Katikies Mani - Stoupa, GR

 

After breakfast, we strolled around Monemvasia Castle for awhile.  There is apparently a path that leads to the top of the mountain, but unfortunately, we didn’t have time to climb it (this is the story that we are sticking with).  We retraced our route, going through two fairly small towns.  Lesson 7 - there is no such thing as a single lane road in Greece, only roads with creative opportunities.  A derelict ship on the beach gave us an opportunity to stretch our legs.  Apparently, the owner ran out of money, the crew abandoned it and drifted onto the beach in a pretty little cove (on December 23, 1981, according to Wikipedia).  

We stopped in Gytheio for lunch, over another mountain to the western coast of Peloponnese.  Most of the towns were high above the water, but we occasionally dipped down to the shore, only to climb back up to the mountains again.  

Our villa is on a small hillside with an infinity pool and a spectacular view of the Mediterranean.  The plan was to use this as our base for exploring, but we have decided to spend the time recovering from our prior explorations (this is our story that we are sticking with).

On our way to dinner we stopped at the local market to get some wine, cheese and fruit.  There were not a lot of people eating dinner in Stoupa, even though we waited till after 7:00 to eat.  Since we were the only people eating at the Mango Garden Restaurant, the waiter (owner?) gave us special attention, and lots of it!  Lamb Kleftiko and Beef Giouvetsi both slow cooked.  We tried to convince him to open a Greek Restaurant in Portsmouth.

We sort of saw a wonderful sunset, driving back to the villa.  Tomorrow, we will try for a better view.

Likinia Hotel - Monemvasia Castle, GR

 

From Nafplio to Monemvasia was a winding road through the mountains.  We stopped in Tripoli for Greek Coffee and then in Sparta for coffee and toast.  Lesson five - if you drive far enough you will eventually find a parking spot.  Lesson six - noon is not lunch time, it’s coffee time.  Sometime after 2:00 is dinner.  Cocktails are served when there is a bartender, it’s too cold for beer, and Greek wine is available almost any time.

The roads through town are narrow and have cars parked randomly everywhere.  If you are not parked in a real parking spot, you just need to turn on your four way flashers.  This is a feature used extensively here.

 Monemvasia Castle has no cars, so we had to park outside the gate (about 1/2 mile away because of rule 5).  We have a great little room overlooking the bay.  We ate a pretty light dinner with a cheese filled pastry and cheesy mashed potatoes which were beyond delicious with all sorts of indescribable flavors.  We topped it off with orange cake and ouzo and a wine liquor.   It started to drizzle a little, so ducked into a little bar for a nightcap. 

Tomorrow, we head for Kalamata.

Grand Sarai Hotel - Nafplio, GR

 

Today was climb the 999 steps to the Fortress Palamidi day.  We had seen the YouTube, and I was ready.  It wasn’t as bad as it seemed…50 steps and rest for the first half, 25 steps and rest for the second.  Once at the top the fortress was broken into different bastions, all built at different times.  Originally built by the Venetians, then occupied by the Ottomans, taken over by the Persians, and finally 340 elite Greek forces stormed the Fortress, taking all the occupants as prisoners for the rest of their days.  Gotta love those Greek war stories!  

Quick climb down to the awaiting cafe for a double Greek coffee, then lunch.  This is a nice little town with huge yachts coming in.  We have always admired Mediterranean moorings, but never saw anyone do it until now. After lunch and a short siesta, we hiked a short LEVEL trail along the coast line.  We had to turn around when we got to overhanging rocks (not one of Deb’s favorites).  Returned to town for a Negroni and a Dark and Stormy, and dinner.  We decided not to talk about the changing of the propane tanks on the outdoor heaters…let’s just leave it that Deb found something very interesting to look at about a block away.

Tomorrow off to another castle, over a winding twisting road.

