Spain & Portugal

A very late post, as I'm already home now!! But I'll update my
travels all the same in case anyone is actually reading this.

I was in Madrid for almost a week visiting Elvira and enjoying some
spectacular food. A day trip to Avila just outside Madrid, which is
more of an afternoon trip than a full day trip we found out as there's
not a whole bunch to see. If you're ever in the area I suggest going
to Toledo first before Avila.

When heading from Madrid to Marbella we were lucky enough to meet up
with a couple of friends from Canada who had rented a rather large van
to drive down to Marbella from Madrid. So we all piled in and I even
got to drive the graveyard shift with the two jet-lagged boys in the
back.

Marbella has always been a good time for me and this time was no
exception, with a hard night of partying, bull fights, more great
food, and pool-side tanning with a bit of Frisbee on the side. I miss
it already!!

From Marbella to Seville a bit further north and west for a flamenco
dancing show followed with our best attempt at flamenco ourselves at
the local drinking establishments - not the best display of rhythm and
grace, but a blast all the same.

Portugal offered us some great beaches (although a bit cold and rainy
at times), port, oysters, British tourists in Lagos, and a few more
party nights. Lisbon was one of the nicest cities I've been to with
its narrow streets with beautiful buildings and lots of charm, cute
little trams roaming many streets, castle festivals, and fabulous
Indian food of all things!!

Sintra, a short train ride outside Lisbon, which is a beautiful small
town originally for the elite, obvious from the rather large mansions
around the town and scattered throughout the wonderfully wooded
country side. The highlight would have to be the castle at the very
top of the hill - like something out of a fairy tale with its
drawbridge and towers, perched on one of the tallest hills. Finishing
off with a day trip to Evora on our way back to Madrid, and that was
my great introduction to Portugal!

The Rest of the Peloponnese

Maybe this seems obvious to some, but be warned that when trying to
get off the beaten track, it's not always as easy to get to where you
want to go. I found that out while trying to get from Nafplio to
Gefyra. While my efforts were focused I didn't end up getting there
and after taking four buses and 5 hours later - Napfplio to Tripolis
to Sparta to Gythio to Areopoli. So I ended up in Areopoli which is a
small coastal town in the south Lakonian Mani area of the Peloponnese.
The spectacular Diros Caves are the thing to see here, but due to
arriving late the first day I had to wait for another day to catch the
one bus daily to the caves. What a sight though with an underground
boat tour of the subterranean river for about 40 minutes! I wish I
could have taken more pictures, but pictures can´t even give this
place justice to its immensity and amazingness (I know it's probably
not a word).

So from the south to the north Messinian Mani where I stayed in the a
quaint little town called Kardamyli. Trekking was the flavour here,
but I didn't have any time, so it was onto Olympia the next day, which
was quite a chore but only with three buses this time.

Olympia seemed a lot smaller than I imagined, being the birthplace of
the Olympics. It was still nice to ponder there all the people and
years of competition that place had seen - and going early in the
morning I was without the hoards of tour groups swarming the place by
the time I left - although it was interesting to catch a few
interesting facts on my way past an English tour. From Olympia to
Athens just for the night, then off to Madrid for the next phase of my
journey, but Spain and Portugal will have to wait for another post...

Ios, Athens & Peleponnese

Ios, although traveling there with mixed feelings does live up to its
name. The name of parties, yet much more relaxed than its neighbour
Mykonos, and also an island which is great to explore. Matt and I did
the ATV thing again and did what seemed to be a bit of off roading to
get to Homers Tomb - a pretty isolated part of the island on top of a
beautiful hill. We spotted a few deserted beaches on the way to the
tomb and explored one of them on the way back to be rewarded with the
beach all to ourselves. The night life picked up around 10pm, just in
time for dinner there, and bar hoping was quite easy with bars located
every other building or so in the old part of town. Overall a great
island and I was a bit sad to leave, especially when it was towards
hot and ugly Athens.

Not much to say about Athens except that we had a heck of a time
trying to find our hotel on some random street in Plaka (the older
part of town). We were rewarded with a dump of a place, but for an
overnight stay is was good enough.

I'm now in Nofplio in the Peleponnese and it's quite a nice town. The
first capital of Greece it has some history, like much of Greece or
Europe for that matter. There are a couple large castles on hills
here which I'll try to tackle today, but with the heat it's quite a
chore. I'll be circling around the island through a few smaller towns
with my last stop in Olympia before heading back to Athens for my
flight to Madrid this Saturday. Then the second half begins...

Scooters & ATV's

My last full day in Mykonos was spent for the most part on a scooter
touring around the island, visiting more secluded beaches, and
enjoying the incredible scenery outside the touristy spots.
Unfortunately with my entourage (or scooter gang as we liked to call
it) had a few close calls on the roads with two slips and scraped
knees and one more serious fall (at an incredibly slow speed mind you)
that ended in a dislocated shoulder of a friend we met on the island -
JP. This are all well and good now, but it was one of the stupider
things I've done looking back as we didn't even use helmets.

