Closing ceremony of Patras Carnival

The closing ceremony of patras carnival will take place on Sunday 1 Mar 2009 in the city Patras.

Festivites will last for 2-3 days, starting from friday night, saturday night with the great night parade and sunday morning with the main carnival parade. A city full of dancing people during these days, definetely constitutes a lifetime experience.

Plaka , Athens

Plaka is the most beautiful section of the city of Athens. Under the Parthenon and the Acropolis, in the heart of the city it has a long history. Most of the cafes and restaurants of Plaka have been around for decades, since Plaka was still the center of Athenian Nightlife. That is not the case today though. Plaka today is full of restaurants, cafe’s and tourist shops. It is located between the metro stations of Monastiraki and Attiki. A place of culture and beauty, it is the meeting spot of painters, musicians and writers. Apart from the hill of Acropolis, there are many archaeological sites like the Tower of the Winds, the Roman Agora and others. A visit to Plaka is the best way to get a feeling of the history of the city of Athens, from ancient times to this century.

Athens

Athens is the capital of Greece and the largest city in the country. With more than 3.5 million in the metropolitan area, it’s the center of Greece economically and administratively. The international airport of Athens, Eleytherios Venizelos is the largest one in greece with 16.5 million passengers this year. The port of pireaus is also the largest port in the country and one of the most important ports in the mediterranean sea.

The city of Athens has many attractions for the visitor, the Acropolis with the Parthenon, Thiseion, Plaka, Monastiraki etc …  The city is a metropolis: noisy and ugly  most of the time, though with many beautiful spots and a vivid nightlife. If you travel to greece you will propably spend some time in athens during your trip: All -greek- roads lead to Athens.  And there is a catch. During August a large portion of the 3.5 million residents roam to the greek mainland and islands for their summer vacations. At that time, Athens becomes a peaceful, beautiful city full of ancient monuments, museums, galleries, festivals etc.

Chania

Chania is the second largest city in crete and arguably the most beautiful one. The old town of chania is definetely one of the most interesting places you can find in greece. It is very picturesque with alleys and old buildings. Minoans, Byzantines, Venetians, Ottomans, all left their mark in a part of the city and their heritage has been very well protected. The Jewish district of topanas, the castle of casteli, halepa and many more districts make for an excellent sight seeing experience.

There is also a beach in the city in the district of Koum kapi (meaning “the gate of sand”) but the trully magnificent beaches are located on the west of the city, beggining with sande “golden beach” and continuing with Agioi Apostoloi  and kolimvari.

Oh, and don’t forget your camera

Elounda peninsula

Elounda is a small village in crete, mostly known for its luxury hotels, like elounda mare, peninsula etc.

Elounda bay

But that is not the only luxury elounda provides. Next to the golf courses and swimming pools there are a number of small taverns, apartments for rent and the beautiful sea. Elounda bay is much like a lagoon, the east part of which is the peninsula of spinalonga or kolokitha, or simply the “island” as the natives call it. The island is a NATURA protected area, where no human constructions are allowed.

Following the only road to the island up to a point, and walking a couple of hundred meters down the hill, the traveler reaches the most beautiful beach of elounda, kolokitha. There is no other easy way to reach the rest (fortunately:) )and much much less crowded beaches of the island, if you don’t feel like walking, you can only reach them by boat.

Elounda peninsula and spinalonga