Hello Johannesburg

Friday, 13 April and Saturday, 14 April

We're home at last! Travelling to Greece has been an amazing experience. There are some things I won't miss (Greek toilets that mostly can't take toilet paper, taxi drivers who drive like hooligans and butterless bread) And there are many things that I will miss a lot, like the people, buzzy and historic Athens, the gorgeous scenery and the relaxed feel of the islands. All in all, the good definitely outweighed the bad :) Anyway, let me tell you about yesterday:

We woke up in Athen's Central Hotel and went for breakfast in their dining room. It was a buffet and tasted delicious. After breakfast we went to the reception and asked them to phone a taxi for us.

Breakfast

The taxi driver was a woman and she took us to Lycabettus hill, which is the highest hill in Athens. You can see the whole city from there and it even overlooks the Acropolis. We bought a two-way ticket for the funicular to the top and then realized that it was only going again in 25 minutes. We had to be book out of the hotel by 1 o clock, so we didn't have much time. We decided to be calm about it, though, and went for a walk in the gardens on the hill. We saw lots of wild flowers, like poppies and even met a man who had discovered over 500 species of wild flowers in the area.

Walking in the garden

Red poppies (I was playing with the special effects on dad's camera)

Then we got on the funicular and took it to the top of the hill (it was inside a tunnel the whole way) Lycabettus hill is incredible! The view is amazing- they say on a clear day you can see an island that is over 20km's away. It wasn't that clear, but we did see the sea. It was Good Friday for the Greek Orthodox church. They had all the flags halfmast (which they do when somebody dies) and church bells were chiming across the city the whole day. There is a church with a bell on the top of the hill and occasionally that bell would take up the duty of ringing. Unfortunately, it started chiming when we were up on the hill and, boy, was it loud! When the time came for us to leave, we took the funicular back down and then went to hail a taxi. We managed fairly easily and went back to the hotel to finish packing.

Funicular

View from the hill (Acropolis in top right corner)

We checked out, left our bags in reception and went to have lunch. We ate at a little street cafe to soak up our last bit of Athens atmosphere. Everyone agreed that we should share a pizza and a plate of chips. It was really yummy!

A street in Athens

Lunch

Then we went back to the hotel where our transfer was waiting. They had 2 taxis for us, so we had to split up (mom and me together and dad and Ash together) When we got to the airport, Nellie (the lady from Fantasy Travel who had picked us up from the airport on Thursday) was waiting for us. She helped us check in and then we said goodbye.

We went through security and Ashlyn set off the metal detector so she had to be searched (afterwards she told me that it wasn't that bad) We sat in the waiting room until it was time to board. On the plane, Ash and I entertained ourselves by playing backgammon (mom & dad bought her a mini magnetic one), reading and listening to music. They brought us dinner and I chose the mild chicken curry. The whole meal is one of the best aeroplane meals I've had: the curry was yummy, the veggie salad was very nice and the pudding--a sort of cream filled pasty with chocolate on top--was delicious!

We landed in Dubai after about 6 hours of flying. Then we had to get on the airport shuttle bus and drive a further 15 minutes (yes- that's how big the airport is!) to reach the terminal building. Once we had gone through all the legalities, dad took us to the lounge which happened to be on the other side of the airport and so took us almost 20 minutes to reach. It was worth it though, because we had to wait about 7 hours until we could board the plane to Joburg. I blogged, ate some of the buffet, brushed my teeth and then slept on one of the couches. I managed to nab about 3 hours sleep before mom woke me up.

Blogging in the lounge

We boarded the next plane without a hitch and were soon taking off. The flight was from 5:00 and we landed in Joburg at 11:15. I spent the whole time watching movies: We Bought a Zoo, Pirates of the Caribbean (number 1) and Hugo. They gave us breakfast and I chose the mushroom omelet. In total, from the time we arrived at Athens airport to the time we landed at OR Tambo, we spent about 22 hours getting home!

So, I guess this brings us to the end of my blog about Greece. Thank you to everyone who read my blog- hopefully there will be some more holidays to write about in the future!

