Amsterdam

Our cosy floating home in Amsterdam
A canal and a bicycle...must be Amsterdam
A classy souvenir store
Inside a giant clog, beside Dam square
The Royal Palace, on Dam Square

On the roof of our boat, probably a nice place to sit in the summertime
In front of De Waag, which used to be a weighing house, and now has a restaurant inside
Inside Cafe Hoppe, over 300 years old, with some very old-looking barrels
A house beside one of the canals
One of the stalls at the flower markets...lots and lots of tulips!

The best pancakes ever....
The best pancake house ever
Everyone seemed a bit scared to have their photo taken with these two in Dam Square...
And finally, just managed to squeeze in 'frites with mayonnaise in a cone' before we left Amsterdam...mission accomplished.

We arrived in Amsterdam on Sunday afternoon, and faced our first challenge - finding our hostel. This was a bit unusual, as our hostel did not have a street address, because it was a boat!So we had to walk along the water looking hopefully for the 'Vita Nova', our home for the next two nights, and which we were very happy to find eventually. We were shown to our cabin -with it's economical use of space - and then we headed out to explore Amsterdam, trying to ignore the persistent rain. We soon realised how to tell who was a tourist - we were the only ones walking anywhere, all the locals were on bikes. We had to be careful crossing the road, bikes would come whizzing past from all directions. There were even parking buildings for the bikes.

We walked along the canals, marvelling at the huge variety in the houses - everyone with its individual style, a different style and different height to the next one, a nice change after the houses in England which are the same street after street! After lunch in a reasonably-priced, nice Italian restaurant, we stumbled upon the heart of the red light district, a canal which is bordered by rows of brothels, souvenir stores and women dancing in windows. Then we headed to Dam Square, to see the impressive Royal Palace and the National Monument. As it was still raining, we decided to set out in search of a movie theatre - easier said than done, as we got lost in the maze of curving canals that all look the same - very confusing! Luckily we found our way out and to a movie theatre, one with very impressive Art Deco architecture.


On Monday we walked to the southern part of the city centre, to see the van Gogh museum (from the outside at least) and 'Amsterdam's answer to Central Park', Vondelpark (not quite as impressive as Central Park, but a nice park all the same). Then the rain drove us inside, to the Magna Plaza shopping centre, where we made the most of free cheese tasting (very nice cheese) and saw one shop with devices that people lie inside and get massaged by strong jets of water - interesting! Then it was on to visit the Amsterdam Historical Museum, and learn about Amsterdam's sailing history and the growth of the city. After all this education it was time for a rest - so we stopped for a drink at a 300-year old pub, one of the 'brown cafes' of the city - walls stained brown with cigarette smoke, in business for up to 300 years, sand on the floor - this one ticked all the boxes. We felt like we were stepping back in time when we went inside.

Dinner that night was at another Italian restaurant as the Dutch fare was quite limited, including a fast-food restaurant where the burgers and fries sit in vending machines for an unknown period of time, until someone comes to buy them.

On Tuesday we headed to Anne Frank's house, to see where the Frank family was hidden during the second world war. It was a sobering experience to walk through the hidden doorway behind a bookcase, and walk around the rooms used by the family, imagining what it was like for them to hide here, living constantly in fear.

Then we walked along the canals to see the flower markets, where the flowers are sold from floating stalls permanently moored on the side of a canal. As expected, there were lots of tulips, as well as a huge variety of other flowers and plants. One store was almost entirely dedicated to cacti, from a table of different varieties as small as your thumb to a room full of cacti as big as us (nearly), to stores selling 'grow-your-own-cannabis' kits. Then it was time for lunch, so we went to a pancake house, a Dutch delicacy: where they create a pancake with your filling on the inside, by double-layering your pancake, which comes out to you the size of a large pizza - and they were the best pancakes ever! And this was followed by the best apple pie ever (another Dutch speciality). Then we walked through the Waterlooplein markets, with an interesting array of hippy clothing, tourist shops and bicycle accessories.

And then it was time to head to the train station to catch a train to the airport - but there was just enough time to squeeze in one more Dutch delicacy - fries with mayonnaise in a cone! Very tasty....quite messy and difficult to eat, but a good end to our Dutch experience.

