4 days in Greece

Text and photos: Mariska van der Weide (Teacher Mondriaan School of Tourism and Leisure management The Hague)

As a vocational school for tourism and leisure management, we prepare our students for jobs in hospitality and tourism. As part of our program we organize study trips to different destinations. Our students can experience the destination and practice their skills by organizing and leading the trip. This year our destination is Athens Greece and as we want to give the students a taste of what it is like to make a cultural roundtrip we have decided to visit different places.
 


Epidaurus and Nafplio

After our arrival at Athens airport, our bus driver of Maroulis Travel is waiting for us as well as our Dutch speaking guide Helma Renes, who has studied and lived in Athens for over 30 years. This first day we visit the ancient Theatre of Epidaurus with its famous acoustics. Helma explains us all about the site and the mythological stories that go with it. We continue our trip to Nafplio, a beautiful small town where we stay at the Agamemnon hotel at the seafront. This first evening we enjoy our Greek mezedes in a small tavern called “To Omorfo Tavernaki” which means the beautiful tavern. The food is delicious and the company good.
 


Epidaurus theatre


Poros and Athens

The next day, after a tasteful breakfast we continue our roundtrip on the Peloponnesus peninsula towards Galatas, where we take a small boat to the island of Poros. It is off season now and a lot of shops are closed but the weather is good and we start a game organized by some of the students. We explore the small traditional town with the white houses and small streets and serene atmosphere. Back in Galatas we are off to Athens where we arrive in the evening after a short stop at the impressive Canal of Corinth. With the well organized and cheap metro we go to Syntagma station (constitution square) and walk down to Monastiraki square through the busy Ermou shopping street. What a contrast with the quiet town of Nafplio! After dinner we go to the district of Plaka at the foot of the lightened Acropolis. Here we do a game called “ the teachers hunt”. The teachers run off in this neighborhood and give hints via smart phone of where they are. The students do their utmost to find and catch them. Two of us are caught and two manage to stay away from the searching students. FUN we had!
 


Nafplion


Athens the Dutch way

The next day after breakfast we explore Athens the Dutch way, by bicycle. Although Athens is not a city of bikes it is a good way to see and experience the different neighborhoods and sites of this metropole. A company called Let’s meet in Athens organizes this fun tour for us. At the end of the tour the students have time to do what they like. Some go shopping and some go back to the hotel to get some sleep. The teachers enjoy a great lunch in the district of Psiri. For dinner we enjoy Greek dancing and music in Plaka in the tavern O Geros tou Moria. Hoppa!
 


Cycling in Athens

 

Acropolis and Apollo coast

Our last day the sun shines brightly and we visit the impressive rock Acropolis with its famous temple to honor the goddess of the city Athena, the Parthenon. Something you just cannot miss while in Athens. We continue our trip along the Apollo coast or Athenian Riviera with its beaches and beautiful resorts. To give the students an impression of a luxury resort we visit the Grecotel Cape Sounion. A 5-star resort with view towards the famous temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion. The manager of the hotel and his staff give us a very warm welcome. What a beautiful resort this is! After our visit we say goodbye to Greece at Cape Sounion were we enjoy the sunset. Tired but fulfilled with all these different impressions we return home to The Netherlands.
 


At the Acropolis


Links:
Mondriaan School of Tourism and Leisure management The Hague (Dutch)
Grecotel Cape Sounion


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