Singapore was the last leg of our fantastic travels around Asia, which meant on to our first stop in Europe: Greece! I had initially planned to go there for the amazing beaches, but like everything in life, balance is key. Before we went to the Greek islands to soak in some rays, we decided to see some of Greece's ruins and architecture.
Our first stop was Meteora, five hours north of Athens. Like we've grown accustomed to on our travels, Carolyn and I did some crazy, non-stop traveling to get to Meteora. We left Singapore on a six-hour flight to a nine-hour layover in Doha (Qatar Air was cheap and actually very amazing), before taking a four-hour flight in the morning to Athens, followed directly by a five-hour bus ride to Meteora. Pretty much 24 hours straight of traveling. It was worth it.
A couple of my friends strongly recommended visiting Meteora when they heard I was going to Greece. I was already sold because the name sounds rad (yup, rad), but was further convinced when they told me Meteora had five monasteries built on towering cliffs. They swore by it, so I decided I had to see it for myself.
One word: amazing. Two words: freaking amazing. The monasteries on cliffs were surreal. It almost looked fake; like I was looking at a real life post card. We pretty much spent the entire day trekking between the monasteries and soaking in the views of the cliffs and of the city below. Our entire time in Meteora equaled the amount of time it took to get there, but it was a a once in a lifetime, unique experience I was really happy I saw. Oh yeah, we also had gyros so that's good too.
After our day in Meteora, we bussed back down to Athens so we could continue getting learned. The next day, we got up bright and early, and made our way to the Acropolis, so that we could get caught in a sea of tourists. Mission accomplished. It was great to finally see up close in person all of the "Greek images" I've always seen in photos. Not to mention that there is so much history behind each of the structures. We ended our time in the Archaeology Museum, which was expansive and really amazing. I didn't have the strongest urge to see Athens because of my "ruins fatigue" but I'm really glad I saw the must-see sights. We also had more gyros.
Now that our brains were filled to the brim was Greek culture, it was time to jet off to the Greek Islands to lay horizontally on sand. And eat more gyros. Tune in next time to check out these adventures. Same bat time, same bat channel.
Our first stop was Meteora, five hours north of Athens. Like we've grown accustomed to on our travels, Carolyn and I did some crazy, non-stop traveling to get to Meteora. We left Singapore on a six-hour flight to a nine-hour layover in Doha (Qatar Air was cheap and actually very amazing), before taking a four-hour flight in the morning to Athens, followed directly by a five-hour bus ride to Meteora. Pretty much 24 hours straight of traveling. It was worth it.
A couple of my friends strongly recommended visiting Meteora when they heard I was going to Greece. I was already sold because the name sounds rad (yup, rad), but was further convinced when they told me Meteora had five monasteries built on towering cliffs. They swore by it, so I decided I had to see it for myself.
One word: amazing. Two words: freaking amazing. The monasteries on cliffs were surreal. It almost looked fake; like I was looking at a real life post card. We pretty much spent the entire day trekking between the monasteries and soaking in the views of the cliffs and of the city below. Our entire time in Meteora equaled the amount of time it took to get there, but it was a a once in a lifetime, unique experience I was really happy I saw. Oh yeah, we also had gyros so that's good too.
Rad.
Beautiful views from up top.
My first meal in Greece: fry-filled gyro.
My bracelet buddy. He got mine from Thailand, I got his Greek one.
After our day in Meteora, we bussed back down to Athens so we could continue getting learned. The next day, we got up bright and early, and made our way to the Acropolis, so that we could get caught in a sea of tourists. Mission accomplished. It was great to finally see up close in person all of the "Greek images" I've always seen in photos. Not to mention that there is so much history behind each of the structures. We ended our time in the Archaeology Museum, which was expansive and really amazing. I didn't have the strongest urge to see Athens because of my "ruins fatigue" but I'm really glad I saw the must-see sights. We also had more gyros.
At the famous Acropolis.
A lot of beautiful items at the Archaeological Museum.
A huge plate of mixed meats in Athens.
Bummed our paths didn't cross in Greece, but Meteora sounds awesome. I will need to check it out next time!
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