Travel Agent Speaking

In the past month, I have spent countless hours researching, researching, researching for my parents’ trip to Greece in April and my own options for my last few holidays in Greece.  I vastly underestimated the difficult of a travel agent’s job.  From trying to determine which islands are connected by ferry routes on the appropriate days to determining whether the Peloponnese should outrank an island vacation, I have spent an unseemly amount of time online, leaving me to wonder how any of this was ever possible without the internet.  (Wait, did you actually have to talk to people?  What a quaint idea!) 

Me, my mom and dad at the airport when I returned to Greece after Christmas.

My parents and I considered a myriad of different options: the island of Rhodes for the Old City and castle, Santorini for its iconic beauty, and Milos for its dramatic coastline and snorkeling – not to mention Kea and Hydra for their convenient proximity to Athens.  Then there’s the whole of the Peloponnesus, with historic sites from Olympia to Mycenae, the caves on the southern coast, and the popular coastal city of Napflio (which boasts the best gelato in Greece).  You could always travel north from Athens, as well – to Thessaloniki and its famous pastries or Meteora and the Hanging Monasteries.  How is it possible that such a small country has so many places to see that I can’t visit them all in a year?  Then, of course, Italy is so close…  The wealth of possibilities was exasperating rather than advantageous, and everyone I asked had a different opinion about the best way to spend a holiday in Greece.  The only thing everyone seemed to agree upon was that a week was too short.  (How much time do they spend on vacation?)

Santorini.  So pretty.

So, it turns out that nothing is yet set in stone.  How very Greek of us!  But I’ve tried to move forward in mapping out my solo trips for the rest of the year.  A proposed ski trip to Bulgaria in early March ran into too many schedule conflicts, and I was disappointed to learn it wasn’t a safe destination for a person traveling alone.  Struck by the sudden desire to visit somewhere beautiful and unusual, I started looking into the possibility of spending a four-day weekend in Croatia.  Though Croatia isn't that far from Greece, it is a bit of a “can’t get there from here” situation.  There’s a choice between a time-consuming and sometimes unreliable train ride over the mountains and unreasonably expensive flights that tends to take up to 24 hours – not due to distance, but the way they are routed.

illustration created by TheEmirr; obtained at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Europe-Croatia.svg

I finally booked the last seat Expedia had on a flight with truly crazy departure and arrival times – leaving Athens at 4:30 in the morning, and returning at 1:30 in the morning on a day that I have to work!  But, I am happy to be routed through Prague on my way to Zagreb with a six hour layover each way.  Hopefully, this will give me a little time to explore this fascinating city, as well.  In Croatia I’m looking forward to seeing the famed Plitvice National Lakes with their many waterfalls. 

Plitvice Lakes, Croatia.

To top it all off, my sister is coming to visit Athens this weekend!  She nearly panicked at the prices of the plane flights, but as I told her, spending an unreasonable amount of money on a flight gets easier with practice.  (I only had to tell myself to breathe slowly a couple of times as I booked my flight to Zagreb!)  Despite the chilly, damp weather that’s predicted, I’m excited to show her Athens: the Acropolis, the shopping district of Monastiraki, and my new favorite taverna; hopefully, we’ll even be able to fit in a daytrip to Hydra. 

So, anyone else planning a trip to Europe?  If so, tell me all about it when you get back, but please don’t ask me to plan it!


Photo Credit: To Wikipedia and those who took the photographs of Santorini and Plitvice Lakes.

I Lift Mine Eyes to the Hills: Meteora

"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse"

Romans 1:20, KJV

This past weekend, seven fellows set out on a five-hour train ride to Meteora, or the Hanging Monasteries.  I love train rides, but I was very disappointed to realize I had no book and no pen or paper to amuse myself with!  But, since I'd only had about four hours of sleep the night before, it was an excellent chance to nap.

Mandee was fond of the owl on our elaborately graffitied train.

I believe this was taken at our hotel - there are several little
towns like this around Meteora.

Cream horn!  It turned out to be too much sugar - even for me!

The first sight of Meteora was a letdown - "Is that it?" one of the fellows asked.  The little town was nothing special, either: mostly stucco apartments, which seem to be ubiquitous in Greece and never manage to look well-kept.  But, after checking into our hotel (clean, but unremarkable) and eating lunch, we had the first stop of the day that I appreciated: a bakery, of course!  

Afterwards, we decided to do some "light" exploring.  It turned out to be rock scaling, and I was thankful that I'd changed into my hiking shoes.  Then, we called a couple of taxis to take us up to watch the sunset.  I hadn't done much research about Meteora since I didn't think I would be able to go this weekend, but apparently the sunset view is recommended.  On the way, our taxi driver told us that it is thought that the landscape was formed by an ancient sea.  The stones do look rubbed smooth like a pebble in a stream, marked by ripples of a current or tide.  For the rest of the trip, I kept imagining what it would be like if we were swimming around the great rocks.

It was amazing, but I've never been more disappointed with pictures in my life.  You felt that every photo would be as breathtaking as your surroundings, but there is just no way to capture the environment.  None of the pictures do justice to the sheer vastness and magnificence of the scenery; it is definitely one of those places that you can see God as sculptor.


The weather had been utterly wonderful for February - warm and beautiful - but the wind whipping around on the top of the mountains was cold.  We stayed to see the beginnings of the sunset and then hiked down.  


The next day began with a taxi ride to Grand Meteora, the largest and most popular monastery in the area.  It was beautiful inside and out, and it even included areas that appeared as they would have when the monastery began.  The girls in our group got to don really stylish wraps since we were all wearing pants to hike, and it wasn't allowed in the monastery.  Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside the actual church, but I can tell you that it was covered in murals and had a large, circular chandelier with depictions of different saints. 

Souvenir shops outside the first monastery we visited.
I bought one of the metal frameworks that holds 25 tinkling bells.
I love the way it looks and sounds; it's now hanging on my wall in Ladas.

They used to use a net to bring things up from the ground to the monasteries.
Now they have a little cable car that goes across to a car-accessible road.

Our devastatingly attractive wraps at the Monastery of Varlaam.

We only got to look inside one other monastery - it was a long walk between some of them and most close at 2 or 3 pm - but they are all lovely from the outside, as well.  I couldn't stop snapping pictures, and I actually ran through my camera battery!  I also couldn't move when I woke up this morning - I guess about a dozen miles of hiking will do that to you.  It may have been on a road, but that road was steep!

The monastery of St. Barbara.  We were disappointed that
we couldn't go in.  It looked like it was closed to visitors
for the off-season.

While Eleni, Mandee, and I headed to St. Barbara's, the rest of the fellows
found a nice lookout spot.  They are all the way across the valley -
thank goodness for zoom cameras!

Hiking down highways seems to have become a habit of ours...

Photo Credit!  Thanks, fellows, for the picture of me holding the cream horn and the one with the stylish skirts.  And the train photo - such a cute idea, Mandee!