Saturday, 20 May Our tour guide, Ioanna, cracked the whip today. Dolora and I were up for breakfast at 6:30. Breakfast was only slightly smaller than yesterday, corn flakes with milk, orange juice, warm vegetable juice, coffee, cinnamon cake, a soft boiled egg and yogurt. If that was not enough, there was a grilled ham…
2023 Europe – Day 17 – Island of Hydra
Friday, 19 May Dolora and I slept in this morning. Breakfast started and eight and there are no group activities scheduled today so we can enjoy our time on the Greek island. It was hard to believe but we had our best breakfast of the tour. Instead of a buffet, we were served peach cake,…
2023 Europe – Day 16 – Ancient Epidavros
Thursday, 18 May Today started for Dolora and I with the usual outdoor breakfast, after I watched sunrise over the mountain from our room. We left our bags outside our rooms and they were loaded before we boarded the bus for a short ride to Epidavros, which was a healing center of ancient Greece, and…
2023 Europe – Day 15 – Mycenae and Nafplio
Wednesday, 17 May After breakfast Dolora and I took a short bus ride to mysterious Mycenae, the fortified city founded by Perseus a thousand years before the Parthenon was built, 3,000 years old. Our tour guide was Patti. The first stop was the Treasury of Atreus, a.k.a. Tomb of Agamemnon, from the 13th century BC….
2023 Europe – Day 14 – Byzantine Mystras
Tuesday, 16 May Dolora and I were awake early and ready for another delicious buffet breakfast. Then it was back to the room to pack. The day was cloudy with the occasional few raindrops. After driving through Sparta, the short bus ride took us to Mystras where we met George, our guide. We visited churches…
2023 Europe – Day 13 – Medieval Monemvasia
Monday, 15 May Dolora and I took the chance to sleep in a little this morning. Breakfast started at seven but our walk through Monemvasia did not start until nine. Our first stop on the way was a small local supermarket. Ioanna, our guide, showed us an assortment of popular Greek items. There were local…
2023 Europe – Day 12 – Mani Villages
Sunday, 14 May Dolora and I were up early to pack since we were changing hotels. Another nice outside breakfast overlooking the Ionian Sea. Today is warmer and sunny. We drove to Kastania, a traditional Mani village on the mountain side with a population of 53, mostly pensioners. Makes you wonder how much longer the…
2023 Europe – Day 11 – Seaside Discoveries
Saturday, 13 May Dolora and I were up early. We took a walk through town hoping to find a grocery store to pick up a few items for lunch. We picked up things that looked good but would probably be a little surprise based on our grasp of the Greek language. Back for an outdoor…
2023 Europe – Day 10 – Ancient Olympia
Friday, 12 May Dolora and I woke up to glorious sunshine this morning. Our room is on the second floor, breakfast was on the third. Add a floor for everything in Europe. What we think of as the first floor is the ground floor so it goes ground, first, second, third, … After breakfast it…
2023 Europe – Day 9 – Peloponnese Mountains
Thursday, 11 May Today started with a bit of bad news. One of the couples tested positive for covid and we left them behind this morning. Dolora and I were up early for breakfast after a good night’s sleep. Another nice breakfast buffet. After meeting in the lobby, we boarded the bus and headed towards…