After avoiding getting run over we came upon our port number and sitting there was what looked like a cruise ship. The ship apparently holds over 1000 people has multiple bars, a club (pretty laughable as its really only a circle in the bar with purple lights that maybe fits 10 people and plays some pretty old hits and by old i mean like what would have been playing in clubs in the early 90's...), a buffet restaurant, a sit down restaurant, a pool, and a bunch of rooms. Luckily enough for us we hadn't booked a room so we got to sleep on the luxuriously comfortable deck. Oh yes we slept on the deck, we weren't about to pay another 100 euro each to sleep in a bed. 

Even though we had to sleep on the deck it was actually a pretty nice ride, the sea was beautiful and the half jar of nutella I ate was delicious. Oh yeah nutella is def my new thing, its so good and I don't care how ridiculous I look eating it out of a jar with just my finger. The next day we made it to Athens after a short stop in the shit hole of a town called Patras. Athens is amazing. It's a much more modern city than I thought it would be. The metro system has a massive amount of subways, buses, trams, taxis etc, in fact it felt very similar to how barcelona was with ancient ruins scattered around the city. 

We made our way to our hostel (only 5 minutes from the acropolis) and then went on our search for some food. I was adamant that we had to find some gyros to eat, and that was all I was gonna eat while I was in greece. The first place we happened upon seemed a bit pricey 8 euro for a gyro, from what I had read online they should only cost about 3, so I decided that we would keep hunting for them until we found some at a reasonable price. A half hour later we still had no luck, Sheena's stomach was rumbling and I was forced into going into the expensive gyro place. The woman spoke broken english to us and almost seemed offended when we didn't order what she had suggested to us. We ended up with a plate of gyros each which is a pita layed flat with pork or chicken on top of it with tomatoes, onions, and, tziki sauce.  To be honest it wasn't that great. After leaving the restaurant we spotted people walking around with regular looking gyros rolled up and eating. I still couldn't figure out where people were getting these. 

Next day I was still craving for a real greek gyro experience, but we went and did the acropolis first as we knew it would get jam packed in the afternoon. We made it to the base of the acropolis and bought our tickets for 6 euro each. To our surprise this ticket not only got us into the acropolis but all the other major sites in athens. So for 6 euro as a student you get to go to the acropolis, the temple of the olympian zeus, the roman agora, the ancient agora, and the theater of Dionysus. It was a pretty sweet deal. The one thing about seeing the ruins though is expectations. Everyone has this picture of things still looking in pretty decent shape, at least thats the image I had in my head that while things would be weathered they would still be a decent amount there, but they're called ruins for a reason. Some of the descriptions are pretty funny, you'll see half of one column and the descriptor board will say something to the sort of temple of ares. In honesty though everything we did see was truely amazing and I'm really happy we went. The Parthenon was beautiful, the agora was amazing, the height of the remaining columns of the temple of zeus was really cool and the shadows created by it had a weird crazy effect on the columns and I can only imagine the effect it would have had if all 100 or so were there. 

After wandering through the acropolis I finally found what I was looking for... real gyros! OH they were worth the wait. I think we really just didn't understand what we were looking for before. Basically almost every other restaurant will have a take away window by the counter where the cooks sit behind and the waiters grab food. A pita gyro from any of these places costs about 1.70 and it fills you up. Funnily Greek gyros are a bit different than what I was expecting. They are actually made with either pork or chicken (chicken is usually  a little more expensive). It's on a pita thats been grilled, stuffed with the meat, onions, tomatoes, tziki, and fries. Yes they put fries in theirs. I have to say the best pita gyro I ate was the last, absolutely amazing, just perfect, flavorful deliciousness, the best gyro I've had in my life.

The rest of the day was filled with seeing the other sites i mentioned previously, the agoras and the temple of zeus. That night we went up to the tallest part of Athens which houses just enough room for a small restaurant and a church. There we saw the sun set on Athens and it was really pretty and relaxing. The funniest part about that "mountain" is that the restaurant is really nice and has amazing views of the city but all the people that come up mob around the edges where there are tables and start taking pictures rendering that part of the restaurant useless. I also pointed up to Sheena because I wanted to go up to the top with the church and the guy thought I was asking for a table haha. 

