Atop the fortress, we felt like kings. Below us stretched jumbled corridors of red tile roofs; a quay stretching out into the sea; the ferry boats churning up whitewater. Nafplio is only a few hours south of Athens, and has become a favorite weekend getaway for Athenians. With its back to Greece’s bucolic southern peninsula, the Peloponnese, and […]
John and I came to Athens, the birthplace of Western democracy, to marvel at ancient ruins and sites of mythology. Sure enough, they were incredible (though I actually found more Greek temples, in better condition, on Sicily than in Greece). But just as amazing was the vibrant modern life that swirled around the old stone […]
rage Athens is Greece’s most popular destination and a symbol of Greece past and present. It played host just a few years ago to the 2004 Summer Olympics. Athens’ history spans more than two thousand years and today it is home to more than one-third of the country’s residents. Its heyday dates back to the […]
With only four days to indulge ourselves in mythological, mysterious Greece, we chose to spend one night in Athens and two nights on the nearby island of Poros. I had never heard of Poros Island, and a couple of friends who had been to Greece kept asking me if I was confusing it with the island of Paros. […]
In preparing for the 2004 Summer Olympics, Athens underwent a major facelift and infrastructure upgrade. New highways now divert traffic from the downtown, which has made the central city streets safer and the air cleaner. It is now much easier to get around town by car, bus or taxi. Along with the city upgrades, many hotels […]
Few destinations ignite in me the same combination of childlike wonder and intellectual curiosity as Athens, Greece. From my first glances of the new part of the city as our Jeep taxi drove us to our hotel, I knew this would be an adventure I would never forget. By adventure, I mean that each day […]
Athens overwhelmed us. We stepped out of the metro system into Plateia Syntagma, astounded by sunlight, crowds pushing past us to get into the dark subway, men selling chestnuts from carts, and the stink of traffic. Although the city was renovated, and public transit improved for the 2004 Olympics, Athens remains a sprawling metropolis full of […]
A one-hour flight from Athens to Crete, the largest of the Greek islands, dropped us near Heraklion, a bustling, noisy town I didn’t expect to like. But who can resist those exuberant Greeks, who love to talk? Every square and every cafe-bar was crammed with coffee-and beer-drinkers watching the scene and talking endlessly to each […]