Athens - days 3 and 4

Shaun and a bronze statue of Zeus/Poseidon in the National Archaeological Museum
"The little jockey of Artemission" in the National Archaelogical Museum
The huge meat market in central Athens
The "zoo" in the National Gardens, where fat cats and roosters happily co-exist
Shaun in front of the 'Zappio' in the National Gardens, this building has no real function except being good looking

Shaun on our scooter in front of the largest church in Greece (so the man who sold us ferry tickets told us) on Aegina Island
Buying fruit on a boat on Aegina Island
Julia and scooter and hills on the island, to the right was the 'hill of many churches'

The Temple of Aphaia at the top of the hills on Aegina Island
The fishing village on the island

On Wednesday we visited the National Archeological Museum, which has a very impressive collection of artefacts and statues that show the real depth of Athens' history. It is hard to comprehend how old some of the objects are. The skill and craftmanship is amazing, especially in some of the bronze statues, like the statue of Zeus (or Poseidon, depending who you listen to), and a boy riding a horse. Some of the pieces are fragments of statues that would have been absolutely massive in their original form! After having our fill of statues and sculptures, we headed to a very different aspect of Athens life - the fish and meat markets. These markets are right in the centre of Athens, and are huge, and not for the faint-hearted - all the parts of various animals are laid out in all their bloody gory - skinned heads, hearts, intestines, feet, everything. Even skinned rabbits with the fluffy tail and feet still attached.

After this we needed some fresh air so we headed to the National Gardens - a large wooded area rather light on actual gardens, lots of lovely greenery though. We even managed to pick up our own stray dog to take for a walk -she adopted us on the street, and led us into the gardens, looking back to make sure we were following, then proceeded to stay with us as we walked around - just like having our own dog. However she refused to come with us to the zoo inside the gardens, and we soon found out why - 'zoo' was a rather generous description for it. One cage had goats, another had a donkey, a few cats and some chickens - the cats and chickens had reached a truce apparently, and were now good friends. The final cage had some more chickens and a peacock - it was a very exotic zoo.

The next day we hopped on a ferry to the closest island to Athens, called Aegina. Walking around the streets was very relaxing after the constant crowds of Athens. We hired a scooter and after a 5 minute safety lecture and driving lesson (we got a very confused look when we asked what the speed limit was) we were off, amongst the crazy drivers and probably other novice scooter drivers like ourselves. We headed up into the hills, to see the 'hillside of many churches', which had about thirty tiny churches scattered around it, and also to see one very large church, Greece's largest apparently. At the top of the hill was a very well preserved temple, called the Temple of Aphaia. We had it all to ourselves, which was a nice change. We then headed around the coast to have dinner at a fishing village, and get a glimpse of the lifestyle on the island.

Greece - days 1 and 2

Crowds entering the Athena Nike temple, at the entrance to the Acropolis
The Parthenon
The Erechtheion, atop the Acropolis
Shaun and Julia and the Parthenon
Looking down on the Theatre of Dionysos from the Acropolis

The restored Theatre of Herodes Atticus
Julia sitting in the ancient Theatre of Dionysos
View of Temple of Hephaistos from Aeropagus Rock
View of Stoa Attalos from Aeropagus Rock (note ruins from the Agora in the foreground)
View of the Acropolis, the Parthenon, the Athena Nike temple, the entrance to the Theatre of Herodes Atticus and the Stoa of Eumenes from Filopappou Hill

Julia in front of the Temple of Hephaistos
The Stoa of Attallos - restored to its former glory
Hadrians Arch, with the Acropolis in the background
The Temple of Olympian Zeus - spot the miniature Shaun
One of the pillars of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, blown over in a storm during the 19th century

Day 1: After a pretty uneventful trip to Luton airport and flight to Greece, we arrived at our backpackers (actually a 2 star hotel) and were surprised at the value for money you get with Greek accomodation! We then headed out in search of dinner and ended up at a little Greek restaurant down the street which was an adventure in itself. The menu was totally in Greek, which resembles Arabic writing so it is totally unreadable and unpronouncable to an English reader (we discovered later most restaurants aimed at tourists will have an English part to the menu) , coupled with this the mother and son serving didn't speak a word of English so we ended up trying to point at the pictures on the menu to order, unfortunately all of the pictured meals seemed to be out of stock so we reached an impasse, at which the little old lady started tugging on my arm and dragged us next door to a little dairy, where the shop-girl, who spoke English, managed to translate our order for us. It turned out to be a very nice meal - beer, drinks, kebabs, salad, bread, all for under 9 euro! But a bit of an early reminder that if you step outside of the tourist districts it is a very different city and you will be stared at like a zoo animal - a bit random after spending time in the culturally-accepting city of London.

