3 Search Results for ""temple of hercules""

• First Class Greece: Mother-Dau

  • From: Hanlgt
  • Description:

    Long ago I went to a bookstore talk by a well-known frequent flyer who had written a book on how to collect points and get free vacations.  I purchased the book and started in on the project of getting myself, and my 20-year-old daughter to the Greek Islands as cheaply as possible, but first class all the way. This was mainly because, when I was 20 years old, I took a solo trip to Greece that I have never forgotten. I have talked about it for years with my daughter, and we planned this trip since the day I walked out of that bookstore, guide in hand. I was a quick study and worked obsessively toward this goal, and happily achieved it over a year ago. We flew first class for the first time (roundtrip from LA to Athens), stayed in fabulous hotels, and, all in all, gamed the system in such a extraordinary way that we are now hooked on deluxe travel on the cheap. Here’s the report of our incredible two weeks:

    
    LA to LONDON: A Salad Cart, “The Sanctuary” and an Overpriced Pedicure
    
    
    The first leg of the trip had me stopping in London for a few hours, which was fine with me, as I was certain I would need a break to stretch my legs.
    
    I had decided, out of fear of the last time I flew through Heathrow and they lost my bag, that there was no way I was checking luggage. So, even though I was meeting my daughter in Athens (who was coming from Tel Aviv) and she had requested all sorts of American lotions and beauty products, I didn’t bring them unless they were 3 oz or less. I managed to fit everything I needed for my trip into a 20-inch carry-on, along with a tote bag for use on the plane.
    
    I was rather amused by the American Airlines fawning flight service on the way to London as I had never experienced it before. I was especially bemused by “The Salad Cart” that the menu stated was “Fresh seasonal greens with an assortment of fresh vegetables offered with Pepper Cream Dressing or Castello Monte Vibiano Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar” which I thought was rather funny since the dude just came out with a little cart with what looked like a bag of grocery salad in a bowl and some sticks of celery, carrots and some sliced green peppers that he was carefully selecting with silver tongs as if it was something quite extravagant. At least that part was actually fresh—the rest of the food—including the “cream of chicken” soup was particularly…uh, bad…with the exception of a really (huge) nice ice cream sundae for dessert.
    
    I don’t know the different airplanes and how the seats are configured, but I do know that although I was thrilled at the seats that turn into sleepers, I was not particularly comfortable and only slept a couple of hours. (When I compare this to the incredibly comfortable seats I got when I returned with British Airways—I know now to try to get BA when going across the ocean.) Upon arrival in Heathrow, I had to make my way with hordes of others to terminal 3—lucky for me I had a number of hours to kill before my flight to Athens—otherwise I may have suffered from an anxiety attack by the amount of wait time to get to the different terminal. I know they have since opened another terminal, and this will hopefully solve that horrid Heathrow congestion problem.
    
    Upon arrival at Terminal 3 I found the pleasant BA lounge and got some lunch of pasta salad and a particularly nice tomato soup, and then asked where I could sleep until my flight to Athens. They told me about a place called “The Sanctuary” which was a door in the back into a room with low lighting and various comfy couches and soft music and not a soul was in there, so I plopped down my stuff and slept for a couple of hours. When I awoke I still had time to kill, so I decided it was time to get a pedicure (vacation being what it was at this point) so I found the beauty spa at terminal 3, which was surprisingly occupied by some men who were sitting in the very pleasant waiting area, relaxing and having tea. The price of the beauty treatment was outrageous, since it included entrance into the place, which in itself is a “sanctuary” from the noisy and crowded terminal—and you are allowed to stay there as long as you want. I realized that if I don’t fly first class in the future through Heathrow, (quite likely!) this place, for the entrance fee, would be worth it if I found I had to wait a number of hours for my next flight. Anyway, the pedicure was adequate and relaxing—but they offer massages and facials and a whole spa menu—at high prices of course.
    
    ATHENS: The Hilton and Bus #400
    
    In the evening I got on my BA flight to Athens, which was in Business Class since that particular plane doesn’t have anything higher. The service was excellent and flight uneventful and we arrived at 2:30 in the morning. I had been reading the helpful online guide “Matt Barrett’s Greece Travel Guide” (www.greecetravel.com) and I had arranged for the taxi service he recommended to have someone be there to pick me up and take me to the Hilton Athens, which took about 30 minutes at that time of night.
    
