Ursula’s Travels in Sunny Greece

Nafplion

The romantic town of Nafplion is one of the most famous and also popular tourist destinations in the Peloponnese. It’s very close to Athens – only about 150 km – and also a strategic point to visit the archeological sites of Mycenae, Epidaurus Ancient Theatre, Corinth and also the nice beach of Tolo

Some info about Nafplion – Ελλ. Ναυπλιο

The beautiful town of Nafplion was the first capital of Greece in early 1830 and you can see it from the huge and outstanding building of the Municipality now that used to be the parliament – overwhelming the beautiful square .

The city attracts thousands of tourists every year therefore is well organized in terms of touristic infrastructures.

The Old Town is lovely, with old mansions – most of them completely renovated – nice pedestrians streets full of cafes, tavernas, restaurants and very nice shops.

But Nafplion most of all is very famous for his Bourtzi and for the Castle dominating the city .

What to see:

The fortress of Bourtzi is located in a very small island – in the port of Nafplion. The fortress of Bourtzi (in Turkish Tower) was build in 1471 by Antonio Gambello, an architect from Bergamo, but the construction was completed by the engineer Brancaleone.

Palamidi fortress

The fortress of Palamidi dominates from the hill the whole town of Nafplion. It was build during the venetian occupation in 19^th century and it is one of the biggest fortress you can find in Greece. It consists of 8 bastions – linked together but in some way also “separate” in case of any attack.

You can reach the fortress directly from the town on foot (but be careful …. steps are countless :) – I was told 999) or you can easily come with the car.

The entrance is free and you can really enjoy an outstanding view from there – the main central square of Nafplio, the nice beaches, the fortress of Bourtzi and the outstanding see.

This fortress has also been used as a prison, and close to the chapel you can find all the jails where also Theodoros Kolokotronis, one of the Revolution leaders has been imprisoned here, charged with high treason, in 1833.

Let’s go to my trip

I have visited the nice town of Napflion countless of times. I really love to visit this nice city that is also pretty close to Athens (about 1.30 h)

Napflion has a magic effect on myself …… when I go there I feel so relaxed and happy …… maybe this is due to the very nice old center, very characteristics, to the nice cafes or mouthwatering food or just for the Bourtzi ….

Napflio is a very nice place to spend a day, a visit to the Palamidi fortress is a must and if you want to eat in a fish taverna on the beach …. just 10 minutes by car you can reach the nice fisherman town (and very touristic) of Tolo.

I also recommend to spend your day in the outstanding beach of Vivari, close to Tolo – we spent an amazing day there, that beach is not very touristic therefore you can really enjoy your stay. We spent the whole day laying in one amaca, under the shadows or nice umbrellas … listening to light music and drinking amazing caffe’ frappe ……

Ciao !

filakia

Updated Strikes in Athens – Aπεργια

My dear readers

first of all thank you very much for all your compliments about my blog :)

I am very happy that you find it nice and of course useful – as you know the main objective for me for writing a blog is to:

make people dream while planning their fantastic holiday
make people happy during their holidays because they chose the “right” island
make people return again and again in Greece

You are really encouraging me to keep on writing and of course I am in the will to keep on travelling, visiting new places to write about :)

Lipon :) sorry for the digression …….

The current post is concerning the actual situation about strikes in Athens / Greece

As most of you know in Greece currently there is quite a strong economic crisis and the Government is trying to recover from the depts. in all ways possible .. increasing Taxes, VAT and touching also state salaries ….. For this reasons recently there have been so many strikes and more are to come …… I don’t know if they will solve something ….anyway – this is a non politic blog! and I do not want to comment this sad situation ……..

My objective is to inform any travelers that are planning to come to Athens about potential strikes in order to be ready and avoid any inconvenience

Have a look at the following link to check the situation about strikes

http://www.apergia.gr/index.php

Legenda:

ΕΘΕΛ – BUS

ΗΣΑΠ – Electric Train from Pireas to Kifisia

ΜΕΤΡΟ – Metro in Athens

ciao !

ursula

ΤΑΞΙ in Greece !! “tarifa”

My Dear readers,

I know .. it has been a long time I do not post any additional place … and I do apologize for it :)

Actually there are still a couple of destinations I would like to write about but …. I think this time I would like to introduce you to a very atypical experience in Greece – a must do – I would like to talk about Taxi …….

You would wonder … why taxis??? is there any difference about taking a Taxi in Greece ???

Well … actually taking a taxi in Greece is a MUST DO experience BUT you need to be ready for it :)

Info about Taxi – ΤΑΞΙ

First of all you need to know that Taxis in Greece are yellow and you can find them or at taxi stations or you can stop them on their way. Usually they are not expensive and this is why it is common use of people living in Greece to move with taxi.

