Acropolis, Cape Sounion

MY LAST DAY!

Well today was exhausting. Started the morning with an Acropolis tour and Old Town Walking Tour with Key Tours again.

I saw Yannis, my 4-day driver 3 times! The tour was OK overall and it was no fault of the guide.

They all call themselves "archeologists" when I think they really are just history majors.

The tour was elongated out and lots to know, but an audio tour and the photobook would have sufficed. The Old Town tour portion was worthless. Then I got hit with the additional $20 for the entrance fees on the acropolis.

Found my way back to The Clumsies for an amazing brunch.

The Clumsies

Athenian Spritzer- 5/5

Pancake and Eggs breakfast 4/5

Did some shopping, found my statues, and went back to the apartment for a quick nap.

Now about the Sounion tour.

The small bus ride and Athena, the guide, were great. Stopped by a thermal spring: Vouleimeni just for an introduction. But the rest of the tour was pointless.

After visiting some "beach area" which is a sad call for that, I had a terrible meal at a restaurant over here. To save Athena here, she recommended a different restaurant.

Not to mention, the entrance fee for the temple was $10 and not included.

I declined.

A sunset is a sunset and the so-called "well preserved" temple is not as exciting as others. So I stayed below and had a Chicken fillet. Ended up, I was right. I had better photos of the sun setting between the columns than those that were above- they saw a sunset over a far away island- they weren't impressed. Unhappy with a boring adventure and another 1.5hr drive back, I got to the apt and packed to be ready to go at 3am.

Sun tours! So I got a call this am with a driver ready to go! I booked the wrong day! And instead of giving a discount to rebook, I ended up needing to hustle and find a new driver: ended up calling the original guy.

I am not happy here. And no confirmatory call or anything!

So thus ends my second trip to Greece.

Each trip, I learn more about myself and how to choose/travel wisely. No more daily group tours- I do better on my own- or use a nice cab driver like I did in Colombia. Paid $40 for all day and he just brought us around to unknowns and waited right at each door or exit.

The 4-day tour here was good to get around BUT my back and legs gave out from so many bus trips back In 2016, I was tired of sitting!

Let's see some other notes:

• The oldest dynasties are the Minoan and then Mycenae. Greece was successful at city-states all independently ruled, but Athens and Sparta ultimately hated each other. Sparta's history in the 300 movie is true to all accuracy, but we have to remember 700 other Greeks were helping in those first 2 days.

Sparta later on, was completely dismantled sometime later in another war and nothing remains today of the city. Of historical context, the Persians, Ottomans and Romans all conquered Greece at one point.

• Funny enough, Rome's history is all built on Greek influence (ie. buildings, medicine, philosphers, gods/religion) and the Persians were promptly defeated. Christians (apparently the Byzantine era) are one of the major reasons for the demolition of ancient ruins, including Delphi.

• Mykonos is known as the party island and has lost its natural beauty because of it. Santorini is known for the most beautiful sunsets and a honeymoon island. I've been to neither.

• The temples of Posiden (Sounion), Athena (Aegina) and the Parthenon apparently form an equatorial triangle- the Sacred Triangle.

• Some local foods to try include Slovaki, baklava, orange cake, moussaka and Loukoumades. My favorite wine is the retsina type.

• I've only seen 2 places with TNR (trap-neuter-release): Agora and Aegina. This means nothing if you don't like cats lol.

• The Acropolis has 2 entrances, use the 2nd smaller one if you can find it (easier and less crowded but you get to see everything).

• Philadelphia, in greek translates to "Philo"= Love and adelphos= brotherly

• Check to ensure entrance fees are included in tours or carry cash. Taxes must be paid directly to hotels when you arrive so have an international CC.

• Athens has a small strip at the South end of the city filled with casinos and gentlemen's clubs.

• IF you can, always travel with medications. Antibiotics, acid reflux, diarrhea, NSAID. And females, antibiotic for UTIs. Add a to-go bandage kit.

• I learned this from a fellow traveler: all those small soaps and shampoos at hotels? Take 'em and save' em. Send to a women's shelter or make homeless bags to keep in your car. When I learned and started this, guess the hotels did too LOL because they started switching over to those bulk adhered-to-the-wall dispensaries! 🙂

Well, the trip was well worth it. Hope the 2 rescues I emailed return correspondence so I can come back and TNR these cats! Next trip: voleigmant scuba, Crete, Piraeus,

and the technological Museum of Athens (apparently a big thing).

AU REVOIR

What Americans do/need that isn't done elsewhere:

• Tipping is not customary. Please research where you go before tipping " like an American"

• Most places do NOT have regular toilets, available toilet paper or a sewer system. I always travel with my own TP and washcloth. Greece is pretty clean so it's not like it would walking into a U.S. Convenience Store most of the time. Here, the bathrooms are free, but in other countries, they allow bathroom use for a charge.

• Taxis can be your worst enemy or your best friend. In Colombia, taxi drivers are the most helpful for everything. In Greece, they scam and rob you blindly.

• Alleys aren't always bad- in Athens and Venice, you need them to get from point A to point B. Because these cities are relatively safe, you don't need to worry much, but pick-pocketers are everywhere and come in all sizes from kids to adults. When I was in another part of Greece, the gypsies (women belly dancers or palm readers) were going around swiping phones off tables and men were selling flowers making their swaps.

• Do not store phones in back pockets. Backpacks and purses should stay in front of you or to the side of you- never set it alone on a chair or the ground.

• Mosquitos. I'm highly allergic and carry spray with me, but here in Greece, you hardly notice the actual bites, but they are in abundance since water stands everywhere.

• Cleanliness. After COVID, I think many precautions have been taken by now, but in general, our US standards don't exist everywhere- such as nose picking, food handling (ie. talking over open buffets, touching food w/ bare hands), covering to sneeze/cough. In Greece, I note that it's better than say, India, but, they have their downfalls as well with public sanitation/courtesy.

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