The next day since we had seen all the sites in Athens we decided to just relax. We walked around the open markets where Sheena picked up a few souvenirs then after that we went to "The Mall" yes its called The Mall. On our train ride there we also got to see the 2004 Olympic complex which was really cool. Now I have yet to see a real mall in Europe so I was shocked when I walked in and it was bigger and nicer than any mall I've seen before. We walked around for a bit and then went and saw The Dark Knight. I can't believe I had to wait so long to see but it was definitely worth it. Great movie. Heath Ledger totally stole the show with his performance and made the movie what it was. Also I got free huge popcorn and huge soda at the theater because I didn't have cash to pay for it and they didn't take credit card so they gave it to me for free. The weird part was they took credit card for the tickets but not the refreshments.

After the movie we ate at a place called goody's which was actually pretty good just got a sandwich and fries and a soda plus once again things turned in our favor when we weren't charged the real price and got our food on the cheap. 

Next day it was time to head back to Bologna so we took the train to Patras where we explored the city for a while. Interestingly we saw a large group of people jumping the fences at the port. Apparently these are immigrants from other countries who have stowed away from Africa and the east to Greece and are now trying to get into Italy. It was weird actually seeing it in person, I don't think I'll go into discussion here as I don't know enough about the situation to make any comments but it was just crazy to see.

Also we ordered some hamburgers in Patras which was really weird because they give you a plate with two hamburgers with cheese and bacon on it and then fries on the plate and some small pieces of pita, and lettuce and tomatoes, no bun. You eat with a fork and knife and layer the stuff on your fork it was pretty fun and good to eat.

We hopped on the ferry home later that day and made our way home. That was athens. Friday and Saturday we went to florence and pisa. I'll update with those hopefully tomorrow, I'm just a bit worn out from recounting athens. It was a great week though and I would def do it again.

I'll be adding pics to this post later today so check back soon.

-D.

Ι.

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• Earthquake Kills 2 in Southern Greece [via Zemanta]
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Κάτι CD έπεσαν από τις στίβες που έχω εδώ και εκεί στο γραφείο, και ένα μικρό γλυπτό, δώρο συναδέλφου. Από τη γειτονιά απέξω άρχισαν οι τσιρίδες και τα αχ και βαχ και τα υστερικά (όλοι κρύβουμε ένα μικρό-μεγάλο σεισμολόγο μέσα μας).

Κατευθυνθήκαμε σε ένα μικρό πάρκο εδώ κοντά και ... ακούγαμε ειδήσεις για τις ζημιές στην κάτω αχαΐα, ανδραβίδα, ηλεία, φώσταινα κλπ.  Ευτυχώς σε όλη τη διάρκεια της περιπέτειας, ο τζούνιορ κοιμόταν μακαρίως και δεν πήρε χαμπάρι από το χαμό που γινόταν τριγύρω...

Μακάρι να μην έχουμε περισσότερα θύματα και να πάνε όλα καλά.  Ο συγχωριανός μπλόγκερ "μανιτάρι του βουνού" έχει γράψει και αυτός αναλυτικά για το θέμα του σημερινού σεισμού.

Ι.

Image via Wikipedia

The USGS (United States Geological Survey) detected a 6.1 magnitude earthquake in Greece that occured at approximately 8:25 A.M. (Eastern Daylight Time). The Athens Geodynamic Institute reported it as 6.5.

The approximate location is identified as follows:

35 km (20 miles) SW of Patras, Greece
125 km (80 miles) NNW of Kalamata, Greece
190 km (120 miles) SSE of Ioannina, Greece
200 km (125 miles) W of ATHENS, Greece

The quake epicenter was in the Peloponnese region of the country.

The quake was felt as far away as Italy.

1 person was confirmed dead and numerous people injured. Several buildings were reported collapsed or severely damaged.

The epicenter was near the surface so additional aftershocks are expected.

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Tras un análisis pormenorizado de las opciones me decidí por Patras buscando un equilibrio entre actividades extracurriculares, precio y proximidad a Atenas. Lo cierto es que para un mes de vacaciones aprendiendo griego, todos los destinos tenian buena pinta y si acabo en Tesalónica - mi segunda opción - o en cualquier otro sitio - que es a donde te mandan si el resto está cubierto - también me parecerá bien.

