Our trip began with a mini-tour. We flew from Atlanta to Athens with a short layover in Amsterdam. Arriving at ipm local time, we were met by the Gate1 represetative and escorted to one of the nicer airport hotels for a buffet lunch. Our flight to Mykonos would depart at 7:30 to allow for the others who had booked the tour to arrive via various routes. Our hotel in Mykonos was located on the beach and about 1.5km from the main town (Hora)--about a 25 minute walk or 1.20E by bus which stopped right in front of the hotel. Our little room had a double bed and a good view of the water and, when there were no cruise ships in port, a view of the main town.

Mykonos is probably the most popular of the Greek islands--every tour group and cruise ship stops here. There are also several ferries everyday to many of the other islands. The town itself is most noted for shopping and night life. We spent much of our time here wandering the white-washed streets. One day we rented an ATV and toured the island. One of Rick's goals was to find the small hotel he stayed at in 1978, because several years later it was the Greek setting for the movie "Shirley Valentine". We got good directions and found it without any problem. Big surprise!! The area looked nothing like he remembered it. The roads had been paved, many homes had been built, and even the hotel had redone it's pool and restaurant. It's now called the Aghios Yiannis Resort. If it hadn't been for the sign identifying it as the site of the movie, Rick wouldn't have recognized it. On the way back, we found a delightful taverna right on the beach. The seats were covered in soft pillows--very comfy. A cold beer and a nice lunch--what a way to spend the afternoon!

We had three days in Mykonos which is plenty. Our little tour included transfers to Santorini via high speed ferry. We would take full advantage of the ferry system for island hopping later on our trip.

Santorini (also known as Thira) is probably the most picturesque of the Greek islands. The island is actually the rim of an underwater volcano, with the most famous towns being Fira (the capital) and Oia pronounced "ee-ya"). Both of these towns are built into the cliffs which rise hundreds of feet above the caldera (center) of the volcano. Most photos you will see of Santorini are of one of these towns. We stayed on the opposite 9east) side of the island in the town of Kamari, about 20 minutes by bus/taxi from Fira. Kamari has a pedestrian street that parallels the beach for several kilometers and is lined with tavernas, coffee/dessert bars, art galleries, souvenir shops and small hotels. The beach is described locally as a "black sand beach", but it's just very pebbly; not the sandy stuff we're used to in the States. There are rows of umbrellas and lounge chairs which appear to be owned by the bars and restaurants along the street. It turns out that they're privately owned and there's a usage fee which ranges up to 6E per person. A couple of people in our group were surprised when presented with a bill.

We met a nice couple (Ben & Kathy) from Stewart, FL (on the east coast) and rented a car for a day to explore the island. There are extensive archeological digs at Akoritiri, but they were closed. Apparently there was a serious accident involving a tourist group several months ago and the site has been closed ever since. We were lucky to find a parking spot in Fira, but left after about an hour--too many shops and too many people! We drove to the southwestern tip of Santorini to Red Beach, then to the lighthouse,and then to Oia on the northern end of the island. We found a small cafe overlooking the caldera and enjoyed some desert and coffee, but restaurants being pricey here, we opted to return to Kamari for dinner.

On our last day, returning from a walk along the pedestrian street, we were greeted at the hotel pool by some of our group. They pointed out a small cockatiel that had somehow gotten loose and was trying (unsuccessfully) to get a drink from the pool. The hotel manager, Petros, was trying to capture the bird without success. Rory is the bird person and managed to get it wrapped up in a towel. Petros wanted to keep it and provided a pair of plastic crates to house it. Rory would have none of that, insisting that he get a good cage with sufficient perches and feeding cups so that the bird would feel safe. By the following morning, the cockatiel was happily ensconced in its new home, strategically positioned on the bar against a wall. After eating and drinking its fill, it promptly went to sleep!! Rory made Petros promise that he would properly care for his new pet.

We had three nights in Santorini which is also plenty, unless you're a big fan of sunsets and nightlife. If so, you should stay in either Fira or Oia--you'll probably never want to leave. We left Santorini by plane to Athens and the final leg of our mini-tour.

From Santorini we flew to Athens where we stayed at the Hotel Oscar--a change from the small tourist hotels we had in Mykonos and Santorini. This hotel had all the modern conveniences and was conveniently located a block from the Larissa metro station. We arrived in the middle of the afternoon and after surviving the "goat rodeo" prodedure for registering, we dropped our stuff in the room and headed for central Athens. The metro was constructed for the 2004 Olympic Games and makes traveling in the city (almost) a pleasure. Two days in Athens concludes the mini-tour, but we will return for a week at the end of our trip. (Big mistake!! We should have just stayed in Athens, because when we returned, it was so hot!! We could have spent that week on the beach in Crete......).

Athens is a large, cosmopolitan, busy city with more than its share of traffic, noise, and dirty air. But it is also jam-packed with ancient historic sites and a rich history and culture, not to mention shops, restaurants, and activities E.80 each buys a ticket on the Metro to Syntagma Square station. Syntagma is the heart of downtown Athens, surrounded by luxury hotels like the Grand Bretagne, high rises that house everything from travel agents to banks, and the Greek Parliament. Since we have a full week to explore the sights of Athens, we are in no hurry. After a snack in a Syntagma cafe, we wander to the Flea Market in Monastriaki Square and then up to the Plaka (the oldest part of the city) for some shopping and eventually dinner.

For our second day in Athens, we decide to take the metro to Piraeus where the ferries depart for the Greek islands. While we're at it we can get advbanced tickets for our trip to Tinos in a couple of weeks and get familiar with the port and how to make our way around. Good idea--except we discover that the trains and buses are on a strike for 24 hours! Our two choices are to stay near the hotel or do a lot of walking! We choose the latter, making lemonade out of lemons! On our way into the city, we find a travel agent who can sell us the ferry tickets to Tinos. We'll deal with Piraeus when we get back. It's pretty warm in Athens, the temperature breaks 90 easily and all our walking wears us out. We missed the changing of the guard when we were in Syntagma yesterday so we make it a point to see it today. Every hour on the hour, you can witness the changing of the guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of the Parliament building. The Evzones make up the honor guard, each of them over 6 feet tall. The ceremony takes only a few minutes, but the precision of the Evzones is very impressive. Afterwards many of the women in the crowd pose with an Evzone as he stands at attention outside a small guard house. These guys never move or blink, kind of like the guards at Buckingham Palace or the Swiss Guards at the Vatican (although Rick claims to have made one of the Swiss guards smile, if ever so briefly). Just down the street from the Parliament Building is the National Gardens and The Temple of Olympian Zeus with Hadrian's Arch at the east end. We'll visit most of these sites when we return at the end of our trip.

For the next two weeks we'll be wandering around the Peloponnese and Central Greece by car. We have an apartment in the small town of Astros for the first week on the Peloponnese, using it as a base for day trips to many of the ancient sites and points of interest. We have no specific plans for the second week, so we'll find accomodations as we go.(You can find more Athens photos taken when we returned at the end of our trip by clicking here.)