    The Athens Hilton is a super sleek modern hotel, although not exactly near anything you want to go to, so you have to rely on the metro (and the stop is not a place you want to exit at night, as it comes out in the middle of a rather lonely and dark park and you have to walk up a somewhat rocky path to get to the hotel) or a taxi to get around. I stayed here two nights on Hilton Honors points and, being a good student of points collecting, I had managed to become a gold member, and they put me on the 11th floor. This floor has its own concierge and check-in area and a wonderful little lounge area with a great view of the Parthenon from the little balcony. My room was on the other side, so the only view was of the street below, but the room was very comfortable and the bed and bathroom were great, especially the bathtub. There was a large fruit plate and a bottle of white wine waiting for me in the room, along with a bottle of water, and upon awakening the next morning, I went to the lounge where I had some free light snacks for breakfast along with my fruit and enjoyed the fabulous view and the beautiful weather.
    
    Right outside the hotel there is a bus stop for the bus number 400, I think, which is the bus that takes you around the whole city in a loop and you are allowed to get on and off with one ticket price of 4 Euro, if I remember correctly. Lucky for me, when I got on and asked how much to pay, the cashier woman said that "Today is National Arts Day" or something to that effect, which meant that all admittances to tourist things were free. So I rode around and decided to just take it right back to the hotel after seeing the city from the bus, since I was planning to meet my daughter the next day and do sight-see with her then. The whole circle is less than 90 minutes, and the bus is supposed to come every half hour, but I waited about 45 minutes at the stop and I don't know if that is typical.
    
    I ate dinner in the hotel restaurant, and besides being overpriced, it was excellent food and service and when I ate there around 6 pm there were about 5 people in the whole place. I wanted to use the Internet and the hotel business center was too high-priced so I walked to a nearby Internet cafe that was cheap.
    
    ATHENS: The Grand Bretagne, Stray Dogs and Grafitti
    
    
    The next day I took a cab (5 Euros) to Syntagma Square--the center of Athens, to switch hotels and meet my daughter at the Hotel Grand Bretagne, which I got free on Sheraton points and is indeed the classiest hotel in Athens. On the way, we were caught up in the very unusual looking “Changing of the Guard” ceremony at the Parliament Building, (every Sunday at 11 AM) which, to me, was a mixture of small town charm and tourist gawking annoyance. A band of some sort (that would have been rejected at the Rose Parade) follows various official looking people through the streets who are holding a wreath to lay at the unknown soldier’s tomb, They all follow dramatically behind the most absurdly dressed soldiers I have yet to see (think skirts and a feather-duster hat) while large numbers of foreigners crowd around snapping pictures and getting in the way of scurrying stray dogs. After the fun, I checked into the hotel, which has an old-world feel, and after the modernist Hilton, was a real change. The points rate did not allow for breakfast (too bad!) which was an incredible, huge, buffet, but I don't eat enough for breakfast to justify paying the equivalent of about $35 or so. I did request an upgrade to a bigger room, and got it, along with a truly great bathroom. The fixtures alone were worth seeing, as they are all marble and gold and quite grand. The room itself was smaller than the Hilton, but the place is old and dripping with hanging chandeliers and old-world charm. It is frequented by many cruise ship passengers who have add-ons to their cruises for a couple of days, and the well-heeled and smart looking English-speaking tourist is to be found everywhere. I witnessed the very able concierge at his desk with a line 5 people deep, with two phone receivers to his ear--in one he was speaking to an airlines to arrange ticketing in Greek, while the other he was talking to a "Madame” somebody ...", explaining directions in French, while showing me the address of a particular restaurant in English. They hype up the fact that anyone who’s anyone in European history has stayed there (Churchill, various Counts and Tzars, etc.) but they do neglect to mention that it was used as German Headquarters in Greece during WWII and Hitler was also a guest.
    
