Part 3 - Greece - March 2018

We landed at Athens, checked in to the not-so-great Pan Hotel, and quickly stepped out for a 4 hour walk all around the area. We walked through Monastraki Square, Exarchia to see some Graffiti and street art, saw the Hadrian's Library, a bit of the Ancient Agora, Tower of the Winds, and saw the Acropolis on the hill top from near the Thissio Metro Station.

We began with brunch at Cafe Diogenese, followed by some gelato in Marabello near Monastraki Square, some cold beer near Exarchia, and on our way to the Syntagma Square stopped for some fresh hot falafels at Not Just Falafel. With another 45 mins to go for the Changing of Guard ceremony at the Monument, we sat down for a bit while the kids played around the garden like maniacs.

We saw the ceremony and headed for dinner to a lousy Indian restaurant called Babaji, easily the worst food we have had in this trip. Our night was very disturbed in the dingy room, and we chose to check out the next morning, before our guided day tour with Private Greece Tours.

We went straight to the Acropolis, to be able to see this beauty just when the gates opened and ahead of the crowd of tourists. We then drove through some of the places we had visited the previous day, and then through the most gorgeous coastline we have ever been on. A bright sunny day, the blue skies, perfect blue sea to match and the white sails, oh we didn't want this drive to end. But it did, at Cape Sounio where we saw the Temple of Poseidon.

We then returned to Athens and stopped at Zaxos Grill for some really tasty gyros lunch, well deserved after a long day out. We then checked into Holiday Suites, showered and went out for dinner to the lane near Thissio Station. Kuzina served some fresh Tzatziki, bread and soup. We were strategically seated outdoors to enjoy the view of the Acropolis lit up at night.

After a taxi ride back to the room, and a goodnight's sleep, we woke up really late the next morning. We went to the Acropolis Museum, visited the Ancient Agora, Temple of Hephaestus, did a bit of shopping near Monastraki, lunched at Cafe Diogenese (once again), ran a couple of laps around the Olympic Stadium, and finished the evening with gelato at Le Greche, something that the kids really wanted to have before leaving the city.

In the next two hours, we had checked out, changed, and reached the airport to take our flight back home. 

Part 2 - Greece - March 2018

We took a short flight from Athens to Mykonos. A little "toy" town, we had to walk with our luggage from the main road to the Carbonaki Hotel. After checking in, we went up to the waterfront and had a sumptuous meal at Captain's, our first time tasting and enjoying anchovies.

Although it was a bit cold, we decided to walk up to another part of the island called Ornos. It was raining, and we were on a twisty, winding main road up the hill, for almost an hour and a half. There was nothing to see at the end of it, so it was quite a disappointing hike, but thankfully found a cab back to the room. Quite hungry after that walk and a hot shower in the room, we stepped into Sugar & Salt, a cozy little place for some lovely pizza and wine.

We woke up to a sunny day, clear skies, and the blue blue sea. Our plan to go to Delos had to be cancelled as the seasonal boats were cancelled for the week. Though, the good food and beauty of the white and blue island totally made up for the disappointment we felt.

After some hot egg sandwiches at Trio Bambino, we walked all day through town, stopping to take pictures, having some coffee, some whiskey, some hot chocolate (yes it was sunny, but cold winds needed something to keep us warm) some hot snacks at Attica bakery and returned to our room. We also managed to watch Cars, yet again! We stepped out to view the sunset, had some authentic Greek food at Appaloosa Bar & Restaurant before calling it a day.

We took a Super Sea Jet to Santorini the next morning and checked into Aura Caves in Thera. Grabbed a sandwich nearby, a rental car from Spiridakos and drove around the island. We saw the red beach, black beach, a wasted effort to see the white beach and finally to Oia to see the sunset. It is truly one of the most beautiful sunsets, the expanse of the Mediterranean waters, many islands in the distance, blazing red sky and the sun going down. A spectacular sight indeed.

We also saw the full moon's reflection on the surface of the water on our way back. Stopping quickly at the crowded Jaipur Palace Restaurant for some roti, dal and chawal, we returned late to the room.....I mean, cave!

The next morning began with walking through the village on the hill, Pyrgos Kallistis. After a bit of shopping, seeing some lovely views from the top, we climbed down to have a refreshing brunch at Franco's. Our next stop was at Santo Winery to taste some wines and cheese, which ended with a puncture (probably from the failed white beach trip on that horrible path downhill). After fixing, rather replacing the Tyre, we drove to Oia to see that part of the island.

We saw the bright white and blue buildings, hotels with pools, the famous blue domes and bell towers, and climbed down 300 steps to view the Ammoudi beach. The highlight of the evening was of course, our visit to the Atlantis Bookshop (by far the cutest we have seen) and returned to the room with sandwiches from a street side stall.

We flew to Athens the next morning to take our flight to Crete. We drove out in our Auto Rentals car from the Airport. Disappointed with our booking at the Erofili Apartments, we checked into Sundance Apartments & Suites.

We then drove through Mountain ranges, to view canyons, gorges (did not attempt hiking though.... I could come up with some excuses, but I know I won't buy them). We then went to Plaka, to see some great views of the sea, the small island of Spinalonga from a distance and to our destination....Delphini. A family run restaurant where, in true Cretan style, we chose fresh fish from their kitchen and got them to cook it for us. Needless to say, it was divine.

We left really late, and it was a very dark, eerie drive back through the mountains to the room. The only company we had was the full moon reflecting the sun's red hue from its surface. It was gorgeous.

