Parthenis Hotel Athens Glyfada

Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 11:09pm<br><br>So Bekah and I have already managed to have a Greek adventure! We arrived around 6:15pm in Athens airport and from the looks of things from the air, it has a strange resemblance to Arizona! We were excited to hear it was a warm 27 degrees Celsius when we landed, a nice change after our freezing day in Rothenburg yesterday! Anyways, we picked up our bags after waiting to be one ...

... of Dionysos, the Temple of Aesclepius, the Odeon of Herodius Atticus, the Propylaea, the Parthenon, and my favorite, the Erechtheion with the Caryatid Porch of Maidens. I have convinced the BibFem Four that tavernas are very good things, better than fast food but also not as expensive as a restaurant. We ate dinner at a taverna in Plaka, and I got to put my nose in Chaplain's glass of ouzo, a nasty liqueur that smells like black jelly beans.

... it is likely that you would be fired. I hope she got fired. She was not a one off - every shop assistant was unhelpful, rude and looked as if they had much better things to be doing than assisting people in their shop. It was so bad that I ended up avoiding speaking to anyone, and stayed in my hostel until it was time to leave. Finally, out of here. I will not be coming back in a hurry.

... people walked up to us trying to sell their wares: flowers, sunglasses, beach towels, and oddly, a little pack of Kleenex. Toronto joined us there. Mary Lou met Toronto, a young Canadian real estate developer, in a club the night before, and they'd been talking on their cell phones all day trying to meet up again. He finally found us at the taverna (he looked at Mary Lou like a golden-basted turkey dinner), and then we all headed together to the beach. Well, it's not really a ...

... where we were to drive to Patria to catch the Ferry to Italy. Tam woke us at 7.10am (she was a bit hungover and slept through the alarm) so we just threw all our gear in cases, didn't shower, no breakfast and we were gone! Not the way we had planned at all. The yacht was definitely a huge highlight on the entire trip; it was the most relaxing holiday we have ever been on. We loved it so much that we are rebooking for this time next year when the yacht will be in Croatia!

... and a half left before my taxi, I slip back up to the air-conditioned gloom of room 7 at The Dodgy. I meet the cab in the square and we roll slowly through the clogged streets of Chania to the airport road where I spend another comfortably air-conditioned hour before we take off. On the plane, omelet, croissant and I still a single entity, we leave the coast and bank north into a sky bluer than the ...

... time heading out to the port city/ district of Piraeus to look at some Greek Island cruise options. They all look a little tepid and uninspiring, possibly a result of the consummately derelict vibe the city fathers have carefully shaped and attained for Piraeus. A beautiful Parthenon, excellent gyros, and a world of hate if you decide to enter by train. That's Greece. Never again. * * * Having some camera/ virus issues so Claude's good photos of the Parthenon will be delayed a while... :(

... in the line to disembark and since we had our bus tickets purchased the night before, we were able to walk off the ferry and board the bus which was waiting for the ferry arrival. All went VERY smoothly! The 3 hr bus ride from Patras to Piraeus was not bad and we drove along the Aegean coastline the entire trip. We chatted with a nice man who was a consultant for the Blue Star ferries which we had just gotten off of and he shared a lot of local ...

... this island (there are various excavations happening under the sea). There were a couple of civilizations that were emerging which were destroyed by the volcano. All the houses are built into the cliff and for some reason are all painted white and blue, and this makes for great viewing. Santorini is known as one of the most beautiful islands in the world. It is famous for its sunset and true to its reputation, did not disappoint.

... Steven tried a pork dish smothered in a Greek cheese and Cori opted for a greek salad and a lamb souvlaka. Both meals were heavy, greasy and filling, so naturally we were both in heaven. On the way back to our hotel we stopped off for a few pieces of fresh baklava that had just the right balance between the rich buttery taste of a French pastry and the sweet honey dipped zing of a sopapia. What a yummy night. As we waddled back to our hotel and formulated a plan for our last ...