Greece on a coach tour

Kalee-spera all,

Touring Greece, yay!

Day 1 consisted of meeting the tour guide & other travellers at 6pm for a short talk about the trip - I did an open top bus tour of Athens & quite a bit of solo sightseeing.
Day 2  was a free day or an optional day cruise - I decided to do my own thing & went on a continuation of yesterday's bus tour to Pireaus Port, had lunch there, took photos, then hopped on the bus back to Athens. Good value, €20= for both trips combined & I had time to walk as well.
Day 3, finally we did a highlights tour of Athens & visited the Acropolis with an excellent guide. Then at last we started travelling, first to the Corinth Canal which looked great. Would you believe, you can bungy jump there! Those Kiwis have a lot to answer for, eh. We stayed overnight in Nauplia.
Day 4 we stopped in Epidaurus to visit the open air theatre which still can seat 14,000 spectators, then travelled on for a guided visit to Mycenae. The description says, a city fortress cursed by the gods but rich in gold & warrior kings! In the afternoon we went into the Peloponnese to Sparta. We wandered around the ruins there, the Theatre of Ancient Sparta & the Spartan Acropolis, stayed in Sparta overnight.
Day 5 we drove to the medieval Byzantine citadel of Mystras, visited the ruins & did a fair amount of climbing, clambering up to the castle then wound our way down again. Lots to see there, enjoyed the hiking, enjoyed seeing the Byzantine style of architecture with the domes. In the arvo on to Olympia for a leisurely dinner & overnight, with pool!
Day 6 was an optional tour of Olympia, where the athletes of antiquity performed in honour of the king of deities, so the advertising said, lol. I chose not to do that & wandered around the town instead with a few of the others. Arvo was on the Patras Port, again interesting to look around. Followed the coast road through fishing villages, one was Nafpaktos which I liked so photos on fb. We crossed the 'spectacular Rionantirion Bridge' & stayed overnight in Delphi. Another pool!
Day 7 we had a guided tour of the archeological site of Delphi which was great. Also went through the Museum, photos on fb. After that it was a long day driving through Lamia, Trikala in Thessaly to overnight in Kalambaka, another pool but much too cold for me. Where it rained, stormed, thundered, & lighteninged just as some of us were going to go for a walk after dinner. So now I'm sitting in the lobby writing my blog. Aren't you all so lucky?

I am enjoying the tour & the varied company. Some nice people on this trip. Sadly not my room share but I'm mostly in the room just to sleep so that's okay. Tomorrow is Day 8, another instalment to come. Wifi has again been a bit dodgy at some of the hotels which is why I'm sitting in the lobby. It's still raining so I guess no walking tonight.

I hope you're all well & happy.

Andio!

Yay! Work got better!

It's 31st January. I'm hoping to write at least one post a month this year. Just made it for January, eh!

Amazingly, after my disappointment in my last post about my part-time hours, I was offered a permanent full-time position at the Uni. At last! Since 1st January I have been working full-time. Fantastic! Now I can get on with my travel plans.

So, my flights are booked from Brisbane to Abu Dhabi, stay 2 nights with Dan, then on to Athens, hopefully for another 2 nights to sightsee. Then I'll get an overnight ferry to Italy & start wandering around. I have places I want to go in Italy, Lake Orta & Assisi for sure. I'll travel by train & local buses most of the time & stay in hostels. I might take a side trip, not sure yet. I eventually head back to Athens in time for a 10 day coach tour of Greece continuing with a 5 day cruise around some of the Greek Islands including a brief stop in Kusadasi in Turkey. It all sounds marvellous. I've paid my flight & I've 2/3 paid on the Grecian tours. Nearly there!

Half the fun is in the planning, lol.

I'm missing all my entertainment though. No concerts, shows, outings, so sad. But it's the only way to save. I will go to one concert though. One of our students is performing in 'Spring Romance' & he suggested I go to hear him, so I will. He is a baritone & has recently realised he can also sing tenor., gives him a much greater range. This will be his first tenor role. I'm looking forward to that.

So all is sounding good, looking promising, & I'm optimistic. Oh, I also found a great place to live but I'll relate that next post. Ciao!

Possibilities abound!

Work can take a running jump, it's just a job, no more jumping through hoops.

There, it's time to be proactive. So I'm now looking for a temporary place to live, suitable for about 18 months. Then I may be able to consider longer term, I hope. Thanks to my v handy daughter there's a possibility coming up in a couple of weeks, so I'm hoping.

I've also started planning my next overseas trip for July/August next year which is exciting. I want to do a pilgrimage through Umbria in Italy along The Way of St Francis finishing in Assisi. There are two choices; the official accredited pilgrimage of 13 days, about 20 or more kilometres each day, maybe alone for long stretches each day, staying in basic refuges along the way & carrying everything in a backpack, OR, join a shorter, possibly more convivial, organised tour of 8 days, covering 15-20 k's each day, staying in B&B's or hotels, & my luggage would be transported each day, only need to carry my daily needs. Either way, I will have to do a lot of training. This pilgrimage is over mountains & foothills! Quite a challenge. Then there's a continuation option of 6 days walking to Rome - I'm not sure about that. Again over mountains for a couple of days & then several days flat terrain. Choices - I'm thinking.

Anyway, after Italy I'm considering Greece & maybe Turkey. Also hoping to stop along the flight at Abu Dhabi & investigate Oman. I still want to go to Egypt but that'll depend on fighting & politics which also may affect visiting Turkey. I will be constrained by finance, of course, but it'll be fun sorting out the possibilities. Italy, Greece & Abu Dhabi are definite.

Never forget - life is interesting! If you land in a rut, lift yourself out of it.