Planning

OK, that was the extent of our planning.  Those days being pre-Internet, expensive international long distance and 3 of us very busy guys, we did not further planning than our route and the car rental (if memory serves me right on that last bit).  No hotels, no tickets to events, nothing.  We got our tickets but I was to fly a day earlier and from JFK given where I was at the time.  The two of them would fly in together the next day on a direct flight from Atlanta (I was connecting through Amsterdam for a cheaper flight – important back then as I think I ended up paying on the cheaper flight about $900!).

Crossing the Pond

This was my first time in Europe but not my first time abroad.  I had already been to Panama, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina.  Leaving out of JFK was then, as it still is today, an experience.  What a zoo.  Right after our KLM 747 pulled away from the gate, a TWA plane taking off had to abort the takeoff and crashed (no one died mericfully; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_843).  A sort of benefit from this event is that I now can remember the day I flew to Spain for the first time! (July 30th, 1992).

Anyway, on with the story…  This event resulted in planes not taking off for a few hrs but JFK airport being JFK, people and flights kept piling on so we were not taken back to the gate.  Instead, we sat on the tarmac for about 4 hrs.  The crew decided to go ahead and serve dinner during the period.  The plane was hot and this Norwegian woman around me kept talking non-stop.  I was not a happy camper…  Mercifully, after the dinner service, the plane’s doors were open and staffed by flight attendants (so no one would jump off, I suppose).  This helped make the plane a tad less warm and likely prevented someone from slapping the Norwegian silly.

Of course, this meant I would miss my connection to Madrid in Amsterdam.  I didn’t miss it by much and that probably irritated me more.  But I have to say the travel gods were smiling upon me.  Can you imagine if my first landing in Europe with a missed connection had been in CDG??  That would have been a dreadful experience and I am glad I was at beautiful and efficient Schiphol!

In Madrid – Olé

KLM properly took care of putting me on another flight to my destination so I boarded an Iberia flight a couple of hours later to get to Madrid.  Of course I was jetlagged but the excitement of being in Europe carried me through.  I don’t recall at this point how much I may have slept on the trans-Atlantic flight (I am not a big plane sleeper) but I remember dozing off on the way to Madrid.  I had done some research on how to get to town and had ended up booking a hostal for my first night in Madrid (we were to leave Madrid the next day after my friends landed).

An easy bus ride from the airport to Plaza Colón dropped me, off for little money, a few blocks from my hostal.  I don’t know if it was technically a hostal but it was like a massive apartment (or several) that an older couple ran (Hostal Principado, near the Thyssen Museum).  The room was small but clean and efficient.  However, it got loud outside late at night and I learned my first lesson on bringing along earplugs!

I used the rest of the day to walk around and explore.  Thanks to trip notes I took at the time, I remember that I walked around the Parque del Retiro then headed to the Puera del Sol and ended up having tapas at the Cervecería Alemana, back then recommended by my guide book.

Parque del Retiro

The next day, I took the same bus back to pick up my friends at the airport.  These not being the days of international ATM’ing, we headed to the American Express office to exchange currency prior to heading to the Chamartín train station to book our train tickets for the overnight ride to Barcelona.  One of my friends didn’t speak anything but English and the other, son of Colombian parents raised in the U.S., understood some but couldn’t speak Spanish much which meant I did a lot of the talking – which was fine by me!  By the way, we did all this carrying our bags with us (shoulder bag for me)!

We explored some of Madrid that day to keep everyone awake and since we had no accommodations in Madrid as I had checked out of the hostal.  (Thinking back, why didn’t I ask them if I could leave my bags and my friends’ bags during that day???)  We went to the Palacio Real, Madrid’s awesome Plaza Mayor, and walked to the Gran Vía (a main avenue in Madrid; a great bakery in Puerto Rico which sourced many a birthday cake in our family!).  We walked back to the Paseo del Prado (the road where the Prado museum is located) and we decided to just head to the train station from there.

We got lucky that we got a 6-bed compartment (two bunks of 3 beds) just for the 3 of us so we could spread out.  Not having been in a real train before, much less overnight, I didn’t sleep soundly but well enough for the purpose.

Our Olympic adventure in Barcelona, subject of my next entry, was about to start!

