{This is an informal write up about our travels and chronicles our day to day activities. Please excuse any omissions or errors. I am indebted to all my travel companions for their memorable company. I have freely used pictures from our group chat posted by many of you. If you wish to send any more please do so}

Our Lakshmi group had missed visiting Greece over the years and 2025 was the year it happened!  We were a group of 20 plus from the US, all except the tour guide, Shruti who was requested to be our guide and made her way from Dubai to join us.

This time Lakshmi too travelled with us which made the deal sweeter! Having meticulously planned this trip to the last T in conjunction with Bhavesh who is amazingly knowledgeable as to what we need, she totally deserved to enjoy it. So did the rest of us! Another VIP was my anthropologist daughter Shalini, who enjoyed being the knowledgeable one as well as the youngest in the group!

After an on-time arrival at Athens, we retrieved our luggage.  Many ignorant ones like me kept calling the city A-thens whereas the correct pronunciation we were told was Ath-ens!  Oh well, we might master it by our next visit!  Being US citizens, the immigration process was very simple and we were not charged any fee.  We finally made our way to the large bus after some delay as the driver did not hold up a sign to locate us!  Meanwhile we stood around near the exit, admiring the bakeries and other delicious looking eateries.

Bakery delicacies …… Flats similar to Bombay …….. Views around Athens

We found the city to be somewhat similar to Mumbai of by-gone days when we lived in India.  There were many apartment buildings that were only 4-5 stories high.  Later on a guide told us that the city of Athens tried to follow the rule of not allowing sky scrapers in order to keep visible the day and night view of the Acropolis, which was on a hill and a spectacular sight!  The night time lighting made it really worthwhile to view and we were able to do this the next day.  One more thing that’s quite funny!  We all finally understood the expression “its all Greek to me!”  The signs were in the local language long and mind boggling.  What looked like letters in English suddenly turned in every direction and made no sense at all!  Of course this is a bit of exaggeration as all important tourist areas had English signs as well.

We all met at the Radison Blu in Athens, some in our group had already arrived on earlier flights.  After the long and mostly sleepless flight, we were happy to be quickly allotted our rooms where we freshened up and met again in the lobby to proceed for dinner.   Our tour manager, Shruti, was a very pleasant no nonsense type of person who made it clear that being on time was our first priority.  I think every person in our group kept up this condition.  The penalty for being late was steep – buying gelato for the whole group!   We proceeded to the Indian Chef restaurant for a quick buffet dinner.  The items were the usual, but the Greek yogurt here and at many other restaurants was delicious and available in generous portions.

The next day was a very big day for us and the sun was shining with high intensity throughout our trip.  Not a single day of rain!  September is the perfect month to visit! We started with a drive- thru bus tour of Athens and many important buildings and sights were shown to us.  Along the drive we passed archways and statues. Notable was the Hadrian’s arch.  Corinthian and Ionic styles of pillars were mentioned.  The naked male depicted in some statues was always a god or a hero and he held his shield till death, a matter of honor, we learnt.  One place caught our attention, an official building where a ceremonial change of guards takes place every hour.   We were told this is in front of the Hellenic Parliament building on Syntagma Square.  A crowd had collected to witness this but we had no time to stop.  Our city guide who had boarded the bus earlier on informed us that the guards wore kilts and special shoes that weighed something like 6 kilos each with a metal bottom so they could make the impressive clicking sounds on the stone floor. Among other general information our guide told us that the present- day graduates found it difficult to find employment in Greece and English was being taught in schools and  universities so the youth could move to other countries and find jobs.  Indeed the only activity apparently seemed to be growing of olive trees and resultant olive oil industry , some wine production and of course, tourism.

At the Olympic stadium ……….. and a beautiful night view of Acropolis  from the market square         

The first stop where we got down was the  Olympic stadium.  We were told that the Olympic flame, contrary to popular belief, does not burn continuously.  It is specially lit some months before the games are due and transported to the host country.  Currently the stadium which is built mostly of marble is used as a venue for sporting events, cultural shows and socialization.  Referred to as the Panathenaic Stadium, it was rebuilt around 1890 on the ruins of the original arena from the time of Zeus. It has a massive capacity of about 80,000.  We learnt more about “the Games” when we visited Olympia and were totally absorbed in the thrill of the origin of the historic event that has lasted till this day.  This stadium as well as the Spyros Louis stadium built in 2004 served well when Greece hosted the Olympics and Paralympics.

