Feb 11th, 2012 at 10:00AM: While researching my travel series on Greece I noticed some interesting things that didn't fit into any of the articles. Some of these observations may be obvious to those more familiar with Greece, but odd first impressions are one of the fun things about travel!
1. Flying low over the Aegean as we made our descent into Athens airport, I swear I saw dolphins playing in the blue waters. We were ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Athens posts
Ten random observations about Greece
Feb 11th, 2012 at 10:00AM: While researching my travel series on Greece I noticed some interesting things that didn't fit into any of the articles. Some of these observations may be obvious to those more familiar with Greece, but odd first impressions are one of the fun things about travel!
1. Flying low over the Aegean as we made our descent into Athens airport, I swear I saw dolphins playing in the blue waters. We were ...The Athens War Museum
Feb 6th, 2012 at 9:00AM:
This is a Heckler & Koch MP5 9mm submachine gun with gold plated parts. It was given by the Defense Minister of Kuwait to former Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, probably as a thank you for his nation's help in liberating Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm. It's one of a case of Papandreou's personal weapons on display at the Athens War Museum.
Greece has a long and proud ...The Acropolis: Greece's most famous monument weathers the crisis
Feb 3rd, 2012 at 11:00AM:
Visiting Greece and not visiting the Acropolis is unthinkable. Set atop a high rock overlooking Athens, the temples here were built primarily to honor the city's patron goddess Athena in all her attributes. The buildings here are some of the best examples of Greek architecture and have had a profound effect on the architecture of all the Western world. While I have a preference for medieval ...Athens day trip: Acrocorinth, one of Greece's greatest castles
Feb 1st, 2012 at 12:00PM:
Greece is justly famous for its ancient monuments. The Acropolis, Delphi, and other Classical sites are the reason most history lovers come to this ancient land. The medieval period, however, produced many equally impressive monuments and it's a shame they're so often overlooked. Greece is filled with giant castles, remote monasteries, and lovely churches decorated with gold mosaics and richly ...Greek museums face the economic crisis
Feb 1st, 2012 at 10:00AM: It's not easy being the caretaker of Greece's heritage these days. Greek museums are facing budget cuts, strikes, reduced staff, even loss of visitors due to riots. The National Archaeological Museum had many rooms closed during the peak tourist season last summer due to budget cuts, and strikes are regularly closing all publicly owned museums.
Take the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens. ...Athens nightlife: desperate pensioners on the hustle
Jan 31st, 2012 at 10:00AM: Giorgis looked like he didn't have long to live.
Aged about 70, he was a tall man who appeared shorter because he stooped so much that his head hung almost below his shoulders. He was thin and walked with a limp that showed he suffered from sciatica. His clothes--yellow sweater, gray trousers, and brown dress shoes--were old and faded but immaculately clean. His gray hair was neatly combed over ...New series: Our past in peril, Greek tourism faces the economic crisis
Jan 30th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
This is a sculpture of a fallen Greek warrior from the temple of Aphaia on the Greek island of Aigina. Made in the 5th century BC, it's an important example of Early Classical Greek art. This was a time when Greek artists began imitating life with realistic poses and expressions.
We owe so much to the ancient Greeks--our ideas of art, architecture, democracy, philosophy, theater, and a lot ...Daily Secret offers insider intel for Istanbul, Athens, Shanghai and more
Jan 7th, 2012 at 12:00PM: Last month, I went to a designer-clothing pop-up sale in the back of a restaurant, scored an invite to an exclusive party with Champagne and gourmet truffles, and got the manager's private phone number of a hot new nightlife spot. I'm not famous or especially well-connected, I'm just a subscriber to DailySecret.com. Daily Secret is website and email newsletter that delivers insider intel for ...Summer Travel: Athens to Meteora
May 10th, 2011 at 12:00PM: You don't have to be an accountant to know that Greece's spreadsheets are in need of some serious financial overhaul. Some would argue that the country is essentially bankrupt, and that nothing short of a European bailout and/or a return to the drachma can save it from total economic ruin.
