Well Athens is a different place than I remember from 20 years ago – a lot cleaner, hardly any smog and the makeover which accompanied the Olympic Games has certainly created a much more pleasant city to visit.  The bus services and metro are efficient, cheap and easy to use.  Once again very hot, so all the sightseeing needed to be accompanied by afternoon stops for a cold one!  As many of you know just strolling around Athens brings you face-to-face with breath-taking archaeological treasures: reminding one of the city’s enormous historical influence and the age and sophistication of early Greek society.

Starting very early, we spent a day exploring the Acropolis (which is currently being restored and is covered with the usual cranes and scaffolding which seem to accompany parts of all historical sites at the moment).  We just managed to beat the bus loads of tour groups trooping up so we were able to move freely about.  Throughout the day we worked our way around most of the other archaeological sites our ticket entitled us to enter.  We also visited the new Acropolis Museum where all the surviving treasures unearthed at the Acropolis are on display.  You can see the Parthenon from this building.  Very scenic.  The top floor is set out to match the dimensions of the Parthenon. Replicating the original stonework, they have explained the legends of Athena that were sculptured around the top surrounds of the building.

We also visited their Parliament Buildings.  Timing is everything! We caught the changing the guard and witnessed the traditional choreographed routine the soldiers perform, complete with slapping of feet and high kicks.  I will get Nick to post the video.  I’m sure it is an honour BUT it’s got to be the worst job ever!  They are dressed in a multitude of layers, including stockings, shoes with HUGE pom poms and 30 metres of pleated material, in 35 degrees.  Certainly not my idea of job satisfaction!  I was breaking out in a sweat just watching them!  Did get my photo taken with one of the cute guards – though only after his face had been wiped of sweat by a fatigue dressed guard.  As we girls know – appearance IS everything!   

Our other day in Athens was spent visiting the port and organising our trip to the Greek islands, visiting the National Archaeological Museum, the city markets and the old quarter.  On our two days in Athens we kept bumping into a group of students from St Kents, who are on a classical studies trip.  I’m not sure who was stalking who! 

Hello from sunny Greece.  Since my last post we have been to Pompeii where Greg and Michelle explored the buried village.  Nick and I decided to give it a miss, as we have been before, and went in search of a campari and soda which the guide book said ‘one should sip while watching the crowds at the Piazza Navona‘.  As I didn’t do this in Rome, I people watched in Pompeii instead!

Saturday we drove to the East coast through very rugged but lush and rather beautiful  countryside. We took the overnight ferry from Brindisi to Patras.  We shouted ourselves a room with an ensuite – what a treat.  Viewed from the ferry, the sea is deep blue not green like New Zealand. Fortunately the sea was like a mill pond.  Patras looked very run down.  You can see Greece is in a financial crisis. However, the drive to Athens was lovely.  We took the toll road which varied in standard as we could only go 50 or 60 km in places!  Whitewashed houses with orange terracotta roofs dotted the coastline and the sea looked sapphire as it sparkled in the sun.  Tomorrow we head into town and hope to book a trip to the Greek Islands and  Tuesday we plan to show Greg and Michelle  the wonders of Athens.

Subject: Life in a camp ground

There seems to be no consistency at all re price or what you get.  Even within a country.  The first thing we check out is whether the toilets have loo paper or not.  Some do – some don’t.  Showers are a lot better than last time.  Very few push buttons and those were mostly in France. Price does not necessarily dictate the standard of amenities either.  All camp grounds so far have had European toilets but whether they have a toilet seat or not is a lottery!  Internet again varies from non-existent to very expensive (5 Euros 2 hours) to being free and included in the cost.  Most have had an amble supply of hot water and the staff are friendly and helpful, so we are not complaining. It’s all part of the adventure!  

Subject : Life in the camper

Our little home away from home is cosy and practical.  We have a shower and a toilet but generally use the camp amenities except for the middle of the night ‘call of nature’. Most nights we cook and have not found meat as expensive as we had anticipated.  I did go armed with a variety of vegetarian meals but so far I have only subjected the boys to one of them – and it was delicious.  Chicken is cheap.  We often buy a whole one, split it and barbeque it over the coals or buy chicken portions, add flavourings and cook in our handy-dandy multi-cooker we pre purchased on line.  Pork too is cheap.  We have even had beef which the boys have barbequed.  Mince of course is very versatile with pasta based meals and hamburgers with lots of avocado is a current favourite.  Needless to say we are not starving.  Eating out though is expensive and a real treat and often disappointing.  A fellow Dutch traveller we spoke to said that pre the European Union, cheap meals in Spain, Portugal and Italy were commonplace.  Alas no more!

