Just Returned from Greece and Turkey
 

Thank you to everyone who provided info before our trip.Some one-liners in return: <BR>Delphi-very inspirational and most beautiful setting and awesome view of olive orchards and Sea. <BR>Small villages everywhere had friendly people and wonderful way of life. <BR>Except for Acropolis, Monastiraki and Plaka, Athens only worth two days, city is a zoo -grimy, noisy and polluted.Great restaurants in Plaka but expensive and watch bread/cover prices--everywhere! Corinth was filthy and noisy-but Loutraki-a short distance away was glorious with wonderful beach and restaurants. Ferry to Patras another zoo-ferries require you to reverse and back on. Nafplion a delight with great restaurants and sight-seeing. Epidarus worth the time to visit. Loved southern end of Pelopponese around Porto Heli and east coast-very scenic and pretty villages. One-day cruise to Aegina, Poros and Hydra on cruise ship well worth the money and time. Favourite was Hydra and Poros. Rodos City and markets worth a visit. Prefer to stay at Pefkos Village near Lindos and visit the latter when necessary. Pefkos Village Resort a great place to stay and wonderful, quiet beach and very good restaurants. Santorini is a must! Paradise day and night-great historical sights, activities and a one day visit to Oia-a joy to see also(by bus). <BR>Turkey- Selcuk a great place to stay. Close to Ephesus and a small farming town with much color and good restaurants. Pension Nezhan a real treat. Istanbul and its 12 million people -unreal. Great historical sites and all are recommended. Stay near the Grand Bazaar area if you can-so much easier to get around on foot. <BR>Other comments: <BR>There are no screens on windows and mosquitoes are a major problem everywhere-we have many bites to prove it. <BR>Breakfasts- orange juice is freshie, hard boiled eggs are the norm, and Nescafe is all you will get in most places-even the Capuccino! Bring your own bodum. <BR>Loved the fresh fruit everywhere. <BR>Never look a carpet dealer in the eyes! If you speak English, try gibberish or pig Latin when passing these stands. Once they hear you talk they are all over you. Keep a smile on your face and be pleasant-most have a great sense of humour-like when my wife and I walked past holding hands and ignored their pleas, one shouted " Have a nice honeymoon". <BR>Exercise your thighs before visiting a Turkish toilet(and always carry toilet paper) <BR>Get used to seeing lots of cats and dogs around your table during meals in both countries <BR>Talk to as many of the natives as possible-you will find they are all pretty friendly and helpful-those who can speak the language. <BR>Master Card Platinum was accepted at all car rental agencies-Ireland, Greece and Turkey. <BR>Excuses for not accepting credit cards at restaurants and shops: <BR>---all machines in town are down for 2 days; <BR>---It's too late in the evening; <BR>---your purchase is not high enough; <BR>---we gave you a price for cash, for Visa it will be .......dollars more. <BR>Carrying cash- U.S. cash in Turkey gets the best deals. Watch for the Exchanges which will cash travellers cheques with no commissions charged. <BR>Hope this helps!!!!! <BR>

Regarding your comments about reasons for not taking credit cards. We were told the real reason is that the waiter is expecting a tip from Americans (contrary to what the guidebooks tell you). If the tip is added to the credit card bill the waiter will never see it. We even had one waiter say, "I'll take your card if you promise to leave the tip in cash." We started telling the waiters as we handed them the card that we would leave the tip in cash and never got refused after that.

"Bring your own bodum." <BR> <BR>What is a bodum?

Bodum is a filter coffee maker. It's true that most of the coffee in Greece was nescafe (unless you ordered Greek coffee). Here in Toronto, I even saw a Greek restaurant advertising that they served nescafe!! What we did like in Greece (and our Greek restaurants here) was a frappe (iced nescafe) - that was served in most restaurants and is wonderful. <BR> <BR>In Turkey, we found that we had tea at some of our breakfasts. That took a bit of getting used to for me as I'm not a tea drinker. (However I did like apple tea and would sometimes order that.) Turkish coffee was also sometimes available. <BR> <BR>Re Ron's comments about mosquitoes - we stayed in a hotel for a couple of nights where we had airconditioning. We still got eaten alive. We ended up buying one of those plug-in mosquito repellent things and it was excellent. Never had a problem after that, even with windows wide open. <BR> <BR>I thought Santorini was overrated. Sure it's beautiful, but it wasn't the highlight of our vacation (liked Naxos and Rhodes and I even enjoyed Athens). Although I liked Greece, I loved Turkey and will go back to see more.

Ron -- I totally agree with you about Athens. Also, I spent about a week on Poros and really enjoyed it, so it was nice to hear that you went there and liked it too.

I stay away from coffee and tea due to the caffeine. Does anybody know if apple tea in Turkey is caffeine-free ? or are there decaffeinated coffee and tea in Turkey ? thanks.