One Day Argolis: Mycenae - Nafplion - Epidaurus

We drove to Mycenae with the boss's family and a new Taiwanese friend (who is working at the Taiwan embassy in Athens). It was not a long drive, takes about less than 2 hours given the smooth traffic.

Mycenae is the legendary home of the Atreides that gave its name to Civilization, spread throughout the Greek world, the famous Tomb of King Agamemnon.

The pathway towards the entrance of the historical site...


That's the famous Lion's Gate, which is part of the cyclopean wall. (let your imagination do the working... hee, the structures above the entrance door resembles lions?)


Halfway up the site, we could see the stones of the ruins left behind, and how the shape of the architecture would have look like in the past...


It was not exactly the best weather for travelling... a little gloomy, and dark clouds started to get overwhelming after some time... hee...

The view from above, as we were climbing up the historial site of Mycenae. Very often, you get this feeling of being close to the skies, being above everything else... and you just think to yourself, "what a wonderful world..."

Kevin attempting to embrace the fresh air! (Can you see the dark clouds above Kevin's head??) hehehe...

Check out all the stones of this ruins... Lots and lots of big boulders everywhere.


I believe if the weather had been better, it would have been a splendid picturesque!

Almost there! It was quite a long climb. And the view from above, you see just more rocks than ever below you! ahhahahahah...

Ok, wind was not that strong to blow fatty Kevin away... hahahahah...

Just before the rain got heavy, we managed to get to the top! Good view? Of stones? hahahah... and of course the greenery... :)

You can spot me right? hahahah... the rain has arrived... and i got to protect my big head! hee... But luckily, we were already on the top, and could make our way down before the heavy downpour came... It was so bad, one of our umbrella, got blown upside down!!! (When it rains here, the wind can get really gusty!)


Ok, making our way down! Last shot of Mycenae, farewell! :)


And we continue our drive to a nearby town, Nafplion. We had lunch here in a traditional Greek restuarant. But hehehe, we don't exactly fancy Greek food. hehehe, you will know when you come here to taste it for yourself. :)


Nice architecture of the houses at Nafplion. Some of the streets will remind one of Spain, small narrow alleys with lots of local flavour... :)


The town square at Nafplion.. check out the dog... hehehe... oh, by the way, for your info, you don't always see stray dogs as much as you see cats... Greece has lots of stray cats... Seems like a symbolic animal around...

Apparently, we can climb up the hill to see another site. Heard that you need to climb up 999 steps or something... hahahah.. we will come back another day for it. Later, you will see picture of the castle we took from below.


In the street of Nafplion, a Greek desserts shop! Erm... but we don't fancy the desserts though.. they are really sweet pastries... Too sweet for our liking... Think when you are in a sweet relationship and marriage, you are already drowning in sea of sweetness... hehehehe...


Nafplion, Bourdji Island... One can take a boat ride over to the island... but we didn't have time to do it this time. But it is quite cute to find the island right smack in the middle of nowhere, and with a little castle built on it... hehehe...


Aahhh.. And this is the castle which you can climb from Nafplion, up 999 steps...


Along the waters, once again, typically in Greece, you will find nice cafes to chill out...

Town of Nafplion at the back... Posing in the carpark, with the wind blowing my hair in a great big mess! hahahaha...

Sunset view!!! If only Kevin has a yacht license! Woohoo... that will be mine parked on the island... heheheh..


Close up view of Bourdji Island...


Lovers posing before the island... So near yet so far... Hehehe... The furthest distance on earth is: I am standing before you, and yet you do not know... I love you...


Driving on before it gets dark, to catch the Theatre of Epidaurus (also known as Sanctuary of Asklepios). We were like there 10 mins before the site closed. Hahahah, so we could only catch a glimpse of the theatre. There are still other sites and a museum apparently.

Huang Fei Hong at Theatre of Epidaurus. Hahahaha...


Kevin and his new "son"! hahahhaha... That's the boss' kid. He loves Kevin! Always climb onto Kevin's lap to play with him... The kid even attempted to kiss Kevin's mouth that day! hahahaha...


Last shot of the theatre before we get chased out! hahahahah.. But it is really grand to see it right before your eyes... And do you know when we shout it out loud at the theatre, we can really hear the echoes... "I have a dream..."


And before leaving the site... Kevin wants a shot of the trees turning yellow in autumn... hahaha... cheap thrill... But we enjoy it! hee... :)

Delphi One-Day Tour (Site of the Delphic Oracle)

Surrounding Athens, you will find lots of mountains! In winter, it is not difficult to see snow capped mountains like the one below... We were on our way to Delphi on a tour coach to discover some new ruins... hahahaha...

