food, photos & travel
  • About
  • Galleries
    • Architecture
    • People
    • Travel
    • Fun
    • Proofs
  • Blogs
    • Travels
      • Europe
      • 2017
      • 2016
      • 2015
      • 2014
      • 2013
      • 2010
      • 2008
      • 2007
    • Persons of Interest
  • Contact
Previous Post
Next Post
Sep 17
in 2016, Europe, Travel 7 comments

Greece is the Word

4566km 52 days

4566km 52 days

Having waxed lyrical about fabulous France and raptured about terrific Tuscany in previous posts it is now time to gush about glorious Greece.  The ferry from Bari deposited us at Corfu town and we made our way to a camp ground at Ipsos beach. With only the taverna between Normie and the water we enjoyed the local area for a day before hiring a scooter and exploring the island over the next few days.

We found secluded beaches, mountain top lookouts and even a ghost town.  Unfortunately most of the pics from these adventures lay on the hard drive of Deb’s computer which died a couple of days ago and is temporarily (I hope) unaccessible.

Exploring Corfu by scooter

Exploring Corfu by scooter

Once we hit the mainland it was off to magical Meteora with their ancient monasteries perched atop strange rock formations.

greece-2

magical Meteora

magical Meteora

magical Meteora

magical Meteora

magical Meteora

Thessaloniki is Greece’s biggest city after Athens and it was here that we checked into a camper dealer for some minor repairs.  The city is known for it’s food and we were not disappointed, but again the picture proof of this will have to come later.  Sticking to the coast we stopped at Thermopylae, the site of the famous battle some 2500 years ago.  While the hot springs written about by Homer still exist there is little else to mark the spot except for the statue of King Leonidas at a small memorial.

King Leonidas at Thermopylae

King Leonidas at Thermopylae

Cutting across Parnassus we were able to lunch in the modern town of Delphi with fabulous views out to the coast before exploring the ruins of the ancient oracle.

Delphi

Delphi

Fetta in Filo

Feta in filo with honey & soy sauce & sesame seeds

Crossing the Gulf of Corinth we camped at a beach called Diakopto which is the departure point for the cog train that takes tourists up to the historical mountain village of Kalavryta.  During this trip we befriended another Aussie couple (we’re not the only crazy ones), Melva & John, from Glen Innes so we stayed an extra couple of days while they gave us some tips about Greece and we returned the favour with Italy.

greece2-1

Once at Kyllini we parked Normie at a beach campground and took the ferry to Kefalonia where, thanks to Deb’s amazing organisational skills, we were met by Adam & Jason who had already picked up the hire car and took us to the beachfront apartment we had for the week. Once again the week was spent exploring and eating….ok mainly eating…. but always with a fabulous outlook.

With the boys on Cephalonia

With the boys on Cephalonia

All we did was eat in restaurants with beautiful outlooks.

All we did was eat in restaurants with beautiful outlooks.

With the week over we took the ferry to the next island of Zakynthos where our caravan club friends, Lorraine and John, were spending the summer on their family property and had kindly invited us to stay for a few days.  They made us very welcome and showed us around the many attractions on offer at this amazing island.

As you can tell from the images below, all they ever seem to do in the islands is sing, dance, eat & drink.  This is decidedly different to the mainland where they eat first:)

Zakynthos

Zakynthos

Zakynthos

Zakynthos

Deb couldn't accept the gift due to bad punctuation

Deb couldn’t accept the gift due to bad punctuation

Another day, another beach

Another day, another beach

Shipwreck Beach

Shipwreck Beach

More Dancing

More Dancing

Entirely by coincidence we arrived at Olympia the same day the games in Rio were having their closing ceremony.  It was a larger site than we expected and the museum held some interesting exhibits.

Hercules on the phone to his bookie

Hercules on the phone to his bookie

Olympia

Olympia

Now at the southern tip of the Peloponnese, the Ionian Sea became the Mediterranean and the rugged landscape became even more beautiful.

Menthoni

Menthoni

While exploring Messini you can make out pre-Greek, Greek and Roman influences.

Messini

Messini

An art exhibit added to the experience

An art exhibit added to the experience

My Queen on her throne

My Queen on her throne

Bruschetta with olive tapenade

Bruschetta with olive tapenade

shipwreck near Githeo in Greece

shipwreck near Githeo in Greece

Monemvasia

Monemvasia

Lions Gate, Mycenae

Lions Gate, Mycenae

After visiting Mycenae, Nafplion and the Corinth canal the weather changed as if to signal that it was time to start heading North again, so we picked our way via a few more lovely beach camps, back to Igoumenitsa where we boarded the ferry to commence our long journey home.

