Our Amazing Grecian Odyssey
Jun 15th, 2022, 12:18 PM
#81
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Glad u made it to Aiolos... one of 1st places I stumbled into... a feature that night was a Mushroom Casserole..crisp sides, melty cheesy center in a castiron skillet, amaazing taste, Also one of pllaces that sells barrelled wine (not "box wine") including rose.. unusual.. an very delish. this is 22 years ago, so u know it was good. I find that sometimes, when I am dining solo, I pay more attention to the food, & thus remember it. Aalso take notes more, in the moment.
Jun 15th, 2022, 12:59 PM
#84
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Lower Town pathway
Cathedral of St. Demetrios
Courtyard at Cathedral of St. Demetrios
Beautiful bougainvillea
As you can tell, I love this scene!
Interior of Cathedral of St. Demetrios
Another interior photo
Ancient wall painting
Ancient wall painting
Jun 15th, 2022, 04:59 PM
#91
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MAY 23, 2022 – ANCIENT EPIDAURUS AND THE ARGOLID PENINSULA
We drove about 30 minutes from Nafplio to visit Ancient Epidaurus. The theater is such a magnificent site. We climbed to the top of the theater for awesome views. There was a tour group down below in the orchestra. We could hear the tour leader give the group instructions to clap their hands, and we could hear them clapping from the top of the theater. The acoustics really are amazing.
From the theater, we walked to the Sanctuary of Asklepios, dedicated to the god of healing. In its day, Epidaurus was famous across the Mediterranean as a place of miraculous healing. There is a temple and a stadium among other ruins.
From here, we drove down the Argolis Peninsula to the small resort town of Porto Heli. Because we didn’t get any beach time in Naxos, we figured we could do that in Porto Heli. It was about an hour’s drive from Epidaurus. We found a quiet beach; there were a few people swimming. There are sunbeds and a bar and café but it hadn’t opened yet because it was early in the season. Because there was hardly anyone around, we were able to change into our bathing suits in the car! So we had a refreshing dip in the Aegean and relaxed on the sunbeds for awhile.
Then we drove to the fishing village of Ermioni, about a 20-minute drive, for a late lunch/early dinner. We ate at a fish taverna right on the water. Unfortunately, our meal was only mediocre. But they charged us 4,500 euros! Obviously, a mistake. The waitress entered the decimal point in the wrong place. She and the owner tried to fix it but were unable to. The owner gave us his name and phone number to give to our credit card company, if necessary. Of course, we wrote to our credit card company when we returned, and they refunded us all the money except for about $80 which is odd. We will dispute that, too. The owner made the comment that we are not in Mykonos! Maybe they don’t deal with foreign credit cards that often?
When we arrived in Nafplio we decided we needed an ice cream fix since we weren’t satisfied with our meal. We had delicious ice cream at Koustenis, which is recommended by Santorini Dave. And then called it a night.
We drove about 30 minutes from Nafplio to visit Ancient Epidaurus. The theater is such a magnificent site. We climbed to the top of the theater for awesome views. There was a tour group down below in the orchestra. We could hear the tour leader give the group instructions to clap their hands, and we could hear them clapping from the top of the theater. The acoustics really are amazing.
From the theater, we walked to the Sanctuary of Asklepios, dedicated to the god of healing. In its day, Epidaurus was famous across the Mediterranean as a place of miraculous healing. There is a temple and a stadium among other ruins.
From here, we drove down the Argolis Peninsula to the small resort town of Porto Heli. Because we didn’t get any beach time in Naxos, we figured we could do that in Porto Heli. It was about an hour’s drive from Epidaurus. We found a quiet beach; there were a few people swimming. There are sunbeds and a bar and café but it hadn’t opened yet because it was early in the season. Because there was hardly anyone around, we were able to change into our bathing suits in the car! So we had a refreshing dip in the Aegean and relaxed on the sunbeds for awhile.
