Greece- Dublin to Athens

Greece- Dublin to Athens

 

Leaving Ireland

I’ve been in Ireland for more than a month and although I love the Emerald Isle, I’m ready for a change.  This morning, I was up at 4:30 and on my flight to Athens by 7:30.  Even before my Aer Lingus flight took off, I was dozing.

Four hours and two time zones later we touched down in Athens to a totally different landscape than I’d left in Ireland.  Gone were the 40 Shades of Green and patchwork quilted countryside.  Now all I could glimpse out the small oval window were rocky mountains littered with scraggly shrubs, an occasional olive grove, and sun-burnt tumbleweeds.

Touchdown in Athens!

Parthenon DM DrawThe unmistakable grinding of the landing gear being hoisted into position alerts me our landing is near.  Looking out the window, I see we are flying into a valley with mountain peaks soaring above us.  I know there is a runway somewhere up ahead, but I always wonder!  The young Asian kids in the seat in front of me begin exclaiming, “IKEA, IKEA, IKEA”.  I look out the window, and sure enough my first recognizable landmark in Greece is the big blue and yellow marquee of the do-it-your-self megastore.

Touchdown!  Brakes!  More brakes!  Then a swift left turn and we are heading to our parking spot.  No gate and gangplank for Aer Lingus!  We park on the tarmac (Why do they call it that?  There is no tar, it’s all concrete.) Rolling stairs are positioned at the front and rear doors, and off we go, heading to the terminal on foot.

Charlotte is meeting me here later today, so I’ve got four hours to waste in the airport until her KLM/SkyTeam flight arrives from Amsterdam.  Knowing that I will eventually have groups arriving here for my Exploring Europe tours, I locate the toilets, ATM’s, money exchange, rental cars, public transportation, taxis, restaurants, and other typical airport facilities.  Finally, I track down the EU and International arrivals portals (only two possibilities, areas A and B) and then get some lunch at a café.

I notice straightaway the prices are significantly cheaper here than in Ireland and the rest of Europe.  My lunch cost about €15 for three courses including my drink.  Yesterday in Ireland, I spent €25 plus drinks for my group’s final dinner in the seaside town of Howth.

Athens Parthenon

Athens – The Parthenon

Charlotte’s flight is on time and arrives by 4:45.  We connected within minutes and are in a taxi heading towards central Athens in no time.  We’ve planned to stay here for three nights to tour Athens and adjust to Greece.  I’ve chosen the Electra hotel group for our stay in the city.  For me it is a proven hotel property that is centrally located in a safe and historic area of town.  Upon arrival at the Electra Hotel, the reception agent tells us we have the “best room in the house”, gives us our key and we head up to our room.

The room is well… roomy and well appointed.  Minutes after our arrival a gentleman shows up with a bowl of fruit and chilled bottled water… that’s a nice touch! We pulled the drapes and slept soundly for several hours.   When we woke up, it was dark outside… about 9:30 p.m.

 

 

Flashback to 1977

This was my fourth trip to Athens’ Plaka neighborhood.  The first had been in 1977 when I arrived with a group of 50 or so friends embarking on a three-week choir tour.  I remember waking up that first morning in the Palka to the sounds of the street.  All European cities have the same routine and associated sounds… if you are up early enough.  Looking down from my balcony, I found shopkeepers washing the sidewalks with buckets of water and old scraggly brooms chatting with one another in a language foreign to me.  Old men sitting at the café down the street with their first cup of coffee of the day.  Dogs were wearily wandering around trying to find a morsel left from last night’s dinner, and kittens were running to and fro engaged in a skillful game of hide and seek.  I’ve always remembered that first morning in Europe and given the chance, try to allow it to “evolve” naturally where ever I visit.

trattoria cardLet’s Eat!

Ok, back to present day… I asked at the hotel desk for a place to get dinner.  The lady at reception quizzed me on what type of place we were looking for… fancy, four-star, typical Greek, local, or humble family-owned place.  You probably know my answer,

And her directions went something like this, “out the door go left, at the corner-left, then straight, straight, straight (imagine hand motions), then right and straight, straight, straight, at the theatre turn left to the place.”

We ended up on a small square in the heart of the Plaka neighborhood surrounded by local restaurants spilling out onto the sidewalk.  It was kind of funny that the lady had directed us to a place named simply “Trattoria”, a term associated with Italy, certainly not Greece.  I think Charlotte and I both ordered a Greek Salad (the first of many), shrimp saganaki, and traditional chicken souvlaki with roasted potatoes.

Shrimp Saganiki

Shrimp Saganiki

Walking back to the hotel we noticed an almost full moon rising above a nearby church.  Here is Charlotte’s photo:

moon in Athens

 

Back in the room and after an long day for both of us, we turn the A/C down to 18°C, pulled the drapes, and sleep soundly all night.

