Mediterranean Vacation 2014 – Hike & Mighty Adventures

A Mediterranean Excursion – Final Chapter

August 20, 2015August 20, 2015 heidimsimmonsLeave a comment

Our most recent travels in September 2014 took us to the Mediterranean to explore four distinct yet exquisite locales: Istanbul, Turkey; Mykonos, Santorini, & Athens, Greece

September 14, 2014: Athens, Greece

The majority of this gorgeous Sunday was spent lounging on the beaches of Santorini (for full details – see A Mediterranean Excursion – part 3). We caught a late plane out of Santorini and arrived in the land of myth and legend. At the advice of a friend, who happens to be much more seasoned traveler, we used a private driver through Spiros Taxi Tours. Our driver did an awesome job welcoming us to the city and giving us great recommendations for our stay. We checked in to Hotel Periscope in the business district just north of the National Gardens. All tucked in after a restful day, we tackled Athens in the morning!

September 15, 2014: National Gardens, Hellenic Parliament, Temple of Zeus, Arch of Hadrian, Acropolis & Parthenon

Athens can be difficult to describe; the juxtaposition of modern and ancient both confuses and delights the eye. Seeing the magnitude and beauty of these buildings, which have withstood centuries somehow, saddens me when I compare it to the disposable nature of American society. Culture and legacy are passed down, not just for two to three generations, but for millennia. Walking through a bustling city can be tiring and overwhelming, so we left most of our exploring until the evening when most of the tourists were done promenading.

The Acropolis & Parthenon

It was definitely worth it to shoot the Parthenon in the setting sun! Not only did the pictures turn out much better, it was definitely cooler and more enjoyable to explore the ruins without flocks of tourists.

September 16, 2014: Panathenaic Olympic stadium, National University and Library of Athens, National Archaeological Museum of Athens

The Panathenaic Stadium held both the ancient and modern olympic games as we know them. The stadium was built of marble in 329 B.C. and later renovated for the first modern day olympics in the summer of 1896. The Olympic Torch Relay starts here at the lighting ceremony and is carried by athletes all around the world to the next games.

Seats of Honor Hair pin turns of the traditional track Athlete’s tunnel

(1) Lamp stand to light the olympic torches. (2-3) Faces of a young, eager athlete and old, wise man. This statue symbolizes the soul of a man, looking forward with the vitality of youth and looking backward with the solemnity of wisdom.

The National University of Athens

(Statues) Plato sits to the left and Socrates to the right.

(Center) A marble lamp stand with the symbol of Athena, an owl signifying wisdom, lights the paths from the street up to the grand entrance. Athens gets its name from the goddess Athena. Legend states that the first King of Athens searched for a patron deity to support the city. Both Poseidon and Athena responded to the challenge, desiring to become the keeper of the city. Hoping to prevent a war among the gods, Athena suggested a contest: each was to present their best gift to the city and the champion would win the city. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and created a massive body of water called Erekhtheis. Naturally, the water was salty, as were all the waters Poseidon controlled, and the people were dismayed. Next, Athena buried a small object in the soil which soon grew into a massive olive tree. This tree produced olives for eating, oil for cooking and lamps, and wood for ships. Her gift was clearly better and she became the protector of the city and became known as Athenapolis. Her wisdom and foresight was best represented in the Owl which is displayed prominently throughout the city. (above) Iconic columns line the vaulted roof with the traditional triangular pediment. (below) ceiling above the portico at the entrance to the university

Great lecture hall at the entrance to the university. (below) oil lamp stand and seating

Entrance to the National Library. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take any pictures inside the building as it is still in use. The main level had a multi-story library with large, ornate brass staircases and scaffolding lining the upper levels. The center of the library housed several heavy wooden tables and desks for reading the ancient tomes housed there. A librarian was kind enough to give us a short history lesson and an index card full of useful phrases to get around Greece.

