24 August 2023
Bucharest
19 August 2023
Sofia
16 August 2023
Thessaloniki
13 August 2023
Chilling in Athens
10 August 2023
Arrival in Athens
08 August 2023
From the Cyclades to the Dodecanese and good wine – at last!
07 August 2023
Naxos, not Paros
06 August 2023
Kythnos
05 August 2023
Corinth Canal to the Saronic Islands
04 August 2023
Gulf of Corinth
02 August 2023
Plan C (aka Plan A)
31 July 2023
Naples, bread and circuses
28 July 2023
Torino – city of Fiat, Lavazza, Martini... and a mediaeval forgery
Its beautiful squares, like Piazza Castello and Piazza San Carlo, are a testament to the city's grandeur, and are surrounded by lively cafés.
The covered galleries, such as Galleria Subalpina and Galleria Umberto I, provide a very elegant shopping and strolling experience.
Turin was a prominent centre of Italy's industrial revolution, and its name became synonymous with Fiat, the iconic automotive giant founded here in 1899. The Lingotto building, once a Fiat factory, has been transformed into a multifunctional complex.
I didn't bother trying to see the infamous painted rag in its dedicated chapel next to the cathedral.
Two dinners and one lunch so far in Italy and I have eaten neither pizza nor pasta. I expect that will change at my next destination: Naples.
My train leaves Turin Porta Nuova on Saturday at 1pm and arrives at Napoli Centrale at 7pm.
You can see my photos of Turin on my Instagram account:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CvQE1CVs0Xo/
23 July 2023
Plan B
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You may have heard southern Europe is burning; figuratively in some cases, literally in others.
Greece is suffering record high temperatures at the moment, so Skipper has concluded the Gulf of Corinth is not the best place to go for a pleasure cruise.
The plan is still to meet up in the Peloponnese on 2 August, but instead of sailing from Patras through the Gulf of Corinth we're going to start in Katakolo and sail south and around the peninsula.
Here's the updated map of that section:
(Tap/click to see the map in Google Maps) |
10 July 2023
The plan
"When are you taking me sailing?" says I to Dave.
"Are you free in August?" says he to me.
Dave and I went to secondary school together (1976-1981), then trained as computer programmers together and worked in the IT Department of Irish Life. Our paths diverged in about 1990, but we've been back in touch for the past few years.
Planit-Earth |
This year, he's taking me sailing in Greece on his catamaran Planit-Earth, a 2021 Lagoon 46.
You can read about his sailing adventures on his blog: Planit-Earth.
Flights from Paris to Athens in August are a shocking price, so I decided to go by train and ferry. I padded out each leg of the outward journey to make it a holiday on the way to my real holiday:
- 27/07 Train to Turin (2 nights)
- 29/07 Train to Naples (3 nights)
- 01/08 Train to Bari (not staying)
- 01/08 Ferry to Patras
- 02/08 Arrive in Patras at 13.00.
I'm hoping Dave will be there to pick me up. If he's not, I'll get a bus to wherever he is.
The return journey is not fully planned yet. The idea is to spend a couple of days in Athens and Thessaloniki after the sailing trip, then make my way (somehow) to Vienna, where I'll be spending the last few days of the holidays before taking the night train back to Paris on 24 August.
On the map, the red lines (train) are booked and confirmed, as is the dark blue (ferry).
The green line is a rough idea of where the sailing trip takes place; the details will be decided by the skipper.
The yellow lines (as much train as possible) are not reserved and show just one possible route from Athens to Vienna.
(Tap/click to see the map in Google Maps)