Many people visit Greece & Turkey on the same trip. This hub describes the Greek portion of a 3 week trip we designed and includes Athens, Santorini, Crete and Rhodes.

4-5 Sep Seattle - Athens Left Seattle 1 pm Flight detours to Iceland to evacuate unconscious passenger. Late in at Amsterdam, run across airport - 10+ minute delay for passport line, then out to Gate 87 at the longest terminal in the world – only to find they’ve given our seats away. Finally arrive Athens around 2:30 but with no bags. Met by our agent, we took a taxi to Royal Olympic Hotel. With jet lag setting in, we walk a bit, stop for a beer and back to hotel. Later we went out for dinner – sidewalk café, Greek salad (with 3 olives for 2 people!), baked eggplant, Mythos beer ( $12 pp) Back to hotel about 9:30. At midnight a phone call told us our lost luggage has shown up.

Athens - Acropolis & Museum

6 Sep Thursday Athens

Up about 7 decent buffet breakfast. We had a half day tour scheduled. Picked up by bus at 8, then another hour ride picking up people before ending up a few blocks from our hotel where we picked up our guide for the city tour. First stop, Olympian Temple -- Corinthian style dedicated to Zeus. Largest temple in Greece, dedicated by Hadrian in 131 CE. Then drove past Hadrian’s Gate (he seemed to leave one, or have been presented with one, in every place he visited, having seen several in Turkey, too). This gate separated Hellenistic from Classical Athens. On to the 1896 Olympic stadium, couple other stops, quick city tour, and then walk up to Acropolis with everyone else visiting Athens that day. Mass tourism. Nice to have bus, but otherwise don’t really need a tour. Would probably do it on our own next time, but not bad for a group, especially on a first, jet lagged day. Tat the Acropolis, visited Theseus Temple, Thiseon, or temple of Hephaistos (well preserved Doric temple). Propylean gateway. Porch of the Caryatids, originals in museum,copies still impressive on Erichtheion

Walking down from Acropolis we saw the Areopagus Rock, “Hill of Mars”, site of the Council of Nobles and Judicial Court. (also where Paul gave his sermon to the Athenians) Walked down to Plaka area, for lunch, nicely done calamari, salad, beer – about $9 each.

Later that afternoon we took the metro out to the National Archeological Museum. Difficulty finding the entrance to the metro in the Plaka area – hidden by construction work. Highlights of the museum:

Mycenae gold – mask of ‘Agamemnon’

other beaten gold masks found by Schliemann in the grave circle at Mycenae

wonderful daggers inlaid with gold and other metals in intricate detail.

Boars tusk helmet.

Cyclades figurines 3200 - 2500 BCE – Picasso like simplicity and abstractness.

Kouros 6th c BCE several rooms with superb examples over several hundred years.

Santorini

Touring the Greek Islands: Santorini
7 Sep Friday Athens - Santorini Up at 5:30, hotel let us into the dining room early for cakes, simit (the Middle Easts pretzel/bagel) and coffee. 6:15 Transfer to Piraeus and the 7:30 ferry to...

Greece - Athens & Greek Islands

Athens

Athens - Acropolis & Museum

Santorini

Crete