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.

Kardamyli and a Rest Stop

  27 April 2023 - Vacation from a vacation day

Today is a slow day. We are taking a 'vacation from a vacation' with no activities scheduled and all day for R & R.  The Florida folks were a bit chilly  this morning at breakfast but they warmed up in the sunshine.

We did a bit of exploring around Kardamyli.  This is a small town in Southwest Greece with a long history and lots of ruins.  The native Mani people built towers to watch for pirates and other bad guys so they could get inside their stone forts for protection.

Tower and stone fort.

Tourist examining the ruins.

We stopped for Greek coffee of course.  Greek coffee is strong. Imagine the amount of caffeine in a pot and put that  in a tiny  cup.  Don't forget the fine grounds on the bottom.  

Anyway the blonde wouldn't drink it but she did pose with it.

After coffee it was nap time until dinner and then off to bed.
Like I said, it was a slow day.

Oiling Up for the Olympics

 26 April 2023 - Kardamyli and Olympia

Dogs and cats in Greece love to lay on the hot pavement. When you see this you worry that the  dog is going to be run over but it never happens (almost).  They want to lay  on  the pavement because it is warm and feels good.  They  can feel and hear the traffic and will get up just in time to avoid being crushed.

A good boy taking a snooze.

Today our chariot took us to Olympia, the site of the first Olympic games.  Most  of the buildings have  been destroyed by earthquakes but some restoration has taken place.  There is also a good museum with many artifacts that were missed by the looters.

The original stadium is still here.  There were no seats, folks just sat on the grass. Everybody competed in the nude but no women were allowed.  Too bad, they would have sold more tickets.

The athletes covered themselves in olive oil and sand to prevent sunburn- SPF50.
After the event the guy would scrape off and sell the scrapings in little bottles to the suckers in the crowd as a 'strength enhancer'.  I looked in the gift shop but they were all out.

Donna at the starting line

The museum has lots of headless statues of Roman Emperors from when the Romans were running things around here.  They are headless because it was cheaper to replace the head and keep the body when a new emperor took over.

Next stop was the obligatory olive oil tasting.  Pretty good oil but not good enough to carry home.  Lots of equipment, old and new.

Now it's off to the hotel for a day of 'vacation from vacation'.  Two nights in Kardamyli and we don't have any events scheduled.  We'll just walk around the town, look out at the ocean and drink cheap wine all day.

A Long Bridge, a Train Ride and a Fishy Lunch

  25 April 2023 - Lagkadia and the Rion-Antirion Bridge

This is the longest fully suspended bridge in the world. It was built for the Olympics in 2004 like many new additions in Greece.  There is still a ferry available in case you don't like bridges.

Today we will go to Lagkadia.  On the way we'll take a ride on a cog railway through a gorge to a little restaurant in the woods that is famous for grilled trout.  

The trout live in a spring fed stream next to the place.  The  owner pens a few fish and picks them out to cook when we show up.

Swimming about an hour ago.

The gang at lunch

Off we go to Lagkaida where Donna found one of her favorite sights; a cemetery.

Time for dinner and a bit of dancing.  Here's a sample, I'll spare you the videos.

Lots of 'OOPA'

Followed by a delicious dinner.

What does the Oracle say?

 24 April 2023 - Delphi

Today we left Athens and bussed our way to Delphi to meet the Oracle. Like everything else in Greece, the Oracle lived way up on the side of a mountain and we had to walk there.  Lots of scenery and stones on the way but pretty good footing for a change.  When we got to her house the Oracle wasn't around.  There was a sign that said 'Out to lunch, back in 30 mins'.  I didn't believe the sign because it was chiseled in a rock.

Donna consults the Oracle

Oracle says, "Ask again later"

The scenery in this part of Greece is always spectacular.  This is a mountainous region made of soft rock so there are lots of cool formations and colors.

We stopped for lunch in a town called Arachova.  Lunch was in a cafe with great upholstered chairs.

And a nice view.

Dogs and cats are everywhere in Greece.  They are friendly and hang out at museums and other spots where the tourists are.

 This guy hangs out at the Delphi Museum

Top of the Crop and Mama Faye

23 April 2023 - Athens 

Big day today. We are climbing the Acropolis to see the Parthenon. Actually, climbing is not the correct term; stumbling is more precise.
The route up to the top is a combination of stairs, ramps and paths covered with loose rocks and boulders. The ancient Greeks did not have ADA.