The National Archaeological Museum was established in the late 1800s encompassing 8,000 sq meters of space. It permanently houses five periods of art, the Prehistoric Collection (1050-6th century B.C. Neolithic, Cycladic, Mycenaean), the Sculptures Collection (7th – 5th centuries B.C.), the Vase and Minor objects & Stathatos Collections (11th century B.C. to Roman Period), and the Metallurgy Collection, a sampling of which you will see photographed below. The Death Mask of Agamemnon

Mycenaean Fresco of an elaborately dressed women in a procession from the Tiryn Palace 1300 B.C.

(left) Minoan Fresco children boxing, fresco found in Fira, Santorini, Greece. (right) Mycenaean Fresco of a woman holding snakes

“first piggy bank” and traditional vase depicting a battle scene

Minotaur bust and Headless statue of Aspasia Annia Regilla, the wife of Herodes Atticus. sleeping Maenid found on the southern side of the Athenian Acropolis, 117-138 A.D.

September 17, 2014: living like locals and dinner at New Hotel

We really enjoyed exploring the narrow market street surrounding the acropolis and enjoyed shopping and munching our way through town. In the late afternoon we took one more climb up Mars Hill, a marble rock that has worn smooth, making it a rather dangerous climb. The 360 degree views were totally worth it! On our way to dinner we stopped in Syntagma Square, a main plaza across from the Parliament building. We spotted locals passing the evening sipping espresso or licking gelato, high school boys break dancing and skate boarding, and businessmen walking hurriedly to the subway. (I am wearing the flame proof black and blue silk shawl I bartered for in Turkey earlier on our trip). The weather was overall quite comfortable; high 80s during the day and low 60s at night.

Enjoying dinner at the New Art Lounge rooftop restaurant and bar at New Hotel, a Michelin Star restaurant.

September 18, 2015: Flying back to Istanbul, Turkey for one last night

September 19, 2015: Flying back to George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston, Texas

My sleep diva getting his beauty rest // Almost home! (wearing my new earrings)

A Mediterranean Excursion – part 3

March 5, 2015 heidimsimmons1 Comment

Our most recent travels in September 2014 took us to the Mediterranean to explore four distinct yet exquisite locales: Istanbul, Turkey; Mykonos, Santorini, & Athens, Greece

September 12, 2014:

Welcome to Fira, Santorini, Greece!

Words cannot describe the grandeur of this place, but I will do my best to give you a tiny glimpse into the beauty of this ancient island town.

I found this little map on a sign along our trek to Oia (pronounced Ee-uh) one day.

Santorini or Thira is now the large crescent shaped island with a few small islands forming a ring around an active volcano. Santorini used to be a very large flat island until an eruption several thousand years ago created these idyllic cliffs or caldera to the east and a calm harbor in the center. It is a widely held sentiment on the island that the City of Atlantis lay submerged in the harbor after the volcanic eruption and remains yet to be found.

After our ferry landed in Athinios Port, or the new port, we caught a cab northbound to Fira (note large red dot) where we stayed in a dive-y studio on the caldera. There’s a reason most cruise ships only stop for the day in Santorini – it’s quite expensive to spend the night. Aside from the sub-optimal quarters we enjoyed on this island, the radiant sunsets off our balcony each night and serene mornings over looking the harbor were well worth the pretty pennies.

At the recommendation of our hotel manager, we partook in a quintessential dinner on the caldera at sunset. We indulged in a beautiful greek salad and shared the lamb stew. During our travels, we tried out best to sample native wines and really enjoyed a red blend from Argyros Estate. The century-old family-run vineyard grows grape varietals native to Santorini which have adapted well to the arid volcanic soil.

September 13, 2014: Good morning, Santorini!

I wish words could describe and pictures could express our favorite part of the entire trip: a 4 hour trek from Fira to Oia! If you refer to the above map you will see Oia at the north point of the island. There is an ancient path that traverses the caldera along the north ridge to Oia. While some of the trail is a cobblestone path, the majority of the trail is natural rock and gravel. We embarked on this “epic” trek at 8:00am (yes, jet lag still made our bodies capable of waking up “early”) on possibly the most perfect day you could ask for: a crisp 60 degrees with the morning sun just barely cresting over the top of the island. I reveled in the romantic moments of watching the island come to life; I almost felt like I was intruding on an intimate encounter as the sun brought the royal blue and teal waters, green vegetation, and colorful flowers to life. Even the rocks and volcano appeared to be yawning as they woke up.

