Back Home in Grayslake IL June 17th

We are back in Grayslake as of 4:30PM June 17th.

It is nice to be home, home is better than any hotel.

Looking forward to Fridays Chill-Out at the Asters.

General Notes Greece

General Notes / Comments
Other tourist - What's the problem with the Japanese - look like bee keepers in the rain. Always covering head and using umbrella, they should go to Helsinki in the winter - No Sun there.
Greece

• Friendly cab drivers (and some are honest), expensive cab rides.
• People will ask "where are you from?", tell them Chicago and they smile and say "BULLS" or "CAPONE"
• People - you can not always tell a Greek. In Turkey you could tell most the time.
• Turkish women (Young) are more beautiful than Greek women
• Land - dry and brown, so far what we have seen on the Islands and around Athens.
• Cost - Euro country of course it is more expensive (double from Turkey) but not as bad as Paris or Helsinki.
• Weather - dry and hot (for early June)
• Food - better than Turkey (for us at least)
• Streets are clean but were even cleaner in Turkey
• Cars - small cars Hyunday has the market at seems
• Scooters - Vespa and similar all over and everyone has one
• Gas - Euro 1.05 Liter
• Nescafe all over (instant) - what is the problem?
• Bread not so good.
• Smoking - will buy stock in Marlboro.
• Greek language or signs more difficult to understand than Turkish.

Athens

• Acropolis - a must to visit
• A busy city of about 3 million
• Not very clean and a lot of graffiti and many bad looking houses in the city
• Dirty looking harbor Piraeus
• Many tourist from all over Germans most then Italians and French, even Americans, many young kids
• Fenced in ruins all over town, too many to look at.
• Lots of street cafes with outside seating
• Greek are loud people even louder than Seija (always outside voice)
• It is dusty here, people don't wash cars they dust them (no water?)
• Good Subway system and Trams
• We have a good hotel in a great location, good breakfast, rooftop place to sit and great view.

Naxos

• A nice place to stay, a down to earth place.
• A few tourist but not a problem, even Greek come to vacation here, also many Germans and French.
• Some great sandy beaches.
• No cruise ships.
• Nice harbor town, good places to eat and drink and walk around.
• Explore island by car (5-6 hours) very hilly and scenic.
• Very brown and dry looking except for some valleys inland.

Rhodes

• Rhodes - half the visitors Finns the other half Germans
• Restaurant Yiannis in Rhodes Old Town - best food at a fair price. Right next to our Hotel, Domos.
• Rhodes Old Town - beautiful place, must see and walk around the old walls and buildings in the Old Town.
• Many tourist stay in the new town hotels, good beaches but stones no sand!
• Too many tourist in Rhodes (old town) and then still the cruise ships, 3 a day sometimes.
  
• Food and Hotel prices in Rhodes are OK but in the Old Town (around plazas) everything is almost double from the side streets or the new town.
• Explore the island by car, around 250 km around the island, very hilly.
• Orange trees, Olive trees and tomato's growing. Did not see much livestock.
• Island looks brown and dry.
• Very nice town, Lindos, with harbor two hours from Rhodes. No cars in town.
• Heavy traffic near and around the Old Town.

Santorini

• FIra, main city, very touristy and very hilly but also very pretty. Expensive.
• Car, 4 wheel and scooter rental everywhere and everyone is renting them.
• Oia, nice cliff town 1 hour away, must visit.
• Volcano island a good trip by boat, also hot springs on same island.
• Kamari nice town with very nice beach and board walks.

Athens June 12 - June 17

After 36 days not one rainy day.
Wednesday 6:00 flight to Frankfurt and then Chicago.
Monday - Acropolis

Sunday - change of the Guards.

Around Athens.

Athens Plaka area.

Around Athens (Zeus)

Around Athens.

Around Athens.

Tram ride Saturday, tram designed by Ferrari.

View from Hotel Rooftop.

