Chalcis

This is Halkida. One of the nicer cities we went to. Actually, probably the only nice city we went to unless you count some of those northern towns as cities. Halkida has a very nice beachfront that is full of life. They also make a wicked kebab.

Igoumenitsa/Syvota

Having at last escaped Italy and the horrors therein we arrived in Greece. We knew that Greece was only days away from bursting out into riots yet somehow we had an infinitely better time there than in Italy. Our luck there had been just vile. In Greece we somehow managed to slip between all the cracks.

Brindisi

I have very little to say about Brindidsi.

Brighton

There's nothing classically related in Brighton. As far as I know it was never a Roman town. That doesn't mean that it isn't a great place to visit. It has a Victorian royal palace, excellent shopping malls, and the nicest pier I know of.

Acre

COMING SOON

weew

Athens

Athens has some really wonderful sights and some really seedy areas. I find that a lot of foreign cities are like that, but what separates Athens (and Greece) is how difficult it is to tell when you're passing from one to the other. The difference between a nice safe section and a dangerous section can often be only a few feet. First off, Greek cities look really run down. Greeks don't put as much effort into maintaining cities as the Americans and British do. Even street cleaning and trash disposal is largely neglected. Areas like the Parthenon are different because of the number of tourists visiting but even there you can expect to see trash lying around on the ground. I don't think that this is a money issue. Even the areas that have money don't look fancy. Presentation is not a strong feature of Greek culture. It just isn't a big deal for them. While it becomes easier to tell the areas apart after spending some time there you should still expect to see druggies passed out on the street, homeless people, and random gangs of people wandering the streets. At least until you figure out which areas to avoid. Generally, the areas around the Acropolis are pretty safe but if you go north too far past Omonia Square you're on your own. Again, the lack of care means that all Athens looks pretty seedy, but unless you stay in your hotel room you're gonna have to face it sooner or later.