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My journey to Greece

If this is your first trip to Greece, then my story will give you some good ideas for 

taking in the major sites and the must-see islands.We visited Athens, Mycenae, Epidauarus and Nafplio, Olympia, Delphi, Naxos,

Delos, Mykonos and Santorini.I first fell in love with Greece when I was young, and I

learned that the labyrinth in the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, was the Palace of 

Knossos in Crete. From then on, the stories took on a whole new meaning and opened

a world into a fabulous and mysterious past where incredibly advanced thinking was

taking place. I had an image of the island that was completely shattered when I

discovered that the island of Crete had not one, but two major airports. My first

realization of the intrusion of modern man into this mythical world. So you see, my impression of Greece was that the magical land was lost.

People went to "Greece" on fancy island cruise packages that didn't appeal to me in the

least. I looked at one brochure that sailed 12 hours to get to Crete for a four hour stop-

over, giving you from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. to check out the Palace half an hour away

and get back to your boat - yeah right! Not for me.

Our trip was completely planned on the internet, and it was perfect in

every way and went well beyond our expectations. We had the perfect balance of 

discovery and relaxation, no difficult travel arrangements, breathtaking views from

EVERY room we stayed in, we never rented a vehicle, and we discovered so much

about Greece, and a lot about ourselves. Yes, the Parthenon's roped off, but not much else is.

Some areas of Greece have been over-developed by package tourism and unless that's

what you're looking for - steer clear. Even if you do the main attraction islands as we did

in our first trip, with a little planning and a little research, you can still find the real

Greece, and you can still find the magic. I've become completely enthralled with this

magical land, which DOES still exist.

 After what seemed to be an endless journey, we are

finally here - our first trip to Greece. The rumours of some Greek taxi drivers are not

exaggerated - the taxi driver that we had from the airport drove like a madman. To be

perfectly honest, he would have scared Jacques (Villeneuve, that is) had he picked him

up, but after all those hours of travel we were fine with his driving.We checked in at the lovely Hotel Plaka and were soon

strolling about Athens. The view from our room is one we will not soon forget. The

 Acropolis seems to be within arms reach! 

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 After an impromptu tour of the Plaka district, we decide that Athens isn't nearly as

bad as we had heard. We found a square with plenty of happy people, and decided to

 join them.After a few Heinekens, and a gift of owl's eyes from a jewellry store proprietor 

(blue charms for luck) , we're back to the hotel. Going to see the Acropolis and the

museum in the morning.

 Amphoras near the base of the Acropolis

So much for the Acropolis and the Museum.We went for a stroll hoping to find the

 Adams Hotel. I say hoping with good reason - the streets here are like a maze, and the

Plaka is fascinating.After hours (and miles) of walking, it turns out that it's just around

the corner!

Oh well, we met a waiter from La Castille (small world, a restaurant just down the

street from us at home) and ended up on his patio drinking beer and ouzo, eating

menzedes - ALL afternoon.

We wrote many a postcard, had many a laugh, and decided there was no place

we'd rather be.

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Virtually everyone here is incredibly nice.

Back at the hotel, we look at the illuminated Acropolis from our open window and

sleep to the sounds of Greek singing and dancing down below.

This is the first day of our Classical Greece Tour. Our hotel, the Xenia Palace sits

high atop the hill, right inside one of the two Venitian acropolis'.

We left Athens this morning and travelled first to the Corinth Canal.

Quite an impressive sight and we were lucky - a boat was just coming through. I

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got some pictures from the bus,.For me, just getting a little over the edge was more than

enough.

 After Corinth, we travelled through the Peleponnese and the Argolis region to

Mycenae. I got a bit teary when I saw the lion gate - it took me right back to my grade

11 Ancient History class.

The Lion Gate at Mycenae

It amazes me how accessible the sights are. We were able to go everywhere -

 Agamemnon's tomb (although we now know it's too early to have been Aggie's), the

omphalos 'beehive' tombs and right up to the top of the Acropolis.

We are starting to feel a bit like mountain goats - although not quite enough to

contemplate the 999 steep steps up to Palamidi - the Nafplio acropolis.