Getting There

Getting there was challenging as I wanted to stick to my main airline and there are no direct flights.  Also, as I had been traveling a lot recently, I wanted to make sure I could make a stop at home before continuing to travel after the trip to Austin.  No worries, a little fingerwork yielded a good itinerary at a reasonable price even if with a very tight connection in Memphis on my way to Austin (54mins).  The connection was perfectly fine but then the flight to Austin got delayed 1.5 hrs which pretty much killed joining folks that night.

One Sick Puppy

Unfortunately, I was starting to get sick when I flew to Austin and that got worse over the weekend.  I missed the evening tweetup events and that was a real bummer.  But Saturday I did get to be with these new friends, now not just “online friends” and we got to explore a little bit of Austin.

Austin in One Day

The day started with breakfast at one of the food truck parking lots on 1st St.  A taco place and a doughnut one were the choices on the one we settled on - and I was keen on getting a big ole loaded donut!  The donut took a good bit to be prepared but it was loaded with fried bananas, cream and the donut itself.  MAJOR sugar overload!

We decided to walk around that part of town and then proceeded to South Congress to walk around the shops.  People were out and about that day!  It felt like maybe this was the first spring day after a long winter but this was mid-January.  Eventually we made it to Allen Boots.  I wsan’t looking for a pair of boots but did see a belt I really liked and since most of my belts are run-of-the-mill boring, I went for it.  What a great way to add Texas to my “wardrobe” without it having to be a t-shirt!

We decided it was a good enough time to head out to Driftwood, TX to eat some BBQ at Salt Lick (www.saltlickbbq.com).  (After returning home from the trip, I saw the place featured in a Top Chef Texas episode.)  The place is massive and even has a winery.  While we waited 45 mins for our table, we sampled wines which were pretty good.  I especially liked their Brut.  The place is chop-chop, meaning, all business.  They serve you very fast and they don’t seem to want people lingering at the table (based on a posted sign).  But they were very friendly so no complaints here.  Based on the amount of people wanting to eat there, I am glad people didn’t linger before WE were seated!  The foot was great – I had the brisket and sausage and I can say, hands down, the sausage were far better.  They had a slight sweet taste that I enjoyed.

After Salt Lick (and a group picture in the parking lot), we drove back into town to walk around the Capitol grounds and take various pictures.  At that point, I started feeling the cold getting worse so I was not able to linger much and continue on for drinks and dinner which means I missed out on more fun with the group and on checking out the Four Seasons where 2 of them were staying.  I got some meds at the hotel store and basically slept through the evening, night and a good bit of the morning before my local friends picked me up around 11.

Tweetup: Thumbs Up or Down?

Not sure how other “tweetups” go but this group was a phenomenal group of folks!  The folks were in real life as I had thought they were from our Twitter chats.  I hope their blogs about the tweetup do the weekend better justice (especially since they can talk about the happy hours and dinners that I missed) and I can’t wait to read them!

I am very glad I went for it and I look forward to another one of these with these folks and perhaps other Twitter friends we have met over the last year through our travel chats.

So, following my gut, like I did with the Greece opportunity, I went for it with less than a month’s notice. Phenomenal!

Trinidad

The flight Port of Spain was about 3.5 hrs from Miami.  It was later in the evening so it was a mellow flight.  We landed and the airport was pretty straightforward and on we went.  I was dropped off at my hotel (my friend was staying with the relative) and deep sleep based on the late hour (around 1AM, if memory serves me right).  The plans were for me to be picked up around 2PM since said-relative had to work part of the day.  I did what came naturally to me: sleep in.  After that, I unpacked, grabbed coffee, and relaxed outdoors in the pool area.  I was picked up a little earlier (around 1PM) and we went for lunch.

The place the local picked was local cuisine.  I guess I need to be more specific since some may say there are two types of local cuisines in T&T…  Stepping back, T&T had slaves brought over as most islands in the Caribbean.  But, after slavery was abolished, the Brits (so civilized…) brought Indians as INDENTURED workers (read, slaves with pay).  I will reserve further opinions on the topic… Anyhow, there is a more traditional Caribbean cuisine with fruit sauces, etc.  but there is also Indian cuisine that is fully Trini.  So, this first lunch place was more of the Caribbean cuisine but different than the Greater Antilles’ cuisine with which I am more familiar (rice and beans and some meat).  The place was called Veni Mangé (come eat in some sort of French) (http://www.venimange.com/)  My friend’s cousin (I will call her “the cousin” going forward!) has been there many times and rents a place from a sister of the owner.  The place is located in a former house so the architecture appealed to me.  The decor seems to be Haitian art (for sale).  And the food, oh, the food!  We ordered 3 dishes to share so we could try them all.  Oxtail with dumplings, fried flying fish, and creole beef with eggplant.  Plus side dishes and some tropical red juice from a fruit I didn’t recognize (even if I did grow up in the northern Caribbean…)

