Visiting Greece

Greece is a popular destination in Europe where civilization is said to have started around 1600 BC. The country is full of so many gems, then the islands score a good number of tourists yearly. The capital, Athens, is a good place to start. Walking around on cobble stones, restaurants line the streets in typical European style. The city is full of so much history and it is easy to walk around.

View of Athens

The Acropolis is one of the most popular sites to see in Athens. it is a historical landmark that holds particular significance in the Greek history and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a stone Roman theatre structure

Within the Acropolis, you'll find theatres and the popular Parthenon marble temple. The temple went through phases of ruin and was rebuilt in different eras, under the Persians,  Romans, Turkish and Greek but every part of the Acropolis holds a story and the many structures have stood the test of time.

Different angles of the Acropolis. I was told that the crowd on this day was nothing compared to peak season, between May and August. I visited in October.

I was particularly struck by the intricacy of each structure as we made our way through, wondering how without the technology available to us now, these structures were built. If you go on a guided tour through the Acropolis, you'll get information that you may not have otherwise. I went on a guided tour that lasted for over three hours which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Flag of Greece

By the way, on my way from the Acropolis, I was making my way down as the Acropolis is on an elevated area. I walked down the hill with my usual energetic gait and as I turned the corner, I heard "young generation". What was striking was the disdain or would I say the anger I heard with those two words. I had just turned the corner and looked over to see a face pleading apology. I only saw the back of the speaker and I'm assuming this one who had an apology on her face was embarrassed and may have called the speaker out. The speaker only went further and said "I like to say it loud". She clearly wanted me to hear.

I was too stunned and just kept walking. A few minutes on, I regretted not saying anything. I should have made it more interesting by calling out "old generation, I'm not as young as you think I am, I am fit" 😂 Anyway, why would someone be so upset at another person for being young or energetic? People are going through it and who knew that reverse agesim was a thing. 

Outside the Acropolis, even google maps shows you the numerous monuments you could possibly visit, depending on how much time you have. There are many museums to visit, as well as interesting neighbourhoods to see. I wandered around Plaka where there are lots of shops and restaurants. But also Monastiraki which is vibrant and lively. We even stumbled on different basket ball games taking  place simultaneously.

I came across the oldest house in Athens while I was wandering around

 

The food, oh the food! Join a walking food tour if you can.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mykonos was the next stop, one of the islands in the Cyclades group in the Aegean sea. It is known for its summer part vibe and arguably has the most vibrant nightlife in Greece.

My cousin and I

I visited during off-season, but I was still drawn to the colours and charm of this island. From Fabrika where we stayed, it was easy to walk to most places which were close by, like little Venice and the windmills. 

Little Venice

Mykonos

But the entire area is a maze of narrow alleys that's easy to get lost in. It is hilly so be prepared to get a work out in. The roads are so narrow, watching 2 cars make their way through was always fascinating.

There were many nice picture spots, then we found ourselves a lunch spot and we enjoyed our lunch thoroughly.

One of those off guard photos 😀

Paradise beach is a popular party spot, as well as little Venice.

Paradise Beach

On this trip, I was too exhausted to explore the night life, but I watched the sunsets and the colours were magnificent.

Mykonos is referred to as the Queen of the Cyclades and it is easy to see why. 

    We continued to Santorini...instagram has over romanticised this island that one can hardly tell what is real or polished. We started by going on a wine tour. 

The first two wineries we visited

The wine tasting group

I had no expectation as alcohol is not my thing, but I was pleasantly surprised. I found the history and facts about the wine on this island intriguing. How vines are kept and grown, not watered, but left for the humidity from the air to get trapped, which is enough for the vine to thrive. We visited three wineries.

Our guide doing his thing. He was so good at it!

One of the many wine cellars we saw

There are various kinds of grapes and wines, but Visanto is a known wine from the island. It is a sweet red wine. I tried maybe 7 wines, white and red, but my favourite was Sweet Sun, another red wine.- We were talked through the production process, storage and shown how to check how old wine is in our glasses. 

