Joy of joys - today has been a great day for the following reasons...
1. Today we are heading home
2. A good sleep in our very comfy Hotel Carlton beds
3. Our shuttle to the airport was all Kiwi's - a couple from Clydevale and 2 ladies from Auckland, which meant a very chatty and humourous trip to the airport and us finding out about the Christchurch earthquake. We were reminded about how friendly NZer's are!
4. Upon checking in the lady at the AirNZ desk informed us that we were still valid Koru club members! All of Kath's christmas's had come true and we get our baggage priority - Air NZ you are awesome!
So our blogging friends this is the finale in our epic journey, thanks for reading and especially to those who commented and made our efforts worthwhile...you know who you are...and who you are not! (It's not to late to comment and recieve your free gift ;p )
We'll be home on Sunday and look forward to catching up with you all at some stage soon
Lots of love
The Pack xo
Friday, September 3, 2010
DAY 108-110 - San Fransico
Homeward bound we had just one more stop. The US of A, in particular San Fransisco. We left in the morning from Heathrow with not too many problems, after Kath convinced the Airline officials Air NZ said she could have two bags of 23kg, oh and not being able to check in without an ESTA (like a green card). A quick hunt for internet and filling out online forms we were eligible to enter the states and back on track.
Leaving on an average London day we were pleased to see the sun again in the US. Blinking and shedding layers of clothing we basked in its restoring rays as we waited for our booked transport to take us to our booked and paid for Hotel! Yes that's right an hotel, Hotel Carlton to be exact and their uber friendly and knowledgeable staff. We felt almost civilised entering our hotel room, until we realised that we were to share two double beds between four. Our disappointment was short lived as we checked with the reception and found we had another room booked under Abby's name. We attempted to stay up to fight the jet lag but by 8pm most of us were fast asleep only to wake at 2am. Ah the spinning of the earth and traveling ridiculous distances, got to love it.
Considering most of us were wide awake at 5.30am we had a leisurely start to our first full day in San Fransisco.
San Francisco greeted us with a warm welcome, it is a city with a lot of cultural diversity, and welcomes people to be free. San Fran is largely famous for and influenced by its hippy culture and history.
We walked over the streets grids that covered the San Fran rolling topography, and made our way down to Fisherman's wharf. After bartering for a hop on and off bus tour pass, we were soon being bussed around the city, and experienced walking over the legendary Golden Gate Bridge. After taking many photos and getting to know the general layout of the city we had a good first day in San Fran.
Day 2 another 'booked and already paid for' thing - hooray! We walked back down to Fisherman's wharf and wandered along to Pier 33 to catch our ferry to Alcatraz. Alcatraz was at one stage a maximum security prison and we spent a fascinating couple of hours wandering around listening to a top notch audio guide that helped give us insight into what it was like working and living in the prison. The rest of the day was filled with wandering around the shops at Pier 39 and finished with dinner out at Ruth Chris's Steakhouse. We had asked at the Hotel for a recommendation and upon arriving at the the restaurant we thought prehaps we might be a little out of our league...not to be out done by the well dressed clientele we continued inside and were presented with the menu. Kath opened her menu and immediatley felt rather ill with a 'Porterhouse for Two' costing US$88. Abby braved up and got some steak while the rest of us had a very tasty salad/soup! The lovely waitress and some super good desserts made for a good night out and an experience to laugh about!
Leaving on an average London day we were pleased to see the sun again in the US. Blinking and shedding layers of clothing we basked in its restoring rays as we waited for our booked transport to take us to our booked and paid for Hotel! Yes that's right an hotel, Hotel Carlton to be exact and their uber friendly and knowledgeable staff. We felt almost civilised entering our hotel room, until we realised that we were to share two double beds between four. Our disappointment was short lived as we checked with the reception and found we had another room booked under Abby's name. We attempted to stay up to fight the jet lag but by 8pm most of us were fast asleep only to wake at 2am. Ah the spinning of the earth and traveling ridiculous distances, got to love it.
Considering most of us were wide awake at 5.30am we had a leisurely start to our first full day in San Fransisco.
San Francisco greeted us with a warm welcome, it is a city with a lot of cultural diversity, and welcomes people to be free. San Fran is largely famous for and influenced by its hippy culture and history.
