We'd been aiming for Cyprus, truth be told. But the prices were super high to get there and so I had the smart idea of checking out flights to Athens and from Athens to Cyprus. But once I'd found flights for Athens I lost the motivation to pay the extra $$$ to go on to any islands, and as Small Fry recently did a school module on Sparta, we accepted Athens as our final destination.
#worth it
We've had plenty of family and friends who have spent time in Greece and so we got some top tips for our travels, namely, don't go to the islands - plenty to do around the Peloponnese and Athens itself. So that is what we did.
Must be said, we started with the best breakfast anyone could have hoped for, and more the result of a mistake than planning. What we did get were enough carbs to last us the whole day...
....and ice cream for breakfast.
We spent the first couple of days in and around Athens - the acropolis, city bus, view points for coffee, having coffee, and mixing with the locals.
The acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens. The most important building there is the Parthenon, a former temple dedicated tot he goddess Athena.
The Parthenon from wherever you are:
We also met up with Karen and her partner who live on and off in Greece, and discovered more of the coastline around Athens, by day and by night. Frédow discovered Freddo, his cold coffee.
We then left Oma in Athens for a few days with her friends while we explored the Peloponnese. Unfortunately, that's when the weather turned and we did have a couple of cold, windy and wet days. Made for some amazing sea swell photos though in Monemvasia. Monemvasia is the site of a medieval fortress at the foot of a large plateau 100m above sea level and up to 300m wide and 1km long with a short causeway of 200m linking it to the mainland.
We also stopped off at the Corinth Canal and in Kalamata. The Corinth Canal is a man-made canal that connects the Gulf of Corinth to the Saronic Gulf, cutting through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth. It is 6.4km long and has no locks. As it is 21.4m wide at its base, it's now mostly used for bungee-jumping as modern ships don't fit. Kalamata is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese, and there's not much more to be said about it really. Still, a beautiful place to visit with hidden (very hidden in some cases) gems to explore.
When we finally returned to Athens, the sun met us there and we enjoyed a lovely final day seeing a bit more of the city.