    Syntagma Square is a great location for a tourist in Athens, as the metro is literally downstairs from the hotel, basically, and one can walk to many restaurants or tour agencies. I know that many people notice and comment upon the unusual amount of stray dogs (often quite flea-bitten and mangy and sorry-looking) simply wandering around Athens and I was puzzled as to why they allow this as I have been to many cities and have not seen this phenomenon. But, to me, the most annoying aspect of modern Athens (which has potential to be a beautiful city) is the ridiculous amount of graffiti that is evident in almost every possible blank space that one could think to deface. I guess one could expect to see graffiti on those metal garage doors that you have to pull to cover up your little store--and every single one of them has been sprayed--but some of the owners seemed to have gotten the better of the graffiti artists and commissioned a sort of painting on their garage, and these were left alone. However, the amount of spray painted blank spaces are overwhelming. In Syntagma Square there are marble stone steps leading up to the street where the Parliament Building is located, and on each of these steps, as you climb them, you can see black spray painted Greek words, along with almost every other wall or side of a building, bench or sign. I noted that authorities managed to prevent the defacement of the actual Parthenon and, unbelievably, the entire brand new Metro system (good for them!), so clearly there is a way to stop this from ruining a city and it just makes Athens so sad-looking, in my opinion.
    
    After meeting my daughter and having a wonderful walk around the center of town, we slept happily in the “sweet sleeper bed” offered by the hotel, and the next day walked to the fabulous Parthenon, and the temple of Zeus ruins, and ate lunch in a sidewalk café, ordering Greek Salad, of course, and stuffed peppers—the least expensive things on the menu and they were delicious. We found out that Feta cheese is actually branded as such only if the cheese is made in Greece, sort of like the sparkling wine called Champagne only if it comes from that region. The Greeks are quite unhappy that others call their cheese “feta” when it clearly isn’t homegrown, and they sponsor resolutions in the European Parliament to deal with the problems of the imposters!
    
    We enjoyed our visit to the Parthenon and were awed by its beauty. We were also struck by the seeming unfairness of the issue of the Elgin Marbles, which are Greek statues taken long ago from the Parthenon and placed in the British Museum.  Although I would love to have seen those sculptures in their true setting, I can’t help but think that perhaps their present climate-controlled environment is keeping them safer. The general look of the area around the Parthenon did not strike me as being particularly that well looked after.
    
    
    THE ISLAND OF RHODES: The Hilton Resort, and a Jewish Quarter with no Jews
    
    
    After enjoying a couple of nights at the Grand Bretagne, we got on the great Metro system for a direct train to the airport (comes every half hour) and got on an Aegean Airlines flight to Rhodes, which took about 45 minutes and the flight left exactly on time. We took a cab to our hotel, which we shared with another couple, but the rule of the game is that both pay the 13 Euros and you don’t “share” the cost, which is, of course, quite convenient for the driver. We checked into the Hilton Rhodes Resort, which, again, I got on points for 4 free nights. Actually, I was even able to get these at a discount, since this resort was participating in Hilton's ValuePoint Awards, so it was totally worth it. This property is an all-inclusive resort, with a huge buffet breakfast (which we were allowed to have--even with the points rate--quite nice), evening entertainment, gym and spa, activities for children, and beach access and a few pools. The place is frequented by many Brits and Scandinavians--and quite a number of them are on staff there for the summer. In fact, there were many young staffers who did not speak Greek who were clearly from Northern Europe that use this job as a yearly summer camp type thing, I think--meeting the same friends yearly and living in staff hotels and generally having a good time away from their parents and schools.
    
    
    Upon checking in to this hotel, we were greeted warmly by a staffer who saw we were Hilton Gold members and for some reason this seemed to matter a great deal as we were personally escorted to the room after being offered various snacks and drinks and maps and schedules and all that. We had been given an upgrade to a sea view room, which was lovely and one could watch the huge cruise ships gliding by and also see the coast of Turkey. The beds and bathroom reminded me of a 3 star hotel in the States, but in general, we liked this hotel, particularly because of the excellent service we always received--and the free and bountiful breakfast. The beach right there is not particularly good--it is quite pebbly and the water is not pristine as other areas around the island are, so we only went there for about an hour one day.
    
    The rest of the time in Rhodes was spent going to various tourist destinations by bus that picks up from the front of the hotel, down by the main highway. We went to the town of Lindos where there is an ancient acropolis, the Valley of the Butterflies, where the views are beautiful although the butterflies were gone by then, and the old town of Rhodes, which is quite fascinating and historical. We walked around the old city area with our Frommer’s guide, looking for a recommended restaurant for about an hour, until it occurred to us that this restaurant has long since closed down. But there seemed to be hundreds of good eateries in the city and the food was excellent therer. We decided not to go on the day trip by boat to Turkey, as it was pricey and we had things we wanted to see on the island and not enough time. We only caught the nightly “show” at our hotel one evening when we got back early enough (a Beatles cover band that was cute) but the shows cater to families (acrobatics, magicians) and those who may not know English, I guess. Basically everything we encountered in Greece was in English, though.
    
