Greece travel blog
G’day all and welcome to the Midlife Crisis Odyssey Podcast, where not all who wander are lost, but some of us definitely are. The Olympic Games are one of those things that make me feel like a kid again. Every four years it’s a two week festival of sport that has me enthralled. Consequently, when I arrived in Athens, I was keen to visit the Panathenaic Stadium to soak up a little Olympic History. If you would like to see…
G’day all and welcome to the Midlife Crisis Odyssey Podcast, where not all who wander are lost, but some of us definitely are. Rising majestically from the centre of old Athens, the Acropolis mesa supports a breathtaking collection of ancient structures. Come and investigate the ruins and myths of this amazing place. If you would like to see the post for this podcast, you can find it here If you liked this podcast, you may also like Podcast Episode 3….
G’day all and welcome to the Midlife Crisis Odyssey Podcast, where not all who wander are lost, but some of us definitely are. The ancient Minoans hosted sporting events long before the Olympic Games began, which included the amazing spectacle of bull leaping. Join me as I travel across Crete, tracing the history of this breath-takingly dangerous sport. If you would like to see the post for this podcast you can find it here
I had really enjoyed exploring Crete and Athens, but it was time to be leaving Greece. I decided to head north-west into the Balkans’ nation of Albania. I had been having dramas with booking flights online – a baffling and frustrating situation that the banks could not explain nor fix – so when my card was once again declined when I tried to buy a ticket to Tirana I wasn’t surprised. I hadn’t taken a flight for a while so…
Athens Athens’ tourism revolves around its ancient past, and I spent my first week in the city visiting amazing historic sites. However there was something else I was also keen to see; a lesser known attraction preserving some more recent historic artefacts. Engineer and real estate magnate Theodore Charagionis had been a car nut since he was a kid, and not being short of a few drachmas, started collecting automobiles. Before too long his stable got so big it could…
Ancient Athens Part IV Athens is an amazing place, where something ancient seems to be hiding around every corner. If you are based in the middle of the city, you have a bunch of historic sites all within walking distance. After having visited the Acropolis and the Panathenaic Stadium, I headed off on the hoof to discover more of ancient Athens. A short walk east of the Acropolis brings you to Hadrian’s Arch; the Hadrian in question being Roman Emperor…
Ancient Athens Part III There are handful of things that make me feel like a kid again. Going to the beach, riding a pushbike, and the Australian Football League Grand Final all transport me back to the happy, carefree days of my childhood. There’s one other event that also turns me back into a frothing, excited kid, and that’s the Olympics. I love ’em. Every four years it’s a two week festival of sport that has me enthralled, even though…
Ancient Athens Part II After a fascinating visit to the Acropolis Museum, it was time to check out the Acropolis itself. Rising majestically from the centre of Old Athens, the Acropolis mesa supports an extraordinary collection of ancient structures. After entering the Acropolis precinct from the south-east gate, the first site you come across is associated with everyone’s favourite God, Dionysis. Dion was the God of Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll, and his cult gave rise to the grand…
Ancient Athens, Part I Athens is a modern, vibrant city of over three million people. Clustered between the mountains and the shores of the Aegean, it is one of the most densely populated cities in Europe. It is also the ancient heart of the Greek Empire, the birthplace of democracy, and a bloody interesting place to spend a couple of weeks. I grew up in Melbourne, which, at least when I was a kid, had the second biggest Greek population…
I decided to take the ferry to Athens. It’s more expensive than a flight, takes all night, and no-one chooses it unless they are taking a car with them, but I like ferries so I bloody-well booked it anyway. I arrived at Heraklion Port on a dark, cold and drizzly evening. After avoiding being run over by one or more of the vehicles powering across the dock and disappearing into the gaping mouth of the Kriti I, I boarded and…