The Acropolis of Athens to the Amalfi coast of Italy

We were nearly pick pocketed by some greek youngsters on the train from Piraeus to our hotel. But thank God for His protection and they got nothing! Donna and I were carrying all our bags as we had just got off the ferry. We boarded the train and 2 youngsters quickly stood very close to me. A girl walked up to Donna and kindly told her to watch her bags. The train took off and i was holding onto my wallet whilst it was in my pocket as well as the rest of my bags. When the train stopped, the 2 guys wanted to get off and made as if i was in the way, but there was plenty of space for them to get around me and to the door. The one guy tried to distract me while the other was supposed to get my wallet, but the problem for him was that my iron clad hand was clamped firmly on it - sorry for him. Pick pocketing is a BIG problem in Athens. The city is a sad place at the moment due to the economic crisis and doesn't have a good vibe at all. 

We decided at the next stop to get off the train and go up to the road and catch a taxi as we knew we were close to the hotel. The taxi took us to our door and it was cheap and well worth it.

The next day we went to the Acropolis. It was impressive and we had a great view from the roof of our hotel. The next day we took a bus to Patra where we would catch a ferry to Bari in Italy. A 15 hour journey. As we got on the ferry and were walking around, a woman recognised 'Poffadder' which was written on my T-shirt and asked where i was from. We chatted and her and her husband and their neighbours from the farm in Upington, were travelling for 2 and a half months. It was fantastic to meet them as they are such incredible people. They are so full of life and very spontaneous in terms of where they are going and where they stay - very refreshing for people their age between 50 and 64. After chatting they said that they would be going to the Amalfi coast as well and hadn't decided on a place to stay. We gave them the name of the hotel, they checked it out online and decided that they would join us.

Eventually we arrived in the port of Bari. A bit short of sleep as the ferry was a bit crowded and difficult to sleep in. We took the bus from the port to the Bari Centrale stazione and booked a journey to Pompei. 3 trains would take us there. Our afrikaans friends didn't have a Eurail pass so we parted ways on the Taranto to Salerno train as we headed to first class due our pass benefits. We managed to catch up on some sleep in the spacious carriage and seats. But when we woke up we saw the incredibly beautiful countryside and were kept wide awake as we waited to see what was around each bend. Really amazing and very beautiful. 

We arrived in Salerno fresh and revitalised and then jumped on a regional train for free due to the pass and headed for Pompei. We stepped off the platform and out of the station and directly outside the door was a 6 seater taxi waiting for customers. It was perfect for us and our 4 afrikaans friends from Upington and there BIG bags. We initially said to the taxi driver, who was 70 and a legend that he must take us to the Pompei station so that we can take a train to Vico Equense where we are staying. He made us an offer of 60 euros to take us to our hotel in Vico. We agreed. BUT... the b and b was 6km outside of Vico Equense and after the taxi driver asked a policeman who spoke to the owner of the hotel on my cell phone, and then spoke to many locals along the way, and after much head shaking and hand gestures and italian mutterings, we arrived at B and B Puntaferano where our hosts were waiting for us at the gate. We offloaded our luggage and then the fight started. The taxi driver said that he wanted an extra 20 euros as the b and b was not in Vico but outside the town. I told him that the hotel owner said that his address was Vico Equense. After much hand gesturing and italian and passionate point making, our gracious hosts decided to pay the 20 bucks and send our old, italian, grouchy taxi driver on his way. 

After placing our bags in our room, we walked up the road to a pizzeria in our village of Arola, where we feasted on pizza and beer, vino and pasta. Maggies vol, ooggies toe as hulle se. We all dossed so well that night after our very long journey!!

Refreshed we woke the next morning and had a great breakfast of croissants with chocolate inside. Eggs(it was so nice to have a fried egg!!) bread and jam and the strongest coffee ever. They gave us a small jug of coffee with extremely strong coffee inside which i think that they thought that we would add hot water and dilute it. But us South Africans en ons boere vriende love STRONG coffee and so one small jug was for one person - no dilution required. 