We woke up with a long list of things to do, which began with a visit to the laundromat, freshly baked croissants from a bakery nearby, a drive to the Lasithi Plateau, up the hill towards the Cave of Zeus. This was a 40 minute exciting hike up and down, that ended with the most refreshing glasses of orange juice. We then went to Knossos & Phaistos Palaces both a couple of hours from each other. Saw some Ruins of the Temple of Apollo, picked up our laundry and a sandwich in between.

When the evening ended early, we were happy to return to the room, pack, shower and go for a relaxed dinner and beers at Mythos next door. We were up the next morning, heading back to Athens, this time to see the city and not just the Airport.

Part 1 - Greece - March 2018

We had been considering a trip to Greece for over 2 years now. But the summer and the heat had always been a deterrent. So we made up our minds to travel during the Easter holidays, hoping it will be pleasant and a bit sunny during the day. What with island hopping and a lot of walks and climbing as part of the itinerary, we were all geared up with cotton clothing, shorts etc.

On 23rd March 2018, we took a flight from Dubai to Athens. It was only when we landed that we realized it was just about 23 degrees. For us, tropical beings, Greece was freezing and there was a hint of rain. Every soul was wearing thick winter jackets, and the four of us landed in summer clothes. Brrrr.....

We had booked a self drive car with Athens Car Rentals who had brought our vehicle to the airport. We signed the papers, picked up our key and headed out to Meteora (Kalampaka) which was a 4 hour drive from the airport according to Google Maps. Since we did not have our SIM Card yet, we ended up relying on the car's GPS... only to realize it had its own mind and directed us on a route that took us almost 7 hours to reach. Whew.... Lesson learnt! But the drive was beautiful, green, vast fields, meadows with lovely flowers....Gosh, we had missed Europe.

We landed at Dellas Boutique Hotel, which was a cozy, lovely place. We retired for the night and woke up early morning, and saw our first ever sight of snow from our window. The other side opened to a view of the Orthodox Monastery which was extremely close to our place of stay.

We were going to be driving to Mt. Olympus. The kids just had to go there for the view and to set foot on the tallest mountain in Greece and the home of the Greek Gods. Something they had picked up from their obsession of Rick Riordan books. Our drive in and out of Meteora took up most of the day. But the snow capped Mt Olympus, the view from a distance, was totally worth it. The boys got to pick up and play with some ice too (or maybe snow). We decided to turn back and saw that the entire mountain range was covered with fog, we literally would have seen nothing if we had been 15-20 minutes late. Green mountains, the water stream, the trees, everything covered in fog on our way back. It was surreal.

When we reached the sleepy town below, we stopped at a lovely lovely place called Meze Meze for lunch. They had only a few items on the menu, but the place was buzzing, and the food was excellent. We then drove back to Meteora and reached well before 7pm and had enough time to watch a movie (Baby's day out) before hitting the sack.

We woke up the next morning and drove to Delphi. This was a one night stop to view the archaeological site in the afternoon, stay overnight and wake up early to head out to Nafplio which was going to be a long drive. But we realized when we reached there that it was a holiday at Delphi and entrance to the sites was closed. So we just spent a lazy afternoon having some cheap food and walked by the promenade seeing some nice views down the hill. Our dinner was at In Delphi Cafe, a  lovely restaurant that served some amazing house wine, soup and pastas. The kids gorged on some great pizzas too.

We had a light breakfast the next morning and drove out to see the Athena Pronaia, Temple of Apollo and the Museum. Some spectacular views with lots of history, mythology and archaeology dating back to the 4th Century BC.

Around afternoon, we drove out to the lovely little busy, foodie town of Nafplio. We drove through the hilly town of Nafpaktos along the seaside. We went past tiny villages, a cemetry and drove up to the top of a hill to see the view of the Ionian Sea, crossed the Rion Antiron Bridge (the world's longest multi span cable suspension bridge), passed the Gulf of Corinth and reached Nafplio early evening. We were staying at an Agrotospita Country House full of Mulberry, Orange and Olive Trees. We had some lovely Orange Pie (our first taste of this yummilicious dessert made using Filo sheets, greek yoghurt and fresh orange juice) and headed out to town to enjoy some great wine and pizza at Scuola Pizza Bar. 

After returning to the country house late night, we ran one round of washing and went to bed. Upstairs in separate rooms from the kids, oh it was a good night's sleep. We woke up next morning, sunned out our clothes, and chatted outside in the lawn, and successfully locked ourselves out thanks to a cat that was trying to get into the house. We left around mid morning towards town, had some lovely croissants for breakfast in a shop that had a huge pair of sunglass shaped mirrors with the Dubai Skyline (much to the amusement of the kids), and went up driving to the Palimidi Fort. We parked the car and spent about 2 hours walking through the Fort and enjoying some spectacular views of the Argolic Gulf and the endless blue sea and sky. We then came down, drove past the palm lined beach and headed to a little cozy family run restaurant called Kontrabasso, at the foot of the Fortress steps behind the Cine Nafplio, that cooked up some amazing lunch for us. We returned back to the country house in the afternoon, took a nap, ironed some clothes and headed out again for some dinner at Goody's burger joint in town, then viewed the lit up Fort from below against the night sky. It was indeed a relaxed day for us in this "buzzing in the weekend otherwise sleepy town". 

The next morning we had an early exit, so we grabbed a croissant each, and drove out to Athens Airport to take a flight out of the mainland and start our week of island hopping in the Aegean Sea. We were now looking forward to some blue, some white and some sunshine.