We walked over the streets grids that covered the San Fran rolling topography, and made our way down to Fisherman's wharf. After bartering for a hop on and off bus tour pass, we were soon being bussed around the city, and experienced walking over the legendary Golden Gate Bridge. After taking many photos and getting to know the general layout of the city we had a good first day in San Fran.
Day 2 another 'booked and already paid for' thing - hooray! We walked back down to Fisherman's wharf and wandered along to Pier 33 to catch our ferry to Alcatraz. Alcatraz was at one stage a maximum security prison and we spent a fascinating couple of hours wandering around listening to a top notch audio guide that helped give us insight into what it was like working and living in the prison. The rest of the day was filled with wandering around the shops at Pier 39 and finished with dinner out at Ruth Chris's Steakhouse. We had asked at the Hotel for a recommendation and upon arriving at the the restaurant we thought prehaps we might be a little out of our league...not to be out done by the well dressed clientele we continued inside and were presented with the menu. Kath opened her menu and immediatley felt rather ill with a 'Porterhouse for Two' costing US$88. Abby braved up and got some steak while the rest of us had a very tasty salad/soup! The lovely waitress and some super good desserts made for a good night out and an experience to laugh about!
DAY 101-107 - London the finale!
A week in London - the highlights package!
** An early start and we were on our way back to Athens airport (again!) to catch our Easyjet flight to Berlin, Germany. We were surprised upon arriving at Berlin the lack of customs and passport control and this lead to a few questions when boarding our Ryanair flight a couple of hours later as we had, no stamp in our passports to say we had 'entered' Germany so they were a little confused as to whether we were allowed to get a stamp to say we were leaving...hmm confusing stuff!
** In the departure lounge The pack met another fellow Kiwi Nicoletta. We had not met a lot of Kiwi's on our travels, the majority of our fellow hostelliers were Aussies so meeting fellow Kiwis is a treat. Boarding our Ryanair flight Abby got a seat next to Nicoletta and spent the next two hours discussing travelling, Flight of the Concords and other essentially New Zealand topics. They left each other at customs saying " well have a nice life" etc. another random meeting.
** For accommodation in London we hunted out Hillspring Lodge. It was located near Willesden Green so we got a week pass for unlimited travel between zone's 1&2 on the tube. Hillspring Lodge was excellent, since it was reasonably priced, the bunks were solid, and the breakfasts were some of the top ones we'd had with accommodation. We were sorry to leave this place for Smart Hyde Park Inn for the last two nights in London.
** 2 stops down from the Hostel is the much revered Lord's Cricket Ground which we thought we'd check out... little did we know (being such Cricket fans and all!) that the 5 day test between England and Pakistan was to begin the following day so the Grounds were swarming with security and we had to get our bags searched and be patted down just to get into the souvenir shop - craziness!
** Next on list was the Tate Modern as recommended by our new friends from Oakhall. During the fantastic breakfast that morning it was noted that the south of England was due for torrential rain. As we left the lodge under blue sky we scoffed at the weather report ( a risky thing to do as we don't live in London what do we know a about London weather?). By the time we emerged from the underground at Southwark (pronounced suthark) the sky looked more menacing, heavy rain filled clouds crowded above us. Briskly we walked to Blackfrairs bridge to attempt to find a graffiti art by Banksy (Abby's little obsession seehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
The collections in Tate Modern consist of works of international modern and contemporary art dating from 1900 onwards.
The Tate Collection is on display on levels three and five of the building, while level four houses large temporary exhibitions ( not free therefore not viewed) and a small exhibition space on level two houses work by contemporary artists.
The galleries are in the former Bankside Power Station.
We wandered through giant rooms filled with giant sculptures, paintings, statues, movies, by artists such as Monet, Picasso, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali.
As we started to leave the Museum our attention was captured by classical music and a gathering crowd on the mezzanine floor above a massive open space (turbine hall where the electricity generators of the old power station, is five storeys tall with 3,400 square metres of floorspace) Looking down to the bottom floor we saw a group of ballet dancers rehearsing on bars set up on the painted wooden floor. It was mesmerising watching them stretch and move.