El EILC, para el que no lo sepa, es un curso de idiomas previo al periodo lectivo que se imparte en el país de destino. Este curso no se imparte en todos los paises, sólo en aquellos con "lenguas raras" y son entre 4 y 6 semanas de formación intensiva para adaptarte lo más rápidamente posible al entorno donde vas a pasar los siguientes 10 meses. Me coincide con los exámenes de Septiembre, asi que sólo los haré si los profesores consienten en hacerme la prueba a distancia.

Leider verkehren im Inland immer noch einige Seelenverkäufer, wie es auch in dem letzten Bericht des ADAC von 2006 steht. Ich gehe mal davon aus daß dieses Jahr wieder Tests durchgeführt werden und wir im Laufe des Sommers neueres erfahren.
Zwischen Igoumenitsa und Korfu verkehren mittlerweile mehr neuere "geschlossene" Fähren als die alten traditionellen "Pantoffelfähren".
OK, auch wenn so ein Teil mal sinken sollte, ist auf der Strecke soviel Verkehr an Schiffen, daß man nicht sein Leben lassen wird. Aber die Fahrzeuge werden weg sein...

Ich persönlich nehme, wenn ich nach Korfu fahre, immer eine Fähre geschlossenen Typs. Denn auch wenn eine "Pantoffelfähre" eine halbe Stunde vorher ablegt, wird sie meist von der später abgefahrenen "geschlossenen" überholt, oder man kommt zumindest fast Zeitgleich an.
Wie ich schon auf meiner Seite epirus.de, auf der Seite der Fährentests geschrieben habe, liegt es in unserer (also auch Euch Urlaubern) Hand, die Reedereien zu erziehen.
Nehmen wir alte Rostlauben nicht mehr sondern fahren mit der nächsten Fähre nach Korfu, werden die Chefs wohl reagieren müssen und bessere zu kaufen.
Zwischen Plataria und Korfu zum Beispiel, verkehren "Uralte" solcher Pantoffelfähren als Sandtransporter. Also machen die Reederer immer noch ein Geschäft mit den Teilen.

Na ja, jedenfalls denkt mal nach bevor Ihr einfach in eine Fähre einsteigt...

Seit 1960 ungefähr verkehren zwischen dem benachbarten Italien und Griechenland Passagierfähren. Die ersten Gastarbeiter die in die verschiedenen europäischen Länder zogen, um Geld für sich und ihre Familien zu verdienen, fuhren mit diesen Fähren und dann weiter mit den Zügen.
Nach und nach wurden die Fähren besser und transportierten zwischen Italien (also Europa) und den griechischen Häfen Korfu und Patras Passagiere, Fahrzeuge und Güter.
Irgendwann in den 70er Jahren wurde dann der Hafen Igoumenitsa ausgebaut. Bis dahin verkehrten mehrmals täglich nur die sogenannten Pantoffelfähren nach Korfu. Durch die Vertiefung der Fahrrinne am Eingang der Bucht und des Hafenbeckens konnten die ersten Fähren aus Italien anlegen.
Die Preise der Fährpassagen waren günstig, so nutzten sie immer mehr Einheimische Gastarbeiter die aus Europa nach West Griechenland fuhren. Aber auch zunehmend Urlauber nutzten die Fährpassage, um den Autoputt durch das ehemalige Jugoslavien und die anschließende Fahrt durch ganz Griechenland bis nach Athen oder Peloponnes zu umgehen.

Dann kam der Krieg in Ex-Jugoslavien, der eine Durchfahrt unmöglich machte. Es wurden viel mehr Fähren auf die Route Italien Griechenland angesetzt und die Preise stiegen wegen der großen Nachfrage steil nach oben. Die Fahrt aus der italienischen Hafenstadt Ancona bis nach Igoumenitsa in Griechenland dauerte damals immerhin gute 24 bis 26 Stunden, je nach Grüße und Zustand der Fähren.
Dann kam die Firma Superfast mit moderneren Schiffen und unterbot alle Fahrtzeiten um mehrere Stunden. Die Genossenschafts Reedereien Minoan Lines und Anek Lines waren also in Zugzwang und reagierten mit ähnlich modernen und schnellen Schiffen.

