Sculptures, Computers and Mama Faye

 04 - May - Athens Archeological Museum

Yes, our butts were dragging but we had one more museum to visit.  We hopped on the 'Flying Cat' ferry from Hydra to Athens for a 2 hour ride.  The Cat didn't do any  flying because the Greek government still had some safety slowdowns in place on transport systems after the  recent disastrous trainwreck.  It was a fast, uneventful 2 hrs and we were back in Athens.

The bus picked us up and dropped us at the Athens Archeological Museum.  Lots of painted pottery and broken clay figures but there were three things that I wanted to see.

First was the Artemision Bronze sculpture of Poseidon or maybe Zeus, who  knows.

Check the link above for more info but here is a photo with the ever present tourists.

Back view for the ladies.

Next was another magnificent bronze known as 'The Jockey of Artemision' 

Most bronze sculptures were melted down for the metal but this  one was lost in a shipwreck and discovered on the bottom of the Mediterranean after laying there for a couple of  thousand years.  It is really beautiful up close.

The last item in this museum that I wanted to see was the Antikythera Mechanism.
This is the oldest known example of an analogue computer and could predict astronomical positions and eclipses decades in advance.  It doesn't look like much now  but scientists have reproduced the mechanism from these parts and it works.

It was time to say goodbye to the museum and our  favorite local guide, Mama Faye.

Delfi our Rick Steve's guide with Mama Faye, everyone's favorite guide

Mama Faye is the most famous guide in Greece.  Everyone knows and respects her and when she talks everyone listens.  We saw her shut down a group of a couple  dozen rowdy high school kids with one shout.

Time for some lunch and back to our old haunt, the Acropolis Select Hotel for a last evening looking at the Acropolis.

Everyone had a great time, weather was good and nobody got hurt which was amazing because there are a hell of a lot of mountains and rocky  steps in Greece.

We owe a big thanks to Delfi our guide.  She made the trip special and enjoyable for everyone.

Hydra (pronounced HEE-DRA)

  03 - May - Hydra Island

A relaxing day today on the island of Hydra. There are too many of us so we had to split up and stay in two different hotels.  We are staying in the hotel run by a nice  woman who is very  strict about the house rules.  She serves a mean breakfast that starts off with 'some vegetable juice which you should drink every day' according to her.  I took a pass on a glass of hot pumpkin juice.  We also had orange juice, coffee,  a boiled egg, lentil salad, bread, jam, tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach pie, a piece of cake and an individual jello mold.  Needless to say the folks from the other hotel were jealous.

Hotel Mistral Breakfast

After the extensive breakfast we took a walk along the coast for a while.  There are nice houses on the slopes but all you can see up close are the doors and gates to the stairways up or down.

Gate to a fancy house up the hill

Fancy house on the water.

Fancy art installation.  Reminds me of a breakfast cereal box.

After a bite of lunch, Mom went back to the hotel to rest (it was a long walk) and I continued the other direction on the coast to see the Leonard Cohen memorial bench.

Leonard lived here during the '60's and loved the place. He wrote poetry and songs here and his favorite restaurant has one of his poems on the back of the menu.

I bumped into a film crew shooting a commercial on the way back home.  This place is so picturesque that a lot of video is shot here.

Don't know what they were selling.

It was a very nice evening so Delfi threw a Happy Hour with lots of drinks and  traditional Greek mezes.

Our little party continued down at the harbor at the Pirate Bar.  They have an interesting drink menu.  

We did not try all of them.

The party ended a bit late so we had to sneak in without waking up the manager lady's dog.

A fine evening was had by all.  The dog never made a sound.

Stadiums and Donkeys

 02 - May - Epidavros and Hydra

The Ancient theatre at the Asklepieion of Epidaurus is our first stop today.  This amazing theater could hold 14,000 people and everyone could hear the voices of the actors without ancient microphones.  Kevin Spacey proved it by doing two performances here in Richard III before he got in trouble.

The theater - little kid for scale.

The theatre hosted music, singing and dramatic games that were included in the worship of Asclepius. It was also used as a means to heal patients, since there was a belief that the observation of dramatic shows had positive effects on mental and physical health.

Obligatory resident dog.  Sissy just lays there waiting for belly scratches.

We moved on from the theater to the museum where we saw a statue of Asclepius sporting a cool stick and a snake. Hermes ripped off the idea when he invented the caduceus later on. 

Asclepius himself

After all that education we headed for the ferryboat for a trip to Hydra island (aka Iydra) for a couple of slow days to relax.

Hydra is unique because there are no cars or even bikes on the island.  Luggage and freight are hauled by hand cart or donkey.  We did see a couple of electric fork lifts but the donkeys don't seem worried about losing their job.

Today's morning load from the freight boats.

 

Donkeys anxiously waiting to load up.

One thing Hydra is famous for is a lot of cats.  Cats are everywhere, usually in groups of 4 or 5.  They seem to stake out their own territory around restaurants of course but they are not aggressive or bothersome.  Many varieties, some really unique.

We met this guy while strolling the harbor.

Hydra is a favorite among the sailing crowd so quite a few boats in the harbor.

CATamaran (get it?)

We caught a bit of rain this evening but managed to find a nice spot for cocktails.

Who needs dinner when you can have some Ouzo or a nice Martini with olives soaked in Mastika.

