What about Greece you ask? We took an overnight ferry to Greece. Most of the passengers on the ferry were international truck drivers who would drive their eighteen wheelers into the bottom of the ferry in order to cross their cargo from one location to another. Most of the drivers were extremely cordial, but the boat’s crew was very rude. The cabin we slept in was another issue. We were four women sharing an 8”X6” cabin. It contained two sets of bunk beds, one sink next to the door, and the toilet was in the shower. None of us wanted to step into the toilet/shower area, but we had no choice. All four of us took showers wearing our tennis shoes and left them on the boat when we docked in Greece. There goes another $100.00 or more dollars each one of us saw going down the drain, and at this point in time, we didn’t care.
Negative points of Greece:
- Some (not all) of the waiters were very rude
- Hotel was not a five star hotel
- Flies on hotel’s beds under the bedspread
- Felt we were in Afghanistan
- Not much to do but see ruins and go shopping
- Overemphasis of merchants selling statues of male genitals and calendars, post cards, booklets of the variety of sexual positions
- Expensive due to value of American dollar
- Large portion of the buildings were covered with graffiti including some of the museums’ walls
- Constant fear that someone stealing your hand bag or wallet
- Few elevators
- No assistance with your bags
Positive about Greece:
- Beautiful country sights and the ruins are wonderful
- People were friendlier than in Rome
- Beaches were lovely
- People and government value the animals of the area
- Lovely artifacts
- Very original and well made items to buy
- Fabulous candy shops
- Better transportation systems
- Better tasting food
I did prefer Greece over Italy, but this is merely my opinion based on my experiences.
Maybe I needed to do more planning, maybe I should have gone during off season. Who’s to know? Both Rome and Greece are lovely places to see, but the view is not all one looks forward to. A person saves and plans on spending his/her money enjoying the finer things in life.
There are several lessons I learned by this expensive experience. They are:
- Don’t be impulsive before committing to making huge travel expenses. You can find great deals online for very affordable prices.
- Appreciate the good old U.S.A. The grass always seems to be greener on the other side, but once you jump the fence, you realize that greener means more money for less. The North American continent has picturesque, charming, captivating places to visit.
- Don’t spend your money on countries that have little respect for America and Americans.
After going through more negative experiences than positive (in Rome & Athens), I no longer desire to visit any other European county. I will stay in my on home land and stick to the North American Continent, because, I now strongly feel, “God Bless America, because, in my opinion Europe is overrated.apostrophe
About the author:
Belinda Silva is a native Texan and resides in San Antonio, TX with her husband of thirty four years David. She’s presently a sixth grade teacher with one of the San Antonio school districts and enjoys to travel, because she believes it makes a better teacher.