Greece, the Land of Gods: Athens

Greece has always been my dream country. It's very close to Egypt culturally and geographically. After all, Alexandria was named after Alexander the Great. Funny thing is that I never got a chance to visit Greece when I was living in Egypt.

From Athens airport you can take a train to downtown Athens. It's about 7 Euros per ticket. The trip takes about 1 hour.

English is widely spoken there, so you don't have to worry about the language. And Greeks are very nice.

Being in Athens, especially downtown and the harbor area, was a little bit hard on me. It looked like home. Many Greeks looked like Egyptians, it smelled like home, and the food was very close to Egyptian food.

Greece is an absolutely gorgeous country. We visited in February, but it felt like autumn, with bright sun, beautiful weather during the day and a little bit of wind at night. I didn't have to wear my winter jacket during the day in Athens.

Visiting the Acropolis:

12 Euros a ticket from the Acropolis ticket office. They don't accept credit cards, so make sure you have cash with you.

Open daily Sep-May from 8:00-5:00 and from June-Aug 8:00 AM-8:00 PM.

The closing time is 5:00pm but they kicked visitors out at 4:30.

I recommend visiting the Acropolis after 3:00pm. It was quiet and not crowded. Being up there is like being in the sky, you get to see Athens from the top.

The Acropolis Museum:

Unfortunately we couldn't visit this one. It's closed on Monday and we didn't know about it. I heard it's very amazing.

Cost 5 euros per ticket.

Open Tuesday to Sunday from 8:00 to 8:00. Friday until 10:00pm.

National Archaeological Museum:

Cost 7 euros a ticket. Opens: Tuesday-Sunday from 9:00-5:00. Monday from 1:30-8:00. May open later in the summer or close earlier in winter.

You can spend the entire day there looking at the exhibits easily. From ancient Greece, ancient Egypt to ancient Rome. Totally amazing.

The Museum Garden cafe in front of the building is pricey. For cheaper food/coffee option, just walk out of the museum for 1 minute and you'll find a lot of cafes in the area.

                                                                  Poseidon/Zeus figure 

                                                              Aphrodite Beauty Divine  

Sleeping in Athens: 

We stayed at Cecil hotel for our first three nights in Athens. The hotel is located in the Monastiraki area, which is very central. It's a few minutes away from the market, 2 minutes away from subway and about 15 minutes away from the Acropolis. And that's it. The location is all this hotel has to offer. The wifi was broken for our 3-night stay. The bedroom floor was squeaking every time we walked. The bed was half broken and it almost collapsed while we were sleeping. The bathroom was tiny and the toilet flush was broken. The walls were so thin that I could hear everything that was happening in the other rooms, literally. There were three guys working on different shifts at the front disk and only one of them was nice and smiling to the customers. The breakfast was okay.

For our last night in Athens we stayed at the Magna Grecia Boutique Hotel in the Plaka area. The rooms with the Acropolis view are more expensive. The hotel is cheaper off-peak season, also we got a good deal through Agoda. We got a room with the Acropolis view. The bed was very comfortable, the size of the room was nice, but the bathroom was tiny. The service was very good and pleasing. The breakfast was good with a beautiful view on the top of the roof. The lady who worked in the kitchen was very nice and smiled the whole time.

Eating in Athens:

My favorite two things in the world are traveling and eating ethnic food while traveling. Greek cuisine is simply delicious and you'll want to eat more and more of it.

You can get gyros, pita wraps with chicken, beef or pork and fries, everywhere in Athens. They're delicious and cheap, and start from 2 euros.

                                                                         Gyros

Eating at O Nikitas restaurant near the Monastiraki area, such a wonderful experience. When you walk by the restaurant and its outdoor tables, you would think the place doesn't look like much. However, the smell of food will stop you. You'll take a table and order food. Then while you're eating you will want to hug the chef. I had an orzo and beef dish, and it tasted heavenly. This dish brought tears to my eyes, it tasted like my mom's cooking. I couldn't believe how something that simple tasted that good. The menu was at reasonable prices. I highly recommend eating there.

                                                           Beef and orzo, amazing taste

Grand Dionysus cafe/restaurant/ grill-house. Downtown Athens, Patission8 and Gladstonos2. You can sit outdoors or indoors. I had the best cappuccino in the entire trip there. The grilled meat was tasty and the service was good. The menu offers reasonable prices.

                                                    lamb Fingers. In Egypt we call it Kofta

Lontos restaurant in Thissio, near the Plaka area. You can dine with the Acropolis view. Loved everything about this restaurant. The penne pasta was cooked to perfection. The lamb chop was tender and juicy and the moussaka was yummy. The only thing that bothered me was that the waiter asked for a tip. We were going to give a tip anyway, I just didn't like the way he asked for it.

                                                                        Lamb Chop

                                                                   Chicken Penne

Kotili Restaurant in the Plaka area was decent and a bit pricey. It had live music and that was the best thing about it. The moussaka there was fantastic, better than Lontos'. The service was okay. The waiter opened a bottle of water and brought us bread without asking us first, and of course we had to pay for it.