Read my previous post in this series.    Read my next post in this series.

Greece- The Adventure Begins

Greece- The Adventure Begins

Delphi GreeceI’ve struck off on a two-week adventure in Greece and I hope you’ll share it with me.  My primary purpose is to explore the country and develop an Exploring Europe tour for 2015.  Along the way, I’ll visit some of the big tourist destinations such as Athens and Olympia, but I promise to get off the beaten path and poke around lesser known places as well.

Once out of Athens I’ll pick up my rental car and do all the driving.  I’ve already discovered the map and the GPS don’t alway agree, so I’m sure to make a few wrong turns and may even get lost, but that will be part of the adventure!

I am traveling with Charlotte, my wife,  and Janey, a long-time friend and Exploring Europe tour alumna (that’s Janey in the photo above).  We have a roughly planned itinerary that includes several islands and much of the Pelopennese Peninsula, but part of the adventure will be deviations from the plan!

I’ll add a new post every few days, so please keep in touch, add your comments, and share with your friends.

Best Regards,

David

 

Painted Sheep

Painted Sheep

IMG_7723Why do sheep have patches of color painted on their wool?

Farmers “paint” their sheep for identification.  Frequently, you’ll notice large pastures blanketed in green grass and dotted with sheep.  Typically, these pastures are enclosed by stone walls or wire fences and are shared by multiple farmers.  When it comes time to claim ownership of the animals roaming around hundreds of acres, a customized painted sheep is easy to identify.

Also, during the mating season, the male ram will be fitted with a bag of dye around its neck and chest.  When mating, the ram mounts the ewe and a bit of dye is deposited on the ewe’s upper back.  This way, the farmer knows which ewes have been impregnated and moves them on to another field away from the ram.


FACT: This webpage, “Painted Sheep” gets 500-700 visits per month.  It is amazing how many people are searching for this term.  Do me a favor, leave a comment and let me know if I answered your question.

Thanks, David McGuffin 


 WHO IS DAVID MCGUFFIN?

DM Florence videoDavid McGuffin organizes, designs and leads tours to many European destinations.  David’s tours are for strictly small groups ranging from 6 to 18 travelers.

Traveling with a small group means we can get off the beaten path and away from the big bus tours and experience Europe on a unique and personal level. 

Eating well is also a priority, and you’ll get your fair share of fine food sourced locally by excellent chefs. David has spent decades poking around Europe’s nooks and crannies looking for unique restaurants, clean hotels with character and cozy B&Bs.

Check out all of David’s small-group tours to Europe here.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT PAINTED SHEEP.

In Ireland, the top five counties in terms of sheep numbers are Donegal, Galway, Mayo, Kerry, and Wicklow.  Each of these counties are located in hilly-mountainous areas of the country.

Ireland sheep flocks typically have 50 ewes or fewer. Compared to international standards, this is quite small. For example, Scotland averages 200 ewes per flock and the world largest exporter, New Zealand, average 1400.

Ireland only “keeps” 30% of it sheep for human consumption.  The remaining meat is exported mostly to the UK and France.

According to a recent Irish livestock census, the island had 3.7 million sheep, 6.5 million cows, and 1.5 million pigs.  With all that bacon showing up on the breakfast table this fact is going to require a little more investigation!

God intended sheep to mate in the fall and give birth in the spring when the weather would be more favorable for their survival.  Therefore, sheep are known as “short day” breeders.  When the days become shorter (in the autumn) this activates a hormone in the ewe’s brain that triggers the reproductive system into action.

During their fertile period ewes come into heat every 17 days or until the fertility period is complete.  When in heat, the ewe flirts with the ram by wagging her tail, nudging, or cuddling.

When detecting a ewe in heat, a ram’s characteristic response is to lift his head in the air and curl his upper lip.  Then, I suppose he goes for it!

A mature ram can mate with 100 or more ewes during the mating season.

The gestation period is about five months, give or take a week.

Ewes usually give birth (known as lambing) to one to three lambs.

Lambs go to “market” when they are less than one year old, and their meat is known as “lamb.”  Mutton is the meat from lambs that are 1 year or older.

Wool, lanolin, and sheepskins are also products of sheep.

Finally, to leave a good taste in your mouth, about 1.3% of the world’s cheeses are products of sheep’s milk.  So, the next time you try a piece of Roquefort, Feta, Ricotta, or Pecorino Romano, think about all these painted sheep!

Please write a REVIEW about your McGuffin tour

Please write a REVIEW about your McGuffin tour

ReviewMy Facebook Page is growing every week and at the moment I have 889 “likes”.  A sincere thanks goes out to everyone who has interacted with me on Facebook the last few months!