Then we drove to the fishing village of Ermioni, about a 20-minute drive, for a late lunch/early dinner. We ate at a fish taverna right on the water. Unfortunately, our meal was only mediocre. But they charged us 4,500 euros! Obviously, a mistake. The waitress entered the decimal point in the wrong place. She and the owner tried to fix it but were unable to. The owner gave us his name and phone number to give to our credit card company, if necessary. Of course, we wrote to our credit card company when we returned, and they refunded us all the money except for about $80 which is odd. We will dispute that, too. The owner made the comment that we are not in Mykonos! Maybe they don’t deal with foreign credit cards that often?
When we arrived in Nafplio we decided we needed an ice cream fix since we weren’t satisfied with our meal. We had delicious ice cream at Koustenis, which is recommended by Santorini Dave. And then called it a night.
Jun 15th, 2022, 06:44 PM
#95
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Jun 15th, 2022, 06:48 PM
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Jun 15th, 2022, 10:29 PM
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We missed Mystras too, we only had three full days and there’s way too much to see in the Peloponnese!
Jun 16th, 2022, 04:23 AM
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Geetika, where did you stay on the Peloponnese? What did you see while you were there? I agree there is a lot to see on the Peloponnese, as we are learning from Yestravel’s report. I would love to visit the Mani some day. Too many places to see and not enough time.
Jun 16th, 2022, 05:25 AM
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We visited Epidavros, Nemea, Corinth and of course Nafplion. Also did wine and olive oil tasting, which was great fun. You need at least a week, we only had three days. And DH didn’t want to drive more than an hour each way!
Jun 16th, 2022, 09:22 AM
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Karen, when I'm explaining Nafplio to newcomers, I always say that I've seen sunsets in 25+ islands and at least a dozen Mainland destinations, and IMHO, Nafplio is the Top. I don't ask them to accept this up front -- go to Santorini, etc etc, then visit Nafplio & compare.
Glad also to see you enjoyed Epidaurus. Did you see it in a trip to/from Nafplio? Lately I'm advising people to put it on their itinerary on the day they leave Nafplio en route back to mainland (either Delphi or ATH), in order to avoid back-tracking. A look at the map clarifies... you drive straight EAST from Nafplio t ANcient Epidaurus... and after the site, you drive UP the shoreline to Isthmus. There (if y ou missed it outbound) you can view/photograph the Corinth Canal from the Old Bridge, anad THEN get on the big intercity highway. (on any visiit to Epidaurus, it's an added bonus to keep an eye peeled for the World's Oldest Still-Used Bridge - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkadiko_Bridge
At EPidaurus theatre, one of the treats is to see/hear visitors testing the acoustics from the stage. For some reason, many sing their national anthems. My favorite "performance" was in Late may, from a Greek "jr hi" field trip (friends tell me that Greece is like all our countries -- May is Field Trip Month!). This group was charged by its teachers with performing the scene from Lysistrata, where the Greek women tell the warriors that -- unless they stop the fighting -- they aren't getting any "loving." You should have seen the red faces & giggles... 13 year olds are the same everywhere!
Glad also to see you enjoyed Epidaurus. Did you see it in a trip to/from Nafplio? Lately I'm advising people to put it on their itinerary on the day they leave Nafplio en route back to mainland (either Delphi or ATH), in order to avoid back-tracking. A look at the map clarifies... you drive straight EAST from Nafplio t ANcient Epidaurus... and after the site, you drive UP the shoreline to Isthmus. There (if y ou missed it outbound) you can view/photograph the Corinth Canal from the Old Bridge, anad THEN get on the big intercity highway. (on any visiit to Epidaurus, it's an added bonus to keep an eye peeled for the World's Oldest Still-Used Bridge - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkadiko_Bridge
At EPidaurus theatre, one of the treats is to see/hear visitors testing the acoustics from the stage. For some reason, many sing their national anthems. My favorite "performance" was in Late may, from a Greek "jr hi" field trip (friends tell me that Greece is like all our countries -- May is Field Trip Month!). This group was charged by its teachers with performing the scene from Lysistrata, where the Greek women tell the warriors that -- unless they stop the fighting -- they aren't getting any "loving." You should have seen the red faces & giggles... 13 year olds are the same everywhere!
