Greece

Right, it’s been a while since I’ve updated due to travelling and not having much down time for maintaining the blog.  I’m back in NZ now and am hoping to complete this blog with my travels.

So...after the UK it was off to Greece in the hope of catching some sun and warm weather.  Well unfortunately May had unseasonally cold, wet weather and Greece was no exception.  I spent the first part of the trip in Athens.  It was definitely warmer, but still not as hot as I was expecting.  The first afternoon I went out exploring and found the centre of town with views of the Acropolis and stalls selling fresh summer fruits, such as strawberries and cherries at reasonable prices. 

Centre of Athens with view of the Acropolis on the hill

I discovered Stygma Square, where a lot of the protests etc take place in front of the Parliament buildings.  It was interesting to look up at the balconies of the surrounding hotels and see them with TV cameras from all the international press, ready to report back on news programs around the world. 

Stygma Square with Parliament in the background

I then went to go up the highest point of the city to see the view.  I had heard there was a funicular to get up to the top but was unsuccessful in finding it so ended up hiking to the top.  The view was great!

The next day I discovered the Acropolis which was really interesting and continued walking and discovering the city until my feet wanted to drop off.

Then it was off to the Greek Island of Naxos on the ferry.  A very long 5 hours.  On Naxos I was hoping to spend the four days I planned there doing nothing but lying on the beach, reading. Unfortunately, the first afternoon was too windy. I had a great hostel room with kitchenette and everything, but no roomies. 

Fortunately, a German girl came and we ended up hanging out.  So the next day, when the weather wasn’t so great, we rented a quad bike to discover the island, only for our little escapade to be washed out by the cold rain.

The following day we were joined by an Australian girl.  The weather still was better but not really sunbathing temperatures so we explored the township a little more.  Finally, the third day I was able to spend following my original plan of sitting on the beach reading, but it was still too cold for swimming.  My last day the weather wasn’t so great again, but I still made the most of it and sat on the beach as much as I could.

Naxos was a fantastic island and I would love to go back there (when the weather is better!!).  Everyone was so friendly.  We made friends with a local restaurant owner who gave us free stuff.  One night we went to a local tavern to check out some traditional Greek music.  We walked into people dancing, singing and smashing plates on the floor – your classic Greek cliché (I’m sure put on for the tourists, but hey, we loved it!!).  The owners welcomed us in with open arms, got us a seat, had a good natter to us.  They just wanted to share their island and their culture with us.  It was fantastic and I’ll definitely be back.

Traditional Greek music (see the smashed plates on the floor)

New friends with our friendly local restaurant owner