Greece
Trip Report: What can you say about Greece?
I mean, really. What can you say about Greece that hasn’t been said a thousand times? As I tried in vain to come up with a catchy title for this report, I could not think of a single original idea. Lost in the Goat Paths of Crete – was a possible subtitle – or Knossos Defense Techniques or Perusing Plastic Plaka . . . but nothing really came to mind that captured the essence of the whole trip. It would seem that Greece has been overdone for so long, that it is almost generic travel in the minds of the independent traveler. Well, this independent traveler, anyways . . . Who hasn’t been to a museum to see endless cases filled with kraters & vases & other Greek artifacts? Or who hasn’t read books about Greece or studied the Greek myths in school? Or seen the heroic movies or the weepy romantic ones . . . cue Captain Corelli's Mandolin . . . And then, do I even have to mention the Zorba theme that many of us have been hearing for much of our lives? And in our cities we have Greek “Towns” or neighborhoods - the Danforth here in Toronto springs immediately to mind. And last but not least, we have some really awesome greasy Greek burger places with great gyros - which are sadly disappearing in places as cities change.
Anyways, my ego demands that I write a report about our travels in Greece. And so it starts. Of course, there is also a practical side . . . when we are old and cranky and can’t travel anymore; we will always be able to read the essay of our own travels. While the stories will not go down through the ages like the great myths of the Gods, these belong to us, which makes them very special. And I am happy to invite you along.
But on the topic of my report . . .
We arrived back from Morocco last year on a travel high. It was an absolutely amazing trip. I wrote my trip report and edited and Flickr’d the pictures. I brought it all together on my travel site and shared all of the above on Fodors. And I did all of my reviews on Trip Advisor. And then . . . nothing. Après vacation depression. We had absolutely nothing booked for the future. Our next travel destination was a blank folder on my computer . . .
And then came the idea: What about Greece?
As a consummate travel planner, I dove in. I read all of the Trip Reports. I swept the net for info. I mapped the list of cities & sites of interest. Bang. I booked a direct Air Canada reward flight to Athens for June 1. Fifteen in-country nights.
Then my research kicked in in earnest. I had a mainland itinerary. Delphi. Ancient Olympus. Meteora. Ancient Pella. Mycenae. I had an island itinerary. Mykonos, Naxos, Delos, Santorini. And I couldn’t ignore Crete. So then I applied the vacation filters. Beach? No. City? As little as necessary. Small town? Sure. But make it interesting. Driving? Yeah sure, but not too much. And it has to be a convertible. 18 km Gorge Hike? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Ancient sites? Yes. But just enough of them with no mountain climbing involved. Museums? Yes, but only the big ones with the real stuff. Food? Make it good. I want to eat really well! And good local wine as well. Balcony? Yes, mandatory. As my wife says: We rent balconies & bathrooms with a living room attached.
Anyways, my ego demands that I write a report about our travels in Greece. And so it starts. Of course, there is also a practical side . . . when we are old and cranky and can’t travel anymore; we will always be able to read the essay of our own travels. While the stories will not go down through the ages like the great myths of the Gods, these belong to us, which makes them very special. And I am happy to invite you along.
But on the topic of my report . . .
We arrived back from Morocco last year on a travel high. It was an absolutely amazing trip. I wrote my trip report and edited and Flickr’d the pictures. I brought it all together on my travel site and shared all of the above on Fodors. And I did all of my reviews on Trip Advisor. And then . . . nothing. Après vacation depression. We had absolutely nothing booked for the future. Our next travel destination was a blank folder on my computer . . .
And then came the idea: What about Greece?
As a consummate travel planner, I dove in. I read all of the Trip Reports. I swept the net for info. I mapped the list of cities & sites of interest. Bang. I booked a direct Air Canada reward flight to Athens for June 1. Fifteen in-country nights.
Then my research kicked in in earnest. I had a mainland itinerary. Delphi. Ancient Olympus. Meteora. Ancient Pella. Mycenae. I had an island itinerary. Mykonos, Naxos, Delos, Santorini. And I couldn’t ignore Crete. So then I applied the vacation filters. Beach? No. City? As little as necessary. Small town? Sure. But make it interesting. Driving? Yeah sure, but not too much. And it has to be a convertible. 18 km Gorge Hike? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Ancient sites? Yes. But just enough of them with no mountain climbing involved. Museums? Yes, but only the big ones with the real stuff. Food? Make it good. I want to eat really well! And good local wine as well. Balcony? Yes, mandatory. As my wife says: We rent balconies & bathrooms with a living room attached.
And the final itinerary:
Fly Air Canada Rouge to Athens – 2 nights
Aegean Flight to Chania, Crete – 3 nights
Rental car to Zaros, Crete (southern Heraklia Prefecture) – 3 nights
Heraklion – 1 night for convenience to port
Ferry to Santorini – 4 nights in Imerovigli
Aegean Flight to Athens – 2 nights
So two locales in Crete & a leisurely stay on an island are boxed between two bouts of Athens.
Fly Air Canada Rouge to Athens – 2 nights
Aegean Flight to Chania, Crete – 3 nights
Rental car to Zaros, Crete (southern Heraklia Prefecture) – 3 nights
Heraklion – 1 night for convenience to port
Ferry to Santorini – 4 nights in Imerovigli
Aegean Flight to Athens – 2 nights
So two locales in Crete & a leisurely stay on an island are boxed between two bouts of Athens.