Feeling culturally fulfilled we dashed back out into the rain to a pub we had passed on the way to the museum, that we noted with our bargain seeking radars, had shared meals. We slowly ate our nachos hoping the weather would ease but to no avail it steadily poured down from the sky. Our great plans for the day also drained away. So instead we decided to full fill Abby's other desire, to find a Good Flat White or a flat white would do. Off to Soho to find the Flat White Cafe. More running through the rain, weaving between the black umbrellas and down narrow streets we discovered the cafe and a Good Flat White. Hooray!!
** Most definitely the biggest highlight of our time in London was hanging out with Abby's friend Nicola (you may recall her from previous blogs when she took us under her wing, back in our early London days and that she was looking after some excess baggage while we were in Greece)
she was tour guide extraordinaire providing lots of useful London tips and it was lovely having another member in the Pack! We meet up with Nicola our first night back to retrieve the 'excess' luggage and she took us to this great place called GBK (Gourmet Burger Kitchen). It's run by Kiwis and golly gosh the Burgers are AMAZING! They also had other classic kiwi items on the menu such as L&P and Whitaker's Chocolate. So the awesome Nicola printed us off 2-4-1 vouchers and we tucked into a great feed. A dose of Kiwi goodness was just what we needed after arriving back into the average weather of London.
** Again we seeked
Kath and Jess, so culturally knowledgeable, were able to walk around in record time. Abby and Nicole were left in their dust to emerge an hour later than these speedy art appreciators. Highlights were van Gogh- Sun flowers, Claude Monet- The Water-Lily Pond ,Paul Cezanne, Bellini,Botticelli,Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo.. well actually the list would get a bit long you get the point.
** The changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace happens at 11am every other day and we thought we'd get there early to get a good spot... turns out that by 10:30 at least 1000 other people had, had this good idea before us! Nevertheless we split up and found some good spots by the main and east gate. The ceremony is quite a grand affair with two lots of guards marching, one from St James's palace and the other from the Wellington barracks, each with a full marching band leading the way and if that's not enough a group of mounted soldiers proceed in and out for what reason we are not entirely sure! By the main gate, Molly the policewoman was in charge and spent the entire 2 hours trying to ensure that people were walking on the left and that the crowd kept back so that there was a walkway for them to do so. This lady had the patience of a saint as one silly tourist after another made her life difficult - unfortunately she didn't resort to the tactics of the policemen across from her, who got one of the mounted policemen to back his horse into the crowd to create the walkway through! She was also very helpful in telling us what was going to happen in the changing of the guard as alot of it happens in front of the palace which we couldn't see. With not being able to see alot, we didn't miss out as the crowd around us provided us with plenty of entertainment.
** An afternoon in Greenwich. Although Greenwich is just across the river from London, it feels isolated and still has a bit of a village feel. We stopped at the Information Centre, which was also a museum and made the most of the various, props and dress ups.
We then made our way to the Greenwich markets. These were filled with stalls ranging from leather products and jewellery right through to food and antiques. We managed to fill in a good couple of hours wandering around and talking to the stall owners. Seeing as we were in Greenwich we thought it was probably best to go and see the Meridian (the point of 0 degrees longitude, where east meets west) we joined the line to stand on the meridian line and explored the clock and telescope museums that were located around the sight.
** Nicola suggested a trip out to Richmond as a way to escape some of the hustle and bustle of a bank holiday weekend in London. Richmond is located along the river Thames on the outskirts of London. We spent some of the morning sitting in the sun having a cup of tea and spying out some of the cheeky squirrels including the native red squirrel. A long walk riverside found us to be just a little lost but we eventually found our way back to Richmond for some dinner before heading back to London to see the Phantom of the Opera.
** After an "interesting" couple of hours checking out the Notting Hill carnival - Europe's largest street carnival attracting over 1 million people - madness! We ventured off to something a little more sedate... the Old Spitafield markets. This is a large covered market containing everything from leather goods to jewellery to the whole range of food stalls.
** Hillsong Church London. Throughout our travels we have been to a range of churches. In my (Nicole's) personal opinion Hillsong London was one if not the favourite. The service was held in the Dominion Theatre which during the week is where the musical We Will Rock You can be seen. The music was awesome, the band was great and one of the speakers was a kiwi so that was a bonus. The evening service was filled with music and praying with a short message on focusing on the Healer rather than the healing. Most of the music was new but they did bring out One Way which had everyone in the building bouncing.
