Close to the gods: Delphi

One of the most impressive historical sites I have ever seen are the ruins of Delphi in Greece. If you had to pinpoint one obvious thing about the Ancient Greeks that you can still see nowadays, it'd be that they knew where to build their temples. As a matter of fact, Delphi is located on a cliff that overlooks a beautiful valley of cypresses and olive trees, where the green mountains only complement the blueness of the sky. It is so inspirational that it's easy to understand why the ancients believed that this place had a special energy and significance.

An ancient column among the ruins

Delphi was the most famous oracle in the ancient world and its location was thought to be the centre of the world. The priestess, known as pythia, intoxicacated by vapours coming from an opening in the earth, would give prophecies to the visitors of the shrine, which had to be translated into beautiful hexameters that were notoriously ambiguous. Many famous people from the ancient times visited the oracle, including Alexander the Great and the Roman emperor Hadrian.

The entrance to the archeological park (12 €, including the museum) gives you the possibility to explore everything. It took me several hours to see Delphi, so my advice is not to come in a rush. I think this place deserves to be seen at a slow pace. Apart from the shrine dedicated to Apollo, you can admire the so called "treasuries", donated by the city states of ancient Greece (like Thebes or Athens), plus the theatre and the stadium, where you can still see the starting blocks. Here, every four years, the most famous athletes competed in the Pythian games, one of the four Panhellenic games. 

The ruins of Delphi

One of the most beautiful ruins in Delphi is located in a separated area along the road to Arachova and you might miss it if you visit Delphi too quickly. It is the Sanctuary of Athena with its famous tholos (rotunda), a beautiful structure comprising 20 columns on a three-stepped podium. Three of the columns were re-erected in the 1940s to give you an idea of how the temple looked like. It was really worth the detour from the main archeological site to see it.

The sanctuary of Athena

A great thing about Delphi is that there is a direct bus from Athens that takes you there in about 3 hours. Unfortunately, if like me you plan to travel to Athens, Delphi and then Meteora further north with public buses, you'll need plenty of patience. Between Delphi and Meteora you'll have to change bus 4 times (Delphi - Anfissa - Lamia - Trikala - Kalambaka)! Unlike other parts of the Balkans, there were no private minivans to avoid this inconvenient route and no hostels in Delphi. Because of this, not many backpackers add it to their list, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

A detail of the sanctuary of Athena

Delphi is only a small village, with the ruins at walking distance. Plenty of tourists visit it every day, including many tour buses. The archelogical site and the museum are busy, apart from the first hours of the morning and in the evening. After about 6 in the evening, however, the village becomes very quiet. 

I took the unusual decision to spend the night in Delphi, because I enjoy ruins and because so many hours on the bus left me a tight schedule. No one bothers you if you take a walk along its narrow streets and if you stop to admire the breathtaking view of the valley.

View from Delphi

Touching the sky: the monasteries of Meteora

Meteora has a place in every tourist brochure of mainland Greece, and for a reason. These huge monolithic pillars and the surrounding hills, located in the region of Thessaly in central Greece, were definitely worth the long hours I spent on the buses to reach them (3 hours from Thessaloniki and 6+ onwards to Delphi).

The landscape looks like that of an old-fashioned videogame, with a character jumping on top of a mushroom. On the background there are mountains that I kept on thinking they couldn't exist in the real world. The atmosphere is surreal, magnetic, almost spiritual. Needless to say, it is one of  my favourite places in Greece.

View of Meteora

What I love about Southern Europe

It's not a mystery that I love southern Europe. With this post, I just want to share the reasons why, and post some more pictures of four really special countries that have a place in my heart: Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Among the countries in Southern Europe that I haven't visited, Croatia, Montenegro and Malta are at the top of my list, and I might be able to visit some of them this year.

Greece

The blinding white of the marble of the temples and of the whitewashed houses in the islands are set against the blue sky of the even bluer sea: Greece is a country in white and blue, like its flag. And then of course how not to mention its incredible history, among the reasons that make Greece one of my favourite European countries? In Greece you're constantly walking in places whose history goes so far back that they are shrouded in legend: Knossos and the minotaur, the Acropolis and the first philosophers, but also the fascinating history of Atlantis, who many historians believe to be the enchanting island of Santorini. 