Day 2: Waking up to bright sunshine and a very warm day, we decided to get into the best Athens has to offer, and we headed for the Acropolis. After getting lost in the narrow and winding streets which surround the hill and having a young Asian family start to follow us, we managed to find an entry gate and we headed up the magnificent outcrop. The Athena Nike Temple (or entrance to the Acropolis) was covered in scaffolding and as this is the only visible building as you approach, our hopes were not too high for unobstructed viewing, however once we stood among the Athena Nike itself, the sheer history and size and grandeur of it all made the scaffolding and crowds not matter at all. After passing through this the Parthenon comes into view and it is a breathtaking sight, perched atop the Acropolis, with views of the city surrounding it, it is everything pictures and stories make it out to be. The Erechtheion(the third building atop the acropolis) was a pleasant surprise, still mainly intact. The site itself is amazing - it takes you back thousands of years, has panoramic views of the city, has survived so many attacks, treasure-raids and lasted through so many centuries when it no longer had any religious or social value.

We headed down to take in the Theatre of Herodes Atticus, which has been restored and now holds open air concerts and seats up to 6 thousand people. We headed along the south slope to gaze upon the Theatre of Dionysos, a massive theatre which in its prime could hold up to 20 thousand people. Directly above this were 2 pillars and a cave carved into the hill which held a statue of Dionysos for over 2000 years. We then headed up Filopappou Hill which held magnificent views of the Acropolis and the harbour, and the walk up the hill gave an opportunity to experience some Greek nature, walking amongst trees, cacti, olive groves and rocky outcrops.

After all this walking, we had worked up quite an appetite so we stopped for lunch in an outdoor-seating area - during our 45 minute stop we were approached by no fewer than 12 different hawkers, with wares ranging from DVDs, to kids selling lighters, to guys selling everything from roses to hammers, and even musicians. However none of them seemed to be having much success. After our pit-stop we were off to visit the Ancient Agora (marketplace), which was the heart of Athenian citylife from as early as 3000BC. It contains the recently restored Stoa of Atticus, the Temple of Hephaistos and a collection of ancient ruins which were all very impressive to look at.

To top off the day we visited Hadrians Arch, and then the Temple of Olympian Zeus, which is amazingly impressive due to the sheer size, even though only 15 of the original 104 pillars remain. At the entrance we encountered one of the more interesting packs of roaming stray dogs, of which the city has a very large amount. Dinner that night was unmemorable, although Shaun's moussaka was alright. And then it was off for a well-deserved rest.

We visited Windsor castle

We have also visited Hampton Court Palace, which has been home to some of the most famous British kings and queens, including King Henry the VIII. It was amazing to walk through rooms that have been decorated and lived in by the royal family. One of the most impressive parts was the huge ornamental garden, which even includes a maze that we managed to get lost in! We got out eventually though. Hampton Court Palace
One of the tapestries hanging in the Great Hall, woven with real silver and gold thread
Fountain Court

The King's staircase, with paintings covering all four walls and the ceiling
The King's Guard Chamber, with lots and lots of weapons
The throne canopy in the King's Presence Chamber

In the gardens of Hampton Court Palace:

The South Facade of the palace
Shaun and his golden harp

We went to see the Lion King, which was absolutely amazing - all the costumes and sets are so impressive! We were sitting in the front row so we were very close to all the action. Before the show we went to dinner at a Moroccan restuarant in Covent Garden

Outside the Lyceum theatre, home to the Lion King show

Walk in "Bushy Park", a park next to Hampton Court Palace that is enclosed with brick walls and is home to lots of deer - they won't quite let you touch them though!

I make a couple of new friends...
Shaun and some deers with very large antlers...
..and I was a bit nervous having this guy behind me!