** Hamleys - 6 storeys of toy goodness. After going to a Hamley's store in Glasgow we thought we better go the original store. The London Hamley's made the Glasgow store look tiny. Each level had a different range of toys, one floor was just for soft toys! The best thing about Hamleys is that you can try before you buy which is an idea of brilliance.
** When picking a show to go to, we agreed upon our top three most wanted: The Lion King, Phantom of the Opera, and Les Miserables. This mad it easy since The Lion King was booked out, Les Mes was more expensive and had average seats available left, and so we went to Phantom and got front balcony seats (which I (Kath) appreciated, since there were therefore no tall people in front to block the view).
Phantom was phantastic!!! haha. The singing was amazing, and the sophistication of theatre set was incredible. We all sat packed in seats with little leg room and thoroughly enjoyed the show. Alas they were strict about prohibiting cameras throughout the show so we have only photos of the stage before the show began. I'll assume that most people will know the story line, and if not... you should remedy that fast. In all we'd highly recommend seeing it live, and words cannot describe the awesomeness of the production. London west end really knows how to put on a show!
** Kath and Abby decided on their last night in London to treat them selves to another west end show. Kath's Nana Roy had recommended the The Mousetrap. The Mousetrap is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. The Mousetrap opened in the West End of London in 1952, and has been running continuously since then. It has the longest initial run of any play in history, with over 24,000 performances so far. It is the longest running show (of any type) of the modern era. The play is also known for its twist ending, which at the end of every performance the audience is asked not to reveal. So it shall not be revealed Ha! Well if the price is right..... Any way it was a very enjoyable play all preformed around one set, clever and great acting.
(Random pictures to finish)
** An early start and we were on our way back to Athens airport (again!) to catch our Easyjet flight to Berlin, Germany. We were surprised upon arriving at Berlin the lack of customs and passport control and this lead to a few questions when boarding our Ryanair flight a couple of hours later as we had, no stamp in our passports to say we had 'entered' Germany so they were a little confused as to whether we were allowed to get a stamp to say we were leaving...hmm confusing stuff!
** In the departure lounge The pack met another fellow Kiwi Nicoletta. We had not met a lot of Kiwi's on our travels, the majority of our fellow hostelliers were Aussies so meeting fellow Kiwis is a treat. Boarding our Ryanair flight Abby got a seat next to Nicoletta and spent the next two hours discussing travelling, Flight of the Concords and other essentially New Zealand topics. They left each other at customs saying " well have a nice life" etc. another random meeting.
** 2 stops down from the Hostel is the much revered Lord's Cricket Ground which we thought we'd check out... little did we know (being such Cricket fans and all!) that the 5 day test between England and Pakistan was to begin the following day so the Grounds were swarming with security and we had to get our bags searched and be patted down just to get into the souvenir shop - craziness!
** Next on list was the Tate Modern as recommended by our new friends from Oakhall. During the fantastic breakfast that morning it was noted that the south of England was due for torrential rain. As we left the lodge under blue sky we scoffed at the weather report ( a risky thing to do as we don't live in London what do we know a about London weather?). By the time we emerged from the underground at Southwark (pronounced suthark) the sky looked more menacing, heavy rain filled clouds crowded above us. Briskly we walked to Blackfrairs bridge to attempt to find a graffiti art by Banksy (Abby's little obsession seehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
The collections in Tate Modern consist of works of international modern and contemporary art dating from 1900 onwards.
The Tate Collection is on display on levels three and five of the building, while level four houses large temporary exhibitions ( not free therefore not viewed) and a small exhibition space on level two houses work by contemporary artists.
The galleries are in the former Bankside Power Station.
We wandered through giant rooms filled with giant sculptures, paintings, statues, movies, by artists such as Monet, Picasso, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali.
As we started to leave the Museum our attention was captured by classical music and a gathering crowd on the mezzanine floor above a massive open space (turbine hall where the electricity generators of the old power station, is five storeys tall with 3,400 square metres of floorspace) Looking down to the bottom floor we saw a group of ballet dancers rehearsing on bars set up on the painted wooden floor. It was mesmerising watching them stretch and move.
