Slow Travel 2019 – Athens

We are about to embark on our fifth Slow Travel trip. This year we have chosen Athens. Why?

It’s a place I have always found intriguing, and because we had really enjoyed visiting ancient sites on our last year’s trip to Rome we felt we would really enjoy wandering around another ancient world. In May, we confirmed what a good choice we had made, when we had a short trip to Istanbul, and again enjoyed wandering that ancient city and viewing so many historical sites. (The Roman mosaics are stunning!)

I thought I would take some time and go through our thought processes, on why we chose Athens. I did a Top Tips for Slow Travel a couple of years ago, so there may be a bit of repetition, but our views have moved on as we have gained experience in this mode of travel. Many things are still the same though!

Choose your city (or cities)

Do some research into the city you are intending to visit, before booking. We have several main criteria

• A direct flight from Edinburgh, and preferably from cities our friends will be leaving from (Athens was not such a good choice for our family!)
• There should be plenty of things to see and do. While we are happy to spend a few days lounging around, it is good to have plenty of different things to see and do during the day. (We are less interested in night-life, but it might be one of your main criteria!)
• A pleasant climate. We use our September/October break to extend our summer, and shorten our winter. Edinburgh can be quite cold and dreich in autumn. (Dreich – a good Scottish word, meaning damp and dreary….)

Source : Oxford Dictionary via Google…

• Good public transport. This means that you will be able to travel easily within and outside the city. Athens looks like it ‘ticks that box’. We want to go down to Pireas, and maybe take a ferry to one or two of the islands. In past holidays, we have enjoyed taking the buses, metros and trains to outlying areas, so we get a better feel for how the locals live. If however, you are a keen driver in foreign places, look for somewhere that satisfies your transport needs. When we were in Nice in 2015, our friends hired a car, and drove all over the countryside. I was terrified on one particular journey, one road was a narrow switchback, then we found out we were in the midst of a local car rally… Such things are memories made of!
• Try and find an apartment / hotel / room that is close to transport links.  We did this, and have since found out that our nearest metro station is a bit dodgy late at night!! Oops. Fortunately we tend to be home early! So my tip is – do a bit more research than we did!

 

You know where you are going. What Next?

We booked this trip in January, and parked it for a while. In previous years, we have found that research before we go does really pay off, however, this year we had a lot of family stuff to organise, so we kept putting the planning off until later, but now, 2 weeks from departure, it is time to knuckle down and get on with it.

This year, we have been stung by the sinking pound, or rather should I say the ‘sunk’ pound. 2015/2016 we were enjoying an exchange rate of GBP to EUR of 1 : 1.33, this week my husband purchased our Euros at 1.05. Just about at par. We have the same problem against most major currencies, so every trip, flight etc costs 30% more. (we have just booked our flights to New Zealand for Christmas 2019, they are 50% more than 3 years ago. Some of it is cost of living, but much of it is down to dreadful exchange rates – I blame Brexit myself!)

Look online, buy a few travel books, ask friends and family. Get a feel for the city/ place you are going to. Read some stories about the place and its history. Start building some ideas about what you are going to do once you are there.

Take some time to plan what things you might want to do. I am researching a trip to one of the islands at the moment.

Just before you go

To give you a few ideas, these are the things I’m doing at the minute, just in case you are planning our own trip

• Make a list (or rather, many lists!). My, now grown-up children will laugh. Everyone knows that when I am planning something, a list is started, often multiple lists, and sometimes even, an over-arching list. (My training as a project manager has never quite gone away, even after many years in retirement.) Recently we had a big family party, and my son said I would have disappointed him, if there weren’t several lists on the move… My lists get added to each day. Today’s addition was English Mustard. My husband particularly enjoys a sharp mustard, which is often impossible to find in many supermarkets in Europe.

