January 24-25, 2009
What a perfect day! Kate, Lindsey, Miah, Dwain and I arrived in Monemvasia on Friday night. It was a 5 hour drive in the dark and in the rain – but Dwain did a great job driving. Dwain and I had both looked up this beautiful hotel “on the rock” and we decided we should spoil ourselves and stay here (especially since the car we had rented was going to be so inexpensive! I am sure glad we chose to go with this hotel – Malvasia Hotel.
Monemvasia is a village on the southern peninsula of the Peloponnese. Many of the native Greeks all commented on Monemvasia being their favorite place-not much to do except eat and read and relax – perfect for me! The “rock” is this huge rock – mountain type of island that is only connected to the main land by a narrow two land road. Prior to a huge earthquake a few hundred years ago, the rock was connected to the main land. You can drive up a road on the rock but you can’t drive in the village. So on Friday night we parked the car and walked to our hotel through the castle gateway along the stone paths to our hotel.
Lindsey, Kate and I shared a triple – I had a single bed on the first floor which had a small balcony with a view of the sea downwards and the rock upwards and there was a double on the second floor. But on this floor was part of the rock where the fridge and tv were. Our hotel (which we all agreed we would come back to) had a great breakfast included.
But getting on with the better part – Saturday! Miah and Dwain rose the sunrise which they said was spectacular! We had a leisurely breakfast in a unique room overlooking the sea. The room had lots of games and places to hang out. After breakfast we hiked up to the top of the rock to see the castle. What amazing views we had and on top of the rock which was dense with a huge variety of green plants and some flowers – yellow daisies, red poppies and some purple flowers. A local merchant was saying that because of the beautiful spring like weather they have been having the flowers and plants think it is time to bloom. It was such a beautiful day. The sun was warm the breeze was warm and the sky was blue! There were many ruins on the rock including a fully restored church. The view was breathtaking!
We all took tons of photos – it’s like whenever we stopped to “catch our breath” was the perfect place to take a photo. After the hike we got in the car and drove to the main land. I don’t know why anyone would want to stay on the main land! There wasn’t much to do. We had a great lunch outside – all the locals, I think, think we are nuts to sit outside but it’s about 60 degrees – lovely!!!! We had a leisurely lunch and then walked around the stores on the rock.
Although we were not allowed to relax on the couches in the breakfast room, we sat in the “lounge” of the hotel last night playing card games.
What a perfect day! Kate, Lindsey, Miah, Dwain and I arrived in Monemvasia on Friday night. It was a 5 hour drive in the dark and in the rain – but Dwain did a great job driving. Dwain and I had both looked up this beautiful hotel “on the rock” and we decided we should spoil ourselves and stay here (especially since the car we had rented was going to be so inexpensive! I am sure glad we chose to go with this hotel – Malvasia Hotel.
Monemvasia is a village on the southern peninsula of the Peloponnese. Many of the native Greeks all commented on Monemvasia being their favorite place-not much to do except eat and read and relax – perfect for me! The “rock” is this huge rock – mountain type of island that is only connected to the main land by a narrow two land road. Prior to a huge earthquake a few hundred years ago, the rock was connected to the main land. You can drive up a road on the rock but you can’t drive in the village. So on Friday night we parked the car and walked to our hotel through the castle gateway along the stone paths to our hotel.
Lindsey, Kate and I shared a triple – I had a single bed on the first floor which had a small balcony with a view of the sea downwards and the rock upwards and there was a double on the second floor. But on this floor was part of the rock where the fridge and tv were. Our hotel (which we all agreed we would come back to) had a great breakfast included.
But getting on with the better part – Saturday! Miah and Dwain rose the sunrise which they said was spectacular! We had a leisurely breakfast in a unique room overlooking the sea. The room had lots of games and places to hang out. After breakfast we hiked up to the top of the rock to see the castle. What amazing views we had and on top of the rock which was dense with a huge variety of green plants and some flowers – yellow daisies, red poppies and some purple flowers. A local merchant was saying that because of the beautiful spring like weather they have been having the flowers and plants think it is time to bloom. It was such a beautiful day. The sun was warm the breeze was warm and the sky was blue! There were many ruins on the rock including a fully restored church. The view was breathtaking!
We all took tons of photos – it’s like whenever we stopped to “catch our breath” was the perfect place to take a photo. After the hike we got in the car and drove to the main land. I don’t know why anyone would want to stay on the main land! There wasn’t much to do. We had a great lunch outside – all the locals, I think, think we are nuts to sit outside but it’s about 60 degrees – lovely!!!! We had a leisurely lunch and then walked around the stores on the rock.Although we were not allowed to relax on the couches in the breakfast room, we sat in the “lounge” of the hotel last night playing card games.
2 comments:
Jill,
Both Charles and I noticed that it wasn't you who saw the beautiful sunrise !!
However we noticed you did have a photo of the beautiful sunset !!!!
Love Helen and Charles (B)
Hi Jill-
It looks fabulous!! Maybe we'll head there when we visit!
Adele
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