Heute ist zwar der ehemalige Autoputt wieder geöffnet, eine Großzahl der Reisenden mit Fahrzeugen bevorzugen aber immer noch die Fähren Italien Griechenland.
Einer der vielen Gründe ist das seit einigen Jahren eingeführte Camping an Bord. Hier können Wohnmobil- und Wohnwagenbesitzer spezielle Plätze auf den Autodecks reservieren und über Nacht in ihren Fahrzeugen schlafen.
Einer der Hauptgründe aber ist, dass auf der Fähre praktisch der Urlaub schon beginnt. Alle sind luxuriös eingerichtet und bieten den Reisenden jeden erdenklichen Komfort. Mehrere Bars, Restaurants bis zum Pool, der Disco und auf einigen das Casino, geben den Reisenden das erste richtige Urlaubsfeeling.
Wer eine Kabine gebucht hat, kann angenehm mit der Familie übernachten und das Bad jeder Kabine nutzen.

Auch wenn man in Italien mit Regen losfährt, begegnet unterwegs immer weniger Wolken bis der Himmel Griechenlandtypisch blau die Gemüter hebt. Spätestens jetzt ist ein Besuch der Sonnendecks angebracht, um die ersten griechischen Sonnenstrahlen regelrecht aufzusaugen.
Unter Fähren Italien Griechenland können Sie über uns Ihre Fährpassage aus Italien sowie einige innergriechische Linien günstig online in Echtzeit buchen.

A century-and-a-half has elapsed since Emmanuel Roidis shocked the Nation and was excommunicated by the Greek Orthodox Church for his novel “I Papissa Ioanna”  [Popess Joan]. Even today, this legendary work continues to provoke, not so much as a scandalous literary outing but as a work that is extremely daring, disrespectful, biting and venomous. Its appeal is ongoing because this is a well-structured, imaginative and surprise-laden novel delivered in the writer’s typically scintillating and ironic style. The question is whether all these elements can be transfered to the stage. It is only natural to respond reservedly to a theater’s decision to stage Roidis’s “Popess Joan”. The concern is accentuated further by past attempts, such as those by Giorgos Roussos and Gerasimos Stavros, where the only aspect preserved was the plot. Now, Roidis’s old classic is being prepared for a staging by the Regional Municipal Theater of Patras, presently under the artistic direction of esteemed actress Lydia Koniordou. Performances, at the city’s Apollon Theater, begin on March 21. The production, Sotiris Hatzakis, will then be brought to Athens in May before returning to its base for performances around the region’s Achaia prefecture.

Initially, Hatzakis had intended to stage a theatrical adaptation of novelist Pavlos Matesis’s “Mitera tou Skylou” [Dog's Mother] but that plan fell through and he subsequently proposed staging the Roidis classic, a work he had contemplated for a while, “because of its history and language,” in the director’s words.

“The play tells the story of an orphan girl who wanders through medieval gloom and learns about the art of survival. She is surrounded by violence and hypocrisy, but is armed with intelligence and power of reasoning, which help her adapt to the conditions and measure up to others. To survive, she resorts to transvestism by donning a male monk’s cassock and playing the role,” commented Hatzakis. “As a monk, she rises through the Catholic church’s hierarchy. She undergoes changes and the hot-blooded girl of the outdoor life and erotic and pagan stories is transformed into an icy traveler. When she is finally declared Pope, the little that remains of her moral values begins to be totally demolished. The moment she conquers the very top and calms down, the subsequent boredom she feels awakens her womb, which had hibernated for years ... she gets wrapped up amid a flowering of feelings and ends up pregnant. And that is the beginning of her end.”

Considering the novel’s language, didn’t the director have second thoughts when thinking about taking this work to the stage?

“Yes, and they were even greater than the ones I felt when I thought about doing Alexandros Papadiamantis’s ‘The Murderess’, which we did with Lydia Koniordou. Because, here, apart from various other things, we have to deal with a relentless take on puristic Greek that is rigid and untouched, without the looser moments of Papadiamantis’s fused language,” said Hatzakis. “Here, we have a writer who is phlegmatic, possesses high-quality irony, and launches an attack on the Catholic Church in a cold-blooded fashion – all this through his use of language.”