The Acropolis at dusk and from a different view        

The highlight of our day’s tour was a visit to the Acropolis which included the museum.   Though full of ancient artifacts and beautiful displays, for us it was a bit tiring to view as the guide took us from piece to piece, some headless statues, and gave us very detailed information.  As a result most of us were drained out even before the strenuous climb up the hill.  Initially we were quite intrigued by glass floors in some areas built over ancient edifices. We could walk over these.   A  “man cave” was pointed out to us.  We also saw four or five different models of how the Acropolis might have looked in different time periods.  Among the artifacts were miniatures of household articles from ancient times that were likely included in the wedding trousseau.  Perhaps the pictures of the artifacts will speak more than words.  But a fact to be admired was that many individual statues were beautiful from top to bottom with each leg detailed and separate.  This we were told was unlike Egyptian statues that were carved into the rock wall mostly with much less detail.  Indeed many had stunningly beautiful forms.  Particularly fascinating was the winged statue of Nike, since the name is so familiar to us!  One unique and fascinating display, though from modern times, was a huge Lego block model of a Greek stadium and its environs, gifted by Australia from Sydney’s Nicholson museum.

Beautiful artifacts at the museum …….  Lego wonderland

We were ready for the outdoor part of the visit to Acropolis (literally meaning the city on the hill) and within it the famous Parthenon, 490 feet above sea level.  It did not disappoint!  The climb, though a bit tough was not too high or time consuming.  The steps were wide but loose rocks were to be avoided; we were careful and managed well.  The top covered an area of approximately 7+ acres.  The main buildings that still solidly stood their ground were beautiful in white marble and much photographed.  The present remains date back to approximately 429 BC although it appears that several were rebuilt on the site. Sometime later a temple dedicated to Athena in the Doric style of architecture was also added, hence the name of the city.  We spent some time soaking in the vibrations of the past and then carefully made our way down.  That evening we got  beautiful glimpses of the Acropolis from a market square where we were dropped off for shopping or browsing.  As the dusk fell, the night view was even more breathtaking.  The lighting was subtle, yet so effective.  While the daylight was still there, we made a quick visit up the hill to view from a distance the Chapel of St. George. From that high point we got an amazing view of Athens city.

Group near the Chapel of St. George

The market was quite nice, rows and rows of shops selling artifacts, geared mainly to the tourists.  Notable among the purchases for gifts were the shawls, T-shirts, ceramic items and miniatures of Greek architecture.  We were taken for dinner to an Indian restaurant and enjoyed dosas, vadas and other South Indian fare.

Beautiful statues ………. Beautiful ladies           

Side view of the massive structure ……. Lakshmi, Radha and Shamla …….. Temple of Athena        

          Day three dawned and bright and early we had to leave on our road trip.  Actually we had to check out of our hotel rooms as we were going to spend the next two nights in Olympia and Delphi.  We were permitted to leave behind any luggage in storage but since the bus had a large hold area, many of us preferred to take it along.  What if we needed something that was left behind?  The drive was very pleasant and we were entertained to live Bollywood music by talented singers Murali and Chitra and a few others.  It was a sunny day and a very pleasant drive.  In the countryside we got to see lemon and other citrus orchards, bouganvillae and even an occasional pomigranate trees with fruit. 

Flowering bush, citrus tree and a pomegranate bush laden with fruit

Soon we made a stop to see Corinth Canal.  Confession:  I had to Google to find out which bodies of waters this beautiful man-made canal, completed in 1893 connected.  If the guide had told us, I bet none of us would have remembered.  It actually connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean sea. It is 6.4 kilometeres and around 80 feet wide.  We stood on a bridge to marvel at the smooth sides hewn from rock and a strip of water down below.  Sadly, modern ships are too wide to pass through and it is deemed mainly a tourist attraction.  Along the way we saw individual grape bushes, no trellis or ropes to train them.  More on this intriguing method when we visited the wine production and  tasting sites.

Delicious Dosa at Dosa King ………………… The unique Corinth Canal, one of a kind 

    Our itinerary included Mycenae and Epidaurus on the same day.  Again more impressive ruins some more preserved than others.  If you thought that Epidaurus had a medical ring to it, you were absolutely right.  The ancient doctors here treated their patients in a unique way. In bygone days,  people even made stone casts of their limbs and sent it the doctor ahead to diagnose the problem!   The arena in Mycenae was put to good use to expose people to music, laughter and entertainment to heal them.  Apparently people came from far and wide to avail of these treatments.  The Lion Gate was pointed out as was a viewing from a small hilltop.  Mycenae and Corinth had extensive ruins and even prayer halls and arches were shown to us. The scene from a viewing platform gave a complete picture of how the living quarters were.  In addition Corinth is reported to be rebuilt by the Romans after they destroyed the original Greek one.  The presence of many pillared structures still partially standing gave us amazing ideas of the ancient town.  Only our pictures can bring back these precious memories.