** Most definitely the biggest highlight of our time in London was hanging out with Abby's friend Nicola (you may recall her from previous blogs when she took us under her wing, back in our early London days and that she was looking after some excess baggage while we were in Greece)
she was tour guide extraordinaire providing lots of useful London tips and it was lovely having another member in the Pack! We meet up with Nicola our first night back to retrieve the 'excess' luggage and she took us to this great place called GBK (Gourmet Burger Kitchen). It's run by Kiwis and golly gosh the Burgers are AMAZING! They also had other classic kiwi items on the menu such as L&P and Whitaker's Chocolate. So the awesome Nicola printed us off 2-4-1 vouchers and we tucked into a great feed. A dose of Kiwi goodness was just what we needed after arriving back into the average weather of London.
** Again we seeked
Kath and Jess, so culturally knowledgeable, were able to walk around in record time. Abby and Nicole were left in their dust to emerge an hour later than these speedy art appreciators. Highlights were van Gogh- Sun flowers, Claude Monet- The Water-Lily Pond ,Paul Cezanne, Bellini,Botticelli,Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo.. well actually the list would get a bit long you get the point.
** The changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace happens at 11am every other day and we thought we'd get there early to get a good spot... turns out that by 10:30 at least 1000 other people had, had this good idea before us! Nevertheless we split up and found some good spots by the main and east gate. The ceremony is quite a grand affair with two lots of guards marching, one from St James's palace and the other from the Wellington barracks, each with a full marching band leading the way and if that's not enough a group of mounted soldiers proceed in and out for what reason we are not entirely sure! By the main gate, Molly the policewoman was in charge and spent the entire 2 hours trying to ensure that people were walking on the left and that the crowd kept back so that there was a walkway for them to do so. This lady had the patience of a saint as one silly tourist after another made her life difficult - unfortunately she didn't resort to the tactics of the policemen across from her, who got one of the mounted policemen to back his horse into the crowd to create the walkway through! She was also very helpful in telling us what was going to happen in the changing of the guard as alot of it happens in front of the palace which we couldn't see. With not being able to see alot, we didn't miss out as the crowd around us provided us with plenty of entertainment.
We then made our way to the Greenwich markets. These were filled with stalls ranging from leather products and jewellery right through to food and antiques. We managed to fill in a good couple of hours wandering around and talking to the stall owners. Seeing as we were in Greenwich we thought it was probably best to go and see the Meridian (the point of 0 degrees longitude, where east meets west) we joined the line to stand on the meridian line and explored the clock and telescope museums that were located around the sight.
** After an "interesting" couple of hours checking out the Notting Hill carnival - Europe's largest street carnival attracting over 1 million people - madness! We ventured off to something a little more sedate... the Old Spitafield markets. This is a large covered market containing everything from leather goods to jewellery to the whole range of food stalls.
** Hillsong Church London. Throughout our travels we have been to a range of churches. In my (Nicole's) personal opinion Hillsong London was one if not the favourite. The service was held in the Dominion Theatre which during the week is where the musical We Will Rock You can be seen. The music was awesome, the band was great and one of the speakers was a kiwi so that was a bonus. The evening service was filled with music and praying with a short message on focusing on the Healer rather than the healing. Most of the music was new but they did bring out One Way which had everyone in the building bouncing.
Phantom was phantastic!!! haha. The singing was amazing, and the sophistication of theatre set was incredible. We all sat packed in seats with little leg room and thoroughly enjoyed the show. Alas they were strict about prohibiting cameras throughout the show so we have only photos of the stage before the show began. I'll assume that most people will know the story line, and if not... you should remedy that fast. In all we'd highly recommend seeing it live, and words cannot describe the awesomeness of the production. London west end really knows how to put on a show!
** Kath and Abby decided on their last night in London to treat them selves to another west end show. Kath's Nana Roy had recommended the The Mousetrap. The Mousetrap is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. The Mousetrap opened in the West End of London in 1952, and has been running continuously since then. It has the longest initial run of any play in history, with over 24,000 performances so far. It is the longest running show (of any type) of the modern era. The play is also known for its twist ending, which at the end of every performance the audience is asked not to reveal. So it shall not be revealed Ha! Well if the price is right..... Any way it was a very enjoyable play all preformed around one set, clever and great acting.
