Greece: Athens and the Peloponnese

The story

TRAVEL DIARY

● Thursday 28.07.83

Departure from Milan at 6:30 in the morning towards Venice. At Trieste our last refuelling in Italy and then the Yugoslav border. We stop before Ljubljana for a packed lunch. By 20:00 we're already in Belgrade but we can't find a free hotel, so we have to go on another 15 km; we have dinner at the hotel.

● Friday 29.07.83

We leave at 7:30 from the outskirts of Belgrade, passing Nis, Skopje and Gevgelija. We have lunch, still in Yugoslavia, with very good steaks but in a restaurant with threadbare tablecloths. We set off again on the motorway and even get a fine on the motorway for speeding of 30,000 lire. We cross the Greek border and continue to Evzoni, then Thessaloniki, Katerini, Larissa, Volos and Lamia. We find a hotel in Lamia. During the day we suffered a lot from the heat.

● Saturday 30.07.83

Having left Lamia we stop to visit Thermopylae. In Athens we happened to stop in front of the Hotel Ava in Plaka; we took 3 apartments with kitchen. In the afternoon we visit the wonderful Acropolis and in the evening we take a stroll around Plaka and have dinner in a little restaurant with the classic tables out on the street.

● Sunday 31.07.83

Athens. In the morning we visit the National Museum and in the afternoon we go to Piraeus, which, however, rather disappoints us. We continue with a visit to the Roman temples near the hotel. Evening in Plaka: we do some shopping, the prices are really low!

● Monday 01.08.83

Departure from Athens in the morning at 8, we pass the Corinth canal. We visit Mycenae: the Lion Gate and the cistern.. Then Tripoli and Kalamata. At Agios Andreas some friends are waiting for us at the Hotel Terpsicore, where we too stop to enjoy a bit of beach life for a few days. The sea is crystal clear and the room, with a little balcony over the sea, comfortable and tidy. We left the cars in the courtyard, and from the dining area a lovely pine grove stretches down to the sea. With local friends we visit the Dirou caves near Areopoli and Gythion. One afternoon we spend in the bay west of Koroni, having lunch at the little beach restaurant, while in the evening we visit the Castle of Koroni and have dinner at the port. One morning we visit Kalamata and take the chance to book the ship for the return to Italy.

● Sunday 07.08.83

Departure from Agios Andreas, a visit to Kalamata and Kyparissia. At Olympia, where the corals are very expensive, a visit to the museum of the ruins and the stadium. Pyrgos, Patras, Rio, ferry to Antirrio, Missolonghi, Agrinio, Arta. The stretch from Arta to Ioannina is beautiful, among gorges and woods of centuries-old plane trees and streams. Metsovo: here we found no free hotels and were hosted in the home of locals; in the evening it was very cold.

● Monday 08.08.83

Departure from Metsovo at 7:30. On the pass leading to the valley of Meteora, in a beautiful clearing, we had breakfast with the table and picnic stove. Here horses with foals were grazing. We descended to Kalambaka to visit the extraordinary Meteora. In the afternoon we return to the Ionian coast. At Igoumenitsa, around 5 pm, we found a hotel near the port.

● Tuesday 09.08.83

Having visited Parga, we do some shopping, have a swim and a picnic in an olive grove. On the way back we stopped on the plain just after the marshy pond formed by the rivers Cocytus and Acheron, where the oracle that allowed communication with the dead once stood. We spend the night in Igoumenitsa.

● Wednesday 10.08.83

A day on the beach in a bay 6 km from Igoumenitsa. We had lunch and dinner on the beach. We see lobsters and fish right at the shore and many starfish.

● Thursday 11.08.83

Departure from Igoumenitsa at 6 to catch the 7:30 ferry to Corfu. In Corfu (Kerkyra) we go around the shops, see a parade of marching bands and take a drive around the island. We find a hotel near the port and take a ride in a carriage, then have dinner on the hotel terrace.

● Friday 12.08.83

Departure from Kerkyra on the express ship GREECE at 9 for Brindisi. In Italy at 17:30. We quickly cross Bari, Naples, Frosinone. Here we make a stop; the sea crossing was awful because the ship was packed, the food ran out after a few hours and we were left without eating and unable to go to the car, where we had some biscuits. The result was that my father wanted to go straight home and so, while I sleep, he makes a short stop on the motorway to rest. During the night, however, we are woken by an earthquake.

● Saturday 13.08.83

We visit Siena, have breakfast in a bar in Siena and pull ourselves together. A visit to the square, already set up for the Palio, and the Cathedral. At Volterra we see the alabaster shops and buy some household items. We also visit the Etruscan museum. At Pisa a visit to the Campo dei Miracoli and the leaning tower. In the evening we arrive exhausted in Chiavari, where we sleep.