Athens

We have learned a trick when riding in big cities. Park the bike securely and do public transportation. The first thing we look for is the Hop On/Hop Off Sightseeing Bus Tours ( https://www.hop-on-hop-off-bus.com ). These buses hit most of the tourist areas of the city and narrate, in your language, what you are seeing. And if you want to explore more on your own, just get back on the bus at another stop. Easy.

In the morning we walked to the pickup location for the bus and rode a big loop to see the sights before deciding which place we wanted to see first. From many areas in the city all you have to do is look up and on a an enormous flat rock 490 feet above and overlooking the city is the Acropolis of Athens. This ancient citadel was built in the 5th century BC. The area contains several ancient buildings of great architectural and historic significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The Parthenon was dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron. The Acropolis is undergoing extensive renovations at the present time.

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Back on the bus and to the market. We wandered around looking at the people selling all kinds of things, even food. Finding a little cafe we ordered a great homemade pizza and a beer and chatted with a couple out enjoying the day with their new baby. On the way back to the bus we came across a car show of old Fiat 500’s. Cute little buggies.

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The next day we decided to buy our ferry tickets before hopping back on the bus for more exploration. Getting off at a couple locations to look around we finally headed to the Old Market to wander around some. On the way we passed the Presidential Palace. The Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was about to take place. We hopped of the bus and were treated to the wonderful ceremony. From the side the three guards entered the square, two officers and the guard. as they approached the spectators parted down the center of the viewing area as the soldiers high stepped through the people to the guarded area. One of the officers narrated what was about to happen and the two guards high stepped toward each other preforming the Changing of the Guard ceremony. It was very impressive.

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Our next stop was the old town market and lunch. Finding a cafe with an outdoor seating area we ordered a couple fresh Greek pies with meat fillings and feta cheese. Excellent choice. Sitting on the street the market area filled our senses. All around the sounds of people bargaining with the shop owners for the best price, couples chatting, scooters buzzing, horns honking gave us a sense of excitement.

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Ever visit must include the Olympic Panathenaic Stadium. The stadium was built on the site of the original Panathenaic games in 300 BC. The current stadium was built in 144 AD, had seating for 50,000 spectators and is built entirely of marble. For many centuries it sat abandoned until being refurbished and used again for the opening and closing ceremonies in 1896 for the first modern Olympic games. It is also the last venue in Greece from where the Olympic flame handover ceremony to the host nation takes place.

We walked on the field and sat in the chairs of past rulers and just felt the history. We walked through the entryway that the contestants had entered the field through and walked the length of what looked like a long cave carved into the marble leading to the main halls and an exhibition area. Truly spectacular.

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The next day we arrived at the ferry port to make our way toward Turkey. We had to cross first to a small Greek Island, Chios, just 30 minutes from the Turkish coast. The ferry took several hours and we arrived to Chios at about 0400 am. There were a couple cafes open so we sat, had coffee and a Greek pastry, hooked up to WiFi and looked for a place to spend that night as the ferry to Turkey didn’t leave until the next morning.

It finally got light and we went looking for the place I had booked on booking.com. It was described as on the hill overlooking the beach and ocean with a pool and a hot tub. After negotiating a terrible broken road down to it we found what was a deserted hotel. Nobody was around and the pool and hot tub looked as if they hadn’t been used in years. I had already paid for it through booking.com Grrrr. They did reimburse my money.

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Headed back to town we found a great place place right on the water on the other side of the island. First up, go explore the island. The island was beautiful and ended up being one of favorites, it seemed almost deserted.

On the backside of the island we came across a road that looked like it went down to a beach area. Coming around the first corner we were startled by a group of tanks with soldiers standing near them. We waved and they waved back as we passed and soon we became aware we were on a proving ground and the signage encouraged us to turn back. We took the advice, there is always another beach. The soldiers waved at us again as we passed probably laughing amongst themselves.

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Riding back across the mountains to the other side we saw a sign for the Nea Moni of Chios. This was an 11th century monastery that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to tradition, three monks founded this monastery here when they miraculously found an icon of the Virgin Mary, hanging from a branch of myrtle. Constantine was exiled on nearby Lesbos. The monks visited him and told him he would become emperor. He promised them he would build them a monastery if that became true. Indeed, when he became emperor, he built them the monastery. Over time the monastery became the riches monastery in the Aegean with nearly 800 monks. It was well known for it’s mosaics, which are one of the finest examples in all of Greece.

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As it got toward the end of the day we found our hotel, a wonderful studio with cooking facilities. The owner couldn’t have been friendlier. He showed us around and took our picture with Yellow Donkey to put on his wall to remember us. There was a market just on the street facing the water. A wonderful man helped up with vegetables and pasta for our meal for the night. Such wonderful people.

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The next morning we set out in the dark to get to the ferry port. Our host was at our side wishing us a safe journey and to return to see him again some day.

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Cheers,

2WANDRRs