After breakfast we made our way to the bus stop which doesn't run on time at all. It is supposed to run every hour - doesn't happen. After standing at the bus stop for about 20 mins after it was supposed to arrive, i decide to hitch hike. One lady stopped and said she was only travelling in the village. I wished her buon viaggio(good journey). The next oke that stopped for me was on his way to Sorrento which was perfecto as our afrikaans friends were on there way there. They crammed into the fiat and off they went. The very nice gentleman took them straight to the port for free where they took a ferry to Capri.

Donna and i caught the bus eventually to Vico and cruised around the tiny town and had some pizza for lunch. After chilling on a bench overlooking the sea and Naples in the distance, we decided to go to Sorrento. We caught the train and in under 15mins we were there. Sorrento is incredibly beautiful with amazing architecture and very charming with the most incredible views of the sea and surrounds. 

We bought some mozzarella, salami and some bread for supper as we had all decided that we would have cold meats and bread for supper. Donna bought a great scarf. We also bought some Lemoncello which is a lemon liquer with one heck of a kick.

We made our way back to Vico and headed up the hill for home in Arola. Only to bump yet again into our friends from Upington at the bus station. We got to the house and decided to go to the store to get some more chow for tonight. We bought some more cheese and some parma ham and tomatoes. Johan bought me a beer which was very lekker.

The next day we were going to Positano. Donna will blog on that next!

We are having an amazing time in Italy and it certainly is incredible to be in the euro zone where transport is easy and convenient and efficient and reliable. PLUS, we can now make the most of our Eurail passes of which we have already made back over R2500 in 4 days of travel. 

The Parthenon.

Bella Donna and our ferry to Italy.

Sunset from the ferry.

First class to Salerno.

Our much welcomed restaurant in our village on the Amalfi coast.

With our afrikaans friends.

Hitched a ride to Sorrento.

View from Vico Equense

Day: 52-54: Greek Island Style

Place: Stratos Apartments in Paros, Greece

Greece hasn’t greeted us with hot sunshine only days and instead of reaching for the sunblock and bikini, we have used the overcast conditions to our advantage and roamed the streets of these adorable little islands. Ducking in and out of small, narrow alleys and finding tiny cafés tucked into corners.

Craig and I feel as though we have fully thrown ourselves into the Greek mentality and adapted incredibly well to the lifestyle…late mornings, late nights and of course, the afternoon naps. Not to mention the staple of Haloumi Cheese, eggplant, bread, yoghurt and tea.

Tea…aaah I have had such a great time with the Tetleys tea bags and I felt that I had to share this awesome little treasure of a teabag with you.

First: As normal, pour hot water into your cup

Second: Allow the teabag to draw the beautiful flavours into the cup

Finally: Tear the tag, and pull in opposite directions for that final infusion of flavor

Amazing isn’t it J

Anyways, today marks our 2^nd day and final day in Paros, as tomorrow we are making our way to the big city of Athens.

Again, this morning we woke up to overcast skies, but that suits us perfectly as our plan was to rent a car and circumnavigate the 50km island.

Bags packed with a picnic of tzatziki, feta, bread, chips and fruit then we quickly made our way to the harbour to buy ferry tickets for tomorrows journey to Athens and sussed out the rent-a-cars for the best deal.

Eventually we found a deal and were taken to our ‘burnt’ orange carriage, which would take us (keeping on the right side of the road) to all little coves, bays and gems on the wonderful island of Paros.

Around every corner, we would stop and admire the beauty, then rush back to the car to gaze at the beige wild vegetation along the ‘midnight blue’ waters catching a pop of pink, yellow, orange and green from the various flowers in-between.

Today was by far the most amazing day that we have had in Greece so far, making it difficult to leave the island for the mainland, but excited for the sites of ancient Athens.

Right now we are sitting on our balcony, loving the imminent sunset. Craig with his Amstel and myself with my glorious cup of tea and listening to our favourite radio station which we are streaming online…check out jazzradio.com. You can choose whether you would like a little Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, instrumental or smooth blues, even a mix of it all.

