Nafplio

Nafplio, on the coast, is a charming town in spite of being very touristy.
Our first evening in Nafplio, we ate in a nice outdoor restaurant where the bartender knew how to make martinis. Hence, the happy Swede.  gr17 091021340 t c Colors of Nafplio.  gr17 091117171 k Cat outside a shop for tourists.  gr17 091117180 k Nafplio was the first capital of Greece after it regained its independance in 1829. This mosque became the first Greek Parliament.  gr17 091210140 s
Part of the old Parliament Building.  gr17 091517540 k The Plateia Syntagmatos (Constitution Square) is paved with marble and surrounded by cafes and restaurants.  gr17 091210180 s At the far end of the square is the Archaeological Museum in a lovely Venetina building.  gr17 091210171 k Funny statues in the Archaeological Museum.  gr17 091410540 k
A refrigerator jar from 2700-2200 BCE. Water in the upper part kept the lower chamber cool.  gr17 091410590 k 3500-year-old Mycenean bronze armor.  gr17 091411010 k And a bronze helmet.  gr17 091411180 k Good ice cream cafe on the square.  gr17 091212270 s
Mmmmmm...  gr17 091212330 s The quiet streets of Nafplio are filled with taverna.  gr17 091210211 s A greener street.  gr17 091210230 s The fountain in this old building...  gr17 091210312 k
... has an inscription in Arabic letters and so must date from the Ottoman occupation of Greece, before 1821.  gr17 091210301 k A Greek tuxedo cat, like ours.  gr17 091210340 s Above the roofs of Nafpliio, the Palamidi Fortress, built by the Venetian occupiers between 1711 and 1714.  gr17 091210420 s Quiet street with oleanders and a pleasant cafe.  gr17 091210400 s
Lovely oleanders.  gr17 091210430 s A komboloi shop.  gr17 091211434 k Komboloi, Greek "worry beads", of all sorts.  gr17 091118360 t Happy tourists inside the komboloi shop. The famly who runs it were very pleasant and friendly. The oldman at the back makes the komboloi.  gr17 091211100 k
The elderly dog of the komoloi shop.  gr17 091211441 k Cannons which once defended the port of Nafplio.  gr17 091314420 k In the middle of the bay. the island fortress of Bortzi was built by Venetians in 1473.  gr17 091314461 k The Bortzi fortress.  gr17 091406360 k
Lovely display of bottles seen passing a closed shop.  gr17 091407480 k Colorful palm fruit.  gr17 091407580 k Large square down by the bay.  gr17 091407590 k Monument to the Battle of Navarino, when French, British and Russian warships sank the Turkish fleet. Probably the last time those three agreed on anything. Actually, the Brits and French were trying to inhibit Russian expansion into the area.  gr17 091408000 k