Month: April 2022

We had a nice stay in Nafplio!  This weekend there is an International Yacht Festival in town and many huge yachts and sailboats have arrived and are lining the harbor.  It was quite something to see!

While in Nafplio we enjoyed a visit to the Archeological Museum and then drove to Tiryns, a Mycenaean fortress-palace nearby.  The fortress walls are made of huge irregular blocks of stone of different sizes.  They are called Cyclopean because the stones are so large that (according to legend) they must have been moved and positioned by Cyclopes!  The site is fascinating to visit.

Today the drive to the port town of Gythio took about 2 hours and 30 minutes.  This is where Helen fled with her lover Paris in the elopement that sparked the Trojan War!  We’ll explore the pleasant waterfront and take a couple of day trips from here.

The internet signal here isn’t very strong so fingers crossed we’ll be able to post a few photos along the way!

Cheers!

It’s Wednesday and that’s Market Day in Nafplio!  It’s quite a large market and vendors sell cheap clothes, implements, fish, wine, olive oil, fruits and vegetables!

This kind woman is selling produce and these small daily-like flowers that can be dried and used to make chamomile tea!

Zucchini must be in season as it’s sold with blossoms on the end that could be stuffed and cooked as well!

Fishes of every variety are available and these are colorful;

As are the peppers and eggplant!

Later, we drove to nearby to the site of the Ancient Greek theater Epidavros.  In July and August they perform classic Greek plays here!  It’s hot today but we found a shady spot at the top to view the scenery.

The ruins nearby are fun to explore.  These poppies are brilliant and they dot the countryside in the spring.

We have one more full day before we move to our next stop…Gythio!

We took a walk along the waterfront before we left Thessaloniki…one more look at the White Tower and the great statue of Alexander.

It was an 18 Euro cab ride to the airport where the check-in clerk rushed us on to an earlier flight to Athens.  We are impressed with the smaller airlines (Sky Express and Aegean) that make regular runs between Thessaloniki and Athens (plus other destinations as well).   During the 50-minute flight, the efficient flight attendants served water and a snack.  Once back in Athens, the rental car reps met us for our rental car pick-up, just outside the airport.  Here they are completing the paperwork and giving us last minute instructions.

The GPS made it easy to drive in the right direction for the 2-hour trip to Nafplio.  We made a quick stop for gas – here you see our  white rental car in front of the gas station.

The road way was excellent and the drive easy, but we had to stop every 30 minutes or so to pay a toll – around 9.25 Euros total!

Monday was still the Easter holiday weekend and Nafplio was busy with many tourists when we arrived.   One of the challenges of having a rental car is finding a place to park it.  We took a wrong turn up a very narrow street with no outlet and had to back downward trying to avoid hitting people, parked cars and flowerpots along the way.  Quite a harrowing experience!  Helpful residents guided us to safety.  We added a scrape to the side of the car…something we’ll have to deal with later!

Our hotel in Nafplio, the Rigas Pension is funky and probably not one we’d recommend but our room does have a nice balcony and a good breakfast.

We were in Nafplio about 7 years ago and it’s more developed and busier than we remember.  The alleyways are charming and the waterfront is nice.

Today is laundry day and we’re taking it easy…in recovery mode after dinging the car!🙁

 

…but we really like Thessaloniki!  There are many options for great restaurants, a long walkway along the water, friendly people, antiquities, and if we were inclined, many shopping possibilities.  We’ve enjoyed dining outdoors and the food has been fresh and delicious.

It has been a quiet Sunday as people are spending time with families for the Orthodox Easter holiday.  We walked around town and saw the Arch of Galerius;

and the Church of Hagia Sofia.

The city has a Mediterranean feel with palm trees and vistas of the water.

Parts of the city are a bit gritty – there is graffiti everywhere,

…mixed with high-end shops.

The skies have been blue and the red bud trees are in bloom.

It’s hard to believe we’ve been here five days already!  We’ve had a great time but tomorrow we fly back to Athens, pick up a rental car to drive around the Peloponnese!  Hoping for more good weather and safe travels!

