Dearest F has eaten at Dionysos a few times and based on her recommendations (always flawless of course) we ate a little bit on the early side at Dionysos Zonar’s with a spectacular view of the Acropolis marvelous during the day somewhat more magical in the evening. The cuisine and service were five stars. NotablyContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:18September2026: Athens: What a Meal What a View at Dionysos Zonar’s!”
Category Archives: Travel
2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:17September2026: Athens: Plaka Good and Bad: The Ancient Agora of Athens: “Ruins Fatigue”
No doubt you may have heard about the Plaka District in Athens. The main shopping drag is a drag for me. Overrun by tourists drawn in by its proximity to the Acropolis and yes the cruise ship gangs poking around the touristic shops. T shirts, coffee mugs, postcards and over Greekified nick-nacks. Plenty of uninspiringContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:17September2026: Athens: Plaka Good and Bad: The Ancient Agora of Athens: “Ruins Fatigue””
2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:17September2026: Athens: Woken up by construction noises at 07:42 at Anthology of Athens
Geez woken up so very “gently” at 07:42 with hammering noises and a drill. Apparently they are constructing a few more additional rooms at Anthology of Athens. Not exactly the way to be woken up at a five-star hotel! I noticed from the rooftop terrace the hotel’s “swimming pool”. It doesn’t strike one as aContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:17September2026: Athens: Woken up by construction noises at 07:42 at Anthology of Athens”
2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version: 17September2026: Athens Imagine What Was! The Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum: Am I Watching Some Vulgar Television Show “The Two-Ton Family”?
A 10-minute walk from our hotel Anthology of Athens we are at the foot of the Acropolis and as luck may have it no human swarms. Probably beat the cruise ship locusts that destroy “touristic hot spots”. Passengers must not miss all you can eat post breakfast pre lunch buffet “with authentic Greek hamburgers andContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version: 17September2026: Athens Imagine What Was! The Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum: Am I Watching Some Vulgar Television Show “The Two-Ton Family”?”
2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:17September2026: Athens: Will I Feel the Spirit and Will I Cry at Check Check-Out!
Early this morning our buddies T and I from France arrived at the hotel. I phoned T around 09:00 and plans were to meet in a few minutes at the hotel’s rooftop café for breakfast. We had planned a 8 day tour of Greece with T and I and Anthology of Athens was to beContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:17September2026: Athens: Will I Feel the Spirit and Will I Cry at Check Check-Out!”
2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:16September2026: Stop the Welcoming Verbal Onslaught, I’m Tired! Athens
Easy peasy 45-minute turbo prop flight on Sky Express from Samos to Athens. A very small airport and as flight departures are few no passengers ahead of us at security so through that in a flash. As this was a domestic flight no need to suffer passport control at Athens Eleftherios Airport. Our baggage wasContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:16September2026: Stop the Welcoming Verbal Onslaught, I’m Tired! Athens”
2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version: 15September2026: Pythagorio, Samos: Doryssa Seaside Resort to be Saved by the Bell of Renovation?
Hotels, no matter their greatness, take a battering through age and careless guests. You’ve seen it previously I am certain. Failure to renovate and the reputation of a hotel may plummet when word of deterioration hits the market. Yesterday’s darling may be tomorrow’s enfant terrible. One can’t fail to take note of the battering theContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version: 15September2026: Pythagorio, Samos: Doryssa Seaside Resort to be Saved by the Bell of Renovation?”
2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version: 14September2026: Pythagorio, Samos: Embarrassing Reluctance Being a Tourist: Get Those Cruise Ship Daytrippers Outta Here!
Tourism is enormously important for Greece generating approximately a third of its GDP. Given the swelling mass of tourists I have encountered in this visit Greece faces a potential overtourism problem that must be managed to avoid a negative boomerang. Given the inability of Athens Eleftherios Airport to manage passenger flow, one enters and leavesContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version: 14September2026: Pythagorio, Samos: Embarrassing Reluctance Being a Tourist: Get Those Cruise Ship Daytrippers Outta Here!”
2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version: 14September2026: Pythagorio, Samos: Difficulty Parking and the Motorcycle Accident
Although Doryssa Seaside Resort’s main building and its rooms may need tender loving care (such as my room 277) the buffet breakfast retains its lustre. My favourite this time were two large bowls, one filled with segments of orange the other with grapefruit. In season and absolutely stellar! There are local pastries both sweet andContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version: 14September2026: Pythagorio, Samos: Difficulty Parking and the Motorcycle Accident”
RKS Chinese Literature: Smoking Opium, Hugging and Joking with the Sing-Song Girls (Shen Fu)
We had the wine boat anchor in the middle of the river and happily drank away until several strokes of the night watch had sounded. By then I had begun to fear I could not control myself and so had firmly resolved to return to our rooms, but my friends told me the city gatesContinue reading “RKS Chinese Literature: Smoking Opium, Hugging and Joking with the Sing-Song Girls (Shen Fu)”