Arrived by Ferry this afternoon at 3:00 in Athens, after a 20 minute taxi drive (a nice driver, first one was rejected due to price) made it to the hotel which is right in the middle of the interesting section of town, Plaka. We can see all interesting points from our Hotel roof top.
The Hotel is Attalos check it out. A Link to Plaka.

Naxos Greece

Town at night.

Drive around the island.

Our SMART car for a day.

Around town.

Around town.

In town.

Town - the harbor.

Restaurants.

Town from Hotel

Our Hotel.

Link to a Naxos WEB Page Naxos.
Our Hotel Grotta Naxos.
Went to town on first evening - this may be the perfect island for us.
A beautiful waterfront with restaurants and only a few shops and you look at the sail boats docket in the harbor and the mountains in the distance. A place we could spent a few weeks!
No cruise ships with a few thousand visitors storming the island.
Many locals walking around and the tourists look like the ones that like places a bit out of the way, most French and German. Hotel is very nice, with small pool and jacusee, next to the ocean but there is a cliff so no swimming, have to walk 10 minutes for that.
Today, Monday, holiday here. Will explore city and then rent scooter , even Seija is ready to get on it.
Large island, about 250 miles around, and only 20,000 people, so no traffic.

Santorini Greece June 3 - June 7

Staying 4 days in Santorini, weather is beautiful (high 80s) and we have a very nice place. Island is beautiful but more Jewellery shops than in all of the USA. So once you see the town Fira and Oia it's nothing but shops and restaurants. Toke a boat ride to the Volcano and a bus trip to Oia, a town at the end of the island, very beautiful. Tomorrow, Saturday, a beach day on one of the Black Sand beaches in Kamiri.
Counting 3 cruise ships every day that are visiting.
Seija complaining about the stairs and hills, many scooters and 4 wheel buggies rented by visitors that don't know how to drive them.
I will wait until Naxos to rent one.
Surprised Santorini is actually less expensive than the Old Town of Rhodes.
Having reservation for ferry to Naxos on Sunday afternoon.
Our Hotel in Santorini Galatia Villas


Return to Santorini by Boat.


Volcano

Boat ride to Volcano.

Walk uo to Volcano

Boat ride.

Boat.

Santorini

Santorini

Santorini

Santorini

Santorini

Santorini Shops.

Dogs of Santorini

Seija view of Santorini

- Our Hotel

Our Hotel, view from room.

Pictures from Santarini.

June 1 Monday - Wednesday June 3.

Will spent two days on the Beach until we leave on Wednesday. It is our day for the first ferry - leaving Rhodes for Santorini.

The Old City of Rhodes.

10:45 AM a group of Germans eating Breakfast. Yes the time is right and yes those are Germans. Looks like every day there are several flights coming from Germany to Rhodes.

No comments, but they are English.
Look at the high diving board and the blue water..

Pictures from the Beach. The sand is not white but the water is blue and clear.

See Ari's gift - a "Hello Kitty" towel to match his Soap Box.

Saturday - Sunday May 30 - 31

On Sundays ride, City build 300 BC.

Finnish restaurant.
Finnish Store.

Had dinner at a restaurant in the new town owned and operated by Finns everyone in there

was Finnish, were told 1 - 3 planes a day come in from Finland and they all stay in the Hotels near the city center.

Town of Lindos.

Rented a car for Sunday to drive around and explore the Island, which toke us about 7 hours. It was a very hot day don in Lindos at least 90 degrees, but a beautiful harbor town.

Stopped by some historic sites but after Turkey the items in Rhodes are very lame.

Lunch break on Sunday on the ride around the island.

Meeting and seeing more Finns and Germans, some on their own hopping the islands others on cruise ships. It is very warm here (80s) and sunny, no clouds. Went on bus trip (30 minutes) to an old town 10 km away from Rhodes, not much to see but a change.

Friday Rhodes

Coffe break at Starbucks!
Yes, I believe they are German! Look close.
The beach!

Rhodes Greece Friday May 29

Pictures from Rhodes - The Old Town

Breakfast