Ephira Hotel Corinth

... first hand. <br><br>A couple was touring the grounds (there's a museum as well) and the lady, a trained opera singer, decided she wanted to sing. We all sat down (I made my way to the top to test the theory) and from the very first note to the last, I heard every one! The pictures will be able to show you just how large the outdoor theater is to give you a better idea. <br><br>Next Stop: Athens!

Apparently, Nero took the first ceremonial spade full of dirt out and then ...

... shops. <br><br>There is a castle called Palamidi which is situated on a cliff above the town. The Lonely Planet says that locals insist there are 900 steps- not sure about that. I climbed the steps for a great sunset view but the castle was closed so I don't know what its like inside. The outer walls are pretty cool. <br><br>Nafplio is a very enjoyable relaxing place, I would go there again. It's a bit too expensive and overrated I think.

... parts you can get an idea of some of the structure of the building, others are only a few inches of the foundation sticking out of the ground. It was cool to walk around because Greek sites don't force you to stand 20 feet away from everything. We were able to go right up to some things and walk right on top of others. The largest structure was the remains of the Temple of Apollo where 7 of the 38 columns still reach towards the sky, despite being ...

... with a tiny church. Nafplion was the first capital of modern Greece after the Greek War of Independence (1821 - 1828). Our hotel was an 18th century mansion converted into a 5-room bed and breakfast. We were in the old part of the town which was built long before cars and the streets are very narrow but people still drive in the wider ones. Parking was quite a challenge ...

... it we had another Italian couple asking us if we knew how to get to the ancient ruins on the hill, which we had been staring at and drooling at the prospect of getting to as well. Some translations were done and we continued wandering. Ancient Corinth is pretty cool. It was a pretty thriving city which was destroyed and then built over by the Romans. A lot of what survives is theirs and replicates, as always. But pretty well preserved is part of the temple of Apollo, a small church ...

... a fair bit of acceleration. Apparently the sudden speed increase was also noted from the beach, result! As we returned to the beach Andy nearly fell out the side, fortunately managing to hang on by his toes and prevent loss of face by an embarrassing capsize in the shallows.<br><br>On Monday we took the 'Katerina Star' ferry to Spetses for a day on the beach, a blistering 20 minute walk from the town interrupted only by a cooling dip at a secluded cove with ...

Last day of "spring", with a temperature of 37°C! Oddly mild, though, compared to the highs of the day before. And, because we'd missed out on seeing Elefsina on Thursday, which the day we'd scheduled for it, we were determined to fit it in today, this set the whole plan back a bit but, on the other hand, we had the National Highway to help make up the time. With speed "limits" of 120kph (and we were passed like we were going backwards), we thought we could ...

This morning we got the rental car and I had my baptism of fire with driving in Greece . Turns out our car rental people don't quite take you to the city limits. They take you to a relatively sedate intersection from which finding the right exit is simple. I had thought I might try driving in Athens just for the challenge and to be able to say that I did it, and as it turned out I had no choice. There was no way Melissa was going to do ...

Today we aid goodbye to the Attalos Hotel and set off to see Thebes, Chaironea, Elefsina and Korinthos. It must be noted that the temperature hit 42C (107.6F) and stayed there for most of the day, what our Korinthian hotel host later called a "mini" heat wave. For sure, a woman struggling up a hill in Thebes before noon commented to me "zesti" (hot) while fanning herself: if a Greek says it's hot, it's hot. But I'm getting ahead of myself. We set out from Athens in a Swift rental car ...