The Parthenon

This soldier in his strange attire, mounting the guard in front of the Parliament building in Athens, must have been very hot, given that there were almost 40° that day. One thing that I love about Greece is that at times it feels very familiar - Greece is Italy's "cousin" after all, as Greek people have told me endless times - and at other times it feels unfamiliar, almost exotic: the different alphabet and that incomprehensible but beautiful language, the culture that mixes Western and Ottoman, and the distinctive food.




Changing of the guard in Athens

It's really impossible not to fall in love with the relaxed pace of life of this Mediterranean country, especially in the islands: those whitewashed houses with colourful doors and stone pathways, the pots of flowers on display and the cats languidly brushing against them, everything there seems to be made to please the eye.




The beautiful village of Oia in Santorini

Spain

The mudejar architecture of Andalucía, the loudness of young people eating tapas in a bar while sipping their clara or a vermut, the vitality of its cities with cutting-edge contemporary art, I love this country so much that I decided to move here from Italy last July. I've visited Madrid and Toledo in the centre, Andalucía in the south, Barcelona and several towns in Catalonia, not to mention Zaragoza halfway between there and Madrid, but there is a lot more to see.  

The Alcázar in Seville, Andalucia

On my list of places that I still haven't visited in Spain but that are on my list I can mention Granada, Valencia, the Basque Country and Costa Brava. I'm sure that each one will have its own cultural richness, its own signature food, and magnificent landscapes to be enjoyed during sunny days.

Detail of the cathedral in Tarragona

The endless struggle between those whose love Barcelona and those who prefer Madrid will never end. Both cities have plenty to offer, they are beautiful, with plenty of sightseeing and renowned museums, with thousands of bars and little restaurants to try. What's more, even though we are speaking of bit cities, people are friendly, food is good, and the atmosphere is laid back.

View of Barcelona from Tibidabo

Italy

Being such a variegated country, with snow-capped mountains, great beaches, cities full of art and enchanting villages, even a person who spent most of her life in Italy has a lot to discover. Every new area explored has its own cuisine, its own history and traditions, its own dialect and regional pride. My favourite region is perhaps Tuscany: the countryside around Siena and the gracious dome in Florence, and the simplicity but richness of its cuisine are just two reasons that make me love this region of Italy.  Whenever I am in Tuscany - I have been four times I think - I have the feeling that everything is heart-felt, made with great care and expertise, not to mention imbued with history.





Statue of Garibaldi in Pisa

The north of Italy, foggy and cold in the winter, with elegant towns such as Verona or Mantova, not to mention the peaceful beauty of the lakes (Lake Maggiore is maybe my favourite), sets a harsh contrast to the chaos of the south, passionate, loud and enticing as it is. It almost seems impossible that the Amalfi Coast and Sicily are in the same country as Lake Como!  




The countryside near Padua

 

In Italian culture it is important to savour one's meals with friends or family, and to simply relax without getting too stressed. And of course art runs in our veins: I just love the amount of art and culture that I can absorb during a trip to a random Italian town.



Vatican Museums, Rome

Portugal

A bit cranky, relegated to the last bit of land before the Atlantic Ocean, Portugal is too often skipped in European itineraries, but it's a really beautiful country. Overwhelmed by the awareness of a great past and an uncertain present, Portugal has saudade written all over it. By simply walking the streets of Lisbon or by reading the poems of Pessoa, you actually perceive this feeling of longing and irreparable loss, felt in the melancholy of the fado.






An old tram in Porto

It is a pleasure to sit outside, enjoy the sun and order a plate of sardines or bacalhao, while having a chat with the friendly locals. Portugal is cheap, beautiful,  and what's more important still not overtly touristic. Here you don't have to bother about touts or being ripped off, but you can enjoy the authenticity of the place you're visting, the good weather, and the port wine of course!



Lisboa and its famous bridge

A street in Alfama, Lisbon

My Best Unexpected Travel Moments of 2013

So you have been reading about my travel experiences for a while here on my blog. To greet the New Year, I'd like to write a post about the unexpected travel moments of 2013.

1) Seeing a Bollywood movie being filmed in Santorini

 

Last June I was in the beautiful island of Santorini. While I was walking down a street in Fira, the main town, I saw a group of Indian people blocking the street. I realized almost immediately that they were filming a movie, as two young actors were standing in front of one of the most famous panoramic points of the island, kissing and hugging, while a man was filming them. A couple of assistants were making sure that nobody could get too close, and a slightly cheesy Hindi song was playing in the background.