Grand Sarai Hotel - Napflio, GR

 Rented a small Mercedes.  The drive out of Athens was fairly easy, even though the motorcycles drive between the cars and the lanes are not very wide.  We finally got to the autobahn and were pretty much alone for the rest of the day.  Our first stop was the Corinthian Ismus Canal, the sea level canal that ships can use to bypass going all the way around Peloponnese.  Only problem is that the sides keep falling into the water, so it is closed but it may open soon.  We had a cup of Greek coffee which was delicious but had about an inch of coffee sludge on the bottom.

By lunch, we were in Mykinai. Not a large town, you could tell by the dogs sleeping in the road.  It’s on the way to the ancient ruins so there were lots of tour buses going through.  We stopped at a little restaurant in town that was not a tour bus stop.  Our waiter insisted that Deb come into the kitchen to see how his mother made stuffed tomatoes and artichokes.  

After lunch, we went to see the ancient ruins.  Although we didn’t have a tour guide, we still had Google to guide us.  

Our hotel is in the old part of the city and you can’t drive anywhere near it.  You just need to find some place to park and walk with your bag.  Lesson 4 - pack light!  We walked around the city, through the large square, found a nice place for a drink, a nice place for dinner: lamb and pork!  

Our plans for tomorrow, hike up 1000 steps to the Fortress.  Deb needs a little convincing for this endeavor.  “Why exactly do you need to do this, when you can just drive!”  I have no answer.

Acropolis View Hotel (Day 2) - Athens, GR

 Still recovering from jet lag.  To bed at 8:00 (1:00 PM in Portsmouth), up at 4:00 AM (9:00 PM) in Portsmouth).  Up to the Acropolis at 8:00 to avoid the crowds, sort of). Impressive to say the least.  Back down to the ancient city for lunch: Lamb and Chicken.  Deb wanted to see the marble arena built into the hills.  Lesson 3 - the countdown time on the pedestrian cross light is the number of seconds until the next walk light NOT the number of seconds you have to cross the road!  Our final stop of the day was the Acropolis Museum, which is built over the ruins of the ancient city.  You can see the dig site through the glass floors and you can also go down and walk among the ruins.  The museum contains much of the actual stonework from the Acropolis itself including the Caryatids (except for the one Britain stole…argh!). 

We watched a few interesting videos showing the history of the Acropolis including when it was converted to a Christian Church and when it was converted to a Mosque.  And we got to see how the Persians destroyed all the intricate stone work, chopping off heads and arms….argh!  

Back to the hotel for some more jet lag recovery.  Although it started to rain, we made our way to a lovely little wine bar/small plates place to discuss my trepidation about renting a car and driving it out of Athens.  Deb talked me down…”tell me your greatest fear, and we’ll work through it together!”  Gotta love that girl.

Acropolis View Hotel - Athens, GR

 We finally arrived at our hotel which as expected had a view of the Acropolis.  Although, you can see it from the room, there is a much better view from the roof.  You can buy a drink in the lobby and take it to the roof.  The bartender asked if we wanted chips, but Deb misheard him to say tips.  Lesson one - tips are not expected in Greece.  We found a nice alfresco restaurant, had lamb and chicken.  Lesson two - you need to bring the little receipt into the restaurant to pay for the meal.  

Given the fact that we were a little jet lagged, we went bed pretty early.  Tomorrow it’s the Acropolis, a few museums and probably some more lamb and chicken.

Frankfort, Germany

 Normally, I wouldn’t post about an airport but…   After disembarking our flight at gate Z69, we started a long walk through the Z terminal to our next flight at gate A19.  We finally got to a sign to turn left for the “A” gates, but as we turned the corner the sign going down the stairs said gates A20-40, so we turned around retracing our steps but now there were signs for gates A1-19, after walking several hundred yards the sign just said gates A20-40.  So we turned around again to see signs for gates A1-19 in the opposite direction.  Back at where we first turned around the sign now said gates A1-40.  Turns out the signs were actually TV monitors which they can change to reroute traffic or maybe just to have fun with tourists.