Day 21: Going Home

Plan for the day

We planned to have a lazy day today. It would be shopping, eating, returning the car, flying out of Athens, transit at Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur and touching down in Singapore.

flying home 

We were flying off as two groups. My friends AL and WM would fly off at 8.30 am and my hubby and I at 7.00 pm in the evening. 

Breakfast, Hotel Giorgio and Airport

Breakfast was part of the room package. It was a simple breakfast. We woke up very early at about 5.45am to send AL and WM to the airport, we left the hotel at 6.00am and was able to reach the airport in less than 20 minutes. The route from the hotel to the airport was very straight forward. From the hotel we just turned into the main road and got onto Highway 6. We stayed on Highway 6 all the way to near the airport where we followed the airport road signs and exited onto the airport boulevard. After leaving AL and WM at the airport, my hubby and I backtracked to the hotel just in time for an early breakfast. 

I had picked Hotel Giorgio over other hotels nearer to the Airport because the room rates were much cheaper, the hotel was new and safe and the route between Hotel Giorgio and the airport was very straight forward and reachable in 20 minutes.

Raining in October in Greece

From my research on Greece weather, there would be rains in October. So we were very lucky when it only rained on our 21st day which was also the very last day of our trip. The rain started heavily at 11 am for half and hour and after that it went on drizzling for another couple of hours.

While walking down the ramp at entrance of the hotel, I slipped and fell on my bump. The ramp was wet and my luggage just wheeled off down the ramp with me still holding its handle. I did not manage to let go of the handle fast enough so kind of got dragged and fell on my bump. The hotel receptionist saw me fell and was so shocked that she came running up to me. Luckily for me the damage was very little. 

One lesson learnt "Wet ramp and wheels without brake are not compatible!!!"

Shopping at Factory Outlets 

We found two outlets that were near Athens International Airport. Since we had to fly out at 7.00 pm we would need to check in by 5.00 pm and return the car 30 minutes before that. Basically we had about 4 hours for shopping and lunch.

Our first outlet was McArthurGlen Designer Outlet, it was about two-third way between Hotel Giorgio and Athens International Airport.

We reached the outlet at about noon and it was still raining. It was a huge outlet park with many outlet malls and over 100 designer brands. Unfortunately the prices of the products were about the same as those in Singapore so it did not make any sense for us to purchase them in Greece and bring them back in Singapore. 

McArthurGlen Outlet Park

At the mall, we found a very pretty pastry shop, Cafe Veneti, and went in to have our coffee break cum late lunch. My best buy at this outlet park was at Cafe Veneti, I had much more fun picking a few delicious looking cakes and it was wonderful eating them with cafe latte.

Cakes and Latte

It was disappointing that this factory outlet was not similar to the outlets in US where the prices of the products were only at a fraction that of the same products in Singapore. My "shopping craving" felt so unfulfilled that I decided to visit another outlet, this second one was just next to the airport.

The second outlet, Fila Factory Outlet was not much better than the first outlet. There were many branded products but price wise not attractive enough for me to want to spend, buy and bring them home.

Airport Lounges

For the flight home we visited three airport lounges. The first lounge was Aristotle Onassis Lounge at Athens airport, the second was Al Dhabi Lounge at Abu Dhabi where we had a 2 hours transit and the third lounge was Plaza Premium Lounge at Kuala Lumpur (KLIA1) where we had a 3 hours transit. The best lounge was Plaza Premium with a huge spread of food and the worst was Al Dhabi with very little selection. 

We touched down in Singapore at 5.25 pm and was back home by 7 pm.

Bye Bye Greece

Day 20: Delphi

Plan for the day

We planned to drive from Lamia to Delphi which would take about an hour. At Delphi we would explore Ancient Delphi archaeological site and Museum. Ancient Delphi was our last "must see" sight in Greece.

After Delphi we would drive to Athens. We would not be going into Athens center as we had already visited Athens at the beginning of our trip. We had booked our room at a hotel on the outskirt of Athens. It would be our last night in Greece and tomorrow we would be on our way home.

Route for the day

Anient Delphi Archaeological Site

We drove 92 km from Lamia to Delphi and the journey took about one hour and 10 minutes. 

We arrived at ancient Delphi by about 10am which left us plenty of time to explore. The ancient city was spread out on the slope of Mt Parnasso.

Ancient Delphi was the center of worship for the God Apollo, son of Zeus. Before Apollo there were other deities worshipped at Ancient Delphi including goddess Gea, Themis, Demeter and Poseidon but by the end of the Mycenaean period Apollo displaced the other dieties and became the oracle.