Beautiful Santorini

I stopped to watch for a while, and I quickly realized that I had already seen that actor somewhere, so I asked a girl if the protagonists were famous. She told me that they were both very famous and she told me their names: Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif. I had a closer look at him, and suddenly I remembered him from a Hindi movie where he plays emperor Akhbar! I managed to take this shot of the leading actor, before an assistant told me that pictures were not permitted.

The movie they were filming is called "Bang Bang", and it's going to be a spy story to be released in 2014. I have been to movie sets before (I live in Venice, remember?), but this was a lot smaller. In Venice, when they are filming a movie, they close all the area and you have to find another way to reach your destination. Security is so tight that you can barely see the actors. In this case, the actors were very close and you could totally go and speak to one of them during a break. As a matter of fact, a girl did. She was very excited and kept saying that she couldn't believe her luck. Even though I didn't see any Bollywood dance (how cool would that be?), I really enjoyed the experience, and now I have this quirky travelling moment under my belt.
 

Bang bang

 

 

2) Missing a bus just to catch a ride 

 

During my short trip to Slovenia last summer I hiked to Savica Waterfall from Lake Bohinj. Because I was doing everything with public transport, I had only two buses back to the place where I was staying, one at 16.30 and another at 18.30. While I was still hiking my way up to the waterfall (there are 20-30 minutes of steps to reach it), I realized that I would never catch the first bus, as it was already four. I would have to wait for almost two hours to take the next bus, and there wasn't much to do in the area. I thought I would just sit somewhere, order a coffee and read a book, when I met a group of three young men speaking Spanish.

The Waterfall

 

It turned out that two of them were from Colombia, and the third was in fact Slovenian. Igor, the Slovenian guy, was a treasure trove of information about his country. They had a car, so they took me back to Lake Bohinj, where we all stopped for a beer. I learned a lot about Slovenia: its history, its troubled relationship with Italy, and its struggle to preserve all the natural beauty it has. Igor also took us to have coffee and cake in the most famous cake shop in Bled. The four of us also visited Bled castle together, and at the end of the day they accompanied me back to my hostel, as I was a bit tired after the long hike. It was an unexpected turn of my day, so far dedicated to the contemplation of nature and to silence. Who said that it's more difficult to make friends while backpacking Europe?

 

 

3)  Getting lost in Istanbul at night

 

Istanbul is not considered a particularly unsafe town, but getting lost in a new city is always scary. Moreover, I was slightly out of my comfort zone, in a country whose culture is not thoroughly European and where the native language is not one that I know. I was walking back from the European side of Istanbul, after a visit to the Galata Tower and Beyoğlu area.
 

Galata Tower by night

Galata Tower by day

Somehow, I got lost! Finally, after walking down unfamiliar alleys, I reached a bridge. I thought it was the Galata Bridge, because I could see a mosque with its grey minarets on the other side of the bridge, and I thought it was the New Mosque. I  had crossed the Galata Bridge on my way to the European side just a few hours before. It was already dark, around 10.30 in the evening, and it took me a while to realize that I was on the wrong bridge! Moreover, somebody had pointed out the area past that second bridge as unsafe. I wondered if that was true. I decided to make my way back and cross the Golden Horn on the bridge I knew already. There was nobody around to ask for directions, only an old lady. Of course, she didn't speak English. The only thing she could do was pointing the Galata Bridge.

Fishing at the Galata Bridge

It was to my right, but how far it looked! The streets were dim, the sidewalks all dilapidated, there was nobody around, and I was scared. What if I ended up in an unsafe part of the city? After all, Istanbul is big. In the end, nobody harassed me, nothing happened to me and, after A LONG time of walking, I made it to the tram stop in Karaköy. I was helped by a couple of concierges along the way. No catcalls, no shady characters, no dangers along the way. This taught me that there is always a silver lining, even when things are going wrong. 

I hope to have more unexpected travel moments in 2014. Last year, between writing a PhD dissertation and enjoying my new apartment in Venice, I travelled, but not as much as I had hoped for. My trip to India vanished and I'm stull looking for a travel companion to go to Morocco. These are two countries I've been wanting to visit for a while now. I hope to find a way to visit one of these two in the near future...
 

Athens (second part)



So what do you do in Athens once you have seen the Acropolis? Well, first of all there are tons of other ruins all around it, usually in very scenic locations, among pines or with beautiful vistas over the city.