Lunch at Veni Mangé

The rest of the day we drove around various parts of town.  Had some drinks by a yacht club a little north of town (I think by Diego Martin or past it, at least), hanging out at the Hilton outside terrace, and even a stop at a shopping mall (I could have been anywhere in ther U.S.)!

Maracas Bay

The beach to go to in Trinidad seems to be Maracas Bay.  It is a short drive from Port of Spain that includes driving through a beautiful forest and the views of the sea from up high.  However, due to some recent rains, the area of Maraval on the outskirts of Port of Spain had sustained high waters from the river and traffic moved slowly through part – however, we counted our blessings because the road had been closed earlier that day.

The flood damage in Maraval

At some point we stopped on a roadside stand where among the things they sold as various fruits soaked in chadon beni, a delicious mix of cilantro and garlic (sometimes with black pepper too).  I tried the mango and it was outstanding (though at first it wasn’t appealing to me).

The mango in chadon beni

Maracas was very empty on this weekday and we thought it was due to people avoiding Maraval, not being sure if the road would be passable.  But after a little bit, people started appearing and the beach was a little more animated.  It was a beautiful setting, not as cove-like as the beaches we would see in Tobago.  Locals flock to this beach on the weekends and I can imagine it is a good place to be.

Maracas Bay

Finally, the thing to do in Maracas is eat bake and shark, a sort of sandwich of shark topped with any number of toppings you self-serve on it.  Richard’s is the most famous and I hear they can have long lines.  Much to our chagrin, it was closed as they were tiling the floor of the table area (upgrade!  they must be doing well).  We ate at another one in the area and the bake and shark lived to its fame!

Tobago

Our hostess suggested we spend a day in Tobago, known for its beaches and more geared to tourism than Trinidad (they have not invested heavily in tourism since they have lots of oil – though you could be forgiven for thinking it is a poor country; where do oil profits go?!). A ferry would take a few hours so we decided to just fly over there in 20 mins.  Our flight over was at 8AM and the return was at 9PM.  We decided against staying overnight the night before or the night of because we had such limited time in Trinidad & Tobago.  Oh, and the day after, we had a 7AM flight to Curaçao!  We planned to rent a car and drive around and also our hostess got a hotel room so we could shower before heading back to Trinidad.

The Caribbean Airlines flight was efficient and quick.  Picking up the rental car at the Tobago airport was pretty straightforward.  Our hotel was pretty close to the airport so we stopped to check it out and have breakast which was pretty nice.

Unfortunately, neither the car rental agency person nor the hotel clerk were terribly knowledgeable about which beaches were better to explore and our hostess only knew the one by the main resort.  The only nugget we got was that maybe Charlotteville and Englishman’s Bay were probably the ones to check out.  Charlotteville was on the other end of the island and, given the island is so small, I suggested we go and that we go there first to do the longer drive first and then make our way back to the hotel making stops anywhere we wanted based on the time left.

It took us about 1.5 hrs to make it to Charlotteville driving on a coastal road (the highway) which, though small, was in good condition (this was to be true almost everywhere!).  Right before getting to Charlotteville we passed a nice beach which the map had marked with many a SCUBA flag which must mean it has good snorkeling/diving going on.  However, it was the morning of a rainy weekday so we didn’t see anyone at the beach.

Charlotteville seemed like a quaint town or village facing the beach.  I was to learn many of the beaches here were in cove-like settings which were beautiful but which are very different from the expansive beaches in places like PR, Florida, etc.  Again, the weather was not favorable so it was empty.  I wish I had seen it with a little more life…

Charlottesville beach

From Charlotteville we started off to Englishman’s Bay halfway back to where we started from.  However, a piece of the road was sort of broken up due to rains, I suppose.  So, off the car I got to find rocks to cover up the mud.  With a deep step on the pedal and an almost empty car, the car passed and on we went.  We stopped at Bloody Bay where a school bus full of kids was playing at the beach.