Subject: Crocs

I have been a croc scorner in the past but, am now a convert and am loving my fake French crocs.  Elegant, yet practical footwear to wear to the ablution block.  As you saw in the photo Michelle and I have matching pairs.  Alas we are yet to convert the boys who have no dress sense at all!   

Thursday 21 June

A very cultural day.  We started at the Pantheon with its amazing dome – the largest masonry vault ever built, a structure so sophisticated that had it been built in modern concrete it would have long ago collapsed under its own weight – so my Rome guide tells me (thank you who ever gave me that!) and of course lovely inside. From there we wandered to St Peter’s Square and the Basilica where we were subjected to bag searches and correct clothing perusal – very strict.  The Basilica is of course Italy’s biggest and most spectacular church –amazing frescoes, alter pieces and sculptures all done by the ‘whose who’ of the renaissance artists! Very suave but stern young men in suits inside watching your every move – no leaning against the edge, talking, exposing of female shoulders.  After lunch we tackled the Vatican museum.  Although I’d been before, one forgets the spectacular array of artworks the Catholic Church has amassed over the centuries.  We spent 4 hours wandering the warren of galleries.  Highlights for me were the Egyptian section, vintage maps, papal carriages and vehicles, Raphael’s La Transfigurazione (in the painting section) and of course the Sistine Chapel with the stunning ceiling and end wall by Michelangelo and the other sections decorated by the other heavyweights of the Renaissance. We finished our day with huge gelatos from the camp bar. Definitely better get the jeans out and see if I can get them done up. Tomorrow we head south to Pompeii.

                                                              At the Colossum

Up early and into Rome via bus and the Metro.  First stop the Colosseum (a testament to the building and mechanical skills of the Romans) followed by the Palatine (ancient Rome’s poshest neighbourhood) and The Forum down on the flat for the plebs (the ordinary Roman citizens).  Very hot again – burning off those calories!  After a suitably sustaining lunch – the yummiest Italian pork sandwich and a beer, we tackled the walk to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps then back for a refreshing swim.  Thoughts on Rome so far – cleaner than Florence, lots of American tourists and more organised and much better sign posted than last time – though of course you now have to pay for areas that were free 20 years ago.  Such is life!  The Vatican tomorrow.

Monday 18^th June

Hello from the rolling hills of Tuscany.  Saturday we drove to Pisa and of course took the obliquity photos of us holding up the tower - along with all the other tourists.  Well some things you have to do! We then drove on to Florence, where we stayed in a camp with spectacular views of the city only a short walk away but, no pool and a huge hike to the ablution block.  Our most expensive yet at 65 Euros, as we have now hit the high season. Very hot in Italy (by midday 36 degrees and higher) so we headed out early and explored the beauty of Florence. (Trying to beat the large groups of tourists, all following leaders holding up an array of identification symbols ranging from flags to large flowers and bright umbrellas.) We spent the day admiring the artworks the Medici family collected and bequeathed to the city, especially all the Renaissance frescoes and paintings of the enormous Pitti Palace.

One of the best things about camping is meeting people from all over the world.  The Dutch are voracious travellers in Europe (escaping inclement weather in Holland they tell us), but we’ve also met and socialised with people from America, Scotland, Australia and NZ.  Even Europeans with limited English are always happy to make the effort to communicate.  Hand signals and gestures go a long way towards conveying a message! Rome next.

Bo journo from Levento in Italy. Another language and more adventures. Our trip here via the autoban was ‘the trip of tunnels’ over 20 of them!  The countryside was extremely rugged and terraced everywhere to utilise the land.  Even glass houses sat on the terraces.  Groups of colourful terracotta houses clung to the hillside.  One assumes hidden roads wound their way up there.  Today we walked the Cinque Terre -  named after the five picturesque villages that are tucked into the coastline.  The first section - 2 ½ climb over the hill from Monterosso to Vernazza was steep and challenging (50 minutes steady climbing – great workout to help combat all the pre dinner nibbles I have consumed).  Fortunately we left camp early so tackled the challenge terrain before the heat of the day.  The next two relatively flat sections, cut into the hillside, were closed due to severe storms in October which caused landslides on the track and major flooding to one village - so we had to train between them.  The last section was a short boadwork.  On a completely different tack – the gelatos are superb.  A huge variety of flavours and cones.  You can see why I need constant exercise or I would need to buy a new wardrobe – should try my jeans on to see if they still fit- probably best I don’t go there!.  We have had our first swim in the Mediterranean (chose the small non-paying section of the beach allotted to those people too stingy to outlay the Eros to swim in the sun lounger/umbrella areas). Our next stops are Pisa and Florence    