View of the Acropolis from the Agora

Athens (first part)

When I was planning this trip I was not sure if going to Athens was a good or a bad idea. It was going to be a hassle to get there from the Cycladic islands, and everybody was telling me that Athens is nothing special: too much traffic and pollution, horribly hot and not many sights. Except for the Acropolis. About that I was told amazing things, and I must admit that it didn't fail to meet my expectations.
 

One of my favourite shots of the Parthenon

Battling with the crowds in Santorini



Santorini is very touristic. While in early June when I visited Crete was quiet, Santorini was already full of tour groups.  



Four cruises at the same time in Santorini

Is it possible to avoid the hordes of tourists getting off the cruise ships for the day? Well, there is nothing to do about Thira, it will always be crowded, and the atmospheric village of Oia at sunset and dinner time is also a nightmare. In spite of that, there are a few things you can do to make your stay less exasperating.



Greek masks for sell in Fira



First of all, you can try to find accommodation outside of Fira and Oia in order to discover the quiet corners of the island. My accommodation was in a hostel/B&B called Caveland,  located in the quiet yet charming village of Karterados. Caveland is a former winery dating back to the 18th century, and the rooms and dormitories are the cells where the wine was kept. That is why the rooms look like caves. There is even a volcanic rock that springs out of the bathtub. I loved  that place! For only 17€ per night I got a super nice room (I was the only one in the dormitory!), free breakfast and wi-fi, swimming pool, and a big shaded courtyard to relax or read a book. They also have double rooms with either shared or ensuite bathrooms.

The cosy double room with shared bathroom next to my dormitory

 

Bath tub, Caveland, Santorini

What you can get for 17€ in Santorini

A corner of the courtyard

 

The only drawback is that Karterados is 20-25 minutes walking from the main town in Santorini, Fira. You can take one of the buses that pass through Karterados  en route to different areas of the island (€1,50-€1,80), although they are not very frequent. In alternative, ask for a taxi, or do as I did: walk! Of course you can also rent a bike, or a moped. There are yoga classes available at Caveland too, which I find pretty cool. Overall, Caveland is a really good deal, and it allows you to see a different part of the island.

The village of Karterados is somehow less touristy, the houses are more spaced out, and life runs quiet. If you are not looking for a luxury room overlooking the caldera this is the place for you. I'm sure there are more of these spots on the island, you just have to find them.

 

Karterados

A church in quiet Karterados
 

Another thing you can do is to go to Oia in the early afternoon or even in the morning to explore its cobbled streets and its vistas when there aren't many people. Also enjoy the sunset from there of course. I can't lie: the sunset in Oia was the most beautiful I've ever seen, but it wasn't the experience I had expected. Oia gets packed with people, to the point that every cobbled street with a view of the descending arch of the sun, and every bar or restaurant with a sea view was full of people waiting with their camera in hand. This began 2 or even 3 hours before the actual sunset.



Crowded sunset in Oia

 

Because I was too restless to sit down and wait in the same spot for two hours, when the sunset started I always had someone's head in front of my camera lenses and it was really hard to take nice shots. Do you think that people step aside just for a moment to let you take a good picture? Not at all.



 

Sunset in Santorini

Finally a good shot!

In summary, if you are in Santorini do enjoy the sunset in Oia, but make sure to go to there at another time of the day too. If you have more days, think about changing the location for your second sunset: I'm sure that there are other beautiful and less crowded spots where you can see it.

The sheer beauty of Santorini

Santorini has that kind of beauty that blinds you: everything is photogenic, from the blue domes of the characteristic churches  to the flowers hanging from the balconies, from the omnipresent trellises to the churches with multiple bells, not to mention the white-washed houses crammed one against the other. These white "cubist houses" overhanging an impossibly blue sea are the trademark of the Greek islands. Even though images of Santorini are on every poster advertising holidays in Greece, to wander its cobbled streets that endlessly go uphill and downhill offering breath-taking vistas in every corner is quite another thing.

Santorini

Palace of Knossos -- a ruins-geek galore

Visiting Knossos was the highlight of my trip to Crete: I had dreamed about visiting the palace of King Minos since I don't remember when. Suspended between legend and history, this is where the king of the Minoans was said to keep the Minotaur, a monster half human and half bull. It was killed by Theseus in the myth, with the help of the king's daughter, Ariadne, who had a crush on him. It is possible that the maze-like structure of the palace led to the creation of the myth of the labyrinth, built by Daedalus for King Minos, who also imprisoned the architect so he would not reveal its secrets.
 

Ruins of Knossos

Chania and Heraklion: a mixed heritage.