What an amazing way to finish the day J

Days 48-51: Anniversary in Santorini

The last time we updated the blog we mentioned that we would be hitting a traditional Greek dance club in the evening and would be picked up by our host at 12am. Margarita arrived looking fantastic and ready to hit the night out. We arrived at a small club in Emporio, which is just outside Perissa where we are staying. I was first to walk into the doors and by the looks on the locals faces, this wasn’t a place frequented by tourists or non-Greeks. As soon as they saw Margarita, the looks of surprise left their faces and was replaced with delight. It was a very festive atmosphere, lit up with laser lights, a disco ball spinning on the ceiling and greek music pumping out the speakers. The barmen, Spiros( of course our Greek barman’s name was Spiros) offered us drinks and it was Amstel and Baileys on the cards for Dons and I.

The alcohol, as usual, loosened the joints and got the feet tapping to the rhythms of this magnificent culture. Whenever a person hit the dance floor serviettes were thrown into the air and hands were raised above heads and clapped enthusiastically, as traditional Greek moves flowed. Donna and I were given a crash course on some basics and slowly got the hang of it.

Once they had shown us their moves we decided to give them some South African flavor and sokkie n bietjie. I never throught I would be doing that in some tiny town in Santorini. It was a great experience. The one bar lady was celebrating her birthday that day and came around with cakes for all the guests in the club and also bought Donna and I a drink. Amazing hospitality was shown to us and something that we really can learn from these amazing people. The owner of the club kept pouring us shooters on the house. They went out of their way to welcome us and when we left we were told to please come back. We would have if we could afford it. It is surprising how expensive things are here and the locals still manage to afford it. Four beers and 1 double baileys cost us R200. So we didn’t go back but maybe when we return and we have jobs we will go back and party with our lovely Greek friends.

 The next day we visited Fira -  a beautiful town similar to Oia(pronounced ‘ee-ah’) We walked around there snapping away trying to capture the brilliance of the place but as usual the photos never do it justice. Back home it was for lunch and siesta. Food in Fira is ridiculous. R200 for a bowl of pasta and 6 euros for a beer. We went to Oia in the evening to watch the sunset. I must have taken over 100 photos  just of the sunset – thank goodness for digital cameras! Oia is on the northen tip of the island and the best place to see the sunset. A pity about the clouds on the horizon on this day, but it was still and incredible sight.

Sunset in Oia.

The next morning, the day of our 1^st wedding anniversary, at about 8:30am when we got out of bed, we walked to the closest small town of Emporio to explore. This place is amazing. It is the typical Greek village that you would expect to see on an island like Santorini. Tiny little walkways. People park their cars and bikes outside the village – these walkways are too narrow. Only for people and donkeys. We were consumed in this maze of houses and churches and just walked until we seemed to be out of the village. We could see the sea in the distance and walked straight for it, crossed the road and saw a DVD store.

One of our neighbours.

We hired Mamma Mia because we heard that it was shot on a Greek island and thought it might have been Santotini. We were wrong. It was filmed on Skopolos – one of the northern islands. If we had time we would visit it but we are keen to get to Sicily.  For lunch we went to a spot on the beach called Aquarius to celebrate our special day and feast on some Greek food such as Musaka and Gouvechia of  Lamb. With full stomachs we strolled home for some well-earned sleep. As we entered our flat we saw a huge spread of fruit and a bottle of local Santorini wine, which is made in our villiage just up the road. This was a gift from our host, the generous Margarita. We decided that we would save it for Tuesday. And we did. We had a feast of note and we got a bit tipsy as we made our way through the delicious fruit, wine, olives, halloumi and feta. It was great fun seeing Donna with a little too much to drink – a very rare sight as she started singing away to the music coming from the laptop and giggling when she didn’t know the words. A sleep followed this festive feasting.

But this morning we spent on the black beach of Perissa. It was great to soak up some rays as the weather on the island has not been fantastic. We made the most of the 2 hours of great weather until retiring to our apartment to commence the above mentioned feasting.

Tonight is our last night in Santorini. Tomorrow we are taking a Blue Star ferry to Paros at 3:30pm. We will arrive in Paros just over 3 hours later where Yannis, from Stratos Apartments will be waiting for us at the port to take us to our new home for the next 3 nights.

We have just benefitted from the purchase of our Eurail ticket for the first time. We get 30% off our ferry ticket to Paros. A saving of R170. Very cool to start seeing the benefit of having a Eurail pass as transport has been costing us a fortune.