About time for my bi-monthly post I think!
Well as you may tell from the title, when it got down to it, I didn't particularly enjoy Athens.
There were a few reasons for this. The main complaints were that it was probably the most touristey city I've been to, usually yeah, it's escapable and you can find somewhere away from the crowds. With Athens though, you'd lose the crowds, and there'd be absolutely nothing of interest to reward the wanderer. I did manage to get a haircut though, despite the language barrier, for a mere 5€ - luckily I had an appropriate picture on the wall to point at. Have to say I'm not quite worked up enough to get it all shaved off!
Anyway another reason I didn't quite enjoy Athens was that the place didn't feel Greek once you'd looked past the tourism. Yeah there was the Akropolis and the other associated relics, and the new museum wasn't bad, but aside from that it didn't feel genuine anymore. Maybe I was missing something, but 4 days was definitely too long for Athens!
Anyway, moving on from that downer...
From Athens I worked out a little bit of island hopping. First to Santorini, then to Paros. From Paros I would then hop to Samos, and to Turkey again.
Both islands were beautiful, and I wish I'd allowed more than a day on each one, and they certainly did feel Greek. There was more of a relaxed attitude and lifestyle on the islands, and outside of the port areas, not much in the way of a police presence.
Santorini was a picturesque, postcard island, with the typical white, stonewashed houses, beautiful beaches and perhaps an over excessive amount of quad bikes and scooters whizzing around. I decided I was going to eat out that evening and wanted to sample some Greek cuisine outside of the brilliant, but samey Pork Souflakis (think of a kebab, but with Tzatziki and fries).
I ended up going with a recommendation for 'The Volcano' restaurant. It was the most packed place and I had to wait for 15 minutes or so, but in the end it was worth it.
On my way I'd be browsing all the other overpriced menus and shrugging off the 'specials' some of the waiters would try and decide for you. A good way of being left alone was to say I had already eaten, and was looking for tomorrow.
It was a round 10€ I paid for a moreish Moussaka (think Lasagne, but Greek) and a side of stuffed vine leaves, with some Amstel. It felt like money well spent.
I was staying in the only hostel on the island, which turned out to be okay, and participated in daft drinking games until the wee hours.
Which brings me back to the lawless nature of the islands..
It got to something like 3am and some people were lining their stomaches with some indulgent crepes (not sure why Greece have adopted these, not that I'm complaining) to finish a night of drinking.
Out of the blue a guy parks next to the Creperie and, barely being able to walk or stand upright, with a huge grin drawn on his face, orders a crepe. The guy was obviously trousered and the locals barely battered an eyelid as he poured himself back into his car and drove off. Obviously we gave him a wide berth before walking back to the hostel!
The next day, after retracing last night's steps to the Creperie and getting something to set me up for the day, I went for a bit of a wander before my ferry at 3 o'clock that afternoon. I wasn't able to go too far, but I did find a church that looked like it was carved into one of the hills and so in the meditteranean? heat I clambered up the crumbling steps to get a closer look.
It was worth the buckets of sweat and the views up there were something else. I sat in the tiny bit of shade there was left (unfortunately the church was locked) and caught my breath while enjoying the landscape laid out before me.
Paros had the similar white houses and shops but had a slightly different feel to it. There were thankfully a lot less bikes to drown your brain. I stuck pretty much to the small town my hostel was in and wandered through the narrow market streets and took in the fresh sea air. Later on, the sunset was incredible aswell. This felt like an island I could spend weeks on, away from the madness of city life and free to go at my own pace.
Then it was back toward Turkey again.
This was after the hideous overnight ferry from 1105. I was allocated an open-deck seat, but I wasn't up to that so I upgraded for 6€ to get something a little more respectable, but not quite sleep-friendly. I managed a few uncomfortable fragments of sleep, before arriving in Samos at 5.30am.
So after a very cheap bus ride from the port town in Turkey and readjusting to the Turkish Lira, I was in Izmir for 4 days.
I enjoyed this city. It's home to the huge Kemeralti market area (covering maybe 3km?) where I bought myself a kilo of Turkish Delight for 3TYL / 1,5€, which I probably shouldn't do too often. It was great to get lost in the endless streets, knowing full well that if you carried on straight, you'd eventually make it out, back into the real world again.
There are lots of little tea (chai) houses everywhere, aswell as men with kettles and glasses walking around the grassy areas, serving tea to anyone with a few coins.
The clock tower and the Konak pier are also apparently quite famous, the clock featuring on Izmir posters around town. It also, like everywhere in Turkey, has its fair share of mosques, with four or so prayer songs that are broadcast on the loudspeakers.
There were no hostels in Izmir, but I did find a cosy little budget hostel that worked out at maybe £13 a night for a single room, with TV, air conditioning and some affectionate mosquitoes.
I was happy to spend hours walking and getting lost and trying new and incredibly cheap foods. It's also easy to see why Turks drink buckets of tea, which is drunk black, in a little glass so you can see the blood red colour of it. It has to be said though, that I'm really missing having a kitchen at my disposal... at this point I'm crying out for something not containing pastry, meat, cheese or all the above. There's also a huge array of spices just waiting to be sampled.
Now, once again, I am back in Istanbul.
I arrived yesterday evening from a comfortable bus and ferry combination, and chilled at the hostel.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I've been saving up my facial hair in order to go for a real Turkish shave, cut throat razor and all. I'll see if I can stumble into somewhere that's reasonable.
Anyway, time to run, I'll see if I can find some vegetables to chew on.
