Athens and Praeus, Greece

When I visited Athens 25 years ago, I didn’t like it. It was hot, dirty and congested. Of course I was impressed with the Parthenon. I had climbed up the Acropolis to see it and the other temples there, and the stadium below. The night before, I had seen the Acropolis under a full moon. But the city itself was a turn-off.

What a different reaction I had today! It was cool, clean, and not congested. Why the difference? Well, it is April—the very best month to visit the Mediterranean, in my opinion. It is Sunday—no congestion. The recent Olympics—they spent billions to build new transportation systems, clean buildings and monuments, and build sports venues. This is the Peace and Friendship Stadium.

We are docked at the Port of Piraeus which is really three ports in one: for ferry boats, for commercial shipping, and cruise shipping.

This is the commercial port with semi-trucks that have just driven off large commercial ferries. Note the buildings in the background which are painted with historical scenes.

We had a pleasant drive to Athens which was very quick because there was virtually no traffic. We passed the tomb of the Unknown Soldier with the Presidential Guard in traditional dress.


Instead of taking a bus panoramic tour of the city, I chose a walking tour through the Ancient Agora and the Plaka. What a superb choice! We were a small group, and we had a great guide.

The Ancient Agora (from the verb “ageiro”, meaning to gather together) was absolutely essential in the organization and functioning of ancient Greek cities. It was the political and administrative center of the city-state, and it was the place where social, commercial, and religious activities concentrated. Once in this place, Socrates, Aristotle and others would gather to teach and talk. It was here that democracy evolved.

On the other hand, the Acropolis (“acro-“ meaning high as in acrobat, acrophobia, and –polis meaning city) is where people felt closer to their gods. This is looking up the north view of the Acropolis from the Agora.


People lived in the Ancient Agora area until 1931 when John D. Rockefeller paid to have the area excavated and preserved as an historical place. The people who had lived here generation after generation used the building materials from earlier times to build and rebuild their own structures, so there isn’t much left of the original.

This Athenian Dog is surveying the remains.


The Temple of Hephasestus (God of Fire), on the other hand, is one of the best preserved monuments in Athens. It has withstood wars, earthquakes, and humans since it was on a high hill and not in the basin of the Agora. It was later used as a Byzantine Church named after St. George.


The Stoa of Attilus II has been reconstructed to show what some of these buildings once looked like. This was a shopping center with stores lining the long, covered walk way. Today it is a museum.


Right next to the Ancient Agora, is the modern day shopping area called Plaka. On Sundays, flea markets abound, people gather to have their coffee and talk, and tourists ride a little red train to gawk at it all.


We meandered through the Plaka passing what I would call “cheaper shops” like these where the merchants were standing outside waiting for customers…


Continuing through streets that had more expensive shops where their merchants sat in chairs almost in the middle of the tree-shaded street in front of their shops.

We then stopped in this café for mezedes (Greek appetizers).


Mezedes usually include tomatoes, cucumber, olives, grape leaves, feta cheese, bread, and ouzo or wine.

I had wine instead ouzo.


After our mezedes, we had some "free" time in which I spent some $$$ on a "souuvenir" for me which I bought here. The name of the shop is Georges. That name has followed me everywhere this trip.


This was a very relaxed and memorable Sunday morning.

Santorini, Greece

This has been the most beautiful day of the entire cruise. Santorini is a spectacular and fascinating island. After several days of rain and overcast skies, the gods smiled on us, and the sun shone today illuminating the Aegean Sea and the white washed buildings.

We toured the entire island, participated in a wine tasting, ate a wonderful lunch in a tavern with a spectacular view of the caldera, visited a small Byzantine chapel, walked on one of the black beaches, and had time to stroll the streets in Oia and Fira. I took 200 photos. Here is a sample:

Classic Photo of Oia


House in Oia


Vin Santo-- One of the Wines We Tasted


Lunch at tavern that overlooked the Caldera (the caldron) left by volcano explosion
Here is the view from that tavern.


Byzantine Chapel With Easter Flowers (Orthodox Easter was April 19)


Black Beach

Artist Studio in Oia


The Cat Was Not For Sale


But the Fish Was


We took a cable car down to the port the steep cliffs of the caldron in Fira to take a tender back to our ship which is anchored in front of a island left by volcano.