Don’t expect a nice / luxury / clean car ….. a taxi is a yellow car with Taxi written on top of it. Any models are ok, nice or not, clean or not …

Don’t expect to find a “polite” person or a person that treats you as a client … most of the time you won’t even be allowed to have a call during your trip due to the very loud music or because the taxi driver is keeping talking on the phone – in a loud voice – without paying any attention about your presence….

On top of the fee for the trip every single luggage has a cost! therefore don’t get upset if there are asking you for more money than the one indicated

Most of all you have to keep in mind that Taxi drivers are the king of the road ! they rule! they do whatever they want! any time they want!

Rules

But I can assure you that if you follow these 7 basic rules you would really enjoy your trip :)

RULE NUMBER #1 before getting in the taxi politely ask the taxi driver if he is willing to bring you to your destination ….

Actually it could seem quite strange or let’s say unbelievable but Taxi Drivers may not bring you to the destination requested simply because they do not want to … for many reasons. .. it could be too far … they could run short of gasoline (there might be a strike) ….. you are not in their way …. etc …..

RULE NUMBER #2 don’t argue with the taxi driver to drive you to your destination! if he doesn’t want to he won’t! you will lose your war (my friend Maria knows perfectly how it feels ….. )

RULE NUMBER #3 if you do not want to share the taxi you have to promptly inform the taxi driver – once you stepped in.

A main important habit to know is that it is common use in Greece to have taxi sharing – it doesn’t mean that you are going to pay less … it only means that the taxi will make more money out of the same run, secondly if you are not the first person reaching the destination … it will take even more time for you to go where you want to go …. . Therefore if you do not want to share your seat with anybody else you have to promptly inform your taxi driver, otherwise there may be “stranger” in your taxi ………. that may even get his destination before you ….. I am telling you that because the first time I took a taxi in Greece I was in Rhodes and .. I was with my mother. It was quite late in the evening and we wanted to go to our hotel …. On our way to the hotel the taxi stop and somebody else jumped behind with us …. on the same taxi …. You cannot imagine the face of my mother … surprised and not “happy” about this new entry ….. and it was too late to complain either ….

RULE #4 better to know the street to your destinations or if you do not know the way have it written in Greek – so that he can read the destination in Greek and there won’t be any mistake

The first time I came to Athens for work I didn’t have the name of the street in Greek where the hotel was – I had it written in English and believe me or not I went to a wrong hotel …. and I had to take another taxi ….

RULE #5 unless you know your way – don’t allow the taxi to leave you where he wants … he may tell you that your destination is round the corner but do not trust him ! It happened to me once …. here in Athens …. I had to prepare some documents and had to go to some offices …. I took the taxi since I had no clue about where it was … well in the middle of our way he told me that he had to leave …. but that my office was round the corner .. and it wasn’t !!

RULE #6 during your trip you have to be calm ……. try to stand if the taxi driver smells …or the taxi smells just open the window ….. if the music is too loud just try to like it … and if the taxi drivers talks … well… listen to it :) you may have fun !

RULE #7 don’t be scared if they are running like a crazy and if despite the traffic jam is red and you passed …. they know their job ! still better to make a prayer ahahhah

My Friend Angela told me that they are even preparing a movie about Greek taxi drivers !! “A Taxi Odyssey” following the official trailer

Have fun !!

Main Taxi numbers in Athens

Asteras 210 18288

Metropolitan 210 6616500

Enotita 210 6459000

2012 – NEWS! Taxibeat application – download this application to your smartphone and you can contact your taxi that will pick you up where you are ! you will see on the map all taxes available, where they are, you can see the name of the taxi driver, his tel number, you can choose the model of the car and the most important thing is that you can make comments on him ! This is a fantastic application a friend of mine suggested me that really changed my mood whenever I call for a taxi :)

Of course if you had a funny experience about taxing a taxi in Greece please leave your comments !! I love to read about funny experiences

Ciao !

φιλαkια

Meteora

The area of Meteora is located in central Greece, in the north-western edge of the plain of Thessaly, near Pindus Mountains. Just to give a geographic idea, Meteora is closer to Volos and Thessaloniki than to Athens. So …. it’s quite a long trip to do ….. if you are located in Athens

Some info about Meteora – ελλ. Μετεωρα

First of all you should know that the monasteries in Meteora are included on the UNESCO World Heritage List – and when you get there you can easily imagine the reason behind it ……

Meteora is surrounded by magnificent rock formations with on top of them several monasteries – that have been built during the 14^th and 15^th centuries

It is one of the most religious place in Greece with lot of history to tell ….. actually once inside the monasteries, the visitor can appreciate many Byzantine relics and great frescoes, which were also praised by the UNESCO. Most of them have been completely restored… and the colours are simply amazing !