On our way to Oia we crossed paths with a few over-achiever-runners but rarely shared the way with but a few passers-by. We walked in silence with nature, simply soaking up the beauty of the world around us.

Once we finally reached Oia we stumbled through some small shops and art exhibits. We met an artist named Vassilis Kyrkos who paints in multiple mediums and styles and uniquely captures the idyllic and timeless nature of Santorini. We picked up a small silk screen which depicts an early morning scene of Fira along the caldera. I treasure looking at this painting on my wall today and reminiscing not only of the friend we made that day, but of finding a kindred spirit who was able to paint the emotion and soul-searching depth that my heart felt during my time on the island.

We learned a few interesting things while on our travels such as every culture has their own version of hippies and that certain species are found only in certain places. In Oia I found this delightful little book shop that was built in an abandoned cave style house by a couple of Athens hippies who “wanted to get away from it all.” They had curated quite the collection of classic and contemporary literature from around the world in multiple languages. They even had a “reading room” which was really a tiny hole in the cave wall that you had two climb a few stories of scaffolding to get to. Anthropologie could get some new ideas for their window displays from their creative decor. Secondly, and maybe most importantly, there is a species of cat that is specifically found on Santorini. The isolation from other breeds has created a unique cat which is known for its round face, tiger striped tail, and white, orange, and black coat. You can even rent a cat for €5 a day from the book store boys!

After spending a few hours lunching and resting in Oia, I wished we had known to stay there rather than in town. The peaceful, remote feel of the town made it difficult to head back to Fira at the end.

That night we set out on the only planned excursion of the trip: a romantic sunset cruise! Aboard a 17th century style pirate ship, we set off to tour the Volcano, submerge in luxurious hot springs, and sip wine and hors d’oeuvre while watching the sunset… except it wasn’t quite that awesome. We received a brochure and were allowed to walk through a few trails along the volcano by ourselves, the hot springs were merely a tepid bay near the volcano with rust-laden water, and the munchies consisted of a shot glass of cheap white wine (no food)… BUT THE SUNSET WAS AMAZING! So I guess it was still pretty worth it to enjoy a mediterranean sunset on a “pirate ship!”

September 14, 2014:

We spent our last day in Santorini doing the beach thing and venturing over to Akrotiri and the red beach. Because of the cliffs, many of the beaches on Santorini are only accessible via a rough trek over rocks and cliffs or via a boat. Because of both the original island rock and volcanic sand, Santorini has three distinct beaches, the Red Beach, the Black Beach, and the White Beach, all named specifically after the color of the sand. While it is perfectly normal to be nude on these beaches, the majority of loungers were sporting bright colored suits.

Before flying out of Santorini for our final destination, we took one more tour of Fira and got our fourth gyro and souvlaki (still the best we had on the whole trip) from some guys who owned this killer corner food shop off Martiou and Danezi M streets. If you see me in Austin one day opening my own food truck, I will probably be selling gyros copied unashamedly from them!

A Mediterranean Excursion – part 2

January 20, 2015February 6, 2015 heidimsimmons1 Comment

Our most recent travels in September 2014 took us to the Mediterranean to explore four distinct yet exquisite locales: Istanbul, Turkey; Mykonos, Santorini, & Athens, Greece

September 10, 2014: The second leg of our journey took us to Mykonos, Greece, a small island with sandy beaches and quaint summer homes. Mykonos is known as the “party” island among locals as it is a fairly short ferry ride from Athens and surrounding islands making it the “Las Vegas” of the Agaean. Thank goodness we traveled during off season!

