I'm so excited to be visiting Europe again after the amazing river cruise I did with my Mum six years ago (which you can read about on my previous blog which begins here.) On that occasion we spent 14 nights on a luxury river boat with knowledgeable guides taking us on shore excursions so there was no chance of us getting lost.
The only time I'd been to Europe previously was when I spent a year backpacking in 1986. Back then, I was completely free to stay a day, a week or a month in a place so I made the most of exploring, getting lost, stumbling upon incredible places and having even more incredible experiences.
This time my travel buddy is Michelle, who's been my friend for nearly 40 years. This is Michelle's first time in Europe and our friends have told her she's in good hands travelling with me. We have our accommodation booked for the next month so we know exactly where we're going...
The only time I'd been to Europe previously was when I spent a year backpacking in 1986. Back then, I was completely free to stay a day, a week or a month in a place so I made the most of exploring, getting lost, stumbling upon incredible places and having even more incredible experiences.
This time my travel buddy is Michelle, who's been my friend for nearly 40 years. This is Michelle's first time in Europe and our friends have told her she's in good hands travelling with me. We have our accommodation booked for the next month so we know exactly where we're going...
Our first stop is Athens. We expect nothing from the hot, crowded city of 4 million people that others have warned us about but boy are we pleasantly surprised! We're staying in the Psiri district and spend our first afternoon wandering down narrow streets and the crowded, atmospheric Monistiraki Square with the 2,400 year-old Acropolis overlooking us at every turn.
We fall in love with the restaurants serving deliciously fresh Greek Salads with pita bread. We eat to the atmospheric background of Greek men playing traditional bouzouki tunes while patrons join in with the singing and dancing. We spend the evening hours happily eating and drinking whilst watching thousands of locals and tourists, families and young couples, enjoying this beautiful, vibrant place.
Next morning we become disorientated as we can't find the bustling square from the previous evening's wanderings. We find another quaint square, with fruit sellers and wide open spaces but it doesn't have the same atmosphere as last night's square.
We spend the day exploring ancient sites such as Hadrian's Library and Hadrian's Arches which were built as the north, south, east and western gates to the city of Athens.
We learn about forward thinking philosophers such as Socrates and Plato, the birthplace of democracy and the history behind beautiful government buildings, but alas we can't find that elusive square. We tell ourselves it doesn't matter but, deep down it matters to me. I know my sense of direction has deteriorated over the years but surely I haven't lost my ability to read a map!
We end up in the quiet square again and when we enquire as to its name, we're told that this is Monistiraki Square. So where were we last night? It doesn't seem to matter how many times I check the map and ask directions, I just can't get my bearings...
We fall in love with the restaurants serving deliciously fresh Greek Salads with pita bread. We eat to the atmospheric background of Greek men playing traditional bouzouki tunes while patrons join in with the singing and dancing. We spend the evening hours happily eating and drinking whilst watching thousands of locals and tourists, families and young couples, enjoying this beautiful, vibrant place.
Next morning we become disorientated as we can't find the bustling square from the previous evening's wanderings. We find another quaint square, with fruit sellers and wide open spaces but it doesn't have the same atmosphere as last night's square.
We spend the day exploring ancient sites such as Hadrian's Library and Hadrian's Arches which were built as the north, south, east and western gates to the city of Athens.
We end up in the quiet square again and when we enquire as to its name, we're told that this is Monistiraki Square. So where were we last night? It doesn't seem to matter how many times I check the map and ask directions, I just can't get my bearings...
It's not until the evening that we stumble upon the square again, this time full of people and bursting with life that we realise we're actually a couple of idiots and we've been in Montistiraki Square all along. We just didn't recognise it during the day without the people! There was no "other" square. Mystery solved.
We've thoroughly enjoyed our clueless wanderings around Athens but Croatia is calling. Split, we're on our way...
We've thoroughly enjoyed our clueless wanderings around Athens but Croatia is calling. Split, we're on our way...
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