Greece - The wrap up - Hints and Insights

Monday, October 10, 2011
Louisville, Kentucky, United States
 
 Wrap up
Mary and I made it home uneventfully. Long, tiring but home again. John and Kathy made it to San Diego, but not uneventfully. John came down with a case of food poisoning after they boarded their connection in London. He was so dehydrated by the time he reached San Diego that they trucked him off the plane in a wheelchair. All that weight he gained from Greek food is gone - well maybe. Fully recovered, he is back on a business trip today (10/12).

Here's my shot at the best, worst and do's and don'ts and other tidbits.

Greece is impressive based among other things on what it has contributed to our existing civilization. Some of the fundamentals of democracy that we enjoy today just being one. To really enjoy and understand Greece, some preparation is advised. I did a Greek history immersion using taped lectures from "The Teaching Company". There are a host of other ways to get a primer on Greece, but I believe anyone will get more out of a visit to Greece with a small amount of history preparation,

Best ruins:
My vote goes to Olympia. Impressive site, decent museum and being awestruck from walking on the 2500 + year old grounds that started a tradition of international competition that continues today (obviously not in the same location) with ABC broadcasting in living color to a world viewing audience. The Temple of Apollo - Vasses is the most impressive from its preservation. Delphi is impressive from its mountain site, King Phiilip II's tomb for its treasures it yielded to the archeology world and Epidavros for the thought of such an impressive theatre being built and used so many years ago.

Most impressive sight: 
Meteora takes this hands down. Beautiful mountain area with monasteries clinging to the tops of tall columns of rock, molded from eons of erosion. The dedication the builders and sustainers had is impressive. The beauty is more impressive.

Most beautiful:
The views from Oia, Santorini. The sunrise, the sunset, the white buildings highlighted in blue, the blue waters of the caldera all add up to a breathtaking beauty. Every direction you look is a potential photo. My photos skills didn't do it justice.

Best hotel:
Hard to pick, but for a complete package of quality rooms, great setting and a personable owner, the Doupiani Inn in the Meteora area takes this category. We had excellent accommodations at the Cosmpolitan Inn and Spa near Mt. Olympus and the Fatma Inn in Crete. We had off the charts luxury at the Cavanes in Santorini (with off the charts cost). But the Doupiani ekes by these with a solid package.

Worst hotel:
The Chris Paul Inn in Diapfto was our worst. We feel for the inn owner who inherited the inn and encountered a sustained period of Greeks not traveling so much. If the AC had worked it might not have been the worst but it gets our award.

Favorite scenery:
Wandering the mountain roads leaving Andritsaina. Great scenery, interesting if not treacherous roads, outstanding mountain scenery and being geo-confused while trying to find the right roads to get us out of there.  

Location to spend more time:
Crete gets my vote in this category. There was a lot more to see in Crete. My next trip would spend 4 - 5 full days in Crete exploring the little villages and isolated beaches and ports.

Location to spend less time:
Santorini. Outstanding beauty but get your pictures, relax for a couple of days, elbow through the cruise boat crowds and get yourself out of there. 

What would we do different in the Islands:
If I had a do over on the islands, I would use the ferries and visit 2 or three of the lesser known islands. No crowds, nice little ports and inn owners hawking their rooms at the ferry port. However thats my taste. Given the lesser crowds, apparently this doesn't fit with everyones taste. One miss, I do want to do in the future is Rhodes. Perhaps on a trip to Turkey we can sweep this one in.

What would we do different on the mainland:
Not much. We liked our planning. Things I missed with no regrets but would like to see sometime are Montevasia and the Mania Peninsula in southern Peloponese plus a little more of Macedonia and Thrace in northern Greece.

What time of year to travel in Greece:
We planned this trip to be late season. We succeeded and it had no impact on what we did and what we wanted to see. The weather was great, the crowds were much less than what you would encounter in the summer months and hotels were freely available at discounted rates. A good time to go.

Should you rent a car?
Unless you are willing to be on a bus for days with a pack of tourists, a car is essential. However, a word of caution. Driving in Greece is not for the meek and timid. The Greek drivers are aggressive, passing lanes mean nothing and speeds are usually much higher than the posted limits. However drivers know how to drive and do pull to the right when a faster driver approaches. A little wild but they get it done.

Best way to find your way:
If you are driving, a GPS with Greek maps is invaluable. The Greek road signs, unless you actually can read Greek, are very hard to interpret and sometimes not even present. Many signs have English subtitles but don't count on sign reading and a few maps for easy directions.