    One comment about Greece in general that I need to mention is the total lack of interest in trying to accommodate people with disabilities. My husband is disabled and I often thought of the fact that I could not have brought him anywhere I went and therefore, it seems to me that he is simply not welcome in Greece as a tourist. Each national archeological site or tourist venue had stairs or rocky paths (with no banisters or concrete alternate paths), or any one of many obstacles that could not be overcome by the average disabled person. I don’t know if others have written on this subject, but it is why I vacation with my husband only within the US at this time.
    
    One thing I regret not seeing in Rhodes was the small Jewish Museum in the old Jewish Quarter of the Old City. I had looked it up online and the website (which is run by a South African now living in Rhodes, I think) stated that they would be open Saturday, along with the one synagogue that is left there, so we chose to visit on a Saturday, but everything was closed. We found an old Jewish guy who spoke to me in Hebrew and said that usually it is open, but…oh well..not today. He told me there were 34 Jews left in Rhodes today. Quite sad, as Rhodes had historically housed a large and vibrant Jewish community from even before the time of the Spanish Inquisition, that had created a unique brand of Jewish ritual and observance, but they were all deported to Auschwitz. (I had seen a documentary about those who had escaped to Los Angeles from this community, and I was curious about it.) In the main tourist area, before you get to the Jewish Quarter, you can find a small central square now called “The Square of the Martyrs” with some fading plaques in different languages attesting to the facts.
    
    
    THE ISLAND OF CRETE: A Big Goof, a Car Ride and Agios Nikolaus
    
    
    From Rhodes, we got on a flight with the commuter express airline of Crete called Sky Express, which is not my thing, nor my daughter’s. It is a 22 seat plane that is highly claustrophobic to even people like me who don’t mind tight-enclosed places with intense noise while you fly over open ocean. We had to literally squeeze into our seats, while listening to the pilot having some sort of screaming fit over the radio to someone, and while I looked sheepishly at the bored lone flight attendant, who was munching on a peach, she just shrugged. I asked her how many times she makes this trip daily and she said “two or three” which made me feel better considering that it is unlikely anyone would continue to put their life in danger repeatedly.
    
    The flight lasted 40 minutes and we arrived in Herakilon, Crete at a quite modern airport at 9 in the evening. This is when my first trip planning screw-up occurred. I had booked the well-reviewed Hotel Lato on the Internet at an incredible price—30 Euros for the night when all other websites had offered that hotel for about $150. We took a taxi there—about a 10-minute ride—and when I showed my voucher, the guy said, “Wrong Hotel Lato—you see here? You need the one in Agios Nikolaus” So it turns out that the town of Agios Nikolaus is about an hour away, and when I had entered “Hotel Lato” in my Internet search along with the city “Heraklion” the Hotel Lato located an hour away came up and although I noted the address, in my stupidity, I thought that was the name of the street and did not check the address with the Hotel Lato in Heraklion. OK, then, what to do? I had made plans to have a rental car delivered the following day to this Hotel Lato, and so I reluctantly decided to just stay the night there and forgo the 30 Euro I had already paid to the other hotel. Bad news: I was informed they are full. But the guy behind the desk was helpful, and so he called the rental company and told me to wait and they would come by to give me the car, even though it was almost 10 pm by that time. So, we went upstairs to have dinner in the pleasant (small, nice view of harbor) but overpriced and underwhelming restaurant with mediocre food. 45 minutes later the car company shows up with my little car and two extremely helpful ladies who spoke no Greek and seemed to be Serbian and Danish or something, but they showed me a map and explained (wrongly, sigh) how to exactly get to Agios Nikolaus, and to the correct Hotel Lato. Our final destination the following day was supposed to be a small village called Macriyialos, which was on the south-eastern part of Crete, and at least going to Agios Nikolaus would be “on the way” and we would just get there earlier. Of course, the issue is that I would have to drive a tiny car with manual transmission (it’s been a while) about an hour in the dark, to a hotel in a town where I was surely going to get lost finding a small hotel by the sea. Which is exactly what happened, of course. The car rental ladies were more than gracious in that they actually had me follow their car to the main National Highway rather than assume I would have found it from within the one-way alleyways they call streets in Heraklion. Realizing I had an hour on this highway, and also realizing I was perilously close to the sea and Cretan drivers discourage people from going the speed limit, I found out the custom is to actually drive in the shoulder of the road to let people pass you---and it guess that way it turns out there are actually two lanes….!
    