The silver lining on the ominous storm cloud is that Greece has the potential to be one of the world's top ...Discovery Adventures travel company debuts 2011's Discovery Channel-inspired trips
Mar 3rd, 2011 at 2:30PM: Armchair traveler red alert! Discovery Adventures is offering eight new Discovery Channel-inspired cultural trips for 2011, including Greece, Turkey, Italy, France, Japan, and East Africa. Explore archaeological sites near Athens, visit wineries in Tuscany, safari in Kenya, or soak in hot springs in the Japanese Alps. Trips are limited to 16 people, and run from eight to 15 days. Accommodations ...Zombies with passports: The Walking Dead goes worldwide
Oct 28th, 2010 at 10:30AM:
In order to promote the new show The Walking Dead on AMC, swarms of zombies invaded 26 cities worldwide (including my city of Istanbul, pictured above and filmed here) earlier this week, lurching around major tourist landmarks and generally freaking out passerby. The undead began their sightseeing in Taipei and Hong Kong, then hit European capitols including London, Rome, and Athens. More arose ...Greece will compensate tourists in case of national strike
Jun 22nd, 2010 at 10:30AM: As strikes, protests, and other forms of industrial action continue in Greece, tourism officials are scrambling to reassure visitors that the country is open for business. Bookings are down ten percent, and with tourism accounting for twenty percent of the national income, it's the economic equivalent of being kicked while you're down.
So the government has offered to compensate any tourist who ...Greek economic crisis hurts conservation workers
May 31st, 2010 at 3:00PM: When Greek Minister of Culture and Tourism Pavlos Geroulanos visited the Acropolis in Athens last week, he was met by a hundred booing employees.
The heritage workers are contracted professionals who are protesting late wages and planned firings. Some haven't been paid in 16 months and many worry their contracts won't be renewed next year.
Greece is undergoing a serious financial crisis and ...Cruising the Greek Isles on the MSC Musica: Best trip 2009
Dec 31st, 2009 at 2:30PM: I never saw myself as a cruise ship sort of traveler until MSC Musica made me a changed woman.
I'm the person who lived for two years in N'Jowara, The Gambia in a room at the back of an empty shop house without running water, window panes or electricity. Until my MSC Musica cruise, my extended boat travel was five days on the Niger River in Mali, first perched on feed sacks in a ramshackle wooden ...Erotic art exhibit bares all
Dec 10th, 2009 at 2:30PM: When you think of art exhibits, you probably don't think of scenes of group sex, gigantic phalli, and barnyard animals, but the Eros exhibition ain't your grandma's art show. In fact, when this art was made, your grandma wouldn't be born for another two thousand years. The Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens, Greece, has just opened "Eros: From Hesiod's Theogony to Late Antiquity". This exhibition is ...Theater of Dionysus to be restored at the Acropolis
Nov 29th, 2009 at 11:00AM: The Theater of Dionysus at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, will undergo a major renovation over the next six years. This theater was sacred to the god of wine and drama and in ancient times hosted the annual Dionysia, a festival in his honor. The festival included a competition for playwrights and the winners are a Who's Who of Greek drama and comedy, including Sophocles, Euripides, ...The top five worst traveling companions
Nov 24th, 2009 at 10:00AM: Your traveling partner can make or break your trip, so you should probably choose carefully when planning a joint trip. Here are five traits of traveling companions you should avoid (and I've excluded the obvious, like snorers and kleptomaniacs):
The ditcher: The companion who bails on you at the first whiff of romantic interest, night after night. Besides getting annoyed at being stuck with ...Top 10 places to have your pocket picked
Oct 4th, 2009 at 8:00AM:
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I always get a laugh when I see people walk the streets of Manhattan with backpacks worn on their fronts. Millions of people commute into and around the city every day, yet the outnumbered visitors take extreme measures to make sure their subway maps and recently ...Cabin pressure drop sends Brits to Athens, not Egypt
Mar 2nd, 2009 at 5:00PM: A charter flight bound for Egypt made an emergency landing in Athens when cabin pressure dropped. The flight originated in Manchester, England and carried 192 passengers. Five passengers complaining of ear pain were taken to a local hospital as a precaution, according to the Greek state television station. No other injuries were reported.
Jet2.com, the low-cost carrier operating the flight, has ...Photo of the Day (06/02/08)
Jun 2nd, 2008 at 11:30AM:
5 heads of 3 Euros. Life can hardly get better than that.
Bucket of lamb's heads shot by Styggiti at the Athens Central Market, Greece. I would call it "Silence of the lambs, Part III." They look just scary enough (especially the one in the bottom middle) that they could be used in the movie sequel, I think.
***To have your photo considered for the Gadling Photo of the Day, go over to the ...