(Random pictures to finish)
Sunday, August 22, 2010
DAY 96 - Corinth
19th of August - Whitey's Birthday and a trip to Corinth
The day began with a camera, some singing and present opening. I wish all morning started with opening presents :) Luckily for Nicole and viewers, she didn't go to bed with wet hair otherwise the video evidence of the reaction to the awakening choir would have been scarier.
Greek yoghurt, fresh fruit and tea loaf provided a very scrumptious breakfast before meeting the bus on the sea front and travelled north to Corinth. First we stopped at Marathon which was the sight of the Battle of Marathon. This was the first invasion of Greece by the Persians in 490B.C. The Greeks won the battle and sent a messenger back to Athens, a journey of 40km, with news of the victory. After running whole way, and telling the good news the messenger dropped dead due to heat exhaustion. Moral of the story. . . don't run 40kms in the blistering heat, take a bus. While everyone else on the tour was taking pictures of the grassed mound of dirt that was put there was a memorial we, the pack decided to take other pictures to remind us of the location.
We arrived at the present day Corinth and stopped at the canal lookout to "look out". The canal connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and seperates the Peloponnesian peninsula from the Greek mainland. The canal is 6.3km in length and was built between 1881 and 1893. It is 21 metres wide which is too narrow for modern oceans freighters. Therefore the canal is now mostly used by tourist ships. The water in the canal is 8m deep and at a maximum, the walls are 52m high.
We travelled on to Acrocorinth (575m.a.s.l.). Luckily the bus could take us up to a point near the lowest gate on the west side of the hill. This hill was fortified in ancient times and its defences were maintained and developed during the Byzantine, Frankish, Turkish and Venetan periods. The fortifications include three layers of walls in which we passed through three gates while still climbing up the hill and trying to avoid slipping on the well worn marble. Within the fortress is a mosque build in 16th century and ruins of the temple of Aphrodite. There was also fanastic view of the Isthmus and the hills of the Peloponnese.
We wound our way back down the hill and got dropped of in Ancient Corinth during the middle of the day. While some people on the tour set their sights on exploring the museum and surrounding ruins which date back to the 11th Century B.C. and have statues of Augustus and his grandson Lucius Caesar and of other Roman Emperors. Others including us, took refuge in a taverna (Greek restaurant) which over looked the ancient Roman site. The owner took a shining to Jess, and was very insistant that he would take her acceptance in marriage as payment for the meal. He was saddened when we wouldn't let Jess go but was secretly stoked when Jess gave him a hug. (Sooo romantic. . .not!)
It was later heard that Jess should have told the owner that back home she had a boy friend who was 6 ft 6, and 120kgs of pure New Zealand muscle and could press him into olive oil.
We made our way back to the hotel and cooled down with a compulsory dip in the pool. The night was ended by being taken to a cafe which had amazingly comfy couches and great music. Happy birthday was sung for the forth time that day and a couple of drinks made a great day complete.
The day began with a camera, some singing and present opening. I wish all morning started with opening presents :) Luckily for Nicole and viewers, she didn't go to bed with wet hair otherwise the video evidence of the reaction to the awakening choir would have been scarier.
Greek yoghurt, fresh fruit and tea loaf provided a very scrumptious breakfast before meeting the bus on the sea front and travelled north to Corinth. First we stopped at Marathon which was the sight of the Battle of Marathon. This was the first invasion of Greece by the Persians in 490B.C. The Greeks won the battle and sent a messenger back to Athens, a journey of 40km, with news of the victory. After running whole way, and telling the good news the messenger dropped dead due to heat exhaustion. Moral of the story. . . don't run 40kms in the blistering heat, take a bus. While everyone else on the tour was taking pictures of the grassed mound of dirt that was put there was a memorial we, the pack decided to take other pictures to remind us of the location.
We arrived at the present day Corinth and stopped at the canal lookout to "look out". The canal connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and seperates the Peloponnesian peninsula from the Greek mainland. The canal is 6.3km in length and was built between 1881 and 1893. It is 21 metres wide which is too narrow for modern oceans freighters. Therefore the canal is now mostly used by tourist ships. The water in the canal is 8m deep and at a maximum, the walls are 52m high.