    
    Upon seeing the signs for Agios Nikolaus, we promptly got lost and..well..eventually asked enough people for the accursed Hotel Lato, that we found it finally. We were rewarded with a pleasant pension-type hotel that we settled into after midnight. Weirdly, the guy asked to keep our passports up in the little receptacle where people leave their keys and I saw no one else’s there, and refused to do it. My daughter suggested we offer him our California driver’s licenses instead, which he took and they were still right there in the box in the morning. I also thought there was no electricity in our decent and clean room until the reception guy said to leave the key in the slot at the light switch, which turns on the electricity and then turns it all off when you take the key to leave. Later, we saw all our other hotels used this tactic, so I got used to it, and appreciated it for the energy saver it was. Now, how do I install this sort of thing in my son’s room….??
    
    
    CRETE: The Village of Macriyialos, Best Beach in Crete, An Olive Oil Lecture
    
    
    We had a nice breakfast at the Hotel Lato (included in the cheap-o rate—but the AC was not, and we were going to be charged to turn it on, but I complained that it was already 1 AM and we were only staying one night, so he gave me the remote control device at no charge) then did a quick tour of the lovely beach town and skedaddled out of there on the way south to our little Cretan village that I had found on the Internet. Agios Nikolaus is quite nice, in fact, a very pretty small town with a touristy feel and a pretty “lake” right at the harbor which it is known for. I didn’t think we needed to hang around as we were looking for our week of relaxation and a bit more pampering.
    
    It took about an hour to arrive at the small village of Macriyialos. We had received excellent directions from the owners of the Villea Village Hotel, which is surely the nicest place in this village, which is probably home to just a few hundred people, I would guess. It is near absolutely nothing at all, and if you want to have some adventures in Crete, you have to drive an hour this way or a couple hours that way—whatever—we didn’t care. We settled into our room, which was a very appealing apartment-style place with a little kitchenette, bathroom, dining area, and bedroom. The surrounding gardens were beautiful olive groves and bougainvillea, with many other flowers and trees that created a relaxing atmosphere. We were located near the pool on the lower level—surely the best pool for miles around—olympic size and pristine. There are numerous tavernas within walking distance and a fabulous beach across the road. The water was completely clear and the sand was soft and smooth (not rocky, like other beaches in Greece) and the slope upon entering the water was so gentle that I kept wondering why there weren’t families everywhere with their kids. I was able to walk out many yards –all the while able to see my feet in the sparkling clear water---and I never got to a point where I wasn’t able to stand. There were beach lounge chairs available right there and no one asked us for any money to use them. It was very lovely.
    
    We spent the next days enjoying the quiet and the various activities offered by the hotel (a hike at the nearby gorge, a “quiz night” ping-pong, a bike ride, massage, happy hour at the pool bar, and a lecture (and free tasting) from a local farmer about the history and benefits of olive oil), going to the little markets and bakeries to buy food, various local tavernas to eat dinner with people we met at the hotel, walking to an English style pub to use the Internet, etc.  One day we drove to what we were told was the easternmost point of Europe, a tiny beach town named KA, which consists of a beautiful vista, a small resort, a Palm Forest, and lots of European tourists walking to the top of the rock at the edge of the sea. It was about a 45-minute drive through super-windy small roads, with stunning views that were unequaled. We enjoyed our accommodations for the week in this small, unspoiled Greek village. We were able to find this place at an excellent price on an Internet auction website, and it was indeed worth it.  I would expect it to become quite commercialized within about 5 years, as I saw a number of hotels and buildings in the early stages of being built.
    
    
    SANTORINI: A Legendary Sunset and a Dive Center that Should be Shut Down
    
    
    We woke up at 6 AM to drive the 2 hours back to Heraklion and get on the “Flying Cat”, which is a fast ferry to Santorini that takes 1 hr and 45 min to get there. We had purchased business class seats and were led up to an upper deck and sat comfortably in Amtrak-style seats, where we promptly fell asleep and woke up about 10 minutes before arrival. Both of us have issues with seasickness on boats and so we took a Dramamine (another reason to be sleepy), which was unnecessary since the ride was really smooth.
    