Best diet:
Does the Greek Mediterranean diet actually contribute to weight loss? I don't know who said a Med diet is good for weight loss. Apparently they didn't eat the good stuff and the quantity we ate. That good fresh bread, generous use of olive oil and large helpings of food will do a weight job on you. We are not sure what the weight gain will tally to but we do know it is going to take more than a few turns on the treadmill to get it off.

Restaurants
In most of mainland Greece, other than Athens, most of the eateries are tavernas with traditional Greek food. With time, the menus begin to look alike. You'll eat some dynamite salads (the traditional Greek salad remains my favorite). Souvlaki, moussaka, a variety of ways to prepare good lamb, chicken, pork and sometimes goat. Many times the local taverna only has a few dishes and the owner will take you to the kitchen to pick out what you want. Unique and fun.  

Best way to pace your food intake
After the first couple of meals of being gorged, the four of us settled into a routine of ordering one salad and two entrees for the group. We would divvy the plates up and be more than full. Many times the tavernas would provide some type of desert free of charge

Best wine
Don't go for the expensive bottle stuff. Order the house table wine. Many times it was locally made. Only a couple of times did we not like what we got.

Meal costs
After we settled into the routine, our meal costs, including an appropriate tip came to 40 to 55 euro ($54 - $74) for the four of us. It didn't seem to matter whether it was lunch or dinner. Breakfast is usually included in the cost of the hotel and we never walked away hungry

Best way to find Lodging
The travel guides will help but we soon learned our likes and dislikes and determined there was nothing wrong with shopping. The costs ran from 35 euro for a low to 65 euro for a high when you exclude the extravagance we allowed ourselves in Crete and Santorini.  

Best transaction money
Take a Visa card and a bank card for the ATM and count on using the ATM more than the credit card. Many of the places we stayed and dined would encourage, maybe even beg us to pay cash. Several would not accept American Express.
If you get cash with your ATM card - try to find ATM machines next to banks that are open. If one eats your card (as it did for Mary in Andritsaina) and the bank is not open, you have lost it for the trip.

Best way to pack
Pack small. If there are 4 people traveling, it is real difficult to find a car that will accommodate large bags. We made our 3 week trip with a carry on roller bag and a backpack for each of us. Using the Metro, catching ferries or getting dropped by the bus a mile away from your hotel requires a little walking and we did it easily with our packing.

Best clothing to pack
Go to the outdoor store and equip your wardrobe with garments that are easy to launder in the sink and will dry overnight. It is not dressy and equipping your wardrobe with a bunch of dress up stuff is a waste of space and weight.

Best travel guides
We used Frommers, National Geographic, Lonely Planet and Rick Steves. Our favorite is Rick Steves. He seems to travel in the same style we do and his explanations of the interesting sights are very descriptive and useful. Now that we know the routine, you can go to Rick Steves website and download podcasts that will serve as a "walking guide" for some of the sights we saw

To conclude, after 3 great weeks in Greece, I will use a phrase Kathy often used with the beautiful sights we saw - "Just pinch me". Greece can't be seen from a cruise boat. Traveling the roads, enjoying the people, having time to soak in the sights, overdosing on Greek food and absorbing some of the wonderful history Greece has provided, is the way to see it.  There are not many things I would change. All in, with great traveling companions, perfect weather, no fender benders and a good time it is a vacation to remember.  

 
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Comments

Sam Wyche
2011-10-11

And i was planning a trip to Disneyland........what a nerd I am!

Ron Long
2011-10-11

Thanks so much for including us in this great adventure! I have been following your postings as I have been struggling with a very challenging budget cycle. You give me hope that there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel (sound familiar?).

Good to see two old friends sharing such a special time together.
Take care.

Judy Danley
2011-10-13

What a wonderful trip and history/geography lesson for all of us. We almost felt like we were with you--but wish we had been!! Art is now talking about where we might go next after reading your blogs. Thanks for sharing! We'll talk soon and be back in Creek towards the end of next week. We're here now for 2 days and go back to ME on Sat to close up, pack up, and drive south. Talk later.

June Rousey
2011-11-15

Mary and Rod, I feel that I have been to Greece and Crete. This was really a trip of a lifetime! Keep on traveling .

Millie C
2012-11-26

Thank you for sharing.

We (2 adults + a 12 yr old kid) will be going to Greece next month and I enjoyed reading your travelogue, as we complete our pre-trip planning. Due to issue with increasing number of transportation strikes, we decided that we will concentrate on Athens and Peloponnese with a rental car.

2025-02-11

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