Layout of  Ancient Delphi

Athena Pronea & Tholos

At the downhill of the archaeological site was the sanctuary of Athena Pronea and Tholos. This was where people coming to ask for an oracle would have to first offer a sacrifice. The site was full of fallen pieces neatly placed. Tholos was the only structure that still stood recognisable. It was a circular structure which was supposed to have 20 Doric columns on its exterior diameter.

Only three columns with their entablature remained standing, these were re-erected in 1938.

Athena Pronea

Tholos

Ancient Gymnasium

The ruins of the Ancient Gymnasium was found just uphill of Sanctuary of Athena Pronea. What was left of a large, long, two levels block of building that was the gymnasium, the palaestra and the baths was just a long empty stretch of land with a stonewall against the side of the hill on one side and a long stretch of stone blocks at interval on the other side.

Ancient Gymnasium

It would be very difficult to appreciate and enjoy this site if we did not make an effort to read up on the history on this site, Without details the ancient gymnasium looked just like a barren stretch of land. It was a good thing that we had 24/7 internet access which allowed us to call up information as and when needed.

Sanctuary of Apollo

At the center of Ancient Delphi was the sanctuary of Apollo. It was on the southern tip of the mountain slope above the ancient gymnasium. This sanctuary was captured by Roman in 191 BC and was stripped of its treasures in 86BC by General Sylla to finance his siege of Athens.

Sanctuary of Apollo

The path uphill brought us past the Stoa of Athenians and  Athenian Treasury. All that was left of the Stoa was some columns, some bricks walls at the side of the hill.

Stoa of the Athenian (top) and Treasury of Athenians (bottom)

The Stoa was an ancient building used for storing the war spoils mainly from naval victories against the Persians. The Treasury was a small structure. It was used to store and protect the valuables such as silver and gold offerings brought by Athenians.

Next we reached the Temple of Apollo. From the foundation and the six huge columns that were left standing it was obvious that this temple was a huge complex.

Sanctuary of Apollo

Walking further uphill from the Temple of Apollo we came to the based on an ancient theater. The theatre was built into the incline slope of the mountain. There were 25 rows of stone seats, a round stage and a orchestra. The orchestra completed the circle and was on the opposite to the 25 rows spectator seats.

Ancient Theatre that could sit 5000

To test out the theory that Greek theaters were designed to have excellent acoustics, I stood at the center of the stage while my hubby, YT stood at the top row of the spectator seats. I called out not too loudly and he could hear me clearly!

The last of the ruins was an ancient stadium way up the hill. This stadium was built in the 5th BC. Its stone seats could sit around 6500 spectators. Compared to the ancient Stadium of Olympia Archaeological site that we had seen, this stadium was much more well preserved.

Ancient Stadium of Delphi

Delphi Museum

We visited the archaeological Museum of Delphi to see the artifacts that was unearthed during the excavation at the Delphi oracle and its vicinity.

Exhibits in the Ancient Delphi Museum

A visit to Delphi archaeological site had to be complemented by a visit to the museum. At the archaeological site we could only see the ruins which gave us a sense of its size, its dimensions, its volume and in a way we could feel the mass of the society that either lived here or visited here.

It was only at the museum that one could experience the personal natures of these people, their talents, their grace, their intellect etc.

Exhibits in the Ancient Delphi Museum

Hotel Giorgio

From Delphi we drove for about two hours to reach Hotel Giorgio. We checked in quickly and left our luggage before heading out for dinner.

We had selected Hotel Giorgio because it had good reviews and it was on the outskirt of Athens. Since we were not visiting Athens it did not make sense to pay more to stay in Athens central. Besides it would be easy to get from Hotel Giorgio to the airport as they were about 25 minutes drive apart.

At Hotel Giorgio I had booked two double rooms at €40 each room per night. The hotel charges covered free parking, wifi and breakfast. This was the second time we were staying at Hotel Giorgio, our earlier experience with this hotel was good so we did not mind coming back to it again when we were back in Athens.

Hotel Giorgio

Day 8: Last day in Santorini

Plan for the day

This was our last day in Santorini and we intended to visit places that were on the way to the airport and around the airport.

route from Hotel Sofia to Santorini Airport

Our last destination would be the airport where we would return our car and take a flight from Santorini to Athens. At Athens International airport we would pick up a rental car and wait for the arrival of two friends before driving to our hotel for the night.

Returning the Car

After breakfast we checked out of Sofia Hotel and packed all our luggage into the car. We drove the car to the Avis Car Rental Outlet at Fira town where the Avis staff conducted a inspection for damages and signed off the return paper. We would still continue to use the car until about 6 pm before returning the car at the Airport. There would be no Avis Staff at the airport so we would just park the car at the Avis carpark lot and leave the key under the floor mat as agreed.