    Arrival at the port in Santorini is quite dramatic. One look up at where the buses need to take you is enough to make you wonder why you didn’t think to fly in from the other side of the island. We had arranged a pick up by our small hotel staff, The Villa Manos, which is right outside the main town. I had picked it out from the Internet mostly due to cost (cheap--$30 a night!) and good reviews, and the fact that they pick up from the port.
    
    Poppy Filitis, the owner, sent her sister-in-law to pick us up (the whole place is a family affair, and quite friendly) and we arrived and were offered a glass of homemade local Santorini sweet wine, which was nice and then settled in to our Spartan, but clean, room, with an extra charge for the A/C, which luckily we didn’t need, as the weather was perfect.
    
    The hotel is located outside of the town of Fira, where the action is, and walking there on those narrow roads was not something I particularly enjoyed. There is a bus stop right outside the hotel and the bus comes every half hour, which is what we did one day after the first time we walked to town.
    
    Poppy signed us up for an island tour for a reasonable price for the next day and we got picked up right at the stop and really enjoyed the day long trip to the famous Santorini volcano on a boat and then to see the sunset in Oia, which is legendary.
    
    The breakfast Poppy and her brood provide for 5 Euro is delicious and affordable and the décor of the outdoor patio by the pool is lovely and we took advantage of the offer for this breakfast. There wasn’t anything like a restaurant within walking distance anyway.
    
    On our third day, I elected to stay back at the pool, while my 20-year-old daughter wanted to go scuba diving. We looked up the only dive center on the island (www.divecenter.gr) and she decided to buy the half-day trip and go there, as it wasn’t too far. She is an experienced diver, but realized that we would be flying that evening back to Athens, so knew she would not be able to dive that day, and therefore she just decided to go snorkeling from the boat and see the sights.
    
    Here is what happened:
    
    She got picked up at our hotel and taken to the dive site about half an hour away. There were 5 men on the boat: 2 guides and 3 tourists. One tourist was somewhat drunk or stoned, she said, and he continually made sneering comments and leered at her in her bathing suit, and no one said one thing to him to ask him to stop annoying her. The guide threw her a HALF wet suit only, while giving everyone else a full one and the water was not particularly warm. When they got to the dive site, the lead guide told her that they were all diving there and she could snorkel right above them. The boat would always be in view and they would all be back in about an hour. She assumed the assistant guide would stay in the boat, but he went down too. So they left her above them for 60 minutes, completely alone and she couldn’t believe it and said it all happened very fast and she felt she couldn’t protest. They were not in a secluded cove. She was able to see and hear ships (passenger ships) were sailing nearby and realized that she was not far from some sort of shipping lane. She felt quite uncomfortable, considering she was in the open Mediterranean, and considered getting back on the boat, but she wanted to see the reefs, etc, so stayed out for most of the time before climbing back into the boat, again, completely alone. They never once considered that they had left her in a dangerous situation smack in the middle of the sea. Again she was bothered on the way back or completely ignored, she said, with only one man (Australian) who attempted to fend off the leering creep and tried to be social. She was mostly astonished at the behavior of the two guides. The younger one, she said, was her age, and American, to boot, and he never said more than 3 words to her the entire afternoon. It was the most uncomfortable trip she ever experienced, she told me upon her return, and we told our new friend Poppy, the hotel owner, who was shocked, as she said there are occasionally sharks in the waters there, which she called “dogfish” and showed us a picture of them. We had a flight to catch to Athens, so we couldn’t do too much, but…we learned a great deal about what to avoid for future trips!!
    
    
    Home Sweet Home after one more night in Athens
    
    We flew back to Athens on Aegean Airlines, which was a simple half hour flight. We arrived in Athens at 9 PM and had to get the flight back to the States at 8: 30 AM the next morning, so we stayed at the Holiday Inn, Athens Airport, for the night, which I happily paid for with points, yet again. It was a very comfortable and modern hotel, with really modernistic décor—our room had 18 different lights—not counting the bathroom—we thought the décor was just a bit over the top. We ordered room service, which was quite mediocre, but the beds were comfortable and the big reason to select this hotel is that there is a free shuttle from the airport which is super convenient. The points rate for this nice hotel were on a special rate that I found as a diligent points hound -- 5,000 points a night, which is like free of charge.
    