At the countryside, away from the city, is where you find peace and lovely sights of the nature... I am sure if we were driving on our own, we will take forever to reach Delphi, as we will probably just make a stop every now and then to take pictures. hahahah... Delphi is about 2 and half hours drive from Athens (if the traffic is good, and there is no jam). Quite worth visiting, as you will pass by small towns that are very traditionally "Greek". hahahahaha...

On our way to Delphi, we stopped over this town, Arachova, which is a beautiful small town on the hills, with nice houses that resembles little castles... (imagination will help... hahahah... check it out below)

A bright sunny day, in the town of Arachova! Once again, you see houses built on slopes yah?! ahhaha... I think Greeks like to climb lah... hee... Keeps them slim from the usual meaty and oily diet probably. :)

There you go again, lovely background, casting the nice houses against the blues skies...

Imagine... Castles... of Harry Potter... hahaha... flying past the mountains... sitting on your broom... hee... Sounds witchy...



Just catching a shot with this bright little yellow house. Wish it was mine!!! Can you imagine, staying in it, sitting on the balcony, and overlooking the rest of the world??! I will be singing "I'm on top of the world looking down on creation... and the only explanation I can find... is the love that I've found ever since you've been around..." And that explains why Kevin is posing with the house yah?! Because his love puts me at the top of the world, anytime... :)

The one and only main road that leads in and out of the town of Arachova. Yes, no joke, only one road... so you can imagine, how squeezy it can be if there were a lot of traffic, especially on weekends, where Athenians would come for a short break..


Nice local shops, selling their local products... i.e. rugs, mats, embroidery, etc.


A shot taken while leaving the town on the tour coach... Seeing the world with "tainted" eyes... hee...


Hey, here we are! Arrival in Delphi and into the historial site; ruins of the Omphalos (Navel) of the Ancient world.

After some time, every ruins you visit, you will find remains of pillars everywhere. :)


And as we climb up the historical site, you will find a beautiful picturesque of the mountains... I think the most often seen colour since we arrived in Greece, is Blue! The skies are just so blue...


Kevin made me sit on this big stone (well look-alike) thingy to take a picture... If the park attendant had seen me on their ruins, I could be whistled at to come down lor! ahhahah... like police catch thief... hee...


Artistic shot by Kevin... Give him credit... I think it is quite nice! hehehe... with the sun shining down on the pillars of the ruins... of the Temple of Apollo...


And not forgeting the typical shot of the couple beside the pillars of Temple of Apollo! Hahahah...

On our way climbing up... Trust me, after some time, I had to ask Kevin to go ahead first without me.. while i slowly climb like an old lady... hahahaha... what to do? There was no sedan chair for people to carry me up mah?! hahahahahhaha... And wait till you see, after all that climb, what was there to see??? heehee..


Delphi, Ancient Theatre. This was worth the effort to see... It is lovely to view it from the top... quite grand! imagine if you were there in the past, like a warrior!!! Standing in the center and having the world theatre of people cheering and clapping for you?! "Song" (hokkien: feeling good) right?


And... this is what you see after climbing to the top! hahahahah.. the stadium from the past... just like our running track in Singapore... hahahah...


On our way down... see, after the climb, though the weather was cold, we were perspiring already, and Kevin had to take out his jacket... hee...


My attempt at an artistic shot! hahahah... Even if the shot isn't good, please say the model is good! hahahhahaha...

The Treasury of Athens... It has been reconstructed since.. and that's why looks so complete... :)

Artifacts in the museum of Delphi...


This is a bronze statue, and you can see from the picture behind, showing how it should be when it was a complete whole...


This is how narrow the roads can be as we were leaving Delphi...


Before we leave, some final shots of the sun setting... and just look at the clouds...

Lovey-dovey... you haven't seen us fight?!!! hahahahah... especially when Shanshan likes to bite! ahhahahah.. rhyme yah?! not bad leh...


I really think it is amazing how the houses are built like that... but they just make into such a pretty sight on the mountains...


"If God is the DJ, then Life is the dance floor; Love is the rhythm, and You are the music." - Anonymous


Stop saying life is not fair, life is bad... It really is how we make it beautiful... :)


"brewn.. brewn..." hahahah.. The owner of a restaurant has this 4 wheeler bike, and Kevin must climb on it to take a picture! ahahaha... oh, by the way, even in Athens city, we saw motorbikes with four wheels (not as big as this one of course!), or sometimes even three wheels (like those of a trishaw)... not bad leh, you don't have to balance, and just ride... hahahaha... too bad i don't have a bike license...