After a quick stop, we kept on going back but somewhere missed a turn.  After driving through a beautiful forest-like area (it was a national park, we found out), we surfaced on the other side of the small island so we decided to just keep on going as we were starving.  We stopped at a place right before Scarborough called Café Havana.  It wasn’t really Cuban but was nice and open and just what we needed.  It was next to a beautiful hotel overlooking a small cove.  It would certainly be a place to stay at should there be a repeat visit.

Hotel view

So…

Trinidad and Tobago was not in my top 20 of places to go.  But this was a good opportunity that offered me seeing some of it through the eyes of a resident which is always better than just being a visitor.  Who would have told me at the start of 2011 that I was to see Trinidad & Tobago and Greece in the year?  Living with spontaneity brings these happy surprises and new discoveries.  Do you have any similar travel destination surprises?

But I loved re-kindling my enjoyment of skiing and no better resort than Alta since snowboarding was a no-no!  My friend’s brother worked at the resort and got us to go on one of the monster machines they use to groom the slopes at night for a beautiful sunset ride.  We brought wine and cheese as he drove us up – a thrill ride for sure given the size of the machine and the slopes.  But we were rewarded with the view below which I have played with a lot.  Check out the view and some of the results of my playing.  I would love to hear what you think!

The Magnificent View

Playing with B&W

My Favorite

I dream of the Andes

The Himalayas sound remote and far away?  Well, the Andes are ALMOST as tall and with spectacular views.  Not into flying, well you can take a VERY short flight from Santiago, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina (for peanuts if you buy the ticket in Chile) and you get this impressive view.  I fell in love with the view in 1991 and it took 19 yrs to see it again.  But I did.  God’s wonderful work on display!

Let’s not overstate it (e.g., he didn’t invent microwaves, cable TV, remote controls, cell phone technology).  Yet, nothing in technology has become so ubiquitous and so TRANSFORMATIVE as the personal computer and the derivative devices that made him so iconic (iPad, iPod, iPhone).  Yes, the microwave transformed a potential kitchen slave into a cooking-slacker.  No small contribution there and this writer is especially thankful.

Yet, the technology that we now live with and cannot live without – and which a generation ALREADY ALIVE will not understand how the world operated without it – was brought forth by innovation and a wave of creativity that Steve Jobs helped unleash.

The power of technology to transform our lives is evident to all of us and we can all think about how it has made our lives easier.   I think about how travel has been made so much easier because of how technology has revolutionized just about every aspect of our lives…

Back in 1991 I was sent to Chile to work for a few months.  Some of the ways I had to operate and live were so much harder due to being abroad.