    All in all, we loved our Greek vacation and we would love to go back again—next time trying different islands and also seeing the other side of Crete, which we were sorry we had to miss. So…I am busily hording points and cleverly exploring ways to fatten up those frequent flyer accounts. Maybe in about 2 years, I’ll have enough for a repeat performance.  If I made it happen once, it proves that hard work pays off, and anything is possible!

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• Rediscovering Rome

  • From: antfern
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    Rome, September 12-18, 2008

    After four earlier trips to Rome, we decided to use the opportunity of a Mediterranean cruise that departed and returned from and to Civitavecchia, to stay in Rome after the cruise for about six days.  For the purpose of this journal, we will arrange our experiences around five topics: Churches, Plazas, Fountains, Ruins, Outside Rome.  At the end of this writing I will offer you some points about lodging, transportation and security.

    Churches:  Don’t miss St. Peter Basilica in the Vatican City.  As you walk through Bernini’s colonnade you will be leaving Italy and entering in another country: The Vatican.  Normally everyone enters the great basilica and takes a couple of pictures in the Plaza.  However, I would recommend two other things to do here: 1. Climb the 320 steps to the top of the cupola for the best views of the Gardens of the Vatican and the whole city of Rome.  Once you reach the top you are in the highest point of the city. 2. You may visit the Scavii (Excavations under the main altar of St. Peter).  This will require that you made a reservation; it can be done by e-mail.  St. Peter’s Basilica web site offers information about these two areas as well as other points of interest in St. Peter: http://saintpeterbasilica.org

    The list of churches in Rome could be like a telephone directory of a small city.  It is impossible to mention all of them here.  Keep in mind that there is a dress code requirement for entering them and you must preclude from taking pictures while a religious ceremony is taking place.  Also they are quite dark and provide you a cool refuge from the Roman heat as well as a place to sit down and relax for a while.  Catholics have a saying that whenever you enter a church for the first time and you do a prayer you can ask for a favor….Your wish list in Rome could be quite lengthy. 

    Plazas: Rome give the impression of grow and live around plazas.  As you walk around you will not be able to avoid them: regular shaped or without any designs, small or big, old or new, crowded or strangely deserted.  The list here, like the churches, is large.  Almost every church has a plaza in front, or around it somewhere.  I would mention only about a dozen of them: Piazza de Spagna, San Pietro, Venezia, Navona, del Popolo, della Boca della Verita, del Quirinale, della Repubblica, di Santa Maria in Trastevere, del Campidoglio, dell’Esquilino, and Campo de Fiore.

    In the plazas you could find a place to eat or drink a cappuccino.  I would recommend to look for a gelateria (ice cream shop) mainly in Piazza Navona.  Also most of the plazas aside from one or more churches you will find also one or more fountains.  To sit around a fountain is one of the Romans preferred outings in the middle of the afternoon or early evenings.  Don’t forget the saying: “If in Rome do like the Romans”   

    Fountains: The fountains of Rome have been the subject of classical musical pieces or well known-movies.  Many of the fountains you will find in Rome were like public works constructed by the Popes for the benefit of the various sectors of the city. Likewise the list of plazas, I will offer only the names of few fountains that should be in any visitors' lists:  Starting, probably with the most worldwide famous fountain: The Fontana de Trevi.  This fountain together with the Triton Fountain in Barberini Square are the subject of two of the symphonic poems of Respighi, Fontane di Rome.

    We should mention also the three fountains in Piazza Navona: Four Rivers, the Moor and Neptune. There are beautiful and worth mentioning fountains in Piazza del Popolo and Nicosia.  There are numerous fountains in many of the plazas that are worth the visit and to enjoy their cool environment.

    One of my favorites is the small fountain at Santa Maria Cosmedin in the Forum Boarium, see picture of the fountain as well as the Temple of Hercules in the back.

    Ruins and Monuments:  Aside from churches, plazas and fountains the other ever present element of Rome are its ruins and classical monuments.  From the countless Egyptian obelysks to the classic roman buildings and monuments, your selection is overwhelming. They are everywhere!  The most famous probably is the Colisseum, followed by the Roman Forum.  I would recommend that you buy a combined ticket of admission covering these two points of interest plus the Palatine.  The Palatine is a place that most turists pass or simple ignore. 