Wednesday 13 June

 Back in France.  Staying in a rather flash camp and we finally have a POOL that is open – in fact almost a lagoon.  All I need to make my life complete is a bar and drinks that come with little umbrellas and a hot French waiter to serve me. Unfortunately, we have the ‘mistral wind’ think El Nino making exiting the pool a little cool.  However, it is heated and we have swum – twice!  The boys were kicked out for wearing board shorts.  They will need to invest in a pair of racy French speedos – scary stuff!  We hired a car and have spent the last two days exploring the French Riviera.  Although I have travelled along the Cote D’Azur coast before I’d forgotten how beautiful it is with its azure/turquoise and blue waters contrasting against deep red cliffs.  Nice in particular is such a gracious city with beautifully preserved homes and hotels. Definitely ‘how the other half lives.’  Tomorrow we head to Italy and the Cinque Terre and hopefully catch up with Libby. 

Sunday 10^th June

Barcelona: Finally arrived after accruing 79 Euros on the toll roads – dividing it by 4- it doesn’t seem so much.  We quickly realised that Barcelona is huge so we opted for the hop on off bus scenario.  Sagrada Familia – Guadi’s fantasy cathedral was pretty amazing, especially in side as it is so different - as were the other Guadi landmarks dotted around the city. 

Friday we went by train to Montserrat (a highlight for me) - a monastery at the base of a 4000 foot mountain – lots of walking, taking of funiculars, viewing spectacular, rugged scenery and hearing their boys choir sing.  Nick and I went to a Flamenco show that night which was a mix of opera, fado and flamenco.  Fantastic! (not at all like barong dancing Nigel).  Oh and the Venville’s saw a snake at our camp ground so that’s 1 point to us!

Saturday was our last day in Spain which we spent in Figueres as we wanted to visit the Salvador Dali museum which is housed in a 19^th century theatre converted by Dali into his home. It has an extensive collection of his work and we all were in awe of his work output and creativity.  In honour of it being our last night in Spain Michelle and I drank sangria again.

                                                                seville cathedral

                                                       Seville, Alcazar  gardens

                                                                Alcazar window details

                                                       Bath house Alcazar

                                                        Seville. Plaza de Espania

                                                         Sue outside Alcazar

                                         Cordoba, Cathedral previously the ' Mezquita" moor mosque

                                                                Cordoba cathedral

                                                                   Cordoba

                                                                        Cordoba

                                       Sue in gardens at Alcazar de los Reyes in Cordoba

                                                               Cordoba  cathedral window

Been to a Spanish horse show - both riders and horses very accomplished and beautifully groomed.  Visited the Alhambra with its stunning Nasrid Palaces built for Granada’s Muslim rulers in the 1300s and its extensive gardens.  Very hot again 36 degrees.  None of the pools at the Spanish camping grounds have been up and going – do these people not feel the heat?

Today we have travelled to just north of Valencia on route to Barcelona – about 600km.  Very interesting countryside.  Started off quite mountainous very like the USA then more desert-like with people living in the hillsides.  As we neared the Mediterranean blue water, intensive tourist blocks (think surfers) but hills quite barren - Costa Blanca area (think Benidorm!) finally giving way to lots of orange groves (Valencia oranges of course) and other cultivation.  We will continue travelling tomorrow to Barcelona.

We spent Thursday day travelling to Sevilla (Seville) Spain.  We passed through many pretty little hill villages followed by orange and olive groves as we neared Seville. When we arrived at the camp it was 38 degrees.  The mere effort of breathing seemed to bring me out in a sweat!

Friday we explored Seville.  The city is beautiful – not at all what I expected for such a large metropolis.  Clean and full of old buildings.  Not as hot, though it did reach 31 degrees which made even walking an effort which is why we NEEDED to stop for a refreshing beer.  We wandered around Seville Cathedral which is the biggest Gothic Church in the world – it is massive.  Seemed bigger than a rugby field and had many very ornate side chapels and alters. Another highlight was the famous Alcazar – a palace with stunningly tiled rooms and huge rambling gardens.

Saturday we moved on to Cordoba to view the Mezquita , the grandest and most beautiful mosque constructed by the Moors in Spain.  It is now the cities’ Cathedral and is quite magical as they have retained much of the ‘Moorish’ look with rows and rows of curved columns with the chapels around the outside and an ornate alter in the centre under the most amazing ceiling. It is surrounded by the old Jewish and Moorish quarters full of narrow little streets filled with shops and bars.

Today we drove to Granada via the scenic route.  After settling in we cycled into town and orientated ourselves – wandered the narrow streets and had a cold one at a café and people watched.  When you order a beer in southern Spain it comes with a free tapa which is great.  Tomorrow we plan to visit the famed Alhambra.