                                                                      Moussaka

Unfortunately all of the restaurants in the Plaka area serve the same dishes. The restaurants have guys who stand in the streets and try to push you to get inside their restaurants. Be aware that those might lie to you. My friend who visited Greece before recommended that I should have pastitsio. So while we were walking in the Monastiraki area one of those guys in front of the restaurants talked to us and we asked if they serve pastitsio. He lied and said they do. We got inside to find out they don't and we left.

Getting Around the City: 

For 6 euros for adults and 4 euros for children, you can ride the happy hour train that takes you to more than 15 ancient sights and monuments. It's really great after a long day of walking around and when you can't walk any more.

http://www.athenshappytrain.com/en-athens-sightseeing.html

Churches offer free admission and you can enjoy the amazing artwork inside.

In Plaka and Monastiraki areas you can shop for religious items, cloths, souvenirs and post cards, jewelry, and fancy clothes, including fur coats.

Have fun in Athens. I miss it already. 

The Vatican Our Last Stop in Italy

A visit to Vatican is like being in a world inside another world. The word amazing isn't enough to describe it. When in Italy, you must visit the Vatican. It's the best destination for history and art lovers. And you can see where the Pope lives!

Make sure you book your tour in advance through the Vatican website, which offers a variety of tours. Going there without an advanced booked tour will cost you hours standing in a very long line while street venders try to sell you tours and souvenirs.

There is a dress code to visit the Vatican. They didn't enforce it while I was there, but please respect it. Also make sure that you're wearing comfortable shoes because you'll walk for hours. Bringing a copy of your passport is recommended. There are souvenir shops inside the Vatican but they're expensive.

We went with the garden tour which was very beautiful. The gardens were green. For information about the tours, click the link below:

http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html

The tour guide was nice and spoke good English. She told us many historical facts about the place. The only thing that I didn't like about the tour was one of the visitors who believed he could explain things better the the tour guide. He was interrupting and correcting the guide for almost the entire tour. When in a tour, please be pleasant to the others. No one like being stuck in a tour with Mr. I-Know-Everything.

My favorite part was the Pieta by Michelangelo. Standing in front of this beautiful piece of art is a very powerful experience. Whether you believe in Jesus or not, seeing this statue up close will bring tears to your eyes. The beauty of Mary, the love, the misery of a mother who lost her son, the death of a child in his mother's arms.

There are many spots for taking breathtaking photos. However, photography and video are prohibited in the Sistine chapel. You can just relax and look at the beautiful ceiling and walls.

                                                       Modern Art in The Vatican Museum

After walking around in the gardens and museum, you'll get hungry. There are some restaurants inside the Vatican, they might be expensive if you're on budget. For a cheaper option, go to the cafeteria. They serve a selection of pasta, sandwiches, meat and pizza.

Pompeii: a Trip to an Open Museum

To get to Pompeii from Rome, take a train from Termini station to Naples. A fast train second class ticket cost around 42 Euros. From there, take the Circumvesuviana train to Pompeii.

Pompeii is one of the most impressive outdoors ancient cities/museums. The beauty of it is breath taking. However, you can't help but to think about the tragedy the city went through in 79 AD. It will make you sad to think of all of the people who lost their lives during the volcanic eruption. The good side is how well the buildings are preserved and that we can get a glimpse of the ancient times.

The modern city of Pompeii is a tourist trap, so watch out for the over-priced everything around it. The admission ticket is 11 Euros. http://www.pompeiturismo.it/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=28

The cafeteria inside the ruined city offers over-priced soft drinks. Coffees were a reasonable price. The fast food there wasn't great, but when you walk for hours and get very hungry, this food will be enough to please your stomach. They have a selection of pizzas, salads and sandwiches. The service wasn't good. I don't eat pork. I ask when I buy food whether or not it has ham or bacon in it. Anyway, the man behind the counter wasn't happy that I asked about the sandwiches.

                                                                        Tuna Salad

                                                                         A slice of pizza

                                         

You will fall in love with the ancient houses, theaters, bath house and the paintings on the walls. The way the streets were designed is simply genius. The temples and the standing marble statues are lovely. 

My favorite artwork was the mosaic of Alexander the Great on the floor of one of the house. 

The incredible beauty of the calm Vesuvius. The city was green and the sky was clear blue. That leaves you to wonder if nature is really harsh. A day trip to Pompeii isn't enough, it'll just leave you hungry for more.

We stayed at Villa Rocla bed and breakfast. I totally don't recommend staying there. It's not a good value for your money. It was a disappointing stay at many levels. The place is owned and run by a family. The mom, who is the manger, doesn't speak a word of English, which is totally fine and it's not her fault that she doesn't speak English. The communication with her was very very difficult, but she always smiled to us. The room was less than okay. The TV was broken and didn't work at all, and the blanket smelled like urine. The hot water didn't work, so I had to take a very cold shower in the morning. We did complain about the hot water twice and nothing was done. I never expect to find good body wash in small hotels when traveling, but in this place the body wash and shampoo were dish soap, I could tell from the smell and texture. The breakfast was one packaged croissant which was old and flavorless, coffee, jam and orange juice.