Random Driving Around

We did not have any specific destinations in mind for this last day at Santorini, we just needed to be at the airport by about 6 pm. We drove into Thira and wanted to come down for a walk around town. Unfortunately it was not easy to find a carpark space near the town center and by the time we found a carpark space it was too far from the town center that we decided we might as well get out of town.

Thira as view from inland

After leaving Thira we drove inland and turned into Karterados town. Karterados was built beside a stream in a ravine in the 17th century. The original dwellings were cave houses built deep into the rock face. We saw a traditional windmill at the Karterados village square. So far most of the windmills that we had seen were painted white. This one was not all white. It looked well maintained with its fan blades still attached.

Windmill at Karterados Village Square

Along the way we stopped at a few churches as churches were usually the most prominent structures. From far they could be spotted by their high domes and high bell towers.

Churches of Santorini

Lunch at Monolithos Beach

After Karterados village we drove down to Monolithos Beach about 4 km away. Monolithos Beach was situated just beside the airport.

Monolithos Beach

Captain Loizos Fish restaurant

The beach was deserted with only a few people around. There were just a couple of restaurants at the beach and we went into Captain Loizos Fish Restaurant which looked like the only restaurant that was opened for lunch.

We were the only customers and we ordered a fish meal, a swordfish, on the recommendation of the waitress. I had never eaten swordfish so I wanted to give it a try. Well the swordfish tasted rather plain, nothing memorable.

Swordfish meal

In terms of looks Monolithos beach was not as beautiful as Red Beach and Perissa Black Beach. It was a normal beach with rough waves and strong wind.

After lunch we still had about 2 hours to kill so we strolled aimlessly on the beach. There was not much to do on the beach so we ended up sitting on a chair and propped our legs on a ledge. The cool wind and the warm sun and the rhythmic motion of the waves lured us into a short nap.

Lazing on a long chair at Monolithos Beach

Three days in Santorini

Our three days had come to an end. We had a great time and three days were just nice, not too long or too short. The most memorable parts of Santorini were the caldera towns, Fira, Firostefanie, Imerovigli and Oia. All were stunning when viewed from the Caldera side. Ammoudi Bay was also very beautiful. 

We were able to enjoy three wonderful sunset and three glorious sunrise views. So by the time we left Santorini we felt no regrets.

Back to Athens

We flew out of Santorini on the 8.25 pm flight and reached Athens at about 9.10 pm. We flew on Olympic Air and the fare which included a 23 kg luggage was €135 per person. We had chosen to fly because the flight took only 45 minutes as compared to a cruise trip of at least 8 hours.

Santorini to Athens

If we were to travel by ferry back to Athens we would arrive at the port around midnight and I felt that it would be too difficult to pick up a rental car and get into the town. I would have considered a ferry trip if it arrived at Athens in the morning then I would have booked a room on the ship for two and sleep our way to Athens.

Picking up a Car (Budget)

At the airport we went to the Budget Car Rental Service Counter to pick up our car which we had already reserved online two months ago. The total cost was €670 for 13 days with GPS, Collision Damage Waiver and Theft Protection Coverage. One of the most important considerations for choosing Budget was that it covered Ferry insurance so we could drive our rental car onto ferries when we visited four Ioanian islands.

My only disappointment was the GPS unit that the Budget staff handed over to us. It was a very old model with very limited functions. It would not be easy to get to the doorstep of our destinations as the GPS did not accept destination by co-ordinates. To enter the name of destination into the GPS would be very difficult for us as we were not familiar with Greek Alphabet. I always preferred to use GPS system that allowed destination selection by entering numbers be it co-ordinates, mapcodes or phone numbers as these numbers had no language barrier. 

The only way we could use this old GPS would be to select our destination by using its inbuilt map which would get us to the general location, there after we would have to navigate by google maps. It was a great thing that we had 24/7 data connection.

Hotel Giorgio

I had booked two double rooms at Hotel Giorgio for €40 each room per night. The hotel charges covered free parking, wifi and breakfast.

One of my major considerations for picking Hotel Giorgio was its safety which I gathered from reading its customer reviews. Hotel Giorgio was located on the outskirt of Athens which was fine with us as we would not be visiting Athens. 

The drive from the Airport to Hotel Giorgio was very smooth since it was already at night and for most parts of our journey we were on the highway.

Route from Athens International Airport to Hotel Giorgio

Though it was already past midnight we had no problem checking in as I had already informed the hotel of our late arrival. The carpark was just beside the hotel so there was not much to walk. Overall the hotel looked rather modern, new and clean. The room size was just comfortable.