The name Meteora means “suspended in the air” and this word perfectly describes this holy place since all monasteries are “suspended” on top of natural stone pillars. Hermit monks build them during the Ottoman Occupation in order to be safe – since those were inaccessible. Only in last centuries stairs to access the monasteries have been built.

Nowadays each one of these monasteries (main important are 6 ) has less than 10 inhabitants, although they are visited by tourists. The entrance ticked is of 2 euros per person and women have to wear like a pareo in order to enter and visit them (you will find them at the entrance).

As stated before – a visit to Meteora means a quite long trip to do – since there is no airport near it. From Athens there are buses that bring you there – the trip is about 6 hours. With the car it takes you about 5 hours of trip – but it worth

Let’s go to my trip

A couple of weeks ago my husband suggested me to spend a weekend in Meteora – and since that was a place I always wanted to visit … I immediately booked our hotel and started planning our wonderful weekend in this amazing place ! Some search in google, got my Lonely Planet guide, TripAdvisor suggestions and booking.com for booking the hotel.

Since we have a cat – Pepe – and we cannot leave him for too much a long time – we decided to leave early in the morning on Saturday – instead of Friday afternoon – in order to be back on Sunday. I know … this kind of trip can kill you but anyway we had no choice ……

So … we left Athens at around 7.30 in the morning …. and at 12.00 we arrived in wonderful Kalambaka / Meteora.

Our hotel was our first nice surprise ! actually it is one of the few in the old town, located in a very quiet place and with amazing view to Meteora ! Nice, simple, cozy (nice breakfast) and the owner came to explain us where to go and what to do … I strongly recommend it – good value for money :)

http://www.hotel-adrachti.gr/home_eng.html

so …. we left our luggage, we wore comfortable pair of shoes and started our visit to the monasteries.

First we went to Megalo Meteora – Great Meteoro that is actually the biggest one and the one where more tourists go. It was founded in the middle of the 14th century by Holy Athanasios the Meteorite at the largest rock (Wide Rock). From this monastery I strongly suggest to take a lot of pictures to all Meteora because it is located in the highest place and have amazing view. There is also a section of the monastery – actually a museum – dedicated to the Second World War, since it seems that Meteora played a strong role at that time for the defense of Greece. There are also vignette of Mussolini – very funny – and pieces of articles of Italian press talking about what was happening in Greece.

Then we visited the Holy Monastery of Varlamm, that is opposite to Great Meteoro. There is a very nice wood bridge to cross in order to reach it. From there you can say something and thanks to the echo it will be amplified – nice :)

Last monastery of the day – and maybe the most difficult to reach – was the Holy Monastery of the Holy Trinity. Quite a long and sharp stair to do but beautiful ! before getting there we saw some Spanish tourists that told us …”guy, good luck !!!”

Comparing to the previous 2 monasteries it was much smaller – still beautiful with the paintings and frescoes inside the church, the small yard and amazing view to Kalambaka and all the valley.

After all this strolling around It was already 5.00 pm and we were like zombies …. we woke up early and visited 3 monasteries going up and down …. and we decided to have a quick “late launch” and at evening we went to Kalambaka for dinner. I might say … what a beautiful day !!!

The day after we woke up quite late – enjoyed our amazing breakfast (fresh cakes, tiropitakia ecc .. ) with the amazing view of Meteora …. collected our stuff … spoke with the owner of the hotel about several topics – Meteora, his wife that is from Australia and had to adapt to leave in Greece … the economic crisis and … at 11.00 we started our tour – in order to visit the last 3 monasteries ! We still had lot of things to do … before coming back to Athens :)

First one and actually also the first one you will find on the road, on the left is The Holy Monastery of Saint Nicolas Anapafsas.

Then we visited the very cozy Holy Monastery of Roussano – our first female Monastery ! and you can see it from the inside decorations and .. also from the colours of the pareo. In order to get there you need to cross a very nice small wood bridge. Once up to the monastery you can enjoy amazing view, nice flowers and a very friendly atmosphere

Last one and the easiest to reach was the Holy Monastery of Saint Stephen that first was male, but since 1961 there has been a sisterhood. In this monastery you will also find a huge shop with all souvenirs – in case you want to buy postcards, Saints ecc …

All those monasteries are beautiful ! I really liked not only the location but also visiting them, inside, it has been a strong experience ! most of the painting and most of the frescoes have been restored, the chapels are simply beautiful, the yards full of flowers with amazing view ….. you need to visit all of them ! don’t just stick to 1 or 2

I include a link where you can find more details about each of the monasteries – I didn’t want to bore you … so if you have time I strongly suggest to read it :)

http://www.kalampaka.com/en/meteora/monasteries.asp

I strongly recommend to visit this place because it’s unique! There are no other placse like Meteora …. really!

If you come to Meteora don’t foget to visit Pyli, and go to Elati – very nice locations on top of the mountain – nice valley and delicious food

Ciao !

Filakia