Corinth canal

Corinth canal

After 24 hours we arrived at Trieste in Italy but as it was around 4:30 am we decided to drive for a couple of hours before pulling over for a few hours sleep at the foothills of the Dolomites.  Last year when we were in this region I had wanted to travel the Großglockner High Alpine Road but unfortunately the weather didn’t play along.  It is quite expensive and so to enjoy the trip you should endeavour to go on as fine a day as possible.

So after checking the weather app we saw their was a small window of opportunity and decided to go for it and darted through the Dolomites and up into the Alps to the town of Heiligenblut where we camped for the night and started our Alpine adventure the next day. Every kilometre and every single one of the 36 turns of the road is spectacular and we happily spent around 5 hours driving the 50 km route.

Großglockner

Großglockner

Even Deb's vertigo took a break

Even Deb’s vertigo took a break

Großglockner

Großglockner

Lunch at Chez Normie's with an outstanding view

Lunch at Chez Normie’s with an outstanding view

Großglockner

Großglockner

With the weather app showing nothing but rain for the next 10 days it is definitely time to wind up this year’s adventure and make a beeline back to Kent where we’ll send Normie off for a good rest and we’ll head back to Oz….but not before we spend a few days in Honkers enroute….a girl’s gotta shop!

 

Facebookmail

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Email

Related

Share this:
1941
2
About the Author: nukkenfutz

  • She Was Framed
    Been awhile since I've posted anything to this series so hope you don't mind if Read more
    in POI 0 comments
    0
  • Loire Valley – France
    It is referred to as the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, Read more
    in Normies Greatest Hits 0 comments
    1
  • Santa Clara and Playa De Estes
    Before we leave Cienfuegos I forgot to tell you that we booked a 1 day tour and Read more
    in 2007, Travel 0 comments
    0

7 Comments:

  1. Paul
    September 21, 2016
    Reply

    Absolutely amazing xxx

  2. Chris & Ted Fielder
    September 19, 2016
    Reply

    Amazing Photos with great comments. It makes us want to travel to those places. Thanks for sharing this with us and we will see you in Shepparton. Travel Safe. xox

  3. Zenaida
    September 17, 2016
    Reply

    What a wonderful trip! Meteora looks absolutely amazing – thanks for the gorgeous photos!

  4. Gavin and Bobbie
    September 17, 2016
    Reply

    Absolutely wonderful and great narrative too. It was so good to skype the other night. Looks like we will be in Shepparton

  5. frank gaensler
    September 17, 2016
    Reply

    Wow, what an adventure that was. The photos are so life like. Mike you surpass them all, with a little help from queen Deb 🙂

  6. Bob Rona
    September 17, 2016
    Reply

    Once more we get to live Vicariously through the amazing adventures you two have endured . I love it all , and love how every day is a new adventure , awaiting to share itself with you . I am also glad that you are wise enough to avoid areas of conflict over there..
    Keep enjoying , Keep travelling and we look forward to catching up when your back on home turf!
    Love ya guys!!

  7. Fokko
    September 17, 2016
    Reply

    Hi, I love reading about your trip. Nd the photos of Greece are amazing. I think you had a great time. You will be home when I’m startong my next trip. On 4 Oct I have a flight to Bali and with breaks Australia and Vietnam and ? I will be back in April to Berlin. Have a safe fliggt back home. Cheers, Fokko


Leave a Reply Cancel reply

An Aussie’s Guide to Motorhoming in Europe

Normies Greatest Hits

Subscribe to be automatically notified when there is a new post
You may like….
  • An Aussie’s Guide to Motorhoming in Europe
  • Europe by Motorhome 2014/15/16/17
  • Fiat Ducato Bürstner Motorhome
  • Fun
  • Normie’s Greatest Hits
  • Persons of Interest
  • Spark Projects
  • Travels
Recent Posts
  • Meteora – Greece
    Meteora – Greece November 22, 2017
  • Norway – Lofoten
    Norway – Lofoten November 22, 2017
  • Germany – Bavaria & Rhine
    Germany – Bavaria & Rhine November 22, 2017
Recent Comments
  • nukkenfutz on An Aussie’s Guide to Motorhoming in Europe
  • Mike on An Aussie’s Guide to Motorhoming in Europe
  • Glenn on An Aussie’s Guide to Motorhoming in Europe
  • Jane on An Aussie’s Guide to Motorhoming in Europe
  • Roger Lemire on An Aussie’s Guide to Motorhoming in Europe
Sharing
Facebookmail
Categories
Archives
Meta
  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.org
Copyright © 2015 Mike Cohen. All Rights Reserved.
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.