Seville

La Banda Rooftop Hostel

Calle Dos de Mayo 16, Seville, Spain, 41011

check in 5th check out 8th

So in order to go to Algeria I need to obtain a tourist visa.  In order to obtain said visa I need proof of employment and proof of address while in Algeria.  I have no job currently, and not only do I not know where I’m staying, I don’t know when I’ll be there.  The website is chronically vague and when I called for more details I was on hold for forty minutes and then the nice lady at the embassy hung up on me when I asked for clarification.

Add to all that, this email from Claudia’s father who has spent a great deal of time out there:

“…

Well, as your old grandmother used to say, “There’s one born every minute!”
He can get a visa at the Algerian Consulate in London and see what happens.  He might get in touch with the Foreign Office and see what their reaction would be.
I think he might find it rather difficult. I am not sure the Algerians will like the idea, but one never knows.  Is he an academic? There might be an excuse there. Fact is, there are few if any people going to Algeria except for business reasons, and going anywhere outside Algiers requires a police escort.

…”

Sooooo… given that the best Carthaginian ruins are in Tunis, and that the Tassili n’Ajjer is miles from anywhere, I think I’mma bypass Algeria.  That makes the North Africa trip slightly light, going from Egypt straight to Tunisia straight to Morocco, but maybe I can give those places more attention as a result.

Thanks but no thanks Algeria, I’ll see you another time.

Some good advice here

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/travel-tips

And especially must remember to get one of these

http://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/low-rate-no-fee/clarity-card/

Boom. Just done it. Application approved, card winging its way to Bedge.  Will save me 2% on the entire trip.  Result.

Athens and the Acropolis are the focus of this leg of the trip, and latterly – since watching a fantastic BBC4 thingy – I’ve really wanted to take a trip to Delphi too.  I’ve had Rhodes recommended to me as well.  And I’m not too fussed about artifacts and architecture from Greek Orthodox history.

Reference to Wikipedia articles about various places, plus my usual starting points –

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_Greece

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/TravelersChoice-Destinations-cTop-g189398

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/greece

http://www.interrail.eu/plan-your-trip/interrail-railway-map

Tells me two things.

1. Sailing from Italy would take a LONG time.  I’d have to get back across from Sicily to Brindisi, and then sail for a total of over 15 hours, to get to a port town I’m not interested in seeing, Patras, in order then to schlep to Athens. So I’m going to fly directly from Palermo.

2. Given time constraints I’m going to have to make some very hard choices, and miss out extraordinary ancient sites which are too far-flung.  The key decision is probably the North vs the Islands

So, let’s bash some stuff down and plot it on the map…

• Athens – natch
• Delphi – natch
• Olympia – site of ancient games
• Mt Athos – extraordinary monastery complex closed to women and children
• Mistras – not terribly fussed, 15th Century Byzantine ruins
• Mycanae – key city of 12th to 15th Century Mycenean Greece
• Epidavros (theatre) – extraordinary acoustics (see Aeschylus play 12th July?)
• Islands:
  • Santorini – beautiful picturesque architecture
  • Crete – incl Minoan history and architecture, and Knossos, Europe’s oldest city
  • Rhodes – esp Lindos as recommended by TF
  • Delos – birthplace of Apollo and Artemis
  • Cyprus – um, it’s big.

TBC. Going to the beach.

I’ve never been to Italy.  I’ve long wanted to go to Italy.  Everyone I know says I’ll fall in love with Italy. And this trip is Roman-Empire-themed.  So I think it’s okay to give Italy plenty of time.  To be honest, less than 5 days in Rome itself is going to be pushing it. Sooooo… let’s start putting stuff on a map.  Starting with main cities and areas, roughly in the order I’d get to them:

• Turin – nahhh
• Milan – yes.
• Verona – yes – see Carmen in the Amphitheatre
• Venice – yes.
• Trieste – nahhh. Despite it being listed as Lonely Planet’s “most underrated destination” in 2012.  Too Habsburg-y for this trip. Maybe in the future.
• Florence – yes.
• Rome – yes.
• Naples – yes, and maybe Sorrento
• Sicily – yes
• Sardinia – maybe

So that’s sorted. Interrail from Milan from Barcelona on Thursday 19th June, and then go

Milan –> Verona –> Venice –> Florence (+Pisa) –> Rome –> Naples –>Sicily (+Sardinia?)

and then back across to the mainland, and to Brindisi, and from there by boat to Patras, and thence to Athens.  If I interrail it.  Flying direct from Palermo to Athens though only costs $160.  Hmmm. Would save me two of three days all told.  Hmmm, to be researched.

…

Flight booked.