Day 5 - Nafplion and New Year's!

We slept in today, had brunch, some of us took a final reflective walk down by the water, then we left Itea to make the four hour drive to Nafplio.

Along the way, we stopped at Greece’s version of McDonald’s, Goody’s. Everything was hot and fresh as it was made to order. The students had mixed reviews on the Grecian version of American concepts, but appreciated the change of pace. The vegan options were delicious!

As we made our way to Napflio, we saw more amazing views, learned about a variety of historic battles and saw several historic landmarks along the way. But mostly, we enjoyed a relaxing ride which was appreciated by all - especially the party people!

Upon our arrival to town we checked into Hotel Rex, then enjoyed free time. One group took a stroll through town and enjoyed views of ships, the water, graffiti, a fort in the center of the water and an Archeological site way up on the hill. A few of us plotted climbing the 999 steps up the side of the mountain to see the Fortress of Palamidi. Stay tuned to see what we decided! The other group found a wine bar and enjoyed a leisurely afternoon of wine tasting, relaxing and chatting.

Graffiti is common around Greece particularly in Athens. There is both sanctioned and unsanctioned graffiti all over the cities. Occasionally, shop owners and the city paints over the graffiti, but it reappears almost overnight. It is now an accepted part of the culture. We enjoyed taking a few pictures of some beautiful graffiti found near the waterfront at our hotel.

We came back together for a family style dinner. The students loved the beef pasta dish I had - vegetarian risotto. The meal was accompanied by the bread, Greek Salad, and tzatziki that has been present at almost every Greek meal we’ve had. The desserts were incredible too! Perhaps the best part of dinner was the good company, the stories, the stomachaches and tears from laughing so hard. Sounds just like family right?

Our evening concluded with a walk around old town Nafplio. The holiday decorations and Christmas trees were still up, the shops were open late, and people were still out and about enjoying the holiday.

More adventure and historic sights await us tomorrow. Καληνυχτα (Good night!)!