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Avoiding the heat EU tourAvoiding the heat EU tour
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Avoiding the heat EU tour

september 2023 - januar 2024
Et 127-dagers eventyr av Bec & Phill Les mer
+10
  • 130fotspor
  • 18land
  • 127dager
  • 2,1kbilder
  • 141videoer
  • 68,6kkilometer
  • 40,9kkilometer
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Datoen stiger
  • Avoiding the heat EU tour
    112
    Dag 19

    Greek food: my Achilles heel

    22. september 2023, Hellas ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    After another delightful sleep we awoke to rain and the cold. We packed, partook in free breakfast and headed to the airport.

    The transport to the airport was about an hour in total, then 2.5 hours waiting to board before a 3 hour flight. Today was lots of waiting.

    Once we touched down at 4:30pm local time we headed to the hotel, dumped the bags and went for a wander in the 30° heat and went to dinner at a location that was suggested to us.

    Dinner was enough food to feed an entire army, but was as good as we'd expected for traditional cuisine.

    We're very excited to explore tomorrow because what we've seen so far is just as we'd hoped.

    Now to sleep in a bed and a room that's not shared with 4 other people and has an AC and a kettle for a cuppa!! ☕ straight luxury

    Step count
    Both: 14k    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Avoiding the heat EU tour
    221
    Dag 20

    Fresh socks

    23. september 2023, Hellas ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    We had a slow start to the day which was wonderful - we got up, checked out of our hotel and trekked to the closest laundromat so we finally had access to clean socks again.

    We headed to the new hotel to drop off the bags before exploring more of Athens.

    We had a late afternoon dessert in a cool Halloween themed restaurant/alley called little Kook which was a fun detour, we headed back to the hotel to check in and meet with our tour group.

    The information session went for a few hours and outlined what we'd be doing over the next week. After we polished off a few complimentary cocktails we went for our late night walk of the old town, where we explored the markets and the oldest house in Athens.

    The tour officially starts tomorrow, lots of exploring and things to come!

    Step count:
    Both: 25k    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Avoiding the heat EU tour
    2
    11
    Dag 21

    Pictures, Poros and Pistachios

    24. september 2023, Hellas ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Today was the first official day of our tour. So we enjoyed our early breakfast buffet and got on a bus to the port where we boarded the awaiting ferry.

    The first port was Hydra, it was a lovely introduction to Greece islands and the amount of stairs they involve. We climbed aimlessly and Bec took photos of all the cats we crossed paths with. After 2 hours we headed back aboard towards our next stop Poros.

    On the way to our next destination we enjoyed the included lunch buffet, which consisted of some incredible salads, pasta and fish.

    Once we arrived at Poros we took copious amounts of stairs to reach a clocktower with amazing views of the island and the surrounding areas and enjoyed 'coffee with ice cream' which was an affagato in a takeaway cup which was 👌👌

    The final island Aegina had 2 important aspects we wanted to explore: The temple of Apollo and pistachios. We first ventured to explore the ruins, after looking at some rocks and marble from 450bc we went into the township in search of the most important thing of the day - pistachio ice cream, which we found, devoured and thoroughly enjoyed.

    We again jumped on the ferry and made our way back to Athens. Overall it was a 14 hour cruise exploring and we enjoyed ourselves.

    Tomorrow we officially take off in the bus to explore more of Greece

    Step count
    Both: 15k (slow day)    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Avoiding the heat EU tour
    211215
    Dag 22

    A ruin-ed holiday

    25. september 2023, Hellas ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    This morning the tour started by taking us to the Acropolis and the Pantheon. We fought our way through the massive crowds and toured the top of the city. The views and ruins were as impressive as we had hoped - and our tour guide gave us more information about the history and the myths surrounding its creation and partial destruction.

    We hopped on our coach and then headed to some other major sites in Athens, including the Panathenaic stadium - which was very impressive. I would not have liked to participate in sports there, it may be beautiful but it was hot.

    We then ventured to our next destination, stopping at the Corinth canal and then in a small town for lunch, where we enjoyed stolen rolls and from our breakfast buffet and a bought affagato.

    We finally got to our accommodation in Nauplia; Greece's first capital city. We had 2 hours before we needed to gather for our dinner adventure so we decided to go for a walk around this beautiful town. On our travels we walked towards a hill in which the fortress of Palamidi sits, we got to the base and thought 'why not, we can do this without water, sun protection and in a dress' 999 steps later we definitely earned our dinner.

    We got to the top and realized we didn't have enough time to spend the 18 euros to enter the actual fortress, so we walked straight back down the stairs towards our hotel to shower off the sweat.

    We had a group walking tour around the town with our guide and learnt more about the history before jumping on a boat to see the fortress and the island a little better. Once we disembarked we headed to an included 3 course dinner (with wine) where we ate with our travel companions and was serenaded by lovely Greek men playing guitars and smoking.

    After we ate too much we went for a late night walk through the laneways and headed back to the hotel for a good sleep before more sight seeing tomorrow.

    Today's steps
    Both: 17k    Les mer

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  • Avoiding the heat EU tour
    2111
    Dag 23

    My-seen-it

    26. september 2023, Hellas ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Our first stop after leaving our accommodation and breakfast today was Epidaurus where we visited an ancient open air theater that was built in 400BC and has remained unchanged since 200BC. Due to its incomparable acoustics, the actors can be perfectly heard by all the 15,000 spectator seats.

    We then headed to our next stop which was The archaeological sites of Mycenae and Tiryns which are the ruins of two major cities of the Mycenaean civilization, which was prominent from the 15th to the 12th century B.C. and played a vital role in the development of classical Greek culture, with it being linked to the Iliad and the Odyssey.