• Look after your home in your absence. As we are away for 7 weeks this time, we didn’t want to leave the house empty, so several friends and family are taking the opportunity to spend time in Edinburgh, while we are away. My cleaner will make sure beds are changed, and the house is clean for the next arrivals, although to be honest, our friends will probably leave it cleaner than when they arrived! Our neighbour is borrowing our garage to do some work on one of his cars. So effectively our house isn’t empty at all, it will be buzzing! We don’t have any animals needing looking after, thankfully, however various friends have had very successful experiences with house-sitters who also look after your pet. I am not recommending any site, but do go for someone who has experience of your animal, and (in the UK) has been police checked. Do also check with your insurance. Our home is insured for 60 days absence. Our neighbours will also be keeping an eye on our house, and they have our contact details
• Travel Insurance is a must wherever you are. Don’t skimp on it. I do know a lady who had a heart attack on a plane, the plane had to be diverted, fortunately there were some doctors on board, and her life was saved. But at least she didn’t have to worry about how to pay for it!
• Money. We use a mix of cash and card. In the UK I have found Nationwide Gold credit card doesn’t add any currency charges, and I have found Monzo gives you a very good rate with out any rate supplements etc. I also use Transferwise, which is a form of electronic purse in your preferred currencies. Last night I was investigating Starling Bank. Shop around. In the UK, Marks & Spencer and the Post Office are usually pretty competitive, but recently a small independent Currency King opened up near us, and their rates for cash are very competitive, so we have started using them.  The Post Office also do a multi-currency card. NOTE: I am not recommending any of these, neither do I have any affiliate links. This is from my own personal experience. However, on speaking to friends, they tell me Greece is a very cash orientated society, and so we are taking a bit more cash than normal.
• Take comfortable clothes and shoes. The weather will be different (In my case, I am hoping for 7 weeks of glorious sunshine! ) We both have a couple of pairs of walking sandals which are essential for us because we spend most of our days wandering around. I’ll take a couple of nice outfits, but in general we will be typical slightly scruffy tourists. Consider any local / religious requirements in your holiday destination. When we were in Istanbul, I was very aware that both men and women were required to dress modestly, which meant no shorts for men or women, and a headscarf for any visits to mosques. It was warm. so I wore a lot of cotton…
• What time of day will you arrive. How will you get from the airport or train station to your accommodation? This year, our flight arrives very late, so the providers of our apartment have arranged both an airport pick-up and a late check-in for us. We have contact numbers for both.

When you arrive

• Check your apartment well for any existing damage. If you find something later on, contact your provider immediately and tell them about it. I have found taking photographs and emailing them to be very effective. Then there is no doubt that the damage was there when you arrived.  If you find something that you need, and you think it is a reasonable request, ask that it is provided. Last year we did not have enough water glasses, so we asked for them.
• Ask your host to tell you where the nearest supermarket is, where there are good local markets, restaurants etc. Some places have a handy folder with this information, others don’t.
• Free local maps are useful. We have found that these can be obtained in most of the major metro / train stations, or tourist information offices.
• Take care of your valuables. Nothing can ruin a trip more quickly than losing your money / passport etc! My husband was pickpocketed in Madrid, but thankfully due to swift action by the local tourist police, the pickpockets were arrested, and my husbands belongings returned. We now use a (scruffy) bag that either of us can carry, which is difficult to access, and we put the wallet inside a separate zipped pocket, just in case! We only take what we need on that day. It definitely pays to be careful.

Take Loads of Photos

We take many. So here are a few…

2015 – Nice. Such a lovely beach, pebbles in places, but plenty of sand, as you get near the airport end

 

Then there was Barcelona in 2016. The weather wasn’t quite as good as the year before, but it also had rather a good beach! As I started blogging that year, I also wrote about our trip. \you can read it here.

Then Madrid in 2017, wow what can I say. Many blog entries for that, and also some lovely photographs. I chose this photograph, because one day, it was a normal square, then the next time we went it was covered in artificial grass, and the time after that, lots of chairs for an outdoor concert. How flexible!

Rome 2018. everything was great, but I’ll settle for a picture of the Appian Way, that 60 years ago, my husband learnt about Roman soldiers marching up and down it. He was so delighted to set foot on it! I know it is the wrong hymn, but I can just feel me singing ‘and did those feet, in ancient times…’ (I’ll forget about the rest of it, it doesn’t fit! All about England’s green and pleasant land…)

Above all, have fun!

We certainly will. I look forward to telling you about it. As they say, watch this space….

While I worry about everything before we get on the plane, after that, everything is ‘what will be, will be’. I don’t feel as responsible in the same way about the hospitality for our guests. Away from home, there are only so many things I can control! Everything is more relaxed, and if something doesn’t work out – well, we all laugh about it! There’s no sense of blame, or ‘you should have organised it better’….

If you would like to pin this, just click the image below.