The Argolis region smells beautiful (in greek = poli oRea) - orange trees, lemon

trees, pistachio and olive trees as well as wildflowers everywhere you look. Everything

is so lush - and the poppies, which seem to grow out of barren rock are the most

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beautiful shade of a deep blood red. It seems somehow symbolic of the heros and

'legends' that once lived amongst these bricks and looked out at these hills. After 

Mycenae, we travelled to the theatre at Epidaurus which was also incredible.

Reports have the seating capacity somewhere between 6 and 30 thousand,

although I tend to believe it's more realistic at around 14-16,000. You can almost

imagine what it would have been like in ancient times with the lively festivals.

Disappointing to see that some people treated it with such disrespect as to pitch their 

garbage anywhere they liked - where's Dracos when you need him?

Theatre at Epidaurus

If you're visiting Greece in the summer months, you can take in a show at

Epidaurus in July and August, which I would imagine would be quite special.

The view of the mountains is magical and tomorrow we have a long journey

through them to reach Olympia. I can hardly wait.

If this trip continues to get better and better, as I suspect it will, the only way

anything could be improved upon is if we come for six months next time.  Our tour guide,

Effie, is very well informed and paints a very good picture of the history and the love and

passion that the Greeks have for their nation.

Before I go for the evening - I should mention that Athens is one wild town.

 After napping well into the evening yesterday I was awake to hear that the Plaka was

partying well into the night, singing, dancing and general celebration of life until after 3

a.m.Peloponnese is a beautiful part of the country.

Wildflowers, hundreds of varieties, were everywhere. Sparta bushes

(yellow flowers), Judas trees (pink/purple) and Mimosa trees (yellow berries) are new

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finds. Oleander grows everywhere but it's not yet in full bloom.After a brief visit to

Megalopolis and HOURS of bus ride, we reached Olympia. Incredible!

Despite the heavy earthquake destruction that once hid it completely, it is such

an impressive site. We explored as much as we possibly could - going anywhere you

want again - and toured the impressive Museum also.

We had to risk abandoning the education from our tour quide for a while in

Olympia as it was just too enticing to stand still for long. I really could have spent a

week in Olympia.

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Entrance to the stadium at Olympia

We left Olympia heading for Delphi this afternoon. We're driving along the coastal

road and it's just amazing.We stopped in Patras for a cup of coffee in the town square

and everyone caught some sun.

We boarded a ferry from Rion to Antirion across the Gulf of Corinth, and stopped

to take a few pictures at Nafpaktos

We arrived at Delphi a few hours later and sat down to a quick lunch - time to

start sight-seeing. Delphi will be a two day stop, so after a long journey we visited the

lower Sanctuary of Athena. The ruins were truly spectacular and with the mountains as

a backdrop it was an awesome sight.

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Sanctuary of Athena at Delphi

Following the visit was a short stop in beautiful Arachova for some shopping.

This was not souvenir shopping. Our guide, Effie, informed us that here we would find

the place to purchase unique jewellry - with four great stores side by side. Or, if we

preferred, a marvellous store selling beautiful local products; leather goods, hand-made

carpets, tapestries, tablecloths, you-name-it.

 We visited the main site of Delphi, the museum and the Temple of Apollo,

and it is magnificent. Words cannot portray the magnitude of this place.

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It really is a bit of a culture shock between Naxos and Santorini - which is much

more populated with, and geared towards, tourists. It's a pretty easy adjustment though.

The views are really dramatic, and every hotel and taverna seems to have one. I

wish we were filthy rich because I can already see that the stores all sell unique and

beautiful merchandise. The jewellery is by far the nicest I have seen.

Santorini at Night

Greece certainly is magical. I've loved everything I've seen of Greece since my

first glimpse out of the plane, and we've certainly met some wonderful people every day

of our trip.

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UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES AND VETERINARY MEDICINE BANAT

MANAGEMENT FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE

Essay

‘’ My journey to Greece’’

Coordinating teacher:Astrid Groszler 

Student:David Luciana

Timisoara, 2013