Phew! I have had a whirlwind few weeks but I finally have a day off to blog, clean, cook, and RELAX! And I apologize for the extra long wait- blogger was being buggy and would not let me upload photos :(
After Meteora came Delphi! Delphi is a tiny town, with tiny roads, and a lot of tourists! The only types of shops in town were restaurants an souvenir stores- which made it interesting to walk around in. The hotel we stayed at was a family run place. George was overly helpful and ready to help us in any way that he could. George was the classic example of the Greek tourism industry- pushy but kind and generous. We all found this hard sell style a bit awkward, but appreciated it nonetheless. In Delphi we saw the Oracle ruins, the theater on top of the ruins hill, the stadium, and the ruins of the Temple of Athena. Delphi might have been my least favorite site in Greece- but it was still beautiful! It was built on the side of a sloping valley overlooking both mountains and the water.
After Delphi- we drove to ancient Olympia. Greece kept amazing me with its beautiful, scenic drives. We even pulled over to stop and take pictures at a few locations- they were just too perfect to drive by without a picture! This drive also consisted of a few hours of tiny, tiny roads with curves ever 50m. I dont think I could ever have driven in successfully- but J and the rented Prius managed somehow! This might have been my favorite stop on our mainland Greece tour- although not for the towns atmosphere. When we arrived in Olympia it became apparent that it was a ghost town- filled with empty tourist shops and desperate waiters. However, the ruins were incredible! Seeing how the arenas were layed out, the hotels that guests slept in, where wrestlers warmed up, THE OLYMPIC TRACK, and the current location of the lighting of the Olympic Torch was phenomenal. As with all the other ruins- Olympia had its own museum accompanying the archaeological site.
After Olympia we drove South to Nafplio. When we arrived in Nafplio it was refreshing to see real shops: ones for pottery, spices, jewelery, lace, and of course the tourist shops. We arrived around sunset- and decided to walk out to the main boardwalk to watch the sun set. It was breathtaking- seeing the sun set behind the green mountains on the other side of the Mediterranean. Oh yeah- I touched the Mediterranean! Woohoo! Although... it was neither warm nor clear so that was a tad bit disappointing. We ate at a restaurant on the boardwalk- they offered free wine (which was actually pretty good!) and we took the bate. At this point in the trip we were all pretty sick of gyros, grilled meat, and strange Greek desserts. After dinner we walked around the shops and got dessert drinks at another restaurant on the water. I ordered a fantastic chocolate something- and enjoyed every second of it!
The next day we climbed about 900 steps up to the military fortress that looms over the town. It was much bigger than I had originally anticipated! The walled interior stretched for what seemed like forever! It had amazing views of the coast and the cute town we could see below us.
After climbing the military fortress, we drove the Mycennae and Corinth, two more sites of ruins. Mycennae was booming a few hundred years before classic Ancient Greek sites- so it was an awesome twist to see an earlier time period within the same culture. After a while, the white columns get old ;) and it was a good change of pace!
Our final stop on Mainland Greece was Cape Sounion with the Temple of Poseidon. These ruins were about a two hour bus ride away from Athens. Figuring out the public bus transportation system in Greece was not quite as easy as the metro, but we managed to find our way onto the correct bus! The bus dropped us off on the cliff of Cape Sounion where there is a single restaurant and gift shop, the Temple Ruins, and some pretty views of the Mediterranean. It was definitely worth a half day trip!
After Meteora came Delphi! Delphi is a tiny town, with tiny roads, and a lot of tourists! The only types of shops in town were restaurants an souvenir stores- which made it interesting to walk around in. The hotel we stayed at was a family run place. George was overly helpful and ready to help us in any way that he could. George was the classic example of the Greek tourism industry- pushy but kind and generous. We all found this hard sell style a bit awkward, but appreciated it nonetheless. In Delphi we saw the Oracle ruins, the theater on top of the ruins hill, the stadium, and the ruins of the Temple of Athena. Delphi might have been my least favorite site in Greece- but it was still beautiful! It was built on the side of a sloping valley overlooking both mountains and the water.
 |
| View of the valley from Delphi archaeological site |
 |
| Temple of Athena |
 |
| Theater! |
 |
| The Oracle |
After Delphi- we drove to ancient Olympia. Greece kept amazing me with its beautiful, scenic drives. We even pulled over to stop and take pictures at a few locations- they were just too perfect to drive by without a picture! This drive also consisted of a few hours of tiny, tiny roads with curves ever 50m. I dont think I could ever have driven in successfully- but J and the rented Prius managed somehow! This might have been my favorite stop on our mainland Greece tour- although not for the towns atmosphere. When we arrived in Olympia it became apparent that it was a ghost town- filled with empty tourist shops and desperate waiters. However, the ruins were incredible! Seeing how the arenas were layed out, the hotels that guests slept in, where wrestlers warmed up, THE OLYMPIC TRACK, and the current location of the lighting of the Olympic Torch was phenomenal. As with all the other ruins- Olympia had its own museum accompanying the archaeological site.
 |
| Athlete warm up area |
 |
| Amazing untouched column ruin... dominoes anyone? |
 |
| Entry to the track stadium |
 |
| Start block! |
After Olympia we drove South to Nafplio. When we arrived in Nafplio it was refreshing to see real shops: ones for pottery, spices, jewelery, lace, and of course the tourist shops. We arrived around sunset- and decided to walk out to the main boardwalk to watch the sun set. It was breathtaking- seeing the sun set behind the green mountains on the other side of the Mediterranean. Oh yeah- I touched the Mediterranean! Woohoo! Although... it was neither warm nor clear so that was a tad bit disappointing. We ate at a restaurant on the boardwalk- they offered free wine (which was actually pretty good!) and we took the bate. At this point in the trip we were all pretty sick of gyros, grilled meat, and strange Greek desserts. After dinner we walked around the shops and got dessert drinks at another restaurant on the water. I ordered a fantastic chocolate something- and enjoyed every second of it!
The next day we climbed about 900 steps up to the military fortress that looms over the town. It was much bigger than I had originally anticipated! The walled interior stretched for what seemed like forever! It had amazing views of the coast and the cute town we could see below us.
 |
| Adorable town streets |
 |
| Sunset! |
 |
| Oh you know... just the Mediterranean |
 |
| :) |
 |
| On the left is the military fortress! |
 |
| Up at the fortress |
After climbing the military fortress, we drove the Mycennae and Corinth, two more sites of ruins. Mycennae was booming a few hundred years before classic Ancient Greek sites- so it was an awesome twist to see an earlier time period within the same culture. After a while, the white columns get old ;) and it was a good change of pace!
 |
| Two lions entry gate |
 |
| Burial chamber |
Our final stop on Mainland Greece was Cape Sounion with the Temple of Poseidon. These ruins were about a two hour bus ride away from Athens. Figuring out the public bus transportation system in Greece was not quite as easy as the metro, but we managed to find our way onto the correct bus! The bus dropped us off on the cliff of Cape Sounion where there is a single restaurant and gift shop, the Temple Ruins, and some pretty views of the Mediterranean. It was definitely worth a half day trip!
 |
| Ruins of Zeus' Temple |
 |
| Seeing flowers after a long winter is so refreshing |
 |
| Why hello there! |
No comments:
Post a Comment