Greece: Athens {Part 2}

 We had a glorious nights sleep and breakfast with an amazing view. We went down the road to get on the Hop on Hop off bus. This is why I love a Hop on Hop off. It's very affordable a lot of them come with 2 day, 3 day or more tickets. It takes you to all the main spots. You get off whenever you want and then get back on when another bus comes back. They usually come every 15-20 minutes. So you can go have some lunch do some shopping and a bus is ready for you at anytime. It's like having an uber driver, or even a personal driver. They also usually have headsets so you can hear the recordings for each stop so you can learn about the things you are seeing. 

We stopped at the Monastiraki flea market in the Monastiraki square. This place was a huge alley of shops with everything and anything you could think of.  It had decent prices and was open on Sunday. Some places weren't open on Sundays

Then we were able to catch our ride to the port. I thought we wouldn't be able to get onto the ship because it was earlier then we had requested. They took us straight into COVID testing. Then they gave us numbers and had us sit until they called our number. Well, they called my husbands number but not mine. Nerve wracking I know! They called me up and ushered me to fall this random guy who looked like a taxi driver on his phone into another empty tent. They told me I had a slight positive so they had to retest me. The guy was like keep breathing through your mouth and this is going to be uncomfortable. That it was they went deep into the nasal cavity.. maybe even into my brain I don't know. But the test came back negative so I was able to get on the ship. We got to our room which was a nice size. Then went directly to go eat at one of the complimentary restaurants on the ship. Then we checked out the pool and some entertainment. Ended with enjoying our view from the balcony. Which in case you were wondering. I'm so glad we got the balcony.

 

 

Stay tuned for Day 3 of our trip.....

Greece: Athens {Part 1}

 I'm going to be doing a ton of Greece posts in the next days or weeks. I want to make sure I get all the details for our amazing trip. I know I never finished the Scotland trip. I've had a lot of computer issues. Mainly because I have too many pictures. Then I run out of time before the next blog-worthy event happens. Then I looked down at the Calendar and it's already almost the end of the year. This has been the least amount of blogging I've ever done since I started. 

I thought I was doing good and staying on top of it but I guess not. So here it goes!

 

GREECE DAY 1

 

ATHENS 

 We arrived early afternoon to Athens. We had an overnight flight which was a good flight. We had comfortable seats, good food. Plenty of content to watch on the plane. Headphones, blankets, eye masks etc. were provided to us. It had been so long since we had done an international flight I had forgotten some of the perks. I think the ben and jerrys ice cream was a nice touch. That was fairly new. 

Downside. Obviously the face masks. I opted for the disposable ones for the flight because it was the most breathable one. But still really hard to sleep with. In fact I don't think I slept at all. When we landed we ended having to take a bus into the terminal. After that easy peasy. Got all our bags, exchanged a little bit of money and we headed out to meet our driver. One of the lovely perks of planning a trip with our lovely travel agent. 

As we drove to our hotel I realized more and more that it looked like Southern California. I had to keep telling myself "You did not land in Ontario, California. You are in Athens Greece".  Since it looked pretty familiar I totally fell asleep on the ride over. We checked in early to our hotel. Second perk our travel agent requested our room be ready early. Which it was and I was so thankful. I was able to sleep in a bed without a mask. Leaving us plenty of time to get rest and showered before our evening tour of the Acropolis and Parthenon. 

We stayed at the Athens Gate Hotel. Gorgeous hotel with friendly staff. Not to mention the amazing view from the Restaurant on the roof. Some of the rooms had the view but we opted for the more affordable one. You can still see the view with dinner reservations or just having a drink in the evening. Of course the complimentary breakfast in the morning has the same view. Great food too! 

  

The location was so convenient as well. Across from the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrians Arch, and the little street that leads to the Parthenon and Acropolis filled with gift shops, restaurants, etc. It was also a spot for the Hop on Hop off Tour Buses. Which is one of my favorite ways to travel a new city. 
We met up with our tour which is a must in Athens. I definitely recommend doing it in the evening especially if you get in that day. It's a great way to walk around and it's not too hot or crowded like in the morning or afternoon. 

After our tour we got Gyros and ice cream and a drink at the rooftop bar of our hotel. 

I could eat Gyros every single day. I also love how they showcase their ice cream in Greece. They look so fancy and delicious. I'm not a huge adventurous eater so I'm glad Greek food isn't that scary. 

There are other cool tours to do in Athens. Walking tours, Food tours, Cooking tours. I didn't get a chance to do these but it would've been fun.

 

 

 

Scotland Trip - Outlander tour {part 1} Doune Castle

This week season 3 of Outlander finally premiered after a 14-month break. Yes! I said 14 months. It's not your typical time-frame between seasons. The fans have deemed it "droughtlander" and that it was. I've literally read one of the books and rewatched both seasons a million times probably. I have also recruited quite a few new fans. 

So it was only fitting that I get this part of my trip blogged. {It would've been on Sunday but I was traveling home and had delays because of Hurricane Irma.}

Our tour was with slainte scotland. We were met by our tour guide James at city centre in Glasgow. The only tour we went on that provided bottled water and snacks as well as some whiskey which was awesome! There was only one other person on our tour with us. How great was that! It felt like a little private tour. You can't beat that on vacation. The hubby does not like crowds and I love not having extra people in my pictures. 

First was Doune Castle. Which luckily enough we were able to stop here twice on two separate tours. So we were able to explore the grounds more the second time. Some of Monty Python and the holy grail was filmed here as well. But specifically for the outlander fans this is Castle Leoch in season 1. Sam Heughan even recorded some of the tour for various Outlander spots. Such as the kitchen, the courtyard etc. I took a million pictures because this was one of my favorite tours. So I am going to have to split it into multiple posts. It was like going to a movie set. We actually started watching season one over again just to refresh our memories. I'm so glad we did because it made it that much more exciting to go to these same places. I was in Outlander heaven!

Outside the grounds if you recall is where Claire rode up with the highlanders. Also where her and Frank did their private tour.

Inside the courtyard where Mrs. Fitz comes down to greet them all and sees Claire for the first time.

We were told that when they came in to film they obviously brought all the mud and hay and laid it down on top of everything to make it look like how it is in the show.

Kitchen

They didn't actually film inside the castle because of the lack of light and cramped areas. They came in and took a scan of the whole castle and recreated it in their studios.

The view from the top of the castle

Where Catriona Balfe walked across (with no problem)and looked down to see Dougal playing with his son/nephew. It looked like she was gliding do you see how uneven that is. They have it blocked off now. I had to take a picture with  my phone through the slits in the door.