Greece has been amazing!

Your faithful blogger :)

Athens Revisited

Thursday, 12 April

We woke up with the sun shining on our last day in Paros. I wrote yesterday's blog as soon as I got up and when mom and dad woke, they made us some tea. We ate a lovely breakfast of coco pops (Ashlyn had to ration them out for everybody) and French toast (my idea!) I packed my bag while mom and dad went to Paroikia to do some last minute souvenir shopping and sort out some other things.

When they came back they asked us whether we wanted to go to the beach or relax in the apartment. We decided on the latter and so I continued reading a bit and they finished packing. Lunch was all about finishing the leftovers, but it still tasted really good! We had a pasta salad and bread. After lunch Ash and I went exploring and mom and dad lounged on the patio.

Lunch

Kostas arrived to help us transport our bags to the airport. We drove our last bit of road on Paros :( and soon arrived at the really small airport- it has only has one runway. Our flight from Paros to Athens was the nicest flight I've ever had! The aeroplane was small and there was no queue for checking in. While we waited for the plane to arrive, I bought a box of those chocolate filled wafer tubes. Me and Ash shared them and they kept us busy. I also read. The plane arrived and we went through border control. Then we sat in the waiting area outside and watched them unload and load the aeroplane. It was so charming :)

Outside waiting area- watching them load the plane

We climbed into the plane and I even got to sit in my own row (with a window seat) because nobody was sitting there! It is only about a 30 minute flight to Athens and it was lovely flying over the islands. There was only one air hostess and she did everything: announcements, safety demonstrations and even pulled an apron over her clothes to serve us drinks! I had an orange juice and a packet of salted nuts. Ash and I were the only people given a raisin 'brioche' (bread) I think it was because we were the only children on the flight. Later on she even came and gave us another one!

Tiny aeroplane

View from the plane

Soon we descended, landed and went to get our baggage. It took really quick because our aeroplane was so small. We had a hotel transfer and met the people who would be taking us. There were two women and they also phoned another man in his taxi to help transport. Mom and I went with the girls in one car and dad and Ash went in the other. We chatted all the way there: about our holiday, Greece, South Africa, the economy etc. They were so sweet. We arrived at Central Athens Hotel, checked in and then went up to our rooms.

Central Hotel

We have a family room, which actually has 2 rooms on the end of a corridor, but you can close a door to the passageway and make it a combined suite. I refreshed myself in the shower and then we went for dinner.

Our room

We walked down a few streets, admired the Acropolis again and browsed in some shops. Soon we reached a cute looking restaurant with a nice menu and decided to eat there. The interior was warm and cozy, with a wooded roof and stone walls. We sat down and ordered our drinks. Ash ordered a Sprite and I ordered an orange juice so we mixed them together to make fizzy orange juice! We had a Cretan 'salad' for starters (it was really a piece of bread with tomato and feta piled on top- more like a bruschetta) It tasted really nice. For main, I had lamb chops and chips. They were the best lamb chops I've ever tasted! I convinced Ashlyn to share a chocolate pie with me (she didn't need much convincing :) It was like a really moist chocolate cake. Yum! We went back to the hotel where me and Ash got into bed but stayed awake and chatted awhile before falling asleep.

Cretan Salad

Lamb chops

Sharing out the chocolate pie!

Our 9th Greek island

Wednesday, 11 April

This morning, while I was still in bed, everybody in my class started school! Mom and dad decided to take us out of school for three days so I begin next week Monday. The only problem with missing school is that you have to catch up all the work :( Luckily my friend, Rebecca, is writing down all the work I miss.

I read in bed for a long time, until Ash came and asked me if I would like to feed Hurki with her. We put down the bread in a little pile, but he wouldn't eat it (mom thinks that somebody else fed him first) After standing there, hoping he would eat, we gave up. We decided that, unlike Hurki, we were hungry and so went inside and had breakfast. Dad had made fruit salad, which we ate with really thick Greek yogurt (Oma would love it!) I also had some toast.