• Back then ATMs existed but the international network either did not exist or did not exist in Chile.  I could not withdraw money for my daily life as I would use in the U.S.  Now security and communications technology make this a no-brainer.  In fact, sometimes I may not need cash or a credit card but could use my device!
• To call the U.S. and speak with family was prohibitively expensive, at the tune of $2/min.  Forget about calling friends.  I remember one of the most expensive calls was calling my grandmother in Miami.  We talked for about an hour.  Looking back it was money very well spent as it would be one of the last times I ever talked to her.  Now?  Goodness, first, international LD is not that expensive; callback schemes make it even cheaper.  Skype has made it even free if you have the right connection!  And, let’s not forget – I can be walking around town and talk to someone.  Back then maybe a cordless phone in the apartment was the extent of the freedom (we forget even these small details!).
• Expensive phone calls took care of staying in touch via live voice but surely a quick mass email, no?  No.  It was snail mail or nothing.  I did write a few letters – I had to keep in touch with my Mom, sister, grandmother, Father, relatives, etc.  But who wants to sit down and write a letter on paper?  Back then I was used to it as I wrote to my grandmother usually once or twice a month but when I was in another country, making new friends, exploring in my early 20s, who wanted to sit down and write a letter by hand??  Use MS Word you say?  It did not exist in our work PCs (in Chile OR in the US).  Now we can SMS from our phones, email from any Internet kiosk or handheld, tweet every thought anywhere as we move about, etc.
• I explored a bit of Chile and loved Santiago.  Sharing that with friends?  Mailing post cards to my closest friends was the extent of it and some did not arrive.  No posting tweets about the sight I am currently looking at, nor blogging about the discoveries I was making.  Much less anyone clicking Like or leaving a comment to let me know they got it, they liked it, and that I was not forgotten!
• As I explored, I loved taking pictures of everything and anything that struck my fancy.  That meant buying film, developing it, throwing away many pix, realizing some pix did not turn out how I wanted & regretting the lost chance, and then I had to carry TONS of pix back to the States when I returned.  My family and friends, if they ever saw them, had to wait until I saw them in person to see my pix.  And how many sessions of show-and-tell did I really want to do anyway?  My friends in Chile (which included other expats from the U.S. and Argentina) also took a lot of pix and we all wanted copies of each others’ pix.  I remember a session we had one night at my apt where everyone brought their pix and negatives and every marked which pix they wanted a copy of so then they could be made.  And everyone paid for their copies.  Think of the logistics!  Today?  God, so simple:  the moment you take the pic you know if you have what you want; load them in Flickr, Facebook, whatever, and your family and friends can see what you are exploring; having them uploaded, other friends who traveled with you can get their own copies made and no work for you.  SO SIMPLE!
• Even how we research, book, and manage our travel is so much easier and user-friendly.  First, we have the Internet to do reseach with whether it’d be travel sites, Twitter, etc.  Before it was just books.  Second, we can price shop from the comfort of our couch and do it at our pace, etc without being forced to go to a travel agency.  Third, we can book/modify/cancel at the click of a mouse.  Fourth, we can use tools like TripIt and Kayak’s MyTrips to keep track of it all!  Before, it was once you get the paper ticket, hold on to it carefully, put it all in one place, and maybe write down by hand the specifics of your itinerary.
• In a new town and all of a sudden out of ideas of where to eat or what are good places?  Before, you were limited to the local info or the travel book which could be dated.  Today?  Jump on TripAdvisor and check out the latest reviews and contribute your own.  Not sure where the restaurant is?  Click on the address and find it on a map that is telling you exactly where you are as well.

I am glad I have been alive to see these improvements which have greatly enabled me to enjoy my travels even more.

So Steve Jobs (or his company) may not have invented all these things but he was a catalyst for bringing computing power and technology into the consumer’s hands – literally.  His influence has shaped our world and helped improved how we live.  He and other innovators and creators have transformed the world during my lifetime through technology.  He was the most visible of these and, as the icon of this technology revolution, he will be missed.  RIP.

Landing in Athens, I was immediately thrown back to landing in Santiago, Chile from the vantage point of my airplane seat.  Seemingly, the same semi-arid look to the hills around the airport and the fact that there were hills in the landing path of the plane…

Upon landing, I was not leaving the airport since I had a flight to Mykonos in 3 hrs.  I had carried all my luggage on board as I didn’t want to risk lost luggage in the 3 flights I had to take to get to Mykonos.  A small roller bag and a backpack were all I had so that was good.  I went through immigration and then went to check in for the flight to Mykonos since I would have to check the roller bag as it was too big for the smaller plane’s cabin compartments.  Once that was done, my step was just a bit faster as I was freed from the bag.  I went to a café at the airport, ate something and promptly discovered that it offers free wi fi for 60 minutes. I had not brought my laptop but had by nice Android with me so I was able to leave some messages about having gotten there safely, etc.  The Athens airport was clean, well organized, with signage in English for everything – much better than some airports in the States, as a matter of fact.

I returned to Athens 4 days later after my visit to Mykonos and headed to the suburb of Athens named Kifissia.  I already wrote about the wedding events that led me to stay there, how I and later moved to downtown Athens proper after the wedding events were over.

Downtown Athens, I found, was again well signed for tourists, and there was plenty of info (for example, at the airport or kiosks) about the city.  As most cities, it has the Hop On/Hop Off type of buses which is a great way to get your bearings.  I used them to go take a peek at the port town of Piraeus and generally move about town as the buses stopped at my hotel.  I don’t mind walking, which I did, but it was sometimes more about getting to and from faster than walking.

Downtown Athens has a LOT to see and experience.  Experience being a key thing since I imagine most of us visitors jam pack seeing every possible sight (I don’t blame us!) and forget to just feel Athens.  I tried to do both and I am pleased with what I got to do on both counts though I certainly did not have enough time to do both well.

