The cradle of philosophy and much much more. Greece is a must see for those who have not been to Greece. I would not recommend going to Greece during a heat wave. When I was getting close to Athens I was wondering what all the spots of lights on the ground was. Getting even closer I realised it was forest fires everywhere, spread out over a wast area.
I jumped into a taxi at the airport and told the taxi driver the address of the hotel, and he looked like I just asked him to drive me to Paris. He called around to his colleagues and started driving. The streets around the hotel was littered with African prostitutes and as i suspected the hotel was reasonably shabby. I the morning I realised that the "green" sunburnt spot outside my hotel was a gathering place for drug addicts.
Outside the hotel in the morning.
The plan was to stay in Athens for two weeks, but after chaning hotels I decided to go island hopping. I did not regret that decision for a second. There is lot of cultural stuff to see in Athens but not a city you want to be strolling around in if it is above 40 celsius in the shade. I did some standard sightseeing and walking around Acropolis seeing the Parthenon was just mindblowing.
The Parthenon Temple, being restored to its former glory.
Athens as far as you could see.
Front: Temple of Zeus pillars. Back: Acropolis.
For a good laugh check out the guards that guard the parliament and the presidential palace.
Well enough about Athens. If you ever go to Greece you have to check out the islands. Santorini being the pearl of the islands. I went to Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Antiparos and the last stop was Santorini. Mikonos is an island know for its windmills and for being a gathering point for homosexual people. I only saw two guys holding hands so I am not sure about the last part. Santorini must be one of the top 10 of my favourite destination in the world. A lot of the houses on Santorini are built on the edge of the island. Santorini is one of the islands that was once part of a volcano. Some people claim that the eruption of the volcano may have sunk a city, and links this to the myth of Atlantis.
Windmills on Mikonos.
One of many beautiful sunsets.
Greek "food".
Caves on Antiparos. Soldiers from Alexander the Great`s army was once seeking shelter here.
Naxos.
View from "the edge" of Santorini. If you are there try getting a hotel on the edge.
Sunset in Oia, a town north on the island.
Santorini has also got a black and a red lava stone beach but I did not have time to visit them. Hope you liked my photos, and feel free to ask me questions if you need any advice :-)
Have a nice day :-)