… an old city with many different confusing spellings and pronunciations. This was another new port for us, and we disembarked with no preconceptions. It’s a resort town, and wasn’t quite open for the season, which doesn’t start for a few more weeks. But there were some interesting shops open, and everyone seemed to be working on getting ready for tourists. It’s a very picturesque place, and the all-seeing eye kept tabs on us wherever we went – even in the graffiti!
Nafplion has the cutest open top hop on bus we’ve seen. We rode the packed bus only to the first stop; overcome by the pushiness of our fellow travelers, we fled to the ramparts of the harbor fortifications. The joke was on us; it was a long walk to the next stop. Along the way we checked out the shops, filled with mostly handmade items that were more creative than we’ve seen elsewhere. We passed a large public park, an old train station, and a small amusement park being readied for the season. We paid a visit to a two-room local museum, which dealt almost exclusively with art celebrating the city’s battle for independence in the 1800s, specifically the disabled veterans of that war. Most exciting, we discovered a bakery, where the friendly bakers posed for photos. We quickly filled a bag with two of six or seven different types of pastry – and the bill came to a whopping 2 euros!
Fortified, we reboarded the bus and rode to the top of the mountain to the Palamidi Castle, which is a massive fortified area over 700 feet high. It’s sprawling and rocky, with a great view of the city and harbor. It was all downhill after the castle – literally. Nafplion is said to be one of Greece’s prettiest towns, and the view of the city as we sailed out of the harbor was lovely.
No comments:
Post a Comment