Monthly Archives: December 2023

2023: The Year in Travel

Posted on December 31, 2023 by 2btravel

Another year has passed and I’m just thankful I got through this one without injury. I cracked my tibial plateau while on my European trip in 2022 which meant I didn’t get to ski but for a few hours this year but I still went on the trips I had planned and had a very good time anyway.

The Year in Travel – 2023

January

My first trip of the year was a visit to Winter Park, Colorado, a place I hadn’t visited in nearly 30 years. I was so looking forward to it because I really couldn’t remember much about it and had only been skiing a year when I visited last time. Sadly I spent an hour each day rehabbing my knee instead of skiing though I did get to go tubing one day.

I enjoyed a quick non-stop flight from Memphis to Denver on United and we took a bus right to the lodge. We stayed slopeside at the Zephyr Mountain Lodge where the location of your room can make a big difference.

Zephyr Mountain Lodge Slopeside Building
photo from Planet of Hotels.com

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Categories: American Airlines, Autograph Collection, Award Travel, California, Colorado, Condos, Croatia, Cruises, Europe, Greece, Hotel, Iberia, Italy, Lufthansa, Mammoth, Marriott, Montenegro, North America, OneWorld, Ship Review, Star Alliance, Tours, UNESCO World Heritage Site, United, United States, Viking, Winter Park, Year in Review | Tags: Autograph Collection, Award Travel, California, Colorado, Croatia, Greece, Iberia, Italy, Lufthansa, Mammoth, Marriott, Montenegro, OneWorld, Ship Review, Star Alliance, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Viking, Viking Neptune, Winter Park, Year In Review | Leave a comment

Our Time in Corfu, Greece

Posted on December 30, 2023 by 2btravel

Trip Report: Athens and a Mediterranean Cruise
Lounge Reviews: The Club CLT and Centurion Lounge Charlotte Airport
Flight Review: Lufthansa A340-600 Charlotte-Munich
Lodging Review: Academias Hotel, Autograph Collection, Athens
Our Time in Athens, Part I (Acropolis and Museum)
Our Time in Athens, Part II (Roman Agora, Hadrian’s Library, Ancient Agora)
Our Time in Athens, Part III (Kerameikos, Temple of Zeus, Panathenaic Stadium)
Our Time in Athens, Part IV (Restaurants and Observations)
Ship Review: Viking Neptune
Our Time in Ancient Olympia (Katakalon, Greece)
Our Time in Corfu, Greece
Our Time in Kotor, Montenegro
Our Time in Dubrovnik, Croatia
Our Time in Zadar, Croatia
Our Time in Venice, Italy
Flight Review: Iberia A330-300 Madrid-Chicago

An Unexpected Twist

After we returned from our shore excursion in Ancient Olympia we were informed that one of our shore excursions for the following day had been canceled. Our excursion was to take us about an hour away to hike Mt. Pantokrator and then to visit Old Peritheia, Corfu’s oldest village that was once a hideaway from pirates. We had been proactively booked on the afternoon included tour, which was Panoramic Corfu & Old Town Walking Tour. While we hated to miss seeing cool sites, our feet were actually not all that upset. We heard it had rained in the area the day before we arrived and can only speculate that it made the conditions unsafe for the hike. As someone who was injured last year when an excursion took place in the rain instead of being canceled, I was fine with the way it was handled.

But that meant we now had a significant amount of shipboard credit to spend. We decided to make the best of it by getting massages in the Nordic Spa. We were able to schedule them for first thing in the morning, giving ourselves plenty of time before our afternoon tour. It was a very welcome treat after all the walking we’d done in Athens over the prior few days. The tour was scheduled to last 5.5 hours so our credit was enough to cover a one-hour massage and a little bit of the tip.

Exploring on our own

It was about a 200-yard walk from our ship to the Cruise Terminal. We didn’t notice it at the time but there are actually buses that run between the cruise terminal and the ships, so if that’s too far for you to walk, just wait for one of these free shuttles. Once you reach the cruise terminal you’ll exit through the building and then you can catch one of Viking’s shuttles into downtown. Unfortunately we didn’t pay attention that these shuttles were available so we just set out walking. There is not much in the immediate area of the cruise terminal other than a small row of shops across the street. But we just followed the trickle of people both from our ship and the giant one docked next to us and headed east along the coast road.

Port in Corfu

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Categories: Europe, Greece, Historical Site, Tours, Trip Report, UNESCO World Heritage Site | Tags: Corfu, Europe, Greece, Historical Site, Trip Report, UNESCO World Heritage Site | Leave a comment

Our Time in Ancient Olympia (Katakalon, Greece)

Posted on December 29, 2023 by 2btravel

Our ship departed Athens at 6 PM on Saturday evening and it took us the rest of the night and all of Sunday morning to reach our first port of call, Katakolon, Greece as we had to sail around the Greek peninsula.

