Around the Globe #2: Italy & Greece

Hello!!

I hope find you all well.

In first instance, I would like to tell you that this trip wasn’t expected at all…I received an invitation to go to Italy and Greece, for 10 days (08/09-18/09). Back on that moment, I was delighted and I didn’t thought twice…just let’s goooo!! In order to summarize and organize the article on the best way possible, I will divide it for days.

Day 1: From Porto to Siena

The first day, as usual, was dedicated to the travel. The flight from Porto departed at 06h25 (GMT +01H00) and arrived to Milan Bergamo at 10h00 (GMT +02H00). After that, we took 3 trains in order to went to Siena…we arrived at 20h30, approximately. Despite the tiredness of the trip, it was a very pleasant one, since we had the chance to do short visits on some of the cities we stopped by, i.e., Bergamo & Milan.

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Day 2: Siena

Accomodated comfortably on Siena, this day was focused on knowing the main attractions of the city. I enjoyed a lot!! The city was calm, beautiful, the local people were nice and have a lot of spots to take pictures of the lovely landscapes ;-).

Day 3: “Rome Express“

Since the flight to Thessaloniki was scheduled for the 11th, at dawn, and the train to the Ciampino Airport was on the night of 10th, we had a mid-day to visit Rome. It was a crazy day. Just to clarify, I have been in Rome when I was 10 years old, back in 2010, but I didn’t remember much of it, so we arranged to do a 1-day travel to see the main attractions of the city. To summarize, we have done 25 kilometres by foot in like 10 hours….it was very good and, at the same time, very “damaging”. Moreover, when we arrive to the airport, at 23h30 (GMT +01H00), it was closed…for 4 hours :(.

To do a little comparison between Rome and Siena (if possible), Siena was more quiet, not so crowdy and the prices were cheaper. In my personal opinion, due to the fact that Rome is a very touristic destination, the prices, in general, are overpriced (Pro Tip: Go to McDonalds to have a reasonable priced meal, with free sockets at your disposal…trust me, you will need it ;-)).

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Day 4/5: Thessaloniki

To introduce the travel to Greece, it was the first time, in my entire life, that I slept an entire flight. I was so tired because of the day 3. Thessaloniki, in similarity with what I have said on my last post, concerning my travel to Denmark, was a “box” full of surprises. The city was gorgeous, with a lot to visit, nice restaurants (with an attractive value-for-money relation) and an enjoyable night life.

The better surprise I got was when we discovered that people under 25 years old, from the EU, entered for free on a lot of museums and attractions.

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Day 6/7: Athens

Focusing now on the capital city, Athens seemed to be look alike Thessaloniki, but bigger. The atmosphere on the streets was calm; the attractions were even lovelier that the ones in Thessaloniki, mainly the Acropolis, as expected. The prices were quite the same. Although we just had 2 days to visit the city, I think was enough to get a general view of it.

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Day 8: Aegina

Aegina is one of the Greek islands, located 27 kilometres from Athens. Visiting this island wasn’t on our initial plans, but due to the fact that we were fatigued, because of the intensity of the previous days, seemed to be a nice way to chill out. The island is very pretty, quite a destination for beach vacations and perfect to take a break from work. I definitely recommend it!!

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Day 9/10: Arrangements for the arrival to Portugal

In the last two days, it was planned going to Florence and Bologna, but since it was bad weather on both days, I just stay on Siena, in order to rest and organize some stuff for my return to Portugal.

In conclusion, it was an unforgettable trip, highlighted by new experiences, friendships and, above all, happy memories. Lastly, I just want to thank you for all the support, stay safe!!

Gustavo