Hi everyone, here's a quick update from the last few days - we're having a wonderful time, and no, we're not sick of Greek food yet! It has been difficult to fit time in to do the blogging, as our days are full. Our last day in Athens was great - the Acropolis was open (police were present, to prevent the security workers from striking again) and we headed up early enough to be ahead of the hordes of tourists. The Parthenon is stunning, and there has been a lot of restoration work done, so our friends noticed quite a difference from the last time they saw it, twenty years ago. You can no longer go inside it however, due to the ongoing work. Once we had crossed that "must see" off our list, we spent the rest of the day wandering the different neighbourhoods in Athens, and just enjoying the Sunday festivities. The weather was perfect, so it was a lively scene wherever we went. The restaurants generally have "specials", and that night we ate at a place where they take you to the kitchen and show you the choices, so that was fun....Russ and I shared some sardines, stuffed squid, and eggplant in a tomato sauce. All delicious! They nearly always give you a complimentary sweet at the end of the meal, but we also got a small Greek liquer which was good (not Ouzo!). We ended the day by having a nightcap on the roof bar of our hotel, with a gorgeous view of the Acropolis, all lit up.
Our tour started Monday morning - we left Athens and headed for the Peloponnese peninsula, stopping briefly at Corinth Canal, Theatre of Epidavros, and finally arriving at the town of Naphlio, where we spent the night. Naphlio is an attractive seaside town, with high end shops, restaurants, and quaint little streets lined with bougainvilla. It is well worth exploring, as it has a large fortress high on a hill above the town, accessible by 999 stairs! We saved that for the morning, and were rewarded with gorgeous views of the area. Our tour bus picked us up at noon, and we headed to ancient Mycenae, including the tomb of Agamemnon. Just as we were entering the gate to view the tomb, our friends received a phone call from their daughter in Denmark, giving them the news that their grandson had just been born! Needless to say, they were a little distracted while viewing the ruins. We did a good job of celebrating that night however! After driving to Olympia where we were to spend the night, we ate dinner communally at our hotel, so got better acquainted with the others on our tour. So far we have met several other Canadians, as well as Americans, Italians, and an Australian. This is our first experience with a tour, but we're enjoying it, and are certainly seeing more territory than we would on our own.
The following morning we toured Ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic games. It surprised us how extensive the ruins are, and it felt odd to be walking into the famous stadium where so many athletes had entered before us, so long ago. It was amusing to see how people reacted to being there - some were running the length of the track, others were running while using a selfie stick, something we had never seen anyone try!
We are now in Delfi town, which clings to the side of Mt. Parnassos with stunning views of an immense olive grove that stretches down to the sea. We are looking forward to seeing ancient Delfi this morning.
Will post some photos separately. Bye for now!
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