Olympia, Greece

The monuments described below do not include the ruins of an ancient city because Olympia was not a city. Olympia was a sanctuary of Zeus, one of the most important in Greece, and at the same time it was a panhellenic center for contests, where the most brilliant games in ancient Greece were held. Therefore, the buildings erected at various times were intended either for worship or to serve the games.

The Sanctuary of Olympia is expansive, beautiful, and very peaceful. The trees within are full of birds, chirping and flying among the ruins. There is so much history and mythology related to this place that even my brief introduction to it was overwhelming. The photos below will give you a sense of it.

Here is a model of Olympia showing the most important structures as they once stood.

The Temple of Zeus is the one with the white roof. The one at 10 o’clock is the Temple of Hera. The green area in the upper right at about 1 o’clock is the stadium, and the grey conical shape to the right of Hera’s Temple is the Altar to Hera. Foreground red roofs are of the gymnasium.

This is what it looks like today.

Temple of Zeus—Most splendid building in the Sanctuary--best one for the head god—has been destroyed several times.


In it was a statue of Zeus which was made of ivory and gold. This was one of the ancient wonders of the world.


Temple of Hera-- Built in 600 BC, it is thought to be the oldest temple in Greece.

At the Altar of Hera, in front of the temple, is where the Olympic torch is lit. From here, it is taken to Athens by runners and then throughout the world until it reaches the host country where it lights the Olympic flame that burns throughout the games.
The Stadium wasn’t excavated until 1958-61. According to tradition, the length of the stadium is 600 ancient feet long said to have been fixed by Hercules who measured it with his own feet. Our guide said that this length is known as a stadia, hence the name for the place as stadium.


Here are some columns that once were part of the gymnasium.


After a pleasant morning within the Sanctuary of Olympia, we went to a local hotel where we had a wonderful Greek lunch.


And were entertained by Greek dancers.

The spirit of Zeus and Zorba linger with me as we sail toward Santorini.

Corfu, Greece

Countess Flamburiari said that Corfu Town, the island’s capital, was: “Venice and Naples, a touch of France and more than a dash of England, apart of course from being Greek.” Driving through the town, it is the architecture that shows you what she meant.

The Doge of Venice ruled this island for decades and some of the people still speak Italian (Venetian dialect). The New Fort was built by the Venetians which is obvious with the Lion of St. Mark displayed on the walls.



Venetian buildings, featuring airy balconies with wrought-iron railings and window grilles, abound. Many are in need of repair.



The British landmark in town is the Georgian style Palace of St. Michael and St. George (1824) which was the Governor’s Official Residence. The British also brought cricket and ginger beer which are still around today.



The French influence is seen in arched buildings of the Liston on the southern side of Spinada Square, the town center, which were copied from Paris’ Rue de Rivoli.

Our drive through Corfu Town also passed the central market. These women buying the vegetables look different than those I photographed in Spain, don’t they? Notice the older woman on the left in the black clothing.



The Island of Corfu is the seventh largest and western-most of the 3,000 Greek Islands. It is just off the coast of Albania and Greece. At its closest point, it is only 1.5 miles from Albania.

It does not have the traditional white houses with blue trim or churches with blue domes as is characteristic of most Greek islands, but it does have beautiful beaches and coastlines. Unfortunately, it was very overcast this morning when we made our way up one of the mountains, going through little villages with just inches to spare on each side of the bus, to get this view of Paleokastritsa.



This close-up of one of the bays gives a hint of how beautiful the water color could be a la scenes from Mama Mia. The pink flowering trees are Judas Trees.



As we scraped by the buildings, I saw this sign in one of the small mountain villages which I captured for all of my technology-loving friends just in case you need to know how to say or read “computer-multimedia” in Greek.



The main industry in Corfu is the production of olive oil. There are over four million olive trees on the island, many of them 300 to 400 years old. Here they rarely prune them, so they are taller and wider than olive trees elsewhere in Greece. They use the Italian method of collecting the olives. They simply put nets under the trees and gather the olives as they fall.



As we were leaving Corfu in the afternoon, the sun came out briefly, so I got this shot of the Old Town of Corfu where you can see the Old Fort and the red bell tower of St. Spyridon Church.