Speaking of libations, Greece can keep  up  with anyplace when it comes to alcohol.  Greek bartenders will make just about any drink you like and Greek beer is good and cold.

Boats and Bouzoukis

1 - May - Nafplio

Started today  with a nice walk in the sunshine.  Even this little cactus had her best hat on.

One of the most beautiful towns in the area of Argolis (in eastern Peloponnese) as well as one of the most romantic cities all over Greece, Nafplio was the first capital of the newly born Greek state between 1823 and 1834.

We took a walk by the waterfront to see the yachts in the daytime.

My favorite.

Of course there was lunch.

Eight legs and all.

According to mythology, the town was founded by Nafplios, the son of god Poseidon and the daughter of Danaus (Danaida) Anymone. The town’s history traces back to the prehistoric era when soldiers from here participated in the Argonautic expedition and the Trojan War alike. The town declined during the Roman times and flourished again during the Byzantine times. Frankish, Venetian and Turkish conquerors left their mark in the town and strongly influenced its culture, architecture and traditions during the centuries. Ancient walls, medieval castles, monuments and statues, Ottoman fountains and Venetian or neoclassical buildings mesmerize the visitor with their unique architecture and beauty.

Tonight we will dine together at a non-tourist restaurant and listen to some Greek Rembetiko music. The Greeks consider Rembetiko to be like the Blues. When the junta was in power, it was illegal to play this music. There are themes about tragic historical events in Greek history like massacres and forced relocation. Kind of a downer but the music is good. We had a small group singing and playing and even our guide Delfi showed off her bouzouki skills.

M&M and Nafplio

30 - April - Mystras and Mycenae

Change in plans.  We were to split these two stops into two days  but tomorrow is May 1, a big holiday in Greece.  Many places are closed or crowded so our guide Delfi decided to do Mystras and Mycenae on the same day.  There was a LOT of walking on steep, rocky paths but nobody slipped.

Mystras was a Byzantine fortress town with a lot  of churches.  The Byzantines were the folks left over in the Eastern Roman Empire after Rome fell in the fifth century.  They lasted about 1,000 years until the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople in 1453.  What was left of the Byzantine Romans established a capital in Mystras but it didn't last.

The churches are mostly ruins but there are some frescoes and other art still visible.

The guy on the right is Arturo, our local guide.  There isn't much he doesn't  know about Mystras.

Then it was off to Sparta for lunch.  There isn't anything left of the original town but the present Sparta is a nice place with wide streets and palm trees.  There is a Spartan warrior statue of course.

Spartan warrior

With some weird toes

The lunch was good at a Greek restaurant of course.  To someone from Chicago, the restaurants do not seem unusual.  The owners talk about the same and the dishes are very similar to the food at all of the corner diners we grew up with.

Back on the bus it was time to head for Mycenae, the fortified city founded by  Perseus 1,000 years before the Parthenon was built.  After 3,500 years there isn't much left but I looked forward to seeing this spot.

The most famous sights are the Lion Gate and the domed tholos tomb.

Lion Gate - Most intact ancient sculpture in Europe

The lions once had gold heads and were covered in gold leaf.

The Mycenaeans built large, domed tombs of rock.  The picture below is a 360 degree view but I'm not sure  if you can pan around it on this display.

The photo below is a regular picture with some people so you can see how big this  thing is.

 

Of course there is a dog.  He just lays there while the people walk around him.

It is amazing what these folks did with just pulleys and ropes.  Each one of these blocks weighs tons.

Really heavy blocks.  Blonde for scale.

Back to the hotel to check-in.

I usually don't take hotel room pictures but this one is an exception.

We are staying in Nafplio for two days.  There is a yacht show going on right now so we'll probably pick up one.  

Sorry, ran out of battery so this is the only shot from last night.  This is the fold down patio from one of the smaller yachts.

Holiday tomorrow so we'll just walk around and get some ice cream.

On the Road Again

29 - April - Road to Monemvasia

Time to hit the pavement for a few hours.  The bus is great and our driver Christos is the best.  Before we left this morning he washed the entire bus with a brush and squeegee on a LONG pole.

Shitty picture of Christos

And his bus

We did a bit of shopping on the way as usual.

Nope, doesn't fit.

We ended up in Monemvasia which is a nice town at a big rock.  

The big rock was a fortress of course but you can always conquer a fort by starving them out.  We had the advantage of some good restaurants.

Big Rock view from our hotel

There is a bridge to the rock if you want to walk.  We took the shuttle bus.

The old town of Monemvasia on the rock is mostly shops and cafes.  Only a few folks live here.  We walked through town and up the side  of the  rock  through the ruins of the original town and fortress.  We didn't quite make it to the  top but almost.

Everything in the Old Town is delivered by wheelbarrow.  There are sloped rocks on the sides of the stairs for the wheels.

Water delivery in the Old Town

We missed the bus so it was a hike back to town. Lucky miss because we found Donna's favorite sight on the way.  

Time to say goodbye to the dead Greeks and head back home to the hotel
where we had a cooking demonstration.  Not one of those 'make some cookies' things, this demo created our whole meal.

The menu

We had six volunteers doing the prep and cooking but to be safe, our host Aren served food prepared by the regular chef. 

Our Kitchen Staff

The meal was delicious. The cats probably got our stuff.