The Parthenon was dedicated to Athena in the 5th century B.C. Nice building but it has been abused badly. Various conquerers have damaged or destroyed many parts. It was converted to a church by the Christians during the Byzantine period, then a mosque when the Ottomans took over. In the Morean War, a Venetian bomb landed on the Parthenon, which the Ottomans had used as a munitions dump, during the 1687 siege of the Acropolis. The resulting explosion severely damaged the Parthenon. There are several ongoing projects to restore the Parthenon and the surrounding buildings but it is going to take a while.

But my favorite building on the Acropolis hill is the Erechtheion temple with the caryatids. This caryatid is one of six elegant female figures who supported the roof of the south porch of the Erechtheion (figures who do the work of columns—carrying a roof—are called caryatids). The figure wears a garment pinned on the shoulders (this is a peplos—a kind of garment worn by women in ancient Greece).

The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago has a reproduction of the caryatids and I loved them as a kid. It was a thrill to see the originals. Well, not really the originals, they are in the Acropolis Museum to protect them (minus the one the Brits stole). The ones on the Acropolis are copies.

The original.

Stumbling down the Acropolis we made our way to the Acropolis Museum where we took a tour with our local guide 'Mama Faye'. She's small but tough. You can ask any guide in Greece and they'll all say they love Mama Faye.

Faye showed us what is left of the 'Elgin Marbles', the sculptured stones that lined the top of the Parthenon. They were stolen by Lord Elgin in the 1800's and are now in the British Museum. The Brits won't give them back because if they did the British Museum would be empty in two hours. Everyone would want their stuff back that was stolen by the Brits.

Time to head back to the hotel and rest our legs at the rooftop bar with this view.

Overdue Books and Fleas

22 April 2023 - Athens  

Time for a bit of a walk to the Agora.  The Agora is the ruins of the original Roman Forum from the time the Romans were running things around here. That Emperor Hadrian guy (we met him yesterday at his arch) liked Athens so he built a lot of stuff to make it feel like Rome when he was hanging out in Athens. 
They wanted €20 to get in so instead we ate lunch at the  cafe next door and looked through the fence.

After lunch it was time  to see Hadrian's Library.  If  you have any books checked out of it you really are racking up big fines.

Typical overdue fine offender

Strolling home we came upon the Athens Flea Market.  Lots of shops out front but in the back was a real, old  time flea market with  some  awesome junk.

I had one of these as a kid.  My grandkids have  it now.

Need a radio?

Or a camera?

Or just about anything?

We didn't buy a thing. We like to stay carry-on.

On the way home we had  to stop at the Mona Lisa ice cream shop to see the Mona Lisa chocolate  waterfall. 

Yes, that's a chocolate Mona Lisa.  Mona Lisa is hard to see but she's there; and she's hot because the chocolate  wouldn't flow otherwise.

They swore that the chocolate is never  used for food. Smells good enough to eat.  The chocolate I mean.

Weather is good at around 65 or 70 and 85% humidity so you don't feel cold.

Coming Attractions...

Tomorrow is our big day in Athens because we go the Acropolis.

Walking and Talking

  21 April 2023 - Athens  

Pretty good sleep and woke up for breakfast. 

We met up with Jeff & Margo who will be on our tour. They are Canadians (Vancouver) but we don't hold that against them.  

Off we went with the Canucks for a stroll to Hadrian's Arch.

Still in pretty good shape after 1800 years or so.  That Hadrian guy really got around.  He also built a wall across Northern England to keep the Scots out.

After a bit  more sightseeing we headed to the Plaka; a cute neighborhood filled with restaurants and shops.  We can't go more  than a few hours without shopping of course.

Dinner was at the Kalamaki Bar at 9pm.  Food was good but service a bit slow.  What can you  expect for a 2 euro tip. 

We didn't join Jeff and Margo for dinner at 5:30.  They  would fit in at Avenida. 

Views and Snooze

 20 April 2023 - Athens   

Arrived around 7pm after a great flight from the U.S. and a not so great flight from Munich. Limo driver is pals with the guy who owns Cermak Foods in Chicago (or so he says).  Didn't help his  tip much.

Acropolis Select Hotel is nice and located in a great spot for walking to the sights. Nice view of the Shell station from our balcony.

Out for dinner to a place called Seawolf.  No wolf on the menu but lots of fish. 

Donna likes to take food pix so get used to it.

Great shrimp tacos and greek salad with feta.
Very good food and service.

Back to the hotel for a nightcap on the roof.

Doesn't look tired at all. 

A long day but a successful one.