Greece is the Word!

With Christopher Nolan's re-telling of The Odyssey filling cinemas, Greece both ancient and modern is trending. We have been captivated by this beautiful, storied country for a long time and our tours are curated by our very own Grecophile, Alexander Oliver. Alex has a lifelong connection to the country and a degree in ancient – mostly Greek – history too. For this week's blog, we asked him to tell us more about that family history and share three of his favourite Greek destinations.

 

 

My grandmother was born in Athens in 1929. She lived under Nazi occupation during the 2nd World War and had some pretty fantastic stories about moving guns for the resistance (among others). When the German occupation forces withdrew from Greece in October 1944, she found work in the NAAFI and it was there that she met my grandfather, Robert (Bob), a recently stationed British soldier. The story is that she fell over and he was there to help her up! Anyway, despite language differences, they fell in love and married in Greece. They settled in Surrey, England after the war.

 

 

I grew up listening my grandmother's stories and we went to Greece on holiday pretty much every year. We would stay with family members in the Athenian suburbs and some remote villages, where my Dad often took us on day trips to explore archaeological sites. That gave me a real insight into the country. I’ve been enamoured with the land (and sea) ever since.

 

 

Corfu is unique in Greece - never conquered by the Ottomans, it was Venetian for a long time and then became a British playground for many years so there is a colonial sense about it. There’s still a cricket field in the centre of Corfu town and the expat community have established estates with really wonderful gardens. There are lots of thriving garden societies too which you won't find anywhere else in Greece.  

 

 

Crete for me has always held an enigmatic charm, you think you get to know it, get a handle on the culture and life of Crete, and then you discover something completely new which you were not aware existed. Highlights are Chania, which is debatably the most beautiful town in Crete, The Botanical Gardens of Crete, the breathtaking Samaria Gorge and Knossos, which is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on the island and has been called Europe's oldest city.

The Peloponnese is an area I know well and it’s still pretty undiscovered. Located just to the west of the Peninsula of Attica (where Athens resides), it is held on to the mainland by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge and has some of the most fantastic scenery you’ll come across in the whole of Hellas. Everywhere you look there are mountains crashing into the wine-dark sea. And the cuisine and conviviality is uniquely wonderful!