The Acropolis

Of course, first stop was the Acropolis.  If nothing else, that stop has to be made.  I had read that it was better to go early to avoid the afternoon sun but I also discovered that the volume of tour buses is greater later in the day.  Pictures I took when I arrived and when I left of the entrance to the Acropolis show a marked increase in the number of people coming in.  Though there were a lot of people when I got there, it wasn’t too bad.  One could manage.  The ticket to get into the Acropolis serves to enter other historic sites in that neighborhood so the 12euros was well worth it.

A bit of Athens from the Acropolis

Unfortunately, the scaffolding in parts of the Parthenon detract from it but it still is an impressive structure considering its size, age, and location.  I was even more impressed with the great walls around the hill of the Acropolis.  The walls on the side of the hill were very high at some points – how did they manage to build those back when?!  The views from the Acropolis were very nice.  As one walks around, one gets a view of all of Athens.  The Temple of Zeus this way, Piraeus that way, etc.  The Acropolis has more than the Parthenon, of course.  I especially like the Erechtheion and the Porch of the Caryatids – the latter being the object of MANY pictures I took.  At the foot of the Acropolis are a couple of ampitheater-like sites that you can view from above and, one of which, you can actually visit when you get back down to street level.  It is amazing to think of the key historical figures and events that took place around these sites.  A good guide or good reference material will cite examples for these places.  Incredible to see firsthand that which we learned in high school (much as I had forgotten a good bit of whatever it was I learned!).

One key place to see at the feet of the Acropolis is the NEW Acropolis Museum http://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/.  Unfortunately, poor planning left it on my to do list as the day I thought of going, my last day in Athens, was the day the museum was closed… It was very highly recommended so I regret my mistake.

Plaka/Monestariki

Also at the feet of the Acropolis are the areas of Plaka and Monestariki.  The former seemed to be more about cafés, local and tourist shopping, and real life.  The latter seemed more a nexus of transportation (train station is there), eateries and the flea market.  However, I do them a disfavor as there are beautiful and old churches as well as very old sites like the Ancient Agora.  So these areas are both for tsightseeing and experiencing Athens.  I greatly enjoyed sitting at a side street café on a wide pedestrian street (off Ermou St.) and drinking a Greek frappé (a must have!).  I did this in the same café two days in a row – that’s how much I liked observing life and sipping my frappé.  These areas also made for great photo opps with all the people walking by.

Street scenes - 1. Friendly table game on a sidewalk. 2. Tourist movement through Plaka - lots and fast

Other Places in Athens

I cannot do Athens justice, nor will I try.  Of the many other places in Athens, some of the ones that may be worth seeing are:

• Lycabettus Hill:  the tallest hill in Athens (abt 900 ft) best reached by funicular though you can walk it up or taxi part of the way.  The best view of all of Athens especially as you get to look DOWN on the Acropolis!  I highly recommend seeing it.  The neighborhood around it is nice to walk in as well so an enjoyable little trip.  It is not far from Parliament so walking to the funicular is easy.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycabettus_Hill
• Parliament and Syntagmam Square:  typically something tourists go see in any capital but with all the recent economic woes and protests in Athens, more of us know the name of this square than before.  It is not that it is an impressive square (like Krakow’s) or Parliament (like England’s) but it is the center of political activity these days.
• Olympic Stadium:  where the first Games of the Modern Olympics took place in 1886.
• Temple of Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch:  almost side by side and just about across from Melina Mercouri Square, these are also visible from the Acropolis (I guess everything is…).  The former is about 2500 yrs old give or take and the latter a youthful 1900 yrs old…  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Olympian_Zeus,_Athens http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arch_of_Hadrian

The Acropolis from Lycabettus Hill

Athens impressed me as did the overall visit to this ancient land.  I am eager to go back and keep exploring all that was left to be seen AND experienced by me in Athens, the Isles and the rest of the country!

Flying over the Aegean was dreamy, seeing all those islands dotting that beautiful-blue Aegean Sea.  It was a vision.

The Mykonos airport as can be expected is small but efficient.  I was met by a car from the resort where I was going to stay, the Apanema Resort which I discovered and selected after referencing Trip Advisor (http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g189430-d472069-r118507219-Apanema_Resort-Mykonos_Cyclades.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT).  The hotel is across the water, separated from it horizontally by a road and by a boardwalk under construction right by the water’s edge, and vertically by maybe 20m.  This gives the hotel great views of the sea and the cruise ships coming in and out of Mykonos.  This one especially made for a sight right in front of us!