The included tour at this port was called Ancient Olympia and there were optional tours that included not only Ancient Olympia but a visit to the Magna Grecia olive estate, another where you can learn Greek folk dancing and a Flavors of the Greek Countryside tour. We stuck with the included tour but because we were in the cheaper staterooms we had to settle for the last tour of the day, which didn’t leave until 2:15 PM.

Port of Katakolo(n)

That wasn’t all bad. In Katakolon, the dock is not far at all from a tourist area with several restaurants and loads of souvenir shops. So after our ship docked at 12:30 PM we had time to go into this area and get our souvenirs purchased before the tour. I find it interesting that Viking refers to the port as Katakolon when all the local signage (and even Wikipedia) refer to the port name without the final N. From what I can see online the names appear to refer to the same place, it just seems odd!

Town of Katakolon as viewed from our ship

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Categories: Europe, Greece, Historical Site, River Cruise, Tours, Trip Report, UNESCO World Heritage Site | Tags: Ancient Olympia, Europe, Greece, Historical Site, Olympics, Tours, Trip Report, UNESCO World Heritage Site | Leave a comment

Ship Review: Viking Neptune

Posted on December 28, 2023 by 2btravel

While this was our fifth cruise with Viking, three of our trips had been on their iconic European longships and the other had been in China on a larger river ship that was basically like the longships, only with more decks. But this would be our first cruise on one of their larger boats. I had done three cruises back in the mid-to-late 2000s on ocean-going vessels. Two of these were quite large boats from Royal Caribbean and Carnival but our Viking ship would be a bit smaller than those. I was curious in the differences between larger boats and versus the longships.

Viking Neptune

The Viking Neptune only launched in November 2022, so it is still quite a new boat. Shortly before our trip I began looking for reviews and found this extremely helpful one from MJ. While she had a different itinerary (it was actually very similar to the Carnival cruise I took in 2008) I thought she did a great job in a very thorough post. She included all the ports of call in this single post so it’s a long one but worth your time if you want even more detail than I provide and/or want to read about the ports on that trip. Continue reading →

Categories: Cruises, Europe, Ship Review, Trip Report, Viking | Tags: Cruise, Europe, Ocean Cruise, Ship Review, Trip Report, Viking, Viking Neptune | 3 Comments

Our Time in Athens, Part IV (Restaurants and Observations)

Posted on December 27, 2023 by 2btravel

Restaurants

When my friend and I travel together we’re not always looking for “the best meal”. Rather, we love finding places frequented by locals which are sometimes off the beaten path. That doesn’t mean we don’t occasionally stop in at places that typically serve tourists; after all, that’s what we are! But often times we’ve found those places don’t have the best food and/or don’t give the best bang for your buck.

Case in point: our hotel offered a breakfast buffet. While I am currently a Lifetime Silver (Marriott’s lowest-level elite) and have Gold status this year (thanks to my Amex Platinum card), breakfast is not complementary at either level. The breakfast buffet at the hotel was €25. I’ve always been someone who loves and needs breakfast but there’s no way I’m going to pay that much, especially three days in a row. Instead, my friend and I went to the local grocery store and stocked up on enough fruit and yogurt to last us for a couple of days and decided to eat at a local cafe on our final morning in town.

For our dinners we mostly used Google Maps to locate restaurants near us. We’d find a few that looked interesting and then walk over and check them out in person before actually dining.

Meat N Roses

After getting settled into our hotel, this is where we dined our first evening. It’s a very small place with the tables actually in a pedestrian alley between two sections of the building. It was traditional Greek food with a twist and very reasonably-priced. Definitely recommend. Open noon-1 AM every day.

Meat N Roses, Amerikis 7, Athens 106 72 Continue reading →

Categories: Advice, Europe, Greece, Trip Report | Tags: Advice, Athens, Greece, Restaurants, Trip Report | Leave a comment

Our Time in Athens, Part III (Kerameikos, Temple of Zeus, Panathenaic Stadium)

Posted on December 26, 2023 by 2btravel

We slept in just a little the next day as we did not have to be anywhere at a certain time but we were still out before 9 AM to try to beat the heat. We still had our 24-hour Metro pass and this is when we learned the closest stop to our hotel was actually only a 4-minute walk away. Crossing Akadimias street we walked down the hill to the next major street and took a right. From there it was just a block-and-a-half to the Panepistimo Metro station, which is on the Blue line. On our side of the street, just in front of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (pictured below) there’s an entrance with steps going down and an escalator coming up. If you need to take the elevator down, cross Panepistimo to the plaza area and you’ll find the elevator there.