I’ve added a feature to my Facebook page which allows Exploring Europe Tour ALUMNI to write a REVIEW about their tour experience.  If you’ve traveled with me, please consider writing a short review of your tour experience.

http://www.facebook.com/ExploringEurope/reviews

 

To help get things moving, I am running a promotion until August 1, 2014.  I’ll put all the reviewers’ names in a hat and draw one.  The PRIZE is a buy-one-get-one-free round trip flight on Delta Airlines to any Delta destination in the USA 48 states.

Just to be clear, I’m not choosing the best review (although I’d appreciate positive reviews).  I am simply drawing one entry from all the reviews on my Facebook page. Oh, and by the way, all reviewers must have traveled with me (or one of my guides) on an Exploring Europe tour.

It will be helpful if you write a few sentences describing your experience on a McGuffin tour. Please consider these points:  why a prospective traveler should tour with Exploring Europe, what you enjoyed (or not) about your tour,  “wow” moments, special events, and such.

OK, so get to writing! http://www.facebook.com/ExploringEurope/reviews

Thanks,

David

Never short on a song in Ireland

Never short on a song in Ireland

Ireland TrypticIreland is fast becoming my most popular tour destination.  I’ve just returned home from leading a great group of people on my “Best of Ireland and Scotland” tour. Later this month, I return to the Emerald Isle for two more of my “Taste O’ Ireland” tours.  Ireland (and Scotland) are a perfect destination for summer travels as the temperature rarely climbs above 68°F, the countryside is draped in 40 shades of green, and the photo ops for sheep are plentiful.  We are scheduling tours for the summer of 2015, so keep an eye out for my tours to Ireland!

Traditional folk music and singing is a nightly occurrence in Ireland.  No matter what town or village, I can always find a pub with a music session.  These sessions vary according to the ability and style of the musicians, but are always filled with heartfelt choruses and toe tapping jigs.  It is almost as if every person on the island pops out of their mother’s womb with a song instead of a scream.

 

I’ve been a musician all my life, so when I hear a band in the distance or a song wafting out the door, I go for a listen. I sometimes run across situations and events that are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities where I just happen to be in the right place at the right time. In Venice, I recall sitting in on an impromptu singing session with a few salty old fishermen belting out operatic arias.  On successive trips to Venice, I’ve tried to duplicate that experience and have been disappointed.  Try as I might, there is no way to “manufacture” these impromptu experiences for the folks on my tours.  You’ve just got to be in the right place at the right time and let it unfold around you!

IMAG0380[2]Knowing all this, I shouldn’t be surprised when a gem of an event unfolds around me.  This time, it all started when I coaxed a few of my tour members into a deserted Irish pub.  When I say deserted, I mean just that… there was not a soul in the place except for the bartender, and he looked like he was packing it up for the evening.  In fact, when we asked for a pint of Kilkenny (the local ale), he had to go to the back and fiddle with the taps just to get the stuff flowing.  I began making apologies to my group for bringing them in this desolate place, but the bartender had spent several minutes getting the taps to flow, so we felt obligated to stay and have a pint. There we were, just the six of us quietly sipping our pints and looking for an exit strategy.

 

 

This was the third night of the tour and our first night out of Dublin. I was hoping to introduce my group to some traditional small town pub music.  But it seemed tonight would not be the night.  So, instead of experiencing music, I decided to at least tell my group about the “typical” pub music session to get them prepared for a future musical evening.  As I was explaining the typical fiddling and singing found in a pub music session, a gentleman walked in the door.  Dianne, one of my tour members, asked him, jokingly, if he was the singer for tonight’s session.  He said no, he had just come in for a pint after playing two rounds of golf, but if we wait a bit we might coax one of his friends to belt out a song or two.

 

IMG_0813[1]Over the course of the next fifteen minutes, the pub filled with 20 or so Irishmen who were in Kilkenny on a golf outing.  They told us this was a yearly get together to play golf, have fun, and get away from their wives (said with a joke and a laugh).   So, the first gentleman says to his buddy, “this lady wants to know if you are the singer.”  We all expected a laugh and a swift no, but to our surprise he stood up and belted out a heartfelt ballad about “Annie Moore”, Ireland’s first immigrant to the United States.

Then began a chain reaction where each man stood and sang his favorite song.  All was done a cappella, without accompaniment, and from the heart.  They took great pride in their singing and in the message of the song.  We were an audience of six Americans who were looking for some music, and boy did we get it!  By the end of the night we were invited to join them in “God Bless America”, finally finishing the session at midnight belting out “cockles and mussels… alive, alive oh.”

[space height=10] You would think with six of us witnessing this impromptu singing session we would have taken some video.  Unfortunately, all were having too much fun to waste time on video.  So, this short segment is all I have to offer.  You’ve just got to be at the right place at the right time! [space height=10] [column col=”1/2″] [youtube height=”200″ width=”290″ align=”left”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw4yqb8s9hI[/youtube][/column] [column col=”1/2″ last=”true”]