with a beautiful pool and yummy restaurant. I got my Greek on
with a fresh Greek salad.
We booked a private tour,
which I HIGHLY recommend through John’s
Taxi Service. We were picked up at the hotel, they supplied a car seat for
Harvey, provided cold bottled water after every stop, gave a customized
tour of Athens, and then dropped us off at the port for our ferry boat.
Acropolis
The Acropolis or “upper city” contains evidence that the hill was inhabited
as far back as the fourth millennium BC, but it wasn’t until the fifth century
BC when Pericles coordinated the construction of the site's most important
buildings including the Parthenon,
the Propylaia (entrance to
Acropolis), the Erechtheion
(a temple dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon) and
the Temple of
Athena Nike. Many of the buildings were damaged during the 1687
siege by the Venetians,
in the Morean War,
when the Parthenon was being used for gunpowder storage and was hit by a
cannonball.
Tickets
in to the Acropolis just went up from 12 euros to 20 euros. They do offer ticket
packages that include other sites. This was a bit cheaper, and the option we
chose. Tickets last awhile, so if you plan to be in Athens for multiple days this
would be the best option. Also, get here early- it gets very hot and crowded.
Parthenon
The
famous Parthenon is a former temple, dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of
Athens considered their
patron. Construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the
peak of its power. It was completed in 438 BC although decoration of the
building continued until 432 BC. It is considered the most important
surviving building of Classical
Greece. Its decorative sculptures are also considered some of the
high points of Greek art.
The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece, Athenian democracy
and western
civilization, and one of the world's greatest cultural
monuments. The Greek
Ministry of Culture is currently carrying out a program of selective
restoration and reconstruction to ensure the stability of the partially ruined
structure, so just ignore the scaffolding.
While the Parthenon has been everything from a temple, treasury,
church, and mosque, one of the most magnificent things that stood underneath
her roof was the iconic 42 foot statue of Athena, the patron goddess of
the city – the protector of Athens. Unfortunately, it was removed in the 5th
century AD by the Romans, but we have a general idea of what the statute actually
looked like. There is a life size replica of this statue, located in Tennessee
(USA), that is an identical copy built to size and based off research and descriptions.
Temple of Athena Nike
Built
around 420BC, the Temple of Athena Nike
is the earliest fully ionic
temple on the Acropolis. Nike means victory in Greek, and Athena was
worshipped as goddess of victory in war and wisdom. The citizens worshipped the
goddess in hope of a successful outcome in the long Peloponnesian War fought
on land and sea against the Spartans
and their allies. Josh was sure to worship the goddess while we were there.
Interesting tidbit…when the statue of Nike was constructed, it
was built without wings. Previously, the goddess, Nike had wings and was
known as the “winged victory,” yet the statue located at the Acropolis was
called, Nike Apteros, “wingless victory”. Why was she built without wings? They
say it was so that she would never be able to fly from the city and thus
Athens would always remain victorious, or at least have the goddess
of victory by her side.
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| Greek kitty |
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| Erechtheiona-temple dedicated Athena and Poseidon |
Next stop was a short drive to The Temple of Zeus. Our Acropolis tickets included this site as
well. The
Temple of Zeus was an ancient Greek temple dedicated to
the god Zeus. The temple, built
between 472 and 456 BC was the very model of the fully developed classical
Greek temple of the Doric order.
The temple housed the renowned statue of
Zeus, which was one of the Seven Wonders
of the Ancient World. The Chryselephantine (gold and
ivory) statue was approximately43 ft tall, and was made by the sculptor Phidias in his workshop on
the site at Olympia. The statue's completion took around 12 years. The circumstances
of the statue's eventual destruction are unknown.
Panathenaic Stadium
also
known as the Kallimármaro, meaning the "beautifully
marbled", is a multi-purpose stadium used for several events and athletics
in Athens. The Stadium hosted
the first modern Olympic Games
in 1896.
Reconstructed from the remains of an ancient Greek stadium, the
Panathenaic is the only stadium in the world built entirely of marble and looks to be
different shades depending how the sun is hitting it.
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| On our way up to Lycabettus Hill |
Lycabettus Hill is the highest point
in Athens at 908 feet above sea level. Pine trees cover its base, and at
its two peaks are the 19th century Chapel of St.
George, a theatre, and a restaurant. We climbed up here for a
grilled chicken pita for lunch. Can you believe they even had a highchair for
Harvey?!? Lycabettus appears in various legends. Popular stories suggest it was
once the refuge of wolves, (lycos in Greek), which is possibly the origin of
its name (means "the one that is walked by wolves"). Mythologically,
Lycabettus is credited to Athena,
who created it when she dropped a limestone mountain she had been carrying from
the Pallene
peninsula for the construction of the Acropolis
after the box holding Erichthonius
was opened.
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| At the top |
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| St. George |
Syntagma
Square or "Constitution Square" is the central square of Athens. The
Square is named after the Constitution
that the first King of Greece Otto was obliged to grant,
after an uprising. It is located in front of the 19th century Old Royal Palace,
housing the Greek
Parliament since 1934. Syntagma Square is the most important square
of modern Athens from both a historical and social point of view, at the
epicenter of commercial activity and Greek politics.