The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

We took the train to the Kerameikos Archaeological Site and Museum. It may not have been much faster than walking but our feet were still aching from the previous day and we were in no hurry so that was fine by us. Continue reading →

Categories: Europe, Greece, Trip Report, UNESCO World Heritage Site | Tags: Athens, Europe, Greece, Hadrian's Arch, Kerameikos, Panathenaic Stadium, Temple of Zeus, Trip Report, UNESCO World Heritage Site | Leave a comment

Our Time in Athens, Part II (Roman Agora, Hadrian’s Library, Ancient Agora)

Posted on December 23, 2023 by 2btravel

After having lunch at the Acropolis Museum we spent the afternoon at three other sites that were close to the Acropolis.

Roman Agora

The Roman Agora, or marketplace, was built around 27-17 BC using funds donated by Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus, known as Octavian, the founder of the Roman empire to fulfill a promise made by Julius Caesar in 51 BC. While the area has not been fully excavated it’s easy to see it followed a common basic layout of a large open plaza surrounded by colonnades on three sides.

Roman Agora

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Categories: Europe, Greece, Historical Site, Trip Report, UNESCO World Heritage Site | Tags: Agora, Ancient Agora, Athens, Europe, Greece, Hadrian, Hadrian's Library, Historical Site, Roman Agora, Trip Report, UNESCO World Heritage Site | Leave a comment

Our Time in Athens, Part I (Acropolis and Museum)

Posted on December 22, 2023 by 2btravel

It had been 16 years since my only visit to Athens and my friend had never been. As we were trying to figure out what we wanted to see, I stumbled upon the Earth Trekkers site and their post “2 Days in Athens: The Perfect Itinerary for your First Visit“. That post not only gave us a good idea of highlights to hit but it also introduced us to the combo ticket that gets you into 7 sites for just €30. Those seven sites are:

The Acropolis
Ancient Agora (Archaeological site and Museum)
Roman Agora
Hadrian’s Library
Kerameikos
Temple of Olympian Zeus (called Olympieion on the ticket)
Aristotle’s Lyceum

That’s quite a bargain once you add up the admission prices of all these sites. We recommend buying your combo ticket online in advance.

We hit the first four sites plus the Acropolis Museum the first day and sites 5 and 6 plus the Panathenaic Stadium on the second day. We didn’t make it to Aristotle’s Lyceum but after walking 27,000 steps the first day and another 20,000 steps the second day we were OK with that as we were exhausted.

Monument of the Unknown Soldier

Our day started quite early as our timed ticket for the Acropolis gave us entry at 8 AM. So we left our hotel about 7:20 to give ourselves plenty of time for the walk and to get lost. Our path took us by the Monument of the Unknown Soldier which is on the road that travels over the Syntagma Square Metro station. We weren’t there for the changing of the guard but the two soldiers were marching back and forth under the watchful eye of their superior. We paused for just a few moments and realized it was a great time to be able to get photos without any other people around.

Guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

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Categories: Europe, Greece, Historical Site, Trip Report, UNESCO World Heritage Site | Tags: Acropolis, Athens, Caryatids, Europe, Greece, Parthenon, Trip Report, UNESCO World Heritage Site | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: Academias Hotel, Autograph Collection, Athens

Posted on December 21, 2023 by 2btravel

For our three-night stay in Athens we chose the Academias Athens, Marriott Autograph Collection due to its location and the fact that we could get a twin room using points. While I didn’t check to see the going rate in cash at the time we booked, I believe it to be around 364 EUR per night before taxes. Instead we opted to pay 45,000 Bonvoy points per night. Using a valuation of 0.7 cents per point (based on the figures provided by One Mile At A Time) that means we spent about $315 in points per night, which was a better deal than paying cash. We booked a 2 Twin/Single Beds, Deluxe Guest room as that was the only type of room with two beds that was available on points. The view didn’t matter a whole lot to us as we planned to be out and about most of the day.

Getting to the hotel

We took the Metro from the airport to Syntagma Square for 9 EUR. If you have heavy luggage, even if it’s on rollers, be aware that you can take an elevator and avoid one set of steps up from the train level to the square but there is another giant set of steps required to get up to Vasilissis Sofias Avenue unless you take the long way around. It is then about a 650 meter walk to the hotel. Under normal conditions Google Maps thinks that’s about a 9-minute walk but let me tell you that when you’re lugging a 45-pound suitcase and a backpack and the temperature is over 70 degrees with humidity, it sure feels a lot longer. Were I doing this trip again, I’d take the Metro from the airport to Syntagma station but then change from the blue line to the red line and go on to the Panepistimio station, which is only 270 meters away, or a 4-minute walk without luggage. There is an elevator in Korai Square which is across the street from the main Panepistimio station entrances that will take you down to the train level. While I would certainly be fine with taking the Metro from the airport again, if I was returning to the airport I would only take the Metro if the temperature was cooler. We worked up quite the sweat hauling our large luggage around in the Athens heat, even in mid-to-late October and I would not want to be that sticky and then have to get on a plane.

