It has been a couple of days since I left Greece, I'm actually in Zanzibar, Tanzania right now, typing away at a messed up keyboard in a tiny internet cafe. I don't have any photos to upload right now, I'll have to do that some other time as wi-fi isn't available here.
Athens
I flew into Athens Airport on the 17th and took the metro to the Acropolis. It took a little over an hour and set me back 8 euro, I later found out there was a 5 euro airport bus that took you right to the centre of town (the X95). I stayed at the Athens Backpackers, which I'd highly recommend to anyone travelling there on their own, it was a bit of a bitch to find, but the locals were very helpful.
Spent my first day checking out the markets and my hour long stroll turned into a 3 hour hike in the 38 degree heat because I got lost and didn't know how to read my map. The streets are really hard to navigate because they seem to just go everywhere and there aren't any street signs anywhere. Cool markets though.
I met Jasmine from Melbourne who was staying in my dorm, and we went out for a drink and dinner. She had been travelling for about a week around the Greek Islands and was finishing her trip in Athens.
Athens Backpackers offers a 6 euro tour around the city, and depending on which tour guide you get, it can go for as long as 4-5 hours. I met some pretty cool people on my walking tour, including Evan, who's video of him playing the piano backwards went viral and landed him guest spots on Ellen and Jay Leno.
Mykonos
Andrew, Mari and I took a 3 hour ferry from Piraeus and arrived in Mykonos. We stayed at Hotel Teo (worst place I'd stayed at in all of Greece) and was picked up from the port by Theo, the guy who ran the place. Our room was TINY, infested with mosquitoes, our bathroom light didn't work, the toilet didn't flush and the shower clogged up every time we used it. I was so fed up by the second day, I had a shower outside our room with the garden hose while an old creepy man watched me from across the road. Backpacking in true class and style. Honestly, there was not all that much to do in Mykonos unless you really like drinking, partying and laying around on the beach. We tried to sleep on the beach one of the nights we were there but it was so windy. There were also lots of Aussies there.
Santorini
Hands down, my favourite place in all of Greece. We stayed at Villa Manos, Poppy who runs the place, made us a dinner when we got there, free of charge and we were put up in a really nice two bedroom suite. Just what we needed after our hellish ordeal in Mykonos. We visited a volcano, a couple of the smaller islets around the main island, rode donkeys and watched the sunset in Oia. I also swam fully clothed into a hot spring and spent the better half of the afternoon walking around town in a black dress with very obvious white salt stains all over the place. It was definitely not a good look and not one my proudest moments, but I definitely don't regret it.
Crete
Crete is the largest island in Greece and also the most boring. We stayed in Heraklion and all we really did was see the Palace of Knossos and spent the rest of our time watching Parks and Recreation, there was nothing really to do there. Crete was pretty shit, don't go there. We were told there was a really nice beach, Bali Beach, about an hour out, but we just couldn't be bothered.
Things you should try when in Greece: ouzo (disgusting liquorice tasting alcohol ), moussaka, stuffed peppers, gyros (the Greek version of the kebab at only 2.50 a pop) and souvlaki, of course.
Athens
I flew into Athens Airport on the 17th and took the metro to the Acropolis. It took a little over an hour and set me back 8 euro, I later found out there was a 5 euro airport bus that took you right to the centre of town (the X95). I stayed at the Athens Backpackers, which I'd highly recommend to anyone travelling there on their own, it was a bit of a bitch to find, but the locals were very helpful.
Spent my first day checking out the markets and my hour long stroll turned into a 3 hour hike in the 38 degree heat because I got lost and didn't know how to read my map. The streets are really hard to navigate because they seem to just go everywhere and there aren't any street signs anywhere. Cool markets though.
I met Jasmine from Melbourne who was staying in my dorm, and we went out for a drink and dinner. She had been travelling for about a week around the Greek Islands and was finishing her trip in Athens.
Athens Backpackers offers a 6 euro tour around the city, and depending on which tour guide you get, it can go for as long as 4-5 hours. I met some pretty cool people on my walking tour, including Evan, who's video of him playing the piano backwards went viral and landed him guest spots on Ellen and Jay Leno.
Mykonos
Andrew, Mari and I took a 3 hour ferry from Piraeus and arrived in Mykonos. We stayed at Hotel Teo (worst place I'd stayed at in all of Greece) and was picked up from the port by Theo, the guy who ran the place. Our room was TINY, infested with mosquitoes, our bathroom light didn't work, the toilet didn't flush and the shower clogged up every time we used it. I was so fed up by the second day, I had a shower outside our room with the garden hose while an old creepy man watched me from across the road. Backpacking in true class and style. Honestly, there was not all that much to do in Mykonos unless you really like drinking, partying and laying around on the beach. We tried to sleep on the beach one of the nights we were there but it was so windy. There were also lots of Aussies there.
Santorini
Hands down, my favourite place in all of Greece. We stayed at Villa Manos, Poppy who runs the place, made us a dinner when we got there, free of charge and we were put up in a really nice two bedroom suite. Just what we needed after our hellish ordeal in Mykonos. We visited a volcano, a couple of the smaller islets around the main island, rode donkeys and watched the sunset in Oia. I also swam fully clothed into a hot spring and spent the better half of the afternoon walking around town in a black dress with very obvious white salt stains all over the place. It was definitely not a good look and not one my proudest moments, but I definitely don't regret it.
Crete
Crete is the largest island in Greece and also the most boring. We stayed in Heraklion and all we really did was see the Palace of Knossos and spent the rest of our time watching Parks and Recreation, there was nothing really to do there. Crete was pretty shit, don't go there. We were told there was a really nice beach, Bali Beach, about an hour out, but we just couldn't be bothered.
Things you should try when in Greece: ouzo (disgusting liquorice tasting alcohol ), moussaka, stuffed peppers, gyros (the Greek version of the kebab at only 2.50 a pop) and souvlaki, of course.
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