We stayed at The Grand Beach hotel just outside of Mykonos town (or Chora) as the locals call it. The hotel looked like what you picture most grecian summer vacations to feel like – pure white stucco, bright blues and greens, and a view looking over the sea. After watching the sunset just after we arrived, we were treated to a private dinner hosted by the hotel chef, a young Greek chef who had recently apprenticed in a castle in Germany. We started with a traditional greek salad: cucumbers, green bell peppers, garden tomatoes, red onions, kalamata olives, and large wedges of feta cheese sprinkled with greek spices and drizzled with house-pressed olive oil (no leafy greens in a greek salad). It is common for each family in to have their own olive tree and to press their own olive oil every year. We split a large pork tenderloin with mashed potatoes for dinner and finished with a rich, creamy chocolate mousse for dessert! It’s hard to top garden fresh vegetables and decadent chocolate in my book!

September 11, 2014:

Our first full day on the island, Mike and I spent the afternoon exploring; while there are cars and taxis on the island, the majority of transportation occurs on the backs of scooters or in our case, four-wheelers. The two most noted structures to visit include the Mykonos windmills and the abandoned light house. Both of these decrepit structures were interesting to see but were quite underwhelming compared to the vistas of Mykonos.

Our favorite discovery of the day was a hole-in-the-wall family owned restaurant called Mathio’s or Matthew’s Taverna. We only intended to stop for a light salad and glass of water but gave in to the recommendation of our waiter to indulge in the beef stew. We weren’t served a simple cup of beef stew, but rather a heaping plate of melt in your mouth, succulent beef roast served au jus with golden potatoes and hearty vegetables; I’m glad we only ordered one! That luncheon turned into a multi-course dining experience that I will likely never forget.

To cap off a very sun filled and relaxing day, we grabbed a bite “downtown” around the old port known as little venice. It’s quite a misnomer because there are only four or five little condos that line the water way and aren’t exactly accessible by boat… but it made for a nice picture. The beauty of Mykonos really came alive after the cruise ships and “tourists” were gone. Only a few non-natives lingered around the restaurants that evening and we were fortunate to enjoy a mile long shore line walk without other passersby.

September 12, 2014: Our last morning was quite an eventful one. The transport gave us about ten minutes to rush and pack up to catch the ferry because they wanted to take us with another couple who was leaving “RIGHT NOW!” No big deal, I can cram a suit case and run; except they dropped us off at the wrong port… kind of. In Mykonos there are two ports, the old port and the new port, approximately a ten minute drive apart. The unfortunate problem is that they only have a ticket stand at the old port… After standing around looking kind of lost, Mike found a “taxi driver” aka a local guy looking for a few bucks to take us over to the old port to pick up our tickets from will-call. We waited around another twenty minutes looking for our ferry only to find out we needed to pay another “taxi driver” to take us back to the new port again where the ferry was just arriving. I’m not normally a conspiracy type, but it seemed like these “taxi drivers” knew what was up and were totally fine with “helping” the lost island hoppers out. Oh well, here’s to the joy one can find amid chaos!

Here are a few shots I snapped before the insanity erupted. Mind you, I might have chosen different shoes had I known the excitement to unfold over the next hours.

The stress faded once we boarded because we remembered, next stop, Santorini!

A Mediterranean Excursion – part 1

January 17, 2015February 6, 2015 heidimsimmonsLeave a comment

Our most recent travels in September 2014 took us to the Mediterranean to explore four distinct yet exquisite locales: Istanbul, Turkey; Mykonos, Santorini, & Athens, Greece

September 5, 2014: Flying out of George Bush Intercontinental Airport via Turkish Air

September 6, 2014: Finally! We checked into our cute boutique hotel, Hotel Lausos just in time for a hot shower and dinner on the street. We stumbled into a rather tourist-y restaurant district and tried our first turkish dishes. I wish I could remember what we ate, but at the very least I know we were thankful for full bellies and the experience of new flavors.

September 7, 2014: Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Sultanahmet Square, Topkapi Palace.

We were fortunate to have a hotel just blocks from Sultanahmet Square, the epicenter of the Old City which is home to the two most famous monuments to Istanbul: Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. These ancient megaliths rest only a few hundred yards from one another and symbolize both the political and religious history of the region. When entering a mosque, it is required for all individuals to cover their shoulders to at least their knees, and women must also cover their head and neck. It was unique to see a cosmopolitan influence on the city as liberal turks and conservative muslims live side by side.