In preserving Roidis’s old-school puristic Greek language, the director, responding to a question, said he was not worried about modern-day audiences having problems understanding the play.

“I’m not afraid of this at all. Of course, there were some concerns at first, as had also been the case with ‘The Murderess’, which ended up being groundless,” remarked Hatzakis, who added that when taking on such a project one should not be driven to concerns about whether it will be “understood by the people ... It should be more a case of ‘let’s see how the public will react. It’s an opportunity to see how such a venture will work out. With this venture, I’m taking a stand against the recent trend to translate works into the vernacular.”

Asked whether it was possible to transfer the irony of Roidis’s language onto the stage, Hatzakis admitted that this proved to be a real challenge, and one that remains untested.

“We’ve taken a leap and only the end result will tell us if we’ve been successful. However, we have been having a great time at rehearsals, discovering a forward-looking text that was as controversial as could be during its time, and which still stirs waters today. Because when the break with power is truly revolutionary and relentless, it condemns its structure and abuse in a timeless fashion.”

The Carnival started approximately 180 years ago and has since exhibited a historically interesting course and development. It all began in 1829, with masquerade balls thrown in the residences of the locals bourgeois. At some point, from 1870 onwards, the bourgeois also finances the construction of carnival floats and the parade comes into being. For many decades, the balls and parade constitute the official carnival of Patras and are the basis of its fame outside the city's limits.

In its fringe, of course, there is a popular version, with parties in taverns or private residences and the mpoules (an improvised masquerade, usually with the help of clothing belonging to the opposite sex, one's grandmother ect). The floats and masquerades are constructed by popular artisans, a fact reflecting on their style. The Carnival however, remains a bourgeois festival as the tone is set by flamboyant balls and the organization and financing of the parade and floats. And, with the exception of the mpoules, the bourgeois is behind its few but representative customs - the waxed egg war, the chocolate-war and the balls of the "bourboulia".

This carnival, indeed, is purely of Italian origin and is completely unrelated to the pagan carnival customs of the rest of the country, whose roots are lost in time, dating back to the ancient god Dionysus, and whose phallic symbols and wantonness in disguise and song constitute the rural rituals for springtime fertility and the productivity of land and flock.

Its western character is enforced by the fact that apart from the de facto cosmopolitan composition of the local bourgeois (Greeks from the colonies, together with English, Germans and others as local representatives or businessmen themselves in the raisin commerce) popular participation in the carnival is represented mostly by the city's large Italian community (political fugitives from their country) and by the islanders from the Ionian Islands who have settled in Patras in search of work.

At times more robust or less inspired - in proportion to concurrent political and financial situation, the Patras Carnival, with its Italian, bourgeois and "prim and proper" features, marched on until 1940. In the period between 1940 and 1950 the carnival was not celebrated because of the war, the enemy occupation and the Civil War that ensued in Greece after liberation from the Nazis. It will resume from 1951 with one modification: from now on the organizer shall be the Municipality of Patras.

The greatest subversion, however, came from within, and indirectly reflected the social changes in the young generation's rights and perceptions after 1968, albeit superficially resulting from two coincidental events. In 1966 a game was tried, in the context of the carnival: a treasure hunt for the crews of the carnival float cars. 94 people participate, and numbers will gradually rise within the following years, as the ownership of a car, as a condition for participation is abandoned. (Amongst these 94 we find the presenter Alkis Steas, who from the following year until .. contributed greatly to the treasure hunt and the carnival of Patras in general).

In 1981 the Municipality's failure, due to financial difficulties, in producing an adequate number of carnival floats for the Great Parade lead, as a compulsory solution, to the participation of carnival groups. That was it. The participation of young people in the treasure hunt groups rises rapidly and when, after 1987, the organizing Municipality fully accepts and encourages the fact, the rise in participation is effectuated by geometric progression. The Patras carnival becomes a matter of youth; it evolves into a public festival of the people of Patras and thus experiences a wild development in all parameters.