We
watched the changing of the guards in front of the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier. All Greek males must serve mandatory
military service. This specific position requires a tall man (Josh is 6'4), with a specific body type. They have an
interesting march and even more interesting uniforms. Since it was a Greek
holiday (Easter) they were wearing a very formal uniform. They change post
every hour, on the hour. You are allowed to get close to take a photograph with
them. I was a bit nervous.
The
car dropped us off at the Rafina Port
for our FastFerry, but on the way
discussed US politics with Josh. What I got from the conversation was…1. Greece
has no enemies because they don’t get involved in other countries business. 2.
Many of the Greeks are upset with their own country regarding the money they
owe. And 3. As we drove through the beautiful mountains he said, “Turkey is right
over there (pointing), so the mountains house many nukes”. Yikes!
We met some friends on the ferry, and they taught us a really fun Greek card game called, Biriba. From Athens to Mykonos was about a 5 hour cruise. It was pretty crowded due to many traveling to see family for the Easter holiday.
Mykonos
We stayed at
Hotel Petinos, and loved it! Bit of a strange story was we never scheduled a transfer from the ferry to the hotel. We had planned to just take a taxi. When we got off the ferry our hotel had sent a car for us. We still don't know how they knew what ferry we would be on, it's a mystery! Our hotel was right on the beach
Platy Gialos, and the customer service was amazing.
The iconic Mykonos Windmills can be seen from every point of the village. Mykonos was situated on major sea trade-route which at one time joined Venice, the gateway of Europe, to Asia. The need to refine grain and compact it for transport combined with an ample year round supply of wind made Mykonos the perfect location. Easy access to the harbor was necessary so most of the island's mills were positioned in or around the main port with the highest concentration covering the entire western portion of town. There are only a few of the windmills remaining.
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| Sunday Roast |
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| Greek baby |
We took another FastFerry boat to Naxos. I admit, I had never heard of this island but it was Josh's plan to break up the trip to Santorini. This stop was great! I felt like I had traveled back in time, and was on vacation in the 1950s. Nothing touristy at all, just a wholesome family friendly place to relax.
Naxos
This was a pretty small area, and we were able to walk to our hotel from the ferry. Our hotel in Naxos was called, Spiros Hotel. It was walking distance to a great beach, lots of shops and restaurants, and had a great patio for Harvey to run around. Our days in Naxos were a bit chilly, but that didn't stop us from some beach time! Harvey did not like the sand at first. He hated being dirty, but then saw what dad was doing and loved it.
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| Great place to play |
The most famous landmark of Naxos Island is the Portara, a massive 2,500-year-old marble doorway that leads nowhere. The Portara stands on Palatia, which was once a hill but is now a separate little island connected to Naxos by a causeway. (The Mediterranean has risen significantly since ancient times.) The construction of the temple began about 530 BC by the tyrant Lygdamis, who said he would make Naxos's buildings the highest and most glorious in Greece. It faces directly toward Delos, Apollo's birthplace. For this reason most scholars believe it was dedicated to Apollo, but some think it was built in honor of Dionysus, who was worshipped on Naxos Island. Look at that choppy water! As I was taking this photo, a huge wave came and soaked me! Apparently Josh didn't see it coming to warn me.
Our final island stop was Santorini. This is a must see for everyone! We all loved it here, and could have stayed so much longer. We took a Blue Star Ferry to Santorini. Our hotel sent someone to pick us up from the port. It was a pretty far drive, but hey, Harvey had a baby seat so we were good.
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| Pit stop in Eos |
Santorini
We stayed at the most amazing hotel called, Astra Suits. It was typical Santorini style white buildings built on steep cliffs, all open concept. They even have donkeys to carry your things up and down.
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| Going into our room |
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| Enjoying our balcony |
Akrotiri is a Minoan Bronze Age settlement on the volcanic island. The settlement was destroyed in the Theran eruption about 1627 BC and buried in volcanic ash, which preserved the remains of fine Frescoes and many objects and artworks. The settlement has been suggested as a possible inspiration for Plato's story of Atlantis. The site has been excavated since 1967. It was quite expensive for what it was. We had been to Pompeii last summer, and enjoyed that experience so much more.
A quick walk down the road, and a bit of a hike up and down a cliff was the most famous beach on the island, the Red Beach. What makes the beach absolutely irresistible is its impressive red rock formations, which form a breathtaking unique volcanic landscape.
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| Harvey fell asleep and missed the views |
On our way back to the hotel I found a penny press! Except it was under construction. Thank goodness the contractor on duty pointed me in the direction of the only other one on the island!
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| Walking the cliffs back to our hotel |
Harvey and Josh went for a swim in the stunning hotel pool, while I enjoyed the sunset. So beautiful!
The next day was a beach day! We got the recommendation from our hotel for a great swimming beach, Agios Georgics Beach, and an amazing restaurant and cocktail bar that was once a tomato juice factory, called, Forty One. Josh said this was the best food he had in Greece. It was yummy, and we hung out all day on the loungers with USB chargers! And Harvey loved digging in the sand!
Harvey had quite the fan base in Greece, more than he ever has. I think its part of the culture to love on babies. He had locals from all ages- children to the elderly-wanting to play with, touch, pray over, and give gifts to him. Of course he loved every second of it! Here are some tourists obsessing over him...
This was an amazing vacation with the nicest people. We enjoyed ourselves so much and wish we could have stayed many more weeks. Well lucky for us there are many more islands to discover in Greece.