The weather was much better: sunny with a cool breeze. We could hardly believe this was the same island as yesterday! Everyone was very glad because we wanted to go over to Anti-Paros (the island right next to Paros) and explore. We got into the car and drove down to the tiny port, where you catch a ferry across. We were taking the car on with us, so dad had to reverse it onto the boat. There was a very agitated director, who was telling us where to park. Once we had parked, Ash decided to stay in the car, but mom, dad and me went out onto the balcony on the side. It is only about 10 minutes across and I really enjoyed the ride. We reached the island and managed to drive off without any difficulty.

Ferry

Anti-Paros is a very pretty island. We drove down the road until we reached a secluded beach and there we stayed for about two hours. Ashlyn played in the puddles, Mom and Dad relaxed in between the sand dunes and I read. I also played with Ash a bit. We decided to eat some lunch because we were peckish. This morning dad had made chicken rolls. They contained the leftover chicken from my pie, rosa tomatoes, cucumber and tzatziki. They were so good! We stayed another 20 minutes after lunch because we were all really enjoying the beach.

Antiparos

Walking down to the beach

Me reading on the seat I constructed from sand

Ash playing in puddles

Chicken rolls

Then we drove up to the Cave of Antiparos. The guidebook says it is amazing, with breathtaking stalactites and stalagmites. When we got there it was closed! A sign said it was open until 3 o clock and we arrived at about 3:30. We were all so disappointed. There was only a tiny wall separating us from the cave so mom hopped over, just to go see what we were missing. She could only see a tiny part because you had to go down into the cave by stairs and they were also closed. Me and Ash also went over to have a look.

Closed :(

The rebel!

Steps down into the cave

We were all sad, but we did get an amazing view of the island. We even heard goat bells clanging as the goats climbed up a hill. We decided to drive to a little town, where we walked around and looked across to another island inhabited only by a shepherd and his goats! Then we drove back to the town where we had to catch the ferry. We bought an ice-cream and ate it overlooking the harbor.

Ash enjoying her huge chocolate ice-cream

We caught the ferry back and then relaxed at home. We had sundowners on the patio: Melba toast with tzatziki, feta and cucumber. I went and explored the property some more and then came back and bought myself a book on Mom's Kindle (for the flight back home)

We went out for dinner in Paroikia (the main town- where we arrived from Santorini) I ate lamb kleftiko, which is a lamb stew with potatoes and fried cheese. It was delicious. They brought us complimentary ice-cream, which none of us wanted because a) it was too cold and b) we were so full. I did try some though and it was actually very nice. We drove back home and I went to bed.

The unwanted ice-cream (which was really yummy!)

A cold, blustery day in Paros

Tuesday, 10 April

The guest-blogger is at it again. The invitation came because I suspect some blogger fatigue may be setting in with Nics. That, and the fact that today was the coldest, windiest, nastiest day of our entire trip and memorable mainly for that fact.

Monday night the rain and wind started in earnest, although by this morning it had cleared again somewhat. We are really relaxed after a couple of weeks on the Greek Isles, so we seem to be waking up later and later. I thought I'd spoil everyone with some tea in bed, and then Nicole and I played a game of backgammon. Being on the last stretch of holiday, we are now in "finish off the groceries mode", so we finished off mushrooms, bacon and eggs. The weather suited an English breakfast -Mmmmmm!

We pottered around a bit more and only got going after midday. The plan was to head into the mountains and see Lefkes, which the DK Guidebook describes as a "charming little mountain hamlet." We've really enjoyed driving around the island with its lovely scenery on all sides. The vegetation is interesting--low scrub which is almost fynbos like, with a lot of colour in it from the spring flowers. Today the mountains were dark and brooding with the sun occasionally lighting up the foreground. Pretty!

In medieval times Lefkes was the capital of the island, but we discovered that on a rainy day in the low season, it is rather dead. The houses, on narrow, winding roads, are really cute, but we hardly saw a soul, and the restaurants with incredible views onto the valleys below were all closed. Lucky for us we had taken to heart another one of our mottos for the holiday - YOU NEVER KNOW - and had come prepared. After a short walk through the town, we ate some pre-packed snacks in our car in the Lefkes parking lot.