The hotel is a short walk from the northern edge of the Chora (“the main town” of Mykonos), about 500m.  Not a bad walk but you do have to walk on a curvy road without sidewalks… They are finishing what looks like a boardwalk down below but I didn’t a way up near the hotel.  In any case, the resort with its infinity pool, personalized breakfast til late and nice poolside area was a great choice for me.

So, I went to Mykonos as I wrote in another blog entry because I wanted to see one of the more popular Greek isles since I had limited time and because several people recommended Mykonos over Santorini as a solo traveler.  Though I am not a bar scene person nor a beach bum, Mykonos was a perfect place to go.  First of all, it is not just beaches and clubs.  There are a couple of museums (which I did not get to see) that are recommended plus a 20-min ferry ride away is Delos Island, a remarkable visible record of ancient Greek history.  In addition, there are so many people coming and going in Mykonos that sitting down to people watch can occupy plenty of time.  Plenty of shops around for those who may enjoy walking around and perusing (not yours truly).  Finally, and more my cup of tea, so much material for photography!  From the architecture, to the people candids, to the sunsets.  Plenty to photograph.  I played with my camera all the time and greatly enjoyed it.

Regarding Delos Island, it is best seen with a tour guide who can tell you what you are looking at and the interesting history of the place.  It is a good 2-4 hour visit depending on whether you want to do some solo (i.e., unguided) hiking.  Be warned:  no one stays in the island except archeologists and the last ferry out is at 3 PM so plan accordingly!  The ferry leaves near Little Venice.  There is a small museum and a small cafe.  Sunscreen and water definitely recommended!

Delos Island

In terms of beaches, the hotel recommended Elia as more relaxing than Paradise but I ended checking out both.  Elia was bigger but without as many facilities as Paradise.  However, Elia still had a restaurant, clean restrooms and the like.  In both beaches you can rent a chair and an umbrella for 6-8 euros and both offer bar service though in Paradise no one came by the 2 hours I was there.  I hear Paradise becomes party central after 4 PM but I left around that time.  Overall, I think Elia felt less crowded (though neither was too crowded as it was the end of the season) and spacious.  Elia had a more mixed crowd whereas Paradise early in the day felt more like families or couples, though it could have been the part of the beach I plopped myself at.  To get to the beaches you can rent a car or scooter, take a taxi (though it will be expensive), or just take the local bus with for around 2 euros each way, is pretty cheap.  Paradise has more buses in the schedule than Elia which is less frequent.  You can also connect among several beaches by taking a caique or boat.  That may be a good way to sample different beaches in one day.

The Little Venice area of the Chora is one of the more popular parts of town.  There is everything there from shops, to the emblematic Paraportiani church, to clubs/bars/restaurants.  In the places facing the water (Katerina’s and Kastro, for example), you have great views of the windmills and of sunset.

View from Little Venice of the windmills

I lounged a couple of afternoons sipping mojitos, taking pictures, and just admiring the vistas.  In that area I found two places that I enjoyed eating at.  One was Nikos Taverna.  I don’t know if the food qualifies as extraordinary but sitting at the plaza above the restaurant level makes for great people watching without feeling crowded in.  I enjoyed my time sitting there watching life.

View from my table at Kounelas

The catch of the day at Kounelas

My sum-up of the visit is a positive one.  Though traveling solo, I was never bored.  There was plenty to draw my attention, to do, and to eat   I actually would like to return sometime, try staying in different parts of the island.  However, I would also like to explore other Greek isles.  The problem is which and how much time can I take to do it!

I checked in at my hotel a few blocks away from the main street at Kifissia, which is loaded with shops and restaurants, near a square whose name escapes me but that sounds Greek to me… The hotel I stayed at was the Theoxenia House, related to the Theoxenia Palace.  I chose it based on Trip Advisor reviews which is quickly becoming a good way for me to determine things like this.  (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g1026500-d617814-Reviews-Theoxenia_House_Hotel-Kifissia_Attica.html)  It was functional for the 24 hrs I was going to be there.  I went off to explore and have lunch.  It was a very windy day.  As I sat in the cafe, they served me potato chips on a small plate when they brought me my glass of wine while I waited for my meal.  The chips mostly flew away due to the wind!  It was incredible.  As was my food.  A great way to start this leg of the trip and to set me up for a nap as I knew I was going to face a very long night of wedding partying.