Ruins at Corinth

Stadium at Epidaurus …… Part of our group at Lions Gate and a close up of lions at Mycenae

Loved the local lunch on the way, though it was nearly 3 pm! We were served deliciously cooked eggplant, zucchini patties and tomatoes stuffed with rice etc. with brownie and ice cream for desert.

Enjoying the delicious local lunch

That night it got quite dark before we reached our hotel.  We found the Amalia Olympia to be extremely spacious in its lobby areas, the rooms comfortable and their buffet dinner to be tasty and substantial. We made an early start for our tour of Olympia.  This was perhaps the most exciting part of our foray out of Athens.  Not because the ruins were impressive or the architecture amazing, but the sheer knowledge that the world famous Olympic Games originated here and were held regularly originating in 776 BC till they were disallowed by the Romans around 391 AD.  The excitement was palpable as the guide explained everything to us and every added fact that we were unaware of made the level of anticipation go up even more.  For example, did anyone know that in ancient times, participants ran naked in the races with the purpose of having full equality and no one had an economic advantage?  There were no gold medals, but the winners had statues erected for them and received a crown of olive leaves. Of course winners were celebrated when they returned to their own villages and given many privileges.  There was a row of shame too for those who cheated!  Only men were allowed to be participants or the audience. The participants first visited on site the temple of Zeus (where the colossal statue of Zeus was installed but later moved and destroyed in an accidental fire). Then they had an area where they could train for their events.  Finally they walked through the famous archway to enter an arena, not circular, but a long field.  The audience sat on the grassy slopes to watch. Yes, our group too entered, we stepped on the famed arena of bygone victories, some ran a stretch and made memories with videos.  We certainly enjoyed the thrill.  After listening with rapt attention to the guide and doing a tour of the attached museum, we left the village.  Viewing the current Olympics will never be the same for us as it will be colored with the memories of the original ones and our unforgettable visit.

At Olympia stadium and fields…. Zeus temple pedestal …the museum featuring Hermes …The archway leading to the Olympic field, our runners ready for the final dash!!

  Looking back it is almost impossible to recapture every site and what it was famous for!  Everywhere we went into archeological sites and beautifully arranged museums that displayed the excavated artifacts.  However, the temple of Apollo in Delphi will be remembered by our group if not for anything else, the “lookout” for a “lingam” that was rumored to be there!  Whether we found it is questionable, but the search was interesting!  

The climb up the hill was a bit challenging but the huge architectural remains of the temple atop was very impressive against the mountain background.  In fact Shankar and Shalini even climbed up further to view a stadium.  We all waited for them to return by the specified time ….. and they did!!  No gelato 😦   In fact we were so busy there was no time for gelato till we reached one of the Greek islands.

            For a welcome change we were taken to a honey farm.  Here we learnt that honey was a superfood.  Every part of the hive, including the wax was useful and had extraordinary properties. Worker bees were females, males were drones and good for reproduction mostly! (I could see women agreeing!!) The Queen bee has the option to fertilize male or female eggs. It was a family run small operation and we really liked the young lady who owned it and made the presentation.  We made her happy (after the honey tasting) by buying her products including cosmetics made with the wax. Later we visited an olive oil factory but as it was not harvest season we could not see the process. However everyone bought tins and bottles of EVOO to take back as gifts!

Honey Farm and an inviting pool at our hotel

The Amalia hotel in Delphi was really scenic and amazing. With the picture perfect weather, it was a great photo-op for all of us as we strolled their manicured property. Our drive back to Athens was uneventful but we did have a treat in store.  For dinner that night, we headed for Acropole restaurant where along with dinner we were promised a cultural show.  This comprised of lively music (they honored our request for Zorba the Greek and also played Never on a Sunday!) and even more lively dancers, two pretty girls and a guy who danced extremely well. They changed costumes couple of times.  Later they invited the diners to join them on the floor to try some Greek moves! The food was average but we compensated with ordering our own baklava which was generous and accompanied by blobs of ice cream.  It was a lovely way to end the mainland visit.  We had so much more to see and enjoy and even relax in the islands.  We were catching the ferry the next morning.

Greek entertainment and food! Baklava and ice cream

****** STAY TUNED FOR PART 2 ON GREECE, OUR INTERESTING FERRY RIDE, THE LOVELY HOTELS IN MYCANOS AND SANTORINI AND OUR SIGHT SEEING ADVENTURES *******

The Greek Krishna we found in one of the museums