Athens 2011 Day 13 – Explore the ruins in Athens

A little market we walked past as we began the day.

A short distance walk we arrived at the Ancient Agora.

Then we walked to another area where the Temple of Olympian Zeus was.

Then we continued to walk taking Lisikratous street towards the Roman Forum

Later we decided to travel to Kerameikos

That marks the end of the Athens exploration

Delphi 2011 Day 10 – Day trip to Delphi

On this day, we were visiting Delphi on day trip but public transport. Setting off from the Omonia Station on M1 to the Aghios Nikolaos just 3 stations north. From there, we walked towards the bus station with the traditional map in hand. We hit the Liosion main road, turn right, walked until we see the Liossion Service stop and turn right onto Gousiou road and arrived at the KTEL station.

Delphi site was located before the town so we backtracked until we see the Archaeological museum of Delphi which we paid a visit first.

Athens 2011 Day 9 – Return to Athens and explore Athens

Panoramic sunrise at Oia

The rest of the evening was probably spent at dinner and back at hotel resting for an early day out to Delphi.

Mykonos 2011 Day 6 – Delos and ferry to Santorini

We were supposed to leave for Santorini on the Flying Cat 4 of the Hellenic Seaways that got cancelled. So we went back to Athens first before boarding the next available ferry to Santorini the next morning.

Greece 2011 Day 5 – Ferry to Mykonos and explore Mykonos

After arrival into Athens, upon leaving the airport, we got onto a taxi to bring us to our accommodation at Arion Hotel for one night. As we got closer to the hotel, we passed by streets withnseedy characters and prostitutes, where it seemed a little dangerous to be out. We made it to the hotel safely though.

The next day morning was a rush for the ferry to the islands! Our first stop was Mykonos and the Blue Sea ferry ship would depart at 735am. We had to be there 1 hour before departure and thankfully, the subway started really early. Taking the M1 green line from Monastriaki to Piraeus, we arrived near the port and started to looked for the ship.

Panorama of the Syros port en-route to Mykonos
Panorama view from the windmills
Swimming pool but it was too cold to swim.

Escape plan to France, Italy, Greece and Britain March 2011

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to France, Italy, Greece and Britain 2011:

Total duration 16D15N
Europe is 6hrs behind Singapore.
Flight time is 13hrs 25mins on Singapore Airlines direct to Heathrow Airport.

Flight was on Singapore Airlines on 27th March at 12:45pm and arrival in London at 7:10pm.
Return flight was on Singapore Airlines on the 11th April at 11:10am in London and arrival in Singapore at 7:20am.

Day 1 – Arrival in London
Day 2 – Eurostar to Paris, Sainte Chapelle and Paris city walk

Day 3 – Palace of Versailles and flight to Rome
Day 4 – Pompeii and flight to Athens
Day 5 – Ferry to Mykonos and explore Mykonos
Day 6 – Delos and ferry to Santorini
Day 7 – Roam around Santorini and visit Fira
Day 8 – Oia in Santorini
Day 9 – Return to Athens and explore Athens
Day 10 – Day trip to Delphi
Day 11 – From Athens to Kalambaka, visit the monasteries
Day 12 – 2nd round of visit to the monasteries before heading back to Athens
Day 13 – Explore the ruins in Athens
Day 14 – Day trip to Manchester for a Manchester United soccer match
Day 15/16 – Bicester Village outlet shopping, Oxford visit & Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was initially one that was plan for a visit to Japan but Fukushima happened and we had to change our plan to a return to central Europe with specific places of interest, such as Versailles and Pompeii, a visit to Greece and a “pilgrimage” (as a Man United fan) to Manchester to catch a football match “live” and tick off my bucket list.

Budget nature: Not cheap.

As there were multiple flights in the journey, we tried to exchange Krisflyer miles for partner flights, such as Aegean air for the journey to Athens. The greek islands were on a low season and therefore more affordable but overall, we had to save up for this trip.

Complexity: With planning, it would be manageable.

We managed to get from city to city via public transport and while on the greek islands, rent a car to get around. The temples at Kalambaka were accessed via motorcycles.

We had missed the train to Mont St Michel due to fumbling at the DIY kiosk and we couldn’t retrieve our tickets, as we had purchased earlier online. It was a waste of money and a lesson for us to just proceed to the ticketing counters next time.