Related Links > http://www.carnivalpatras.gr/index.php?section=7

The Greek word for Carnival is Apokria. This is derived from apokreos, which in turn means abstaining from meat, because Carnival is followed by a period of fasting. The Carnival period, or Triodio, begins three weeks before Clean Monday. In these three weeks, you really must make the most of all the celebrations, because for the following 40 days of fasting leading up to Easter, going by the Julian calendar, the Orthodox Church allows no festivities. The first and second Sundays are Meat Sundays (Kreofagou), and the third Sunday is Cheese Sunday (Tirofagou). The main focus of the Carnival celebrations starts on the Thursday (Tsiknopempti in Greek) before Sunday - Kiriaki tis Apokrias.

In the north, people don goatskins and bells and go from house to house, wishing everyone a prosperous year and successful harvest. But the real celebrations take place in the Peloponnese region. In Patras, they celebrate the legendary "white ball". All the principles of a centuries-old Orthodox tradition seem to be suddenly forgotten. Everyone, even the women, feel free to make fools of themselves. Clad from top to toe in black, groups of women walk through the streets, flirting with every man they like the look of, and dreaming of liberty and equality. The Patras Carnival celebration lasts four weeks and ends on Clean Monday. This is followed by a period of inner and outer purification. Another equally attractive custom practised throughout the country on Clean Monday is kite flying.

  Dancers from the Aegean island of Skyros perform the 'Struggle of the Yeri' in central Athens streets

Skyros, an island in the Sporades, is famous throughout Greece for its Carnival celebrations. These go back to the story of a herdsman who lost his entire flock in a snowstorm. Beside himself with grief, the yeros (old man) took the skins from his animals, hung their bells about his body and returned to the village. Ever since the men of the island have dressed up in skins, bells, and masks once a year in his memory to perform the "Struggle of the Yeri". According to how the clothes are worn, the yeros is a herdsman from the waist down and a goat from the waist up. On Clean Monday, the islanders gather in the streets, dance, roar and fight with each other, ringing their bells, which weigh up to 88 pounds (40 kilograms).

Thousands of adults and children wearing fancy-dress costumes joined parades around Athens and other Greek cities yesterday to mark the penultimate Sunday of the Carnival season. Moschato holds Athens’s biggest parade but the main attraction of the festivities is the parade in Patras, which will be held next Sunday to mark the end of the Carnival season.

BY AIR

Athens airport information

The new Athens airport located  near to Athens and is considered as one of the best  in Europe. It serves hundreds of flights daily from all international airlines ,Its modern design enables you to find your way around easily. there are plenty of shops, restaurants and bars, internet access and, in fact, everything that the business or tourist travelers need in order to feel comfortable. Taxis and buses for the city of Athens are exactly outside the airport and the bus journey is cheap and takes only between 40 and 45 minutes to the center at Syntagma Square. If your plan, on arriving at the airport, is to take a boat to one of the islands, you can take a bus from the airport down to the Port of Piraeus, a journey of about one hour. The brand new Attica Highway (Attiki odos )makes easy the transport to and from the Athens international Airport if you are considering hiring a car to drive from the airport into the city there are two alternative routes that you can take. The best way is via the new Attica highway. Alternatively, especially if you are going to stay on the coastline suburbs of Athens in places such as, Glifada, Voula, Vouliagmeni, Kavouri and Varkisa, the preferred route would be to take the road to Vari which leads to the Voula junction.To get to Glyfada go straight but dont take the right lane that will take you to Vouliagmenis Avenue ,it will take you though in the center of Athens,instead keep on the Karamanlis Av. and then to Poseidonos Av.that leads to Glyfada ,Faliro and Piraeus in that area you can find some of the most organised Greek beaches. To Get to Vouliagmeni,Kavouri,Varkiza and all the west coast up to Sounion better go until you find a U turn or a possible way to turn back to the Poseidonos Avenue in the opposite direction towards Voula and Sounion.

BY TRAIN
Nowadays, unlike in the 1970s, most travelers don't use trains to come to Greece . But this is a wonderful way to arrive and should be savored by all lovers of train travel.For anyone coming from the European continent the best way is via Italy and then by Ferries to Patras. For all western European travelers who start the journey from Paris ,trains to Milan departure at night from the station Paris Bercy  just a few minutes away from the station Gare de Lion ,it is important to know that you need reservation, especially if you travel at night (Check for Artesia trains Paris Milan ).The day journey is a few hours shorter and trains to Milan depart from Gare de Lyon. Alternatively you can take the train via Swizerland Basel or Lausanne for Italy (Milan-Ancona) more info you will find at the official site of France rails www.sncf.com and Italy at www.trenitalia.com. On arrival at Patras, the journey to Athens is easily done by bus or train. Strangely enough, the journey by bus is quicker than that by train, taking approximately 2.5 hours whereas the latter can take up to 4 hours! Buses to Athens from Patras depart every 30 minutes whereas the trains are less frequent. The main bus terminal at Patras is just outside the port entrance.