Aristotlelous Square in Thessaloniki is a large open space that fronts the Thermaic Gulf in the Aegean Sea.  It’s named after the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle and his statue has a prominent place here.

We stopped by to say hello on our way to visit our most favorite statue in town, that of Alexander the Great.  One of Alexander’s teachers was Aristotle and the city is named after Alexander’s half-sister Thessalonike!  It makes sense that Alexander would have a special spot in the second largest city in Greece.

We always seem to find a market and this one had many fresh fruits and vegetables.  Mountain greens and strawberries are in season now but beets, leeks and lemons are abundant as well.  This vendor exudes an air of cheery enthusiasm for his veggies!

This small antique shop that spilled onto the sidewalk was colorful but it’s surrounded by graffiti as are many walls around town.

Thessaloniki has so many delicious dining options.  We like the Ladadika neighborhood for eating…it’s colorful in the evening!

We ate Pilaf with Mussels and drank white wine at a cute taverna called Negroponte.

We’re taking it easy with few plans for each day.  The temperatures are now in the 70’s and the sun is shining.  It’s a happy Saturday!

It usually takes us a few days to recover from jetlag so we haven’t wandered far from the hotel.  Today has been an especially good food day!  Our favorite thing for breakfast is yogurt (Greek of course) and thick local honey.

We tried  Bougatsa, a tradition inThessaloniki, flaky phyllo pastries for lunch.  One with spinach, mint, and dill.  For dessert a Bougatsa with custard cream – sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar (not shown).

Dinner was at Restaurant Argofageio (Greek for slow eating).  It was a 10 minute walk from the hotel – a tiny place with only a few tables..

The Greek salad was enormous and delicious;

…and the special soufflé with puréed potatoes, minced meat and corn was a specialty of the chef.  Larry’s calamari was tender and served with a lemon sauce.  We had the nicest meal there!

Outdoors seats at the restaurants are packed on a Thursday evening and we can see that preparations are underway for the Greek Orthodox Good Friday celebration.

The shop windows are fun for browsing!

The weather has been chillier than we expected and a bit rainy at times.  We walked a while along the water front, back to our hotel, the Electra Palace.

We hope all is well!  Best wishes from us!

We’ve just arrived in Thessaloniki to begin another Greek adventure!   This one has been rescheduled (from three weeks ago) and we’ve vacillated daily about whether or not to go.  Covid case numbers in Greece have been high but they are trending downward.  We’ve packed masks, Advil and many Covid test kits just in case, but in the meantime, we’ll be cautious!

For a large part of our trip, we’ve picked coastal areas in the Peloponnese where we can eat outside in tavernas.  Even the waiter at the outdoor pizzeria in Thessaloniki where we ate dinner this evening asked to see our vaccination card.  We realize that we’ll need to carry it with us.

The U.S. dropped the mask mandate on planes the day before we flew here.  Many on the flight wore masks anyway though some did not including some of the Delta flight attendants.  The flight crew announced that masks are mandatory in the Athens Airport   – we couldn’t leave the plane without one.  Our cab driver also cautioned us saying that people on public transportation (even taxi cabs) are fined for non-compliance.  We are happy to comply though some of those rules will change May 1.

Here’s our plan:

We flew Atlanta to Athens via JFK, then took a quick flight to Thessaloniki, our first stop.  We’ll be here for 5 nights.  Then we’ll take a flight back to Athens to pick up a rental car to visit Nafplio for 4 nights.  Drive to Gythio for 4 nights.  On to Kardymeli for another 4 nights.   We’ll visit the small village of Koroni for 3 nights, Pylos for 4 nights and then back to Athens for another 4 nights.

This map of the Peloponnese shows some of the smaller towns we’re visiting – it won’t require too much driving between destinations – and that’s a good thing since gas prices are high in Europe too!

This is the week of Greek Orthodox Easter and pastry shops like this one in Thessaloniki are selling lots delicious-looking Easter treats.

Continue reading “We’re On the Move!”