Good-bye to Athens as T picked up the rental Land Rover and we assembled in the lobby after breakfast at 09:30 and off to Delphi. Most of the journey was on toll roads. Beautifully maintained and constructed. Once clear out of Athens the traffic is minimal and at points nonexistent. Two and a half hoursContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:19September2026: Athens/Delphi: Communing with the Oracles, the Selfish Bicycle and Street Fighting Men”
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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 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: 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”
2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:13September2026: Thessaloniki and Samos: The Rapidly Ageing Doryssa Seaside Resort
After a long flight transporting you to different time zones one thinks of sleeping like a baby but for me that is rarely the case. I had a restless sleep waking up at 03:30 and tossing, turning and dozing thereafter. That afternoon nap might have backfired on me. Down to a wonderful breakfast at 10:00.Continue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:13September2026: Thessaloniki and Samos: The Rapidly Ageing Doryssa Seaside Resort”
2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE : Short Attention Span Version
12September2026: Thessaloniki, Greece: Nothing better (not really) than a good sleep and a great breakfast Slept seven and a half hours and woke up a tad groggy. Jet lag causes physical fatigue but it also befuddles the mind making simple decisions a bit more complicated than they deserve to be. A pleasant morning brought cloudsContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE : Short Attention Span Version”
2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:11September 2026: Are the clouds behind me now and can I look to bright sunshiny days ahead?: Finally in Thessaloniki!
11September 2026: Are the clouds behind me now and can I look to bright sunshiny days ahead: Finally in Thessaloniki! Was it a two hour or 4 hour “sleep” at Sofitel Athens Airport Hotel. Having finally crawled into bed at 01:00 and setting the alarm for 04:00 it was 3 hours in bed and itContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:11September 2026: Are the clouds behind me now and can I look to bright sunshiny days ahead?: Finally in Thessaloniki!”