    After these sites we headed on the bus to our lunch stop where we enjoyed 'cheese bread' which was just pastry stuffed with 3 different kinds of cheese. Not far from where we had lunch we stopped again at a pottery warehouse where they showed and taught us how the ancient Greeks made pots and how they recreate/maintain the pots for museums.

    After 2 more hours of driving we finally arrived at Sparta. Here we walked around the ruins of ancient Sparta and saw a statue of Leonidas, his tomb, and the town's Acropolis. Phill very much enjoyed this as he would keep kicking things yelling 'This is Sparta!!'

    Dinner was included at the hotel, so we enjoyed our 3 course traditional meal of pasta, pork and a dessert I cannot name. We headed up to the room to watch the movie 300 while Phill drank a beer called 'Sparta'

    Step count
    Both: 20k    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Avoiding the heat EU tour
    1222
    Dag 24

    Olive you glad for oil 🫒

    27. september 2023, Hellas ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    After our buffet breakfast we headed just down the road to the medieval Byzantine citadel of Mystra, where we walked from the top of the mountain through the ruins of the ancient city to the bottom. There were multiple churches as well as leftovers of buildings. I think for me this was my favorite ancient city to date. There was so many roads and places to walk.

    After spending a long while here we headed to a little tavern nearby for lunch where Phill enjoyed the local speciality of Pork with a crispy skin and we had a side of crispy cheese.

    We made our way to an olive oil museum to learn about different types of olives, oils and the techniques used. After leaving the museum we headed on the bus for a 2 hour drive to another store where we tasted different olive oils, olives and wine.

    Finally, we arrived at the hotel for dinner and after we went for a walk around the town where we walked into a store where they had an Olympic torch just shoved in the corner because the store owner's brother was one of the original runners.

    We grabbed some ice cream and headed back for some sleep.

    Step count
    Both: 11k    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Avoiding the heat EU tour
    2
    2311
    Dag 25

    Does this mean we're athletes?

    28. september 2023, Hellas ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    This morning began at the same location as the original Olympic games, in Olympia. We explored the ruins from the 8th century B.C. Its extensive ruins include athletic training areas, a stadium and temples dedicated to the gods Hera and Zeus. We both ran the distance of the original stadium, so that pretty much makes us fitness gurus.

    We also explored the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, which held a good amount of the original statues and artifacts from that time.

    After lunch we drove north to Patras, the capital of the Peloponnese and the west coast's largest port. We continued crossing the spectacular Rion-Antirion bridge, which is one of the world's longest multi-span cable-stayed bridges and longest of the fully suspended type. We went through the picturesque fishing villages along the south coast of the mainland to legendary Delphi.

    Once we arrived in Delphi and checked out the amazing views from our room we headed to dinner, and had a stunning post dinner walk.

    Step count
    Both: 15.2k    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Avoiding the heat EU tour
    22
    Dag 26

    Apollo told me to do it

    29. september 2023, Hellas ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    After yet another buffet breakfast we jumped on our bus and headed to the archaeological site of Delphi, where the oracle of Apollo spoke. It was the site of the omphalos, the 'navel of the world' (center of the world according to Zeus).

    Delphi in the 6th century B.C. was the religious hub and symbol of unity of the ancient Greek world, where the priestesses would huff methane and carbon dioxide expelled from craters in the earth due to volcanic activity. This would cause them to have 'visions' of Apollo and would pass on his guidance to many kings and aristocrats.

    After our history lesson, we hopped back onto the bus for 2-hours before we stopped for lunch and a stretch. Then we got back onto the coach for another 2 hours to arrive in Kalambaka.

    We enjoyed a stroll around the town and some icecream before heading to dinner and an early bed.

    Step count; 19.5k each    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Avoiding the heat EU tour
    212
    Dag 27

    Jesus take the wheel

    30. september 2023, Hellas ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Today began at 2 Christian Orthodox monasteries perched on top of rock formations at Meteora. They were originally built by hermit monks living in the caves carved into the sides of the rock formations.

    The first we visited was used by monks, the other was nuns. These churches and locations were beautiful and as we left the final place we witnessed a priest and a bus driver get into a road rage incident outside the front of the monastery where the bus driver kept yelling 'give me a reason father, give me a reason you do this'

    After that enlightening stop we headed for Athens. This was a 4 hour drive with a stop for lunch. After lunch we stopped at the site of the hot gates, and took in another statue and memorial of King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans.

    We arrived back in the city and headed straight for the laundromat for some fresh socks.

    After our clothes were dried and smelling better we got a gyros for dinner and headed back to the hotel to relax as the first week of our tour was over, we now have tomorrow as down time before boarding the island cruise.

    Step count: 14k    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
  • Avoiding the heat EU tour
    23
    Dag 28

    Opa!

    1. oktober 2023, Hellas ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    Today was uneventful. As it was our first full day of nothingness we decided to battle plan the next month of our trip.

    Now let me tell you, that sounds easy - but boy oh boy is Italy expensive, and trying to find the cheapest (decent) place and transport is a task. We ended up spending 10am to around 5pm in our hotel room planning (minus 1 coffee break).

    The night ended up being a lot more interesting though, with our tour group we headed out to dinner. Where we had multiple courses of traditional Greek food while watching a variety of dances.

    The highlight of the night is when Phill was called up to dance with the men. (video is attached)

    Once dinner wrapped up we walked to a bar for a late night beverage before going back to the hotel for bedtime.

    Step count: around 11k (the watches were thrown off with all our clapping)    Les mer

    Se oversettelse
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