Land tour of Greece: highlights and lowlights

Well, the land part of my tour has all but finished. A two nighter in Athens, then I’m boarding the Louis Olympia for a four day cruise around the Greek Islands. Greece has been a welcome respite from Turkey, where I think I suffered from a case of “tour burnout“.

Highlights

Athens

I love Athens. It greeted me with warm weather, good food, friendly people, gorgeous islands and wonderful ruins. What’s not to love?

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Acropolis

I was mesmerised by the Acropolis and the Parthenon. The scale of these buildings alone is something to behold, let alone how intact these ruins are. Coupled with the marvellous view of Athens and surrounds from the top, it’s a wonderful site to visit.

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Mycenae

I vaguely remembered reading about Mycenae when I was young, but these memories are not fresh. The beehive tombs, the ruins and the view made this a worthwhile stop.

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Mystra

I knew nothing about Mystra, which overlooks Sparta. A steep climb up to the castle rewarded me with the most spectacular view as well as really interesting ruins. It was a breathtakingly beautiful site.

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Delphi

Everyone knows about Delphi, and the oracle, so I was looking forward to visiting this important site. Situated high up in the mountains, it was a serene, almost spiritual site. Temples, amphi-theatre and a hippodrome were intact enough to allow me to imagine what it would have been like. A magic spot, literally.

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Meteora

Meteora was like Cappodocia on steroids. Monasteries and convents were impossibly dotted along the tops of these volcanic formations. The view over Kalambaka and surrounds was just gorgeous.

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Lowlights

Creepy Guy

After being harassed by a Creepy Guy, I had to play a game of cat and mouse until I shook this revolting character on about Day 3. *shudders*

Americans

Having to repeat myself: same as last year’s cruise and tour. Americans can’t understand a word I say, and other Australians are experiencing the same thing. In the end, I can’t be bothered repeating myself and walk away.

Touring generally

While touring has its pros, it also had cons, all of which became evident to me on this trip. I’ll write a separate post to address the pluses and minuses from my perspective.

Please share!

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