Europe Cycle adventure + Greece Aug/Sept 2025

Our last day in Europe spent visiting this iconic city. Today included visits to: The church Christine Onassis was married in The pomp and ceremony of the Changing of the Guard at Parliament house The Panathenaic Olympic stadium National Garden Temple of Zeus Hadrian's Arch with views to the Acropolis  Yiros for lunch The Acropolis Prison of Socrates Agora of Athens Panaghia Kapnikarea church built in AD1050 Dinner and then caught the train to the airport, collected my bike and panniers from airport storage and now checked in for the flight home. What a fabulous last day in Europe spent with Tim.  (I'll reflect on the full trip over the next 30+ hours)

Goodbye Greek islands and family!   Well, I had the most wonderful experience on Ithaki.  It's hard to be specific about what made it feel so wonderful because I think it was a combination of so many things.  The warmth of family and friends and the joy of being involved in a wedding.  Staying in a beautiful villa with a large group and stunning views. Exploring little beaches, seeing all manner of watercraft from a tiny little fishing boat to $5M super yachts or cruisers.  Swimming in clear buoyant waters. Cycling around to various little bays, past villages and all with ocean views.  Visiting the family property and hearing the history. The shades of blue in the water and sky. Sunsets and sunrises. Getting to enjoy all these things with Tim.  It was a combo! A little heart starter when doing bag drop.  I had checked us both in online and noticed that Tim was allocated a...

Exploring Ithaki by E-Bike!   After a lazy chatty morning we went into town and hired a couple of E-Bikes and Tim showed me around the north of the Island.   One spectacular view after another on a blue sky day.  We headed up the switchbacks, past the Wedding reception venue and higher up the mountain.  The views of the ocean and over to the island Kefalonia were beautiful and enhanced by many white yachts. The road continued up to Stavros which has a beautiful church on the mountain top.  They also had a diaorama of Ulysses castle as the ruins are in the area. Down the other side through narrow winding roads, through little villages to Frikes where we swam in the clear waters. Then on to Kioni, a stunning little harbour lined with cafes and shops and had a gorgeous lunch.  One of the fun things today was bumping into lots of wedding guests who had hired cars and were sightseeing all over the island.  One couple recommended a cafe in Kioni an...

A sleep in this morning following last night's late finish after the beautiful wedding.  After brekky we wandered down the ‘goat track' to the harbour and along beside the boats moored overnight.  The ocean is so blue and the Greek cottages, bougainvillaea flowers, stray kittens, cafes and shops make the atmosphere wonderful. First stop, a coffee for Tim and then we tried to rent e-bikes to explore the island but we were too late as all had been rented out.  So we walked around the harbour to a small beach and swam in the clear waters and relaxed under some gum trees.  We could see our villas across the bay. We then headed to Dexa beach where the Wedding guests were all gathering for a casual afternoon of swimming and having a drink and some food under the olive trees.  So good as everyone is mingling well and many have known each other for ...

Waking up in the Greek Islands and watching the sunrise over the mountains - wonderful 🥰 After brekky in the apartment Tim and I walked down to a local beach for a swim.  Wandering past olive trees with young olives, pomegranate trees full of splitting fruit and so I picked a few and we ate them beside the water.  The water temp was perfect - refreshing and also buoyant and so we floated around for ages and then lay and read for a while.  A wander back up the road to our apartment and Tim's brother in law came past and we got a lift for the last part There’s Something special about eating a Greek salad for lunch in Greece on a balcony with the ocean and yachts below!  We dropped Tim's sister at the hairdresser and then Tim drove me up the mountain to his grandfather's property with incredible views to neighbouring islands. Back via the supermarket and a very relaxing af...