Hotel Exterior

The hotel is at the corner of Akadimias and Omirou Streets. As we wheeled our luggage up, the bellman, who was standing outside, jumped to attention and took our large bags while holding the door open for us.

Academias Hotel, Autograph Collection, Athens

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Categories: Autograph Collection, Award Travel, Europe, Greece, Hotel, Lodging Review, Marriott, Trip Report | Tags: Academias, Athens, Autograph Collection, Award Travel, Bonvoy, Greece, Hotel Review, Lodging Review, Marriott, Trip Report | Leave a comment

Flight Review: Lufthansa A340-600 Charlotte-Munich

Posted on December 20, 2023 by 2btravel

Booking the flight

I had originally booked my flight to Athens as a 1-stop from Memphis to Newark and on to Athens in United Airlines economy for just 33,000 United miles. It was a deal that was hard to beat! But I really wanted to fly business class and United never made any saver award space available on the longhaul leg. I kept searching, utilizing award search tools like PointsYeah!, Roame.travel and Seats.aero and eventually found space out of Charlotte via Munich for 70,000 Air Canada Aeroplan miles. I was going to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards Points (UR) to my Aeroplan account as there was a transfer bonus going on and it would have only cost me about 58,000 UR points but I hit a snag.

For years my Chase cards had all been in my “called by” first name rather than my legal first name. Years ago I was able to successfully connect my UR and United accounts but now I was unable to connect my new Aeroplan account. I’d had a similar issue with Amex Membership Rewards awhile back and ended up getting all my Amex cards changed just by uploading a photo of my ID and filling out an online form. No such luck with Chase. They had to snail mail me a form. About a week later I saw in my daily USPS Informed Delivery email that the mail piece was to be delivered soon but a week later I still had not received it, so I contacted Chase to send yet another form. That one I did receive but it was at least two weeks after that before the name was changed on my account. So, word of caution, make sure the name on your credit card matches the name on your frequent flyer account!

A few days before my flight, Lufthansa made first class award space available to partners. I have never flown Lufthansa First and seriously considered doing the upgrade for an additional 30,000 Aeroplan miles but I decided to conserve my points and stick with business class.

Now that I had a longhaul flight, I needed to get to Charlotte. As CLT is not a Star Alliance hub, if I could have found award space on United to include with my longhaul flight, I’d have had to connect via Chicago, Houston or Denver. I decided the easier path was to take the American Airlines non-stop. Unlike when I try to get to Chicago or DFW on American, there always seems to be plenty of award space on flights to Charlotte. So I spent just 15,000 British Airways Avios on the non-stop flight in domestic first class. Did I really need to fly in first? Of course not but this is my big international vacation of the year and I like to make it special. I won’t review this flight except to say it was on time and my luggage made it, which were the important parts. There were three flights that would have gotten me to Charlotte in time to make my flight though the first one was extremely early. I decided to take the middle flight which would put me in Charlotte six hours ahead of my Lufthansa flight. Even though that was a long layover for a domestic flight, it left plenty of time in case of irregular operations or lost luggage as there was another flight after that. What didn’t occur to me until about a week before the flight was that the Lufthansa counter would not be open when I landed. Fortunately there was one pre-security restaurant open amidst all the construction in the lobby and baggage claim areas of the Charlotte airport and I was able to have a leisurely lunch until the Lufthansa counter opened at 2:30 PM, 4 hours before the flight.

Lufthansa 429 CLT-MUC A340-600
October 17, 2023
Boarding – due: 1755 actual: 1805
Departure – due: 1830 actual: 1851 – takeoff 1952
Arrival – due: 0915+1 actual: 0856+1
Seat: 6G (Business Class) Continue reading →

Categories: Award Travel, Flight Review, Lufthansa, Star Alliance, Trip Report | Tags: A340, Award Travel, Business Class, Flight Review, Lufthansa, Trip Report | Leave a comment

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Monthly Archives: December 2023

2023: The Year in Travel

January

Our Time in Corfu, Greece

An Unexpected Twist

Exploring on our own

Our Time in Ancient Olympia (Katakalon, Greece)

Ship Review: Viking Neptune

Our Time in Athens, Part IV (Restaurants and Observations)

Restaurants

Meat N Roses

Our Time in Athens, Part III (Kerameikos, Temple of Zeus, Panathenaic Stadium)

Our Time in Athens, Part II (Roman Agora, Hadrian’s Library, Ancient Agora)

Roman Agora

Our Time in Athens, Part I (Acropolis and Museum)

Monument of the Unknown Soldier

Lodging Review: Academias Hotel, Autograph Collection, Athens

Getting to the hotel

Hotel Exterior

Flight Review: Lufthansa A340-600 Charlotte-Munich

Booking the flight

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