BY CAR

If you are coming from the European continent to Greece you need to head towards Italy and the Italian ports of either Ancona, Venice Bari or Brindisi where the daily connections to Corfu Igumenitsa and Patras can be found. The journey from Venice is less favourable for car drivers as it is expensive and long at 36 hours. Ancona is the ideal departure port, taking between 18-20 hours to Patras and approximately 12 hours to Corfu or Igoumenitsa.Obviously, highway routes depend upon from which European country your journey began. From the UK , London , Manchester ,and all other British cities via Dover or Folkstone -Calais head towards Paris and then take the A6 road towards Lyon.From Lyon take the A43 towards Aix-Les-Bain, and then the A41 to Chamonix. At Chamonix, take the E21B road towards Aosta where you must pick up the A5 and turn at the junction of the A4 towards Milan. Before Milan turn off the A4 onto the A1 towards Bologna. Just before Bologna take the A14 straight to Ancona If you intend to go to Greece from the ports of Bari or Brindisi then keep on the A14 to the South of Italy.For visitors from the Benelux countries, you should take the E4 which goes through Koln, Stutgard, Karlsruhe and Basel on the Swiss borders.From Basel take the E9 to Luzerne(Lucerne) and straight down through the Saint Gothard Pass and on towards Lugano and Como where the E9 becomes the A9 to Milan. the route from Milan is then as above from the UK.Travelers from Scandinavia or North Germany can head towards Hamburg and pick up the A7 towards Kassell and Munich.From Munich head towards the Austrian/German borders on the E11. Before Rosenhein turn to the E86 for Kufstein. The E86 becomes the A12 which goes towards Innsbruck. From Innsbruck take the A13 to Brenner, where you continue on the Italian A22 straight down to Mantova and Bologna.From Bologna take the same routes as mentioned previously if beginning your journey from the UK

Also noted this version (albeit a preview one) is available as a .deb file for those of us who live in the amd64 universe. In past postings from this blog, I had mentioned how I was able to install the .deb archive for the x86 architecture. It worked just fine, mind you, but it is always nice when a 64-bit version is available.

My two gripes so far are these:
1) I still cannot post an image and type some text in any other language but english (the usual ALT+SHIFT combo for switching between languages does not work).
2) Picasa will upload an image and create a post in blogger only :(

This is a recent image taken from inside my car. I have been following this IC train since it left Patras station and was waiting for it to cross the Papaflessa Street junction. In the back, you can see St. Andrew's cathedral dome. Photo taken with a d80 with 18-135 mm lens.

I.

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The Hellenic Management Association (EEDE) and the Economic Chamber of Greece host a conference on «Modern Leadership & Development of Human Resources» starting at 6.30 p.m. at the Pancretan Cooperative Bank, 5 Ikarou Street, Iraklion, Crete. For information call 2810 263351.

The Greek Bank Association is hosting an exhibition titled «Consumer Loans - Cards» at the Athens Syntagma metro station. The exhibition will be open to the public from 2 to 9 p.m. on Monday and from 8 to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday. For details visit > www.hba.gr.

The seventh Bank Management Conference on «Transformation for Innovation, Shaping Next Practices» begins at the Athinaida Conference Center, Athens. For information call 210 6617777 or visit > www.bankmanagement.gr.

Tuesday >

The Express Kalofolias Group hosts the first Ecofinance Forum, starting at 9.30 a.m. at Zappeion's Aigli Conference Centre, Athens. Development Minister Christos Folias will make the opening address. For details call 210 6172809.

The Hellenic Migration Policy Institute (IMEPO) and the British Council host an exhibition titled «City Streets» opening at 8 p.m. at the Evnardou Megaron, 20 Aghiou Constantinou Street, Athens. For information call 210 2711721.

