GREECE
Hellas

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A long journey to Greece and around the Peloponnese.  Unlike the other 'travel pages' this will not concentrate solely on insects and monuments! 

	A good starting point is Waterloo station but not very photogenic. Before long train journeys it is always as well to have a good meal and other refreshment - especially in Paris after watching the last stage of the Tour de France in a friendly bar.		Awaken the next morning to have coffee and breakfast in Milan's extraordinary fascist-built station. Not a beautiful building but imposing in its brutal way.
	Not the fastest of journeys to Ancona - especially with an overheating engine and long delay at Bologna but eventually on aboard one of the Superfast ferries - unlike these drivers who arrived rather too late ....		After a very reasonable meal, watch the sun setting on the Adriatic.
	Arriving at Patras with a distant view of the recently built bridge across the mouth of the Gulf of Corinth.		The train along the Gulf of Corinth is very interesting but slow: not an option today because the drivers are on strike. The 'bus journey to Athens is not inspiring: the motorway runs through the petrochemical industrial sprawl along the Bay of Salamis.
	Athens itself is not all that inspiring as a city, rather like Los Angeles, I'm told; but, if you avoid the traffic and other pollution there are great treasures on hand. Find a good hotel in the centre, preferably with a view of the Acropolis .....		It is possible to walk the ancient processional route from Eleusis but only if you enjoy oil refineries and dual carriageways - start closer, near the agora and 'Thission'. Click pic to enlarge.
	Looking past the propylea the whole of Athens and much of the plain of Attica can be seen - mostly built up but use your imagination. Much renovation is now in place, with modern masons hand crafting new marble work (click pic).		The museum on the Acropolis contains those marbles not in foreign hands. The national museum contains examples of all the best material from elsewhere in Greece - the most attractive may be the frescoes from Santorini (click pic). Dieing buprestid in museum.
	As well as the ancient monuments and the museum contents, a reason for staying in Athens was to visit Delphi - not on the Peloponnese although easily reached via the bridge or ferry from the Patras coast (view to the sea at Itea).		Delphi, like so many ancient Greek sites, is a magical place and deserves a page to itself.  As with all sites - get the local 'bus and arrive before the tourists! We hear and see our first cicada.
	The Corinth canal effectively makes the Peloponnese an island. No longer navigable by large boats and the favourite local sport seems to be bungee jumping from the bridge.		En route to Nauplion (Nafplion) a sight of one of the scourges of the Mediterranean and, indeed of natural environments the world over. Click pic to see goats.
	To Exostis, between Nauplion and Tolon. Nauplion consists mainly of restaurants and is overlooked by massive fortifications which can be reached by a lengthy trek from the north or by lift at the end of a strange tunnel at sea level leading to a hotel atop the cliffs.		From the fortification there are very good views over the sea and surrounding countryside as well as many interesting finds. The area around Nauplion is excellent for touring the numerous sites of the Argolid.

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CREATED 11/12/05
LAST MODIFIED 12/12/05