I met up with a friend of the couple to taxi over to the wedding, a nice $42 cab ride to a winery in Kapandriti.  As we waited for the groom and bride, besides mingling, we went on a tour of the new museum the winery was about to open.  Though the tour was in Greek, a lot of the stuff they had was pretty neat (old grape presses, old machines used to make corks, old ways of bottling and corking the wine, etc.).

The winery's grounds around the reception area

The wedding couple finally made their entrance (the actual wedding had taken place in Atlanta and there had been a very private blessing right before the reception with only the closest family) and the party began.  A very nice meal with lamb, pork, and many of the things I associated with Greek food.  Of course, there was wine galore and I had to work at managing my intake despite the pressure and the many toasts!  The family had prepared a great slideshow of pix from the Atlanta wedding so the Greece family members could see what had taken place in Atlanta since most or all could not make the trip over.  It was a great touch and for me great to see what has just transpired a week before though it felt like months before since I had in the meantime been exploring other parts of Greece.

Finally, there was the dancing.  Everyone was in the mood for a good time and a good time was had.  Especially neat for a foreigner like me was to see them do some of the typical Greek dances which I inevitably had to join and which I performed quite poorly.  Nevertheless, the crowd was so much fun, it didn’t matter.

Around 230AM or so, we rolled away as someone from the family offered us a ride back which was greatly appreciated.  I conked out as soon as my head hit the pillow.  Gladly, I had behaved well enough so the next morning was not a pain.  After getting ready, I decided not to hang around in Kifissia until the late afternoon family BBQ I was invited to go to, but instead to head into Athens proper and check in at the hotel where I would spend the next 2 nights.  I figured I didn’t want to lug around my luggage, much as it is made to lug around I suppose, to the BBQ, etc. and check in late that night.  I took a cab to make it easier and got to the Ledras Marriott where immediately, I felt like almost home with the standard Marriott approach, design and amenities (like the executive lounge).  It was a smart move as I could then just relax until the BBQ.  I had lunch and ended up at the rooftop pool, and later a nap.

Eventually I made contact with the group and started headed out of town again, first to Kifissia to meet up with someone else and then to catch a ride to Oropo, a town further away north than Kapandriti by the cost facing the island of Evia.

The marker shows where Oropo is in relation to Athens

The BBQ was at an aunt’s house in an area that would not qualify as rural but was not too urban, making it a very nice place to spend a late Saturday afternoon.  The groom and bride opened gifts as a sheep was rotisseried and the other food prepared.  The meal was a feast for sure!

As we were eating, the family found out I was single and unattached at which point they all became very interested in my case.  My friend told me:  “you are in trouble now!  they are making it their business to find you someone!”  Even Yaya, the elderly grandmother told me I was handsome, a good catch, and that she wished me happiness - all in Greek but at some point I got a sense of what she was saying and asked someone half-jokingly ”is she proposing to me?” and the answer was “pretty much”!

After this feast, a cousin of the bride who was our ride back, told us we were going to another cousin’s BBQ that night.  My jaw dropped.  I could not comprehend how I would stuff another morsel of anything in me.  And here we were headed to another BBQ!  We made it over to the house overlooking the town and sea from a distance.  We had a few beers, hung out with the very friendly cousins, and eventually helped start the fire to roast the lamb.  I was not understanding how after the long night the night before, I was going to make it this night when the fire was just getting started.  Much to my relief, our ride announced we were heading out as he needed to go.  Though I was definitely enjoying myself, I was a relieved, I must admit.  And the trip back to my hotel began.

These experiences have given me a much greater appreciation of Greek culture and Greeks, beyond the Greek union protesters which seem to define what being Greek is these days to those of us too far and too unconnected with Greece or Greeks.  Being of Latin background myself, I am quite familiar and comfortable with the friendliness and warmth that I received from my friend’s Greek relatives.  I miss those things living in Atlanta/the U.S.  My trip was well worth it even if I had not done anything else that be a part of the celebration of my friends’ marriage thanks to the experiences I had with this family.  Efjaristo poli, Stelliani and Tom!