Tag: <span>greece</span>

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Aegina is not very touristy. But many Athenians have holiday homes on the Island. If we lived in Athens, I could be very happy having this little house overlooking the Adriatic Sea as a weekend getaway.

Travel

Cds IMG 3002The Temple of Aphaia is in the mountains of Aegina, a small island close to Athens. When we were staying in Vagia, a small village in Aegina I decided to go for a run, and the temple is a perfect turning point for a nice loop. But its a brutal climb up the mountain. When I got to the top I was hot and thirsty, so I went straight to the kiosk to buy a bottle of water. The lady helping me thought I was having a heart attack and wanted to call an ambulance. She just couldn’t understand that I had just ran to the temple.

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When I went back the next day with Lois (this time we drove), they gave us a braille guide book, and that is something we found a lot in Greece – the awareness of blindness and disability. In many countries the tourist spots have braille guide books but you normally need to return them. In Greece they are to take home. The only problem is that we found out after we got back to the hotel is that while it was in braille, it was not in English! We still don’t know what language that guide book is in.

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At the temple in a Two Oceans Marathon race shirt. The person who took the pic for me thought that I was a professional adventure runner – not quite!

Travel

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These hydrofoils, or “flying dolphins” as they are known by can be seen zipping all over the Aegean sea. They are must faster than the regular ferries (and much noisier and more expensive), but are idea if you are in a rush to get to your destination.

Whereas we, who had all the time in the world, sat on the outside deck of the regular ferry and enjoyed watching the world go by as we took a leisurely trip to Aegina, and back to Athens a week later.

Travel

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When we arrived in our apartment in Athens, we found that a section of one of the walls had been turned into a chalk board shopping list. Except that instead of a shopping list, we saw the recipe for a Greek Salad. We had eaten plenty of them by the time we arrived, but now we had a real recipe from a real Greek host in Athens.

How to make a Greek salad

  • 2 tomatoes
  • 1 cucumber
  • 1 onion
  • 1 green pepper
  • feta cheese
  • black olives
  • olive oil
  • salt, oregano & pepper
  • mix and enjoy!

Here’s how it looks!

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Food and Drink Travel

Here are two arches that I saw in Athens – both of which I saw on a fanatic early morning run through the city. The first is the Arch of Hadrian, constructed in 131AD. It has been standing for over 1800 years.

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And the second marks the entrance to part of the ancient Agora. I have not been able to find any information about the actual arch, so if you know anything about it I would love to know. It is not at the main Agora site, but the slightly smaller site where you can find the Tower of the Winds.

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Travel

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It is so easy to get fresh fish in Aegina; every restaurant has a great selection of local and fresh fish. In the middle of town there is a small fish market, surrounded by little seafood restaurants, and the fish is fantastic!

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One of the restaurants outside the fish market. I don’t recall the name of the fish that I ate, but it was a huge plate of really small sardine-like fish with soft bones. I just ate the entire fish, and they were really good! I am getting hungry just remembering my meal.

Travel

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This is a view of the main town in Aegina from the ferry back to Athens. It is such a beautiful little port, and I so want to get back there for a few days.

Travel

In my last post, I posted some pics of the Aegean sea from the Ferry to Aegina. Here are two pics of the port, the first of the actual port where the boats dock, and the second is of the seafront apartment buildings just outside the port. I am sure that you have a fantastic view from those apartments, although it looks a little crowded.

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Piraeus Port

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Seafront apartments

Travel

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On our first morning in Aegina, I wondered down to the port to find a bakery to get something for breakfast, and I saw this wonderful tall ship in the harbour (yes I actually did take my little point & shoot camera with to the bakery – you never know). Anyway I am glad that I had my camera with me, because by the time we went to the port later in the day it was gone!

Travel

In my previous post I shared a photo of some old and decaying shuttered doors. I took this photo on the same street in Aegina – just a few houses down. This window tells a completely different story. It is wide open, sparkling clean, and telling a completely different story. This one is of life and activity, not death and decay. It almost balances it, doesn’t it?

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Travel