The 2nd winery had a great view over the caldera and we watched the sun set there.

From preparation to storage then packaging, we were talked through and shown it all. It was indeed interesting.

We liked the group of people we went on the tour with. We clinked glasses overlooking the caldera, watched the sun set together, had interesting conversations and were treated to a 5-course meal at the last winery to end the tour. I totally recommend it.

There are about 20,000 inhabitants on the island. We were told that at the time of our visit, off-season, only 2 cruises per day arrived with about 3,000 people on board. However, during peak season, up to 10 or more cruises arrive per day, surpassing the number of inhabitants. Then if you added the number of tourists who visited on their own like we did, I wonder how many there would be. It must be challenging for the inhabitants in summer.

A good way to see Santorini if you are brave enough is to go on an ATV/quad bike tour.

I didn't read about it beforehand, so I wasn't mentally prepared. You'll ride on a curvy, narrow road heading up the mountain/hill. If you are afraid of heights, this is probably not for you. It was also quite windy on the day we went, I felt like I was going to be blown off the road by the wind. To reassure myself, at some point, I drove in the middle of the road. 

Our first stop was the most popular destination on the island; Oia. 

We arrived Oia early so the crowd was not yet bad, pictured below. By afternoon, moving around required waiting in lines.

Oia has the blue domes and the white washed buildings and views many people see on social media, but it is packed. I felt sorry for people who tried to get to their hotels through crowds of tourists.

Part of her crew

Gloria turned 40, so we celebrated in Santorini!

 And what's a visit to Greece without the flying dress photo shoot

The birthday girl!

Shine bright like a diamond

 

 

The views all around Oia do not dissapoint.   

Around Oia

- Oia is a traditional town, with whitewashed houses overlooking the caldera. We wandered around briefly then continued to 

Part of the birthday crew

- Castelli of  Pygros - we passed through the highest settlement of the island, Pygros, and admired the old Ventian castle of "Castelli". Next, we went to 

It was so windy!

The highest spot on the island

- Monastery of Profitis Llias - from here being the highest spot on the island, we got a panoramic view of Santorini and great photos. People are allowed to go into the monastery only when there is a service taking place on Sunday. so we couldn't go in.

Perissa black sand beach was nice to see. The sand is black due to volcanic eruption in the past. My god mother had told me to visit, so I was glad to see that it was part of the tour.

Windmills of Emporio - We passed by and saw pre-industrial buildings, built in the 19th century andhave been designated as historical monuments by the Greek Ministry of Culture

Volcanic Red Beach was our last stop but we admired it from the top and didn't go down. Our guide didn't recommend going down. 

The ride back to Imerovigli, where we stayed, was easier, maybe because I had got a hang of the roads. The tour took about 4 hours and I liked it. But I'm undecided if I would do it again.

Another way to explore Santorini is by boat! Of course you are on an island. It was such a vibe. We started off at Vichida marine and saw the red beach, white beach, the light house, Santorini volcano, Thirassia and the old harbour. There were two stops where we could dive into the Aegean sea; at the Santorini volcano which came with the condition that i) you had to be a strong swimmer as the current could push you in the wrong direction because it was a windy day. ii) There was also a hot spring which was more warm than hot. It had magnesium so we were not advised to go in with jewelry as it could wash/bleach them out and anyone with asthma was not advised to go in. 

 

The other swimming spot was Thirassia. Some people jumped in. I thought about the cold that would hit me afterwards with how windy it was so on this day, I was happy to be an onlooker.

We were well fed on board, the food was cooked from scratch by the crew and it was delicious. Towards the end of the trip, thanks to how pleasant the crew was, obliging our song requests, we had a dance party on the boat. It was a day well spent.

We stayed in Fira in Imerovigli, it is a good place to stay as it is quiet and you can easily to get to other parts of the island from there. 

Sunsets and sunrises were always a joy to behold!

It was too cold to use the pool, so we could only admire it unfortunately.

 

 

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Greece is a great destination to explore, but bear in mind that your account will need recovery afterwards.