    I strongly recommend that your itinerary includes these three attractions.  This time we tried to visit the Domus Aurea, the old ruins of Nero's palace next to the Colisseum, but unfortunately it was was closed that day.  Also among the recommended ruins you should visit are the Forum Imperiali and the Forum Boarium.  There is a beautiful old Roman monument well preserved in a modern museum: Ara Pacis Augustana.  Is an altar built by the Senate and People of Rome (SPQR) to conmemorate the peaceful era of Emperor Cesar Augusto.

    Outside Rome: Rome is a place that must be visited by everyone… but also visitors of Rome should adventure outside the City and go to places such as Tivoli, Amalfi Coast, or even Florence and Assissi.  

    The pictured attached is from Positano, the jewel of the Costiera Amalfitana.  To drive the Amalfi Coast that runs south of Sorrento, until the area around Salerno, will take a full day.  But it may be shortened by returning a short while after visiting Amalfi turning toward Naples through the interior highway and thus avoiding the slow traffic of the coastal winding road.

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     Practical Guidelines: 

     Let me end with some general guidelines: During this last trip we avoided the museums due to the long lines and by the fact that we have visited the major ones during earlier visits.  However, the Vatican Museums should be a priority for everyone visiting Rome.  

    Lodging: In our first visit to Rome in 1975, we stayed at D’Inghilterra, great location but we couldn’t afford it now.  We have stayed in far out places and in the middle of the city.  During our last trip we stayed at the Alimandi Tunisi about two blocks from the Vatican Museums.  This was a great experience and we highly recommend it.  However, the most important thing we would recommend about a hotel or pension in Rome is to find one that is close to a Metro station, this will provide you with the necessary mobility in this magnificent city. 

    Transportation: As we were planning to stay for six days we purchased at the Metro station a Carta Integrata Settimanale for Euro 16.  This allowed us free access to the Metro and all city trams and buses for our complete stay.  One of our best purchases ever!  We recommend that you obtain this pass as well as a Roma Metro-Bus map for Euro 6, in any newsstand as a companion guide to the pass.  That’s all you need to move around besides your own two feet wearing the most comfortable shoes you may have.  Try to stay away from flip flops or high heels.  The streets and pavement in Rome are quite uneven without considering the ancient cobbled streets and water running from a myriad of fountains around the city.

    Security: In Rome, like any other large city, you may run the risk of being pick pocked if the basic security steps are not observed.  Never carry valuables in your back pockets, carry your bags closely held next to your body, leave what you don’t need in a safe deposit in your hotel, carry copies of your passport, never put a bag in the floor or in an empty chair while you dine (regardless of the type of restaurant).  Avoid strangers that approach you with a map or a book or any article trying to show or ask you something.  Stay always alert.  We never have had a problem in Rome regarding our security!

    Accept the fact that you are going to be surrounded by hundred of thousand people living and visiting Rome at the same time that you are there.  If you don’t like people in your pictures of buildings, plazas, parks, etc. you need patience and creativeness.

    Enjoy the food and don't be afraid to drink water from any of the running fountains in Rome.  The water is fresh and safe, unless there is a post indicating that it is not good for drinking.

    Also, be prepared for the fact that Rome is not a  cheap place to visit.

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    Each of the pictures appearing on this journal is individually explained in detail under the "My Photos" section. As an alternative you may click the photos appearing here for expanded information.

     

     

     

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
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• Forum Boarium fountain

  • From: antfern
  • Description:
    Pope Clement XI commissioned Carlo Bizzaccheri, an architect from Perugia, to erect a fountain as part of the project to refurbish the square outside the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. On August 11, 1717 work began on the foundations. Bizzaccheri, who had the good idea of taking Pope Clement's crest as his inspiration, designed a great octagonal basin with concave sides, so that the whole formed an 8-pointed star, part of the Pope's Albani family crest. The whole fountain is made of travertine and, in the center, two powerful, scaly tritons (the work of Francesco Moratti) rise above a group of rocky outcrops (carved by Filippo Bai). The overly huge tritons are kneeling back-to-back with their tails entwined, their raised arms supporting a second basin shaped to look like an open seashell. The basin also has Pope Clement's coat-of-arms carved on opposite sides (three hillocks beneath a star). In the background of the picture, you can see the round Temple of Hercules Victor or Hercules Olivarius is an ancient edifice located in the Forum Boarium, surrounded by Corinthian columns on all sides. It dates from about 120 b.C. This beautiful small temple is the earliest surviving marble building in Rome.
  • 1 year ago
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