Les Amis Hotel Athens

The battle of Thermopylai was fought more than 120 years before Alexander was born, so there's no particular connection there, except that he must have known the story, and had the thoughts and feelings about it that a warrior and a general would have. From all I have read, he loved courage, considering it perhaps the ultimate virtue, and so I imagine he would have felt in awe of the courage that the word "Thermopylai" has come to stand for. (It literally means "hot gates," after its hot spri...

It's only when we have expectations that we can experience disappointment. Thus with this short list of items which might temper the expectations of a typical North American staying in Greek hotels, I hope I can do you the service of preventing disappointment. 1. Most do not have bath-tubs - just a small shower enclosure that may or may not have a curtain. Get used to it. 2. Possibly even harder to get used to: you can't throw toilet paper down the toilet - you have to stick the used stuff in...

I don't know about you, but I don't like really hot weather. It can make me cranky. I also interpret it as a sign from the universe to enter the lethargy zone. You know how cats flop on the floor with all four legs splayed out, and don't do much else? That's me, if I had my total choice, unless there's swimmable water around, in which case I prefer to enter frog mode, with just my eyes and the top of my head above the surface. While we were in Greece the high was generally over 35 and two day...

It is important to remember, when erecting your classical era Greek temple, that they are very standardized with architectural traditions that are strictly followed. Not adhering to these traditions may be displeasing to the God you plan to honour in erecting the temple, which might cause divine disfavour to fall upon you or your city-state. That would be bad. First of all you must decide which deity your temple will be dedicated to. If your site is already sacred to a certain God or Goddess,...

Okay, I altered things a bit -- I promised instructions for a classical-era tomb, but really what I've got is more Hellenistic, because the tombs that have been found are more in that time period. To review from the Mykines post: Classical (480 - 323 BCE) Hellenistic (323 - 30 BCE) You'll note that the classical period is seen to end the same year that Alexander died; not a coincidence. There is a noticeable difference in the style of buildings and art between the classical and Hellenistic er...

It's true. I've always been a little bit anarchistic in my driving habits, bending the rules a little, wanting to get from point A to point B at the speed of light if it were possible. In Greece, I fit right in, though I would have to practice for a while to master the insane tricks that Greeks pull off on city streets. If Melissa had let me drive at 160 or more km/h, I would have been doing it all the time. I flew back to Canada. (Cheating on the locale of this post so the pics don't seem in...

Our last full day in Greece! I'm woken by a few reddish rays of Dawn as She appears on the horizon. She shines over our balcony through the thin curtains and touches me. I greet her: Chaire, Thea! Shortly afterwards, the rooster in the lot beside us starts to crow. We've been woken almost daily by roosters. I will miss that at home. Perhaps there are hygienic reasons for keeping chickens away from densely populated areas, but human beings have lost something in the process: we've gained somew...