Wednesday >

The Greek-American Chamber of Commerce and the Greek Association of Branded Products Manufacturers (ESVEP) host a conference on «Branding: Branded Goods, Adding Value for the Consumer» starting at 4 p.m. at the Ethniki Insurance Conference Center, 101-103 Syngrou Avenue, Athens. Development Minister Christos Folias will speak. For information call 210 6993559 or visit > www.amcham.gr.

The Technical Chamber of Greece hosts a conference on «The Protection of Natural Sources» starting at 6.30 p.m. at National Bank of Greece's Theodoros Karatzas Amphitheater, Athens. For information call 210 3291252-4 or visit > www.tee.gr.

The German Embassy in Athens and Athens International Airport present the exhibition «Renewables in Germany» strarting at 11 a.m. at the Athens Airport. The exhibition will run through November 25. For information call 210 7285222.

Thursday >

The Educational Research Center and the Education Ministry host a conference titled «The Quality of Educational Work: System & Interventions» at 10 a.m. at the Divani Caravel Hotel, Athens. To Friday. For information call 210 3312406 or visit > www.kee.gr.

The Greek Logistics Association hosts the 11th «Logistics» congress, starting at 9 a.m. at Zappeion Hall, Athens. To Friday. For information call 210 3216014 or visit > www.eel.gr.

The IDC Business Intelligence conference 2007 begins at 9 a.m. at the Ledra Marriott Hotel, Athens. For details visit > www.idc-cema.com.

The Greek-Swedish Chamber of Commerce hosts a conference titled «The Athens Stock Exchange: Development, Modernization and Globalization. The Challenges of the Next Day» at 7.30 p.m. at the Ledra Marriott Hotel, Athens. The head of the Athens bourse, Spyros Kapralos, will be the keynote speaker. For information call 210 6084399 or visit > www.hellenic-swedishcc.gr.

Friday >

The University of Patras hosts the fifth Diabetes Congress, titled «Diabetes: Past-Present-Future» at 3 p.m. on its Campus in Patras. To Sunday. For details visit > www.upatras.gr.

The eighth aluminium congress, titled «Aluminium, Constructions and Products» opens at the Creta Maris - Terra Maris Hotel in Iraklion, Crete. To Sunday. For details visit > www.alunet.gr.

The seventh sales congress, titled «Conditions and Changes in the Greek Market» begins at 9 a.m. at the Goulandris Museum in Kifissia, Athens. For information call 210 6202083 or visit > www.bthere.gr.

Defending champion Russia won the team all-around event Saturday for its sixth gold medal in the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships. Margarita Aliychuk, Anna Gavrilenko, Tatiana Gorbunova, Elena Posevina, Daria Shkurikhina and Natalia Zueva scored a total 35.100 points in the exercises, 17.650 in the five ropes routine and 17.450 in the three hoops and two clubs events.

Italy won the silver with 34.250 points, while Belarus was third with 33.800, repeating the podium positions from the worlds in Baku, Azerbaijan, two years ago. The eight top-scoring teams in each exercise will compete in the group apparatus finals on Sunday, the championships' closing day.

The 10 best teams qualify for the Beijing Olympics next year, while the International Gymnastics Federation allocated a further two wildcards to Brazil and Greece.

Related Links > http://www.rgworld-patras2007.gr/contents/index_en/index.html

But no, I'm still in LA.  Still, it's a nice place sometimes.  Walked down to the lotus festival this afternoon...some fine wheatpasting on the way, don't know what it means but that only adds an air of delicious mystery to it all...Besides, mass distraction cannot be good, I'm quite against it!

And the lotuses on the lake!  Lovely, and got a photo I'm rather proud of...

And then off to Patra's for pastrami sandwiches, almost as good as freshly caught and grilled fish on a Mexican beach!  The best part is the classy atmosphere, I mean, just look at the tablecloth!

Really, words do not exist to describe it.  Do they?  No, don't think they do. Who would believe without the picture!  I asked where they had found such an amazingly beautiful pattern, thought it would look quite nice in my own kitchen, but sadly the workers didn't know, though they did promise to ask the owner for me.

And Italy wins the cup!  Only four more years until the next one!