Lefkes' pretty streets

View from a closed restaurant balcony

We drove past the ancient marble quarries (last used for Napoleon's tomb) and reached the capital, Parikia (or Paroikia, depending on which map you refer to). By now the weather had turned outright nasty. Not only was it rainy and windy, it was also cold. Bundled up in our raincoats, we walked along the seaboard and watched a bit of the regatta that was happening in the bay, feeling particularly sorry for the sailors. We even saw one boat being pulled back to shore after capsizing, and it sounds like it's quite a serious competition between the islands, so these guys aren't amateurs.

We couldn't face the elements any longer and darted in to a little restaurant in the hopes of finding a cappuccino to warm us up. But, no such luck. Our options were the cold coffees that the Greeks love so much or their Greek/Turkish coffee that has the consistency of mud. Even tea was a problem -they only had vanilla flavored.

Thawing out

Anyway, at least we thawed out again on a plate of French fries and a spinach pie before heading out into the cold again. Even a lot of Parikia's shops were closed (we couldn't decide if this was due to the weather/low season or the fact that it was siesta time). So no last minute souvenir shopping for us. We did, however, find the very beautiful Byzantine church called "The church of a Hundred doors." It is the oldest church in Greece in continuous use, and the legend goes that when they find the 100th door/window, Constantinople (Istanbul) will return to the Greeks.

Church of a Hundred Doors

Back at our apartment, various family members piled up under blankets, made coffee, read, played backgammon or had hot baths. Kostas popped in to offer his sincere apologies about the weather (which he claims is worse than they normally have in mid winter) and to have a long chat about our thoughts on Greece and the state of the Greek economy. The caretaker also popped in with heaters, which are roaring away as I write.

Roy made soup and pasta for dinner, and we played a new card game, called Bango (amazing what you do when there's no TV). All in all, it's been a rather cozy day...but we are hoping the weather improves, so we can get the kids on to the beach one more time before we hit the SA winter.

Note Roy's very Greek looking salad

Naoussa

Monday, 9 April

After I woke up I went and gave Hurki some bread and filled up his water bowl. When everyone else woke up we had breakfast, which was 'fruit salad' (a duo of fruits- apple and banana!) and toast. Mom and Dad went for an explore of the property while I wrote my blog. When they came back we got ready and went for a drive.

We drove north, up to the fishing town of Naoussa and then decided to carry on because we were so enjoying looking at the beautiful countryside of Paros. As we were driving the weather started changing from sunny to overcast and rainy. We drove up to the top right corner of Paros, until there was no more road left. There was a tiny beach there and we walked on it in the rain.

Walking in the rain

Then we decided that we were hungry and drove back to Naoussa. We found a little restaurant next to the harbor, where we could have lunch. Mom, dad and I shared a salad, bread and a fillet of swordfish. It was so yummy. Ash had a 'burger' (the Greek version of a burger is just a patty- no roll!) They brought us a plate of puddings which was delicious (we've almost come to expect these free plates of desserts!)

Naoussa (the fishing town of Paros)

After lunch we walked around the harbor a bit. We went and explored the ruins of a fort in the harbor and saw some ducks waddling along the road. We started walking back to our car and had to pass through a playground to get to it. Me and Ash decided to go on the roundabout and mom took pictures of us.

Walking to the fort

View of Naoussa from the fort

Ducks

Roundabout :)

We drove to a supermarket and bought some things we needed. I decided to make us chicken pot pie so we had to get some ingredients. When we got back home I read a bit. We saw a really friendly white cat and named her Diana. She was at our back door and was rubbing against our legs. When I sat down and stroked her she curled up into my lap! After we had given her some love dad taught us to play backgammon (a very Greek game) Him and I versed each other and I won :)

Diana

Backgammon

By then it was getting fairly late and we were getting hungry. I made the pies and they tasted delicious. The recipe is from Nigella Lawson and it is one of my favorites. After dinner I went to bed.

Making the chicken stew for inside the pies

Putting on the puff-pastry lids