Chania

Chances are that you have never heard of Chania. It is a quaint little town, worth at least a couple of hours of your time if you are in the west of Crete. There are cheap Ryanair flights from many European destinations: I paid mine only 20€! Chania has a harbour built by the Venetians in the 14th century, complete with breakwater, fortresses, bastions now half in ruins, and a pretty lighthouse. You can walk all around the area, and admire the port, then relax and look at the blue sea.

The lighthouse in Chania

 

Bastion in Chania





While I was wandering around the harbour area, I noticed a rose-domed construction with several smaller domes at its sides that looked rather incongruous. A free painting exhibition was being held there, but  my guidebook said that the building used to be a mosque, the Mosque of the Janissaries to be precise. Now, if you have been to Istanbul you will maybe remember who the Janissaries were: soldiers of the Ottoman Empire, originally used as bodyguards for the sultan and later stationed in the occupied territories to make sure that the Ottoman laws were enforced. As a matter fact, Crete was under Turkish rule from half of the seventeenth century until 1898.

 



The waterfront of Chania with the mosque



The streets around the harbour are full of touristy restaurants and shops with the kind of souvenirs that you can find in any seaside resort: shells, model ships, and various other knick-knacks. More interesting, in my opinion, are the streets further away from the harbour, with virtually no tourists in sight. The church of Aghios Nikolaos, tucked in a lateral square, particularly surprised me, because it has both a clock tower and a minaret! Built in 1320 by Dominican monks as part of a monastery, it was converted into the main mosque of the town when the Turks occupied Greece, hence the minaret. Finally, in 1918 it was reconverted and it is now a Greek orthodox church dedicated to the protector of sailors.

 

Church of Agios Nikolaos

It was also the first time that I entered a Greek orthodox church. They are usually darker than Catholic churches, with golden ornaments and candles in a sandbox (we usually have individual metal sockets in Italian churches).

Candles in a sandbox, Santorini

As you can see from the pictures, it was cloudy and spitting on and off in Chania the day I visited. I woke up late because I had a late night with some couchsurfers and their friends, plus I stopped for a longish breakfast with a lovely Polish couple I had met. I wished I had checked off more items from my list in Chania, but soon it was time to catch my bus to Heraklion, for the second leg of my trip.

Heraklion

After crossing all the island in length with the bus (€13,80, 2h 45min), I finally arrived in Heraklion (Heracles' city). Guidebooks and Cretans alike will tell you that there is nothing special about this town, the biggest of the island. They will direct you to beaches and other smaller towns in the area, instead. As I wandered around the streets of Heraklion, however, I discovered a pleasant town with a well-groomed seafront, squares with nice cafés and sophisticated restaurants, and some interesting monuments documenting the past of the island.

 

Harbour, Heraklion
 

Looking out at the sea from the fortifications

Unfortunately, when I was there both the Archeological Museum and the Historical museum where closed, and the Koulés, which is the square fortress you see at the end of the promenade in the pictures, was under restoration. This fortress, also called Rocca al Mare, was built by the Venetians in the early 13th century to defend the city, then part of the Serenissima. It is built in that kind of architectural style that you can see in other "Venetian" towns in the Adriatic and in the Mediterranean Sea, with the lion of St. Mark clearly visible. In Heraklion there are many other remainders of the Serenissima, for instance the Morosini Fountain, so called after an important  17th-century Captain-General of the Venetian army who during the siege of Candia (the Venetian name of the town) managed to keep the city for 23 years from the Turkish invasion. He later became doge of Venice, and incidentally he is the one who bombed the Parthenon and called it "a good shot".

Morosini Fountain
 

In spite of past dominations, Heraklion maintains its own cultural identity: it is a very Greek and Cretan town. Here I had the best meal of my Greek trip, and I listened to traditional Cretan music in a local taverna with my couchsurfer and his friends.

The appeal of Heraklion lies nonetheless in the fact that it is so close to the ruins of Knossos palace. Wait for it in my next post!

Hiking the Samaria Gorge in Crete

Crete is not only about beaches: in the interior of the island there are in facts mountains that, even though they might not be the Himalayas, offer some good opportunities for hiking trips. They say that one of the experiences not to be missed in Crete is to hike the Samaria Gorge, which is the longest in Europe. Could I miss this opportunity? Certainly not, so I decided to do my first real hike, as my plane landed in Chania, the perfect base for the excursion.



Mountains in Crete