We travelled on to Acrocorinth (575m.a.s.l.). Luckily the bus could take us up to a point near the lowest gate on the west side of the hill. This hill was fortified in ancient times and its defences were maintained and developed during the Byzantine, Frankish, Turkish and Venetan periods. The fortifications include three layers of walls in which we passed through three gates while still climbing up the hill and trying to avoid slipping on the well worn marble. Within the fortress is a mosque build in 16th century and ruins of the temple of Aphrodite. There was also fanastic view of the Isthmus and the hills of the Peloponnese.
We wound our way back down the hill and got dropped of in Ancient Corinth during the middle of the day. While some people on the tour set their sights on exploring the museum and surrounding ruins which date back to the 11th Century B.C. and have statues of Augustus and his grandson Lucius Caesar and of other Roman Emperors. Others including us, took refuge in a taverna (Greek restaurant) which over looked the ancient Roman site. The owner took a shining to Jess, and was very insistant that he would take her acceptance in marriage as payment for the meal. He was saddened when we wouldn't let Jess go but was secretly stoked when Jess gave him a hug. (Sooo romantic. . .not!)
It was later heard that Jess should have told the owner that back home she had a boy friend who was 6 ft 6, and 120kgs of pure New Zealand muscle and could press him into olive oil.
We made our way back to the hotel and cooled down with a compulsory dip in the pool. The night was ended by being taken to a cafe which had amazingly comfy couches and great music. Happy birthday was sung for the forth time that day and a couple of drinks made a great day complete.
DAY 94 - Athens
Athens with Oakhall.
We looked around the Acropolis, Acient Angora, Hadrians Arch, Temple of Zeus, and there was more to see but really marble is marble, and there is a lot of it to be seen in Athens. Marble can be shaped in many beautiful ways but with the day’s heat, and after looking at the important ruins we felt we’d seen enough.
To finish off the day we went out to Cape Sounion to watch the sun go down. The were some ruins (no surprise by now) at the top of the hill and in what would have been the court yard couples were watching the sun set… we felt our laughing and general shanaggians would be unsuitable for their quite special moment so we went to the front of the ruins as the sun slowly set.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
DAY 91-100 - OakHall Tour (Nea Makri, Greece)
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| The Kiwi and Irish girls |
This tour was set up to be a very relaxing holiday again a big contrast to the hustle and bustle of 13 countries in 24 days - bliss! Out of the 10 days at the Hotel Thomas Beach, 3 were excursion days and the rest were free days to check out Nea Makri, the beach or the pool - it was really too hot to do much else.
Hotel living agreed with us, no bunk beds, air conditioning, ensuites, wardrobes and drawers - ah the small things, also not having to pack our bags for 10 whole days has been magic!The "most important things in life" changed from where are we staying, how are we getting there and what are we going to eat, not to mention how much is it all going to cost to... pool or beach and where can I fill my drink bottle (oh and where is the closest toilet that I'm allowed to flush the paper down - that's a hard habit to break!)
The week started out with blistering temperatures reaching the 40's and has ended with strong winds bringing it back down to a more mild high 20's.
As always the supermarkets were one of the first port's of call and with most of the packaging being in Greek and the supermarkets being 2 storey's they were quite different to the Tesco's and Marks and Spencers that we had grown to love while in the UK. We also sampled some of the sweet delicacies at the bakery including Baklava and other one's I wouldn't have a clue what they were called! Lipton tea was back and Kath had a great plan of buying a 1.5 litre bottle to use for the rest of the week as a drink bottle but the cleaners were too fast for her, whisking it away to the rubbish not long after she had finsihed the last drop...much to her despair!
More on food we got Breakfast and Dinner provided by the Hotel and breakfast consisting of the most amazing fruit salad and Greek yoghurt was a winner
Finding a launderette sent Abby and Jess on a wild goose chase faround 3 different dry cleaning places finally having success at Texa's where they couple behind the counter spoke minimal english, but after alot of sign language and washing machine like movements they left hoping that their clothes would be washed when they came back at the end of the day. Hooray, when they returned not only were they washed but they had been dried and folded and bagged up in this massive bag (Kath is trying to give you perception in the photo below!)
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On Friday night we headed out for some ten-pin bowling action.
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