It's all Greek to me!

Smile!


In front of the Acropolis


Tourist?


A friendly game of backgammon at a local cafe.


Greek dancers (the one on the right is a spitting image of B.Foss, no joke!)


Showing off my Greek dancing moves.

We decided to visit Greece over the Easter weekend, because it gave us a couple extra days to travel (Easter is a two day banking holiday here in Geneva) and we were told that if we were to visit a Catholic country, everything would be closed. Our plan worked, since in Greece, Easter is celebrated a week after the Catholics celebrate, which meant more sightseeing for us! Hooray for the Greek Orthodox calendar!

Upon arriving I began to worry that the language may be a problem. Although I'm versed in the Greek alphabet (thanks to my years as a Chi-Omega -- "Go Greek!") I found myself completely lost linguistically. But in the end, quite to our surprise (and a little to our disappointment) we heard more English spoken on the street than Greek. But the little exposure we did have to the local language made me thankful that I'm studying French and not Greek... tres dificile!

We did have a little scare with our choice of accommodations. On the train ride into town from the airport I read a bit about the different areas of Athens in our guidebook, "Near Omonia great efforts have been made to clean up the area's image and crime problems. Still, beware of the sleazy suburbs around Omonia Square, as it is still one of the less traveler friendly of Athens’s neighborhoods." Uuuhhh... where on the map is our hotel? Oh, three blocks off Omonia Square? Sweet! I must admit it wasn't the best location, but it could have been worse. We did learn a valuable lesson, and now I don't book a hotel without consulting tripadvisor.com!

Our first day was spent at the Acropolis, Parthenon, & The National Archaeological Museum. All were absolutely breathtaking and a must see. The Acropolis is by far one of the most stunning single structures I have ever laid my eyes on.

That night we decided to go on a "night tour" that included dinner and traditional Greek music & dancing. (Please refer to my previous bus tour experience... as I said before, bus tours are not for me, and this current trip only reinforced my opinion) The tour itself was mediocre at best. Then they brought us to the restaurant and into a room that was big enough for about 100 people but was crammed with more like 300. This was no problem, being the easy-going travelers that we are. We never expected great (or even good) seats, but the tour guide woman plopped us in the only two remaining seats that were literally backstage and behind a pillar about 3 feet wide, COMPLETELY blocking the entire stage. Then, before we could say anything, she disappeared into the night. Super.

The only reason we were paying for this overpriced dinner was to see the dancing, so I decided to take things into my own hands. We quickly ordered a bottle of wine and I took it across the room to a vacant space in the isle where I wasn't blocking anyone else’s view. I think the wait staff all hated me, since I was very much in their way, but hey, as they said in Dirty Dancing, "no one puts Baby in the corner!!"

The story does have a happy ending though. About half way through the show a large party left that had front row seats and we moved in, dinner & wine in tow. Soon they were pulling people up on stage and you better believe this girl was part of the action. So, in the end a good time was had by all.

4 out of 5 Greeks live in the capital city of Athens, hence it is very congested and you can literally see the pollution hanging in the air. After a day (and our crazy night) in Athens we were longing to get out of the city and see a little of the Greek country side. We decided on the small, seaside town of Nafplio (in the Peloponnese), described as one of Greece's most beautiful cities. It is a wonderful mix of Greek, Venetian, & Turkish character. The highlight for us were the two castles, one on the hillside overlooking the town and one in the middle of the harbor.

We checked out Bourtzi Castle in the harbor and walked up the 999 steps (yes, exactly 999) to the top of the Palamidi Fortress, which rewarded us with stunning views! We celebrated our own Easter Sunday with a scrumptious brunch at an outside table right on the water and overlooking the harbor. We really missed everyone back home. Easter just isn't the same being so far away from family, but it will definitely be one to remember for us!



The view from the Palamidi Fortress above the town of Nafplio.


Climbing the 999 steps to the top of the fortress.


We made it to the top!


Heading to Bourtzi Castle in the harbor.


Together at the castle.


The end of a long day!