Our last port of call was to Katakolo and Ancient Olympia. I had heard of Olympia, as the birthplace of the Olympics, but honestly didn’t know what to expect. It turned out to be one of my favorite parts of our trip.
Katakolo. sometimes spelled Katakolon, is a port town. It’s cute with lots of restaurants and souvenir shops, but that’s it – no real history here. Where you want to go is Olympia – about 33 kilometres away. (more…)
I’ve always loved Greece.
When I went with my parents in 1983, I was a blonde teenager who enjoyed catching the eye of handsome Greek men. I decided that I would move to Athens after high school graduation.
Reality got in the way – things like college, graduate school, a job – and I never returned.
My husband traveled there after college and also wanted to return. When we got engaged, we briefly talked about Greece for our honeymoon destination. Instead, we ultimately decided to go somewhere neither of us had been before and chose Hawaii. Although lovely, I knew I wanted to go back to Greece one day. (more…)
Montenegro. Just saying it out loud sounds like a place somewhere in Africa. It is not. It’s a new country located south of Croatia in what was part of the old Yugoslavia.
Our port of call was Kotor, located on the Bay of Kotor. Although Montenegro is a relatively new country (only 11 years old), it is steeped with history. To learn more, we booked a 90-minute walking tour of the Old City. Our guide, Yelena explained Montenegro’s turbulent history. It was ruled by Rome, Serbia, Hungary, Bosnia and a few others until becoming part of the Venetian Republic in 1420. It stayed that way for almost 400 years. (more…)
The word Montenegro, which means “Black Mountains,” aptly describes this enchanted area south of Croatia. As our ship traveled through the Bay of Kotor, the captain recommended we get up early to watch the majestic mountains loom on both sides of the ship.
Since we were up early to watch the sunrise, I decided to disembark as soon as we docked. I wanted to take the hike to San Giovanni Castle (or St. John’s Fortress) before it got hot and crowded. (more…)