This mural was painted by a local artist and depicts Sultanahmet Square. The center spire is an Egyptian Obelisk (The Obelisk of Theodosius) which was a trophy taken by a former Roman emperor to decorate the city of Istanbul during the Roman occupation.

Topkapi Palace was the seat of the Ottoman Empire from the 14th to 19th century. It contained everything the royal family needed to live such as the harem (royal living quarters), kitchens, audience chambers, as well as inner and outer courts for the Sultan to conduct business.

View of the Golden Horn from inside Topkapi Palace:

September 8, 2014: Grand Bazaar, Istanbul University, and Spice Bazaar

I had no idea what to expect from the Grand Bazaar… let’s just say I had envisioned a more Aladdin-esque open air market with dirt floors. I wasn’t disappointed in the brick-and-mortar shopping mall, just surprised. The bazaar is home to approximately 3,000 shops and employs up to 30,000 people. It’s divided into sections such as gold, silver, tourist collections, rugs & textiles, and clothing. The turks are known for their savvy negotiations and treat it like a sport. After the sale was complete, the shop owners loved to chat and practice their English; most were fluent in 4-5 languages!

Unfortunately Istanbul University was under quite a bit of construction during our visit; however, we did enjoy a relaxing afternoon on the grounds observing the students pass by and resting in the shade.

As a self-proclaimed foodie… the Spice Bazaar was a wanna-be-chef’s dream! Turkish Delight, herbal tea, and of course, SPICES! Mounds and mounds of saffron, tarragon, and a plethora of other aromas to tantalize the senses. Cinnamon smelled richer; apple tea more fragrant! As I traversed the “Old Egypt Bazaar” I could sense the smells that wafted these halls for hundreds of years.

I was fortunate to get to go to the Spice Bazaar twice during our stay in Istanbul. Mike and I had a budget for gifts and trinkets to take home and reminded me I had roughly $100 available to spend in Istanbul. Unfortunately, he forgot to keep enough turkish lira on hand for me to use on our last day! Let’s just say I’m quite the “negotiator” when I have only $20 to get everything I want.

September 9, 2014: Dolmabache Palace (left), Taksim Square, Galata Tower (right)

This was probably one of the most exercise-filled days! We started at Dolmabache palace which comprises the historical Ottoman administration building as well as the residence of the contemporary sultans and their families (Think the White House times four!). I cannot begin to describe the size and magnificence of this edifice: the buildings line the Bosphorus strait and take up 11.2 acres including 285 rooms. It has multiple water gates where foreign dignitaries would be received from their ships. Ironically, the palace is exquisitely decorated only on the side which would be seen by the public; the back side of the palace is constructed of simple rose-colored stucco. Why spend the budget on “unseen” sections when you can really glorify the visible parts. I would love to share every tiny detail with you, but I suggest you check it out on this super credible website, or maybe this one.

The center photo is a mural we stumbled across during our wanderings; it depicts the story of how the Turks used to defend their city. The Turkish navy would hide their ships in the north along the Golden Horn and then tie an iron chain across the strait to prevent foreign navies from entering. The Sultan would then move his ships over dry land via a rolling plank system (as illustrated on the far right of the painting) into the Marmara sea to surprise the enemy. At Dolmabache Palace, the Sultan could sit in a glass viewing room to oversee his ships as they were transported past the palace. It worked for centuries, until modern warfare was discovered.

We spent the evening wandering around Taksim square and the adjacent streets. Taksim square is roughly similar to Time’s Square in NYC and rests at the top of a hill overlooking the surrounding city. It is a bustling urban “park” teeming with all of Istanbul’s people. After grabbing an “Italian” dinner, we walked down a pedestrian-only thoroughfare to check out Galata Tower (right photo). The line was hours long to get inside, so I didn’t get to confirm whether Rapunzel lived there or not…

September 10, 2014: a boat cruise on the Bosphorus Strait prior to flying out to Mykonos, Greece

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