I headed to Paros from Mykonos with Matt (later to meet up with Luke
again in Santorini) and we really enjoyed the chilled out atmosphere
and quiet streets of the town. Around every corner there were great
"post card" photos and it was a refreshing change from the intense and
busy streets of Mykonos. We were only there for the afternoon,
catching another ferry to Santorini at 11 (really meaning 11:30 in
Greek time) to arrive around 4am on Santorini.

Now in Santorini where I write, and the second time I've been here, it
still blows me away. Spectacular cliffs and great sunsets every day.
It has the tourist buzz, but most islands in Greece do and it was easy
enough to escape the crowds by renting an ATV (with helmet) and
touring the island. Black sand beaches (sandals a must here!!), great
winding roads, scenery, and little towns were our reward. One of the
funnest days I've had in Greece.

A hot spring boat tour this afternoon and then off to Ios tonight with
Matt. Luke is on his way to Turkey with JP so we part ways on our
European excursions. The last few days in Greece will be spent in the
north or the Pelopenese...check back for updates...

The Greek Islands

Waiting seems to be my new past time here in Greece...

Waiting 3 hours for my ferry from Cofu to Patras, waiting for buses,
waiting for more ferries, and more buses. After a long journey to
Athens from Corfu we arrived at around 2:30am, meeting up with another
friend of mine - Matt. Getting about one and a half hours of sleep,
then rising early for our 7am ferry to Mykonos.

My second island in Greece (this time around) and this place is even
more intense than the Pink Palace, which seems lame in comparison!
The party here at Paradise beach starts at around 5pm every day until
7 or 8, then the sun bathers go home, and prepare the next round of
partying from 12 till whenever. After two nights in our cramped
little tent, we're all ready to move on to another part of the island
for a little more luxury. A good place to party, but the people here
are so fake it's incredible, image is everything here and drink prices
seem to match these outrageous attitudes. I've never really seen
anything like this place...

So onto Ios and Santorini next I think...until the next post...

Italy, Albania, & Greece

So much for posting 'often'

So to sum things up from the last entry, I've now met up with Luke and
we've seen the sights of Rome - I was there almost a week, it's kind
of hard to believe. Rome I must say is quite amazing, the sights, the
piazzas, the people, and the food. All mixed into a great few days.

From Rome we ventured forth to Naples then right to Pompei to see some
amazing ruins, yet after Rome and Pompei I'm a bit ruined out. We
planned to go to Corfu right from Pompei after taking the train, then
ferry, but we unfortunately missed our train, therefore missing our
ferry as well. So with the few hours we had to wait for the next
train we decided to catch the next ferry - which went Albania!

Albania was a great experience and we managed to (luckily) meet a
couple Canadians that were from there originally. They got us on our
way to the south from the port we arrived in and we saw some great
scenery along the way. There are some very generous and kind people
in Albania and it's a country I'd definately like to explore more some
day.

I'm now in Corfu, in Corfu Town to be exact, coming back from the Pink
Palace - sort of a summer camp for big kids with lots of alcohol :)
We're off to Athens today then heading onto the islands of the
Cyclades. That's it for now, especialy since I've only got 1 minute
left on my card!! I hate timed internet places, I always feel like
I'm rushing.

Anyway, until the next post...

When In Rome...

Since my last post (back home) much has happened. Starting with my
experience at Pearson Airport in Toronto, I was lucky enough to be
able to walk 2or 3 kms on the 409 from my taxi to the departures gate
- thanks to a strike by the limo drivers union or something. Thanks
guys that really makes me want to support your cause.

With thoughts of missing my plane in mind I rushed to the counter only
to find out that my plane to London (Gatwick) was delayed by three
hours...Yet overall from start to finish the ride wasn't too bad and I
actually made it to Rome a little early.

I've been hear on my own since Tues, but will be meeting up with a
university classmate, Luke who will be with me for a month or so
through Italy, Greece, and Turkey. We're in Rome until Monday then
off to Corfu for the Pink Palace Resort - the name speaks for itself?
We've heard good things and are sure to find a few good parties there.

So Rome...only the second time I've been here and the first was about
8 years ago while singing in a choir - yes I was in a choir, and it
was actually pretty cool singing in some of these huge old churches.
Back then I was young and foolish and well not much has changed except
my view of traveling and my appreciation for the things I see. This
time around I'm getting a better sense of the place, the Colosseum,
Trevi Fountain, and the numerous other monuments in Rome.

I'll try to post a bit more often and even get some pictures up here
if I can find a way. Until the next post...

Tentative Europe Itinerary

With only a week or so to go, I feel a bit unprepared for this trip,
although that feeling usually comes before a big trip like this. A
quick note on the "tentative" itinerary:

June 20 Home to London
June 21 London to Rome
June 21-27 Italy
June 27 Brindisi (Italy) to Greece
June 28 - July 15 Greece & Turkey
June 16-30 Spain & Portugal
Aug 1-18 Eastern Europe??
Aug 18 Home

Greetings

The very fist post, and a small one at that. Welcome to my Blog and hopefully in the near future I'll have some more interesting info up here and even a few pics.