Holiday 2017 - Greece part two

Leaving Olympia we headed off to Delphi via the seaport of  Patra. Navigating a wonderful bridge and pituresque fishing villages.

One of many villages along the coastline

 Mussel Farming was very popular

Mussels

Mussel Farming

  We passed lots of farmland mainly olives and strawberries, plus some vegetables.

Olive Farm

Acres of Poly Tunnels.

Lots of Variety of Pumpkins

Pumpkins, Garlic and Watermelons

 Bauxite mining also in this area.

 For Lunch we had a wonderful stop at a restaurant perched on the edge of the mountain.
 

How's this for a lunch view.

 

The crowd under the trees.

 We had time to view this village and was amazed at the blue opal jewellery. Lots of tourist Tshirts and souvenirs, plus lots of fashion, noticed many shops sell all white clothing.

Beautiful Colour

  In the afternoon we toured the ancient ruins of Delphi that has the main temple of God Apollo,  and where the Oracle was situated and who many many visitors  went to with their questions.

 First a visit to the archaeological museum to see the famous Charioteer, a 5th century bronze statue, s well as all the archeological finds.

We are talking 474 BC when this was made.

Parts of horses legs found also

The Sphinx of Naxos 560 BC used in offerings.

Pressed Gold

Listening to our guide

More headless statues

 On to the ruins, the amazing thing is how rich they became as this site is miles from anything back then. We even had a long walk to get to it. When visiting Delphi you had very few places to go while waiting for the Oracle so they built lots of entertainment like, shopping and a theatre and a bed to sleep.  They also had sports competitions to keep the visitors there in a purpose built stadium, to honour the God Apollo. This city was known as in"The Heart Of The World"

These ruins went uphill

Enjoying the shade in search of the Oracle

 Left early enough to get back to our hotel for the evening and for a dance lesson in regional dances and Zorbas, made famous in the movie Zorba the Greek, before dinner.

 

  We spent the night at Delphi which was the beginning of a drive through more windy roads and mountainous landscape on the way to the various Monasteries, perched on top of unbelievable mountains in  what is now a National Park in Meteora The views were fantastic.
Visited 2 out of the 6 monesteries, Varlaam Monastery famous for its frescoes and St. Stephen's Monastery. One a nunnery and the other for monks. At one stage there were 24 monasteries.

One of many many frescoes, Byzantine in Style some over 700 years old.

How they got the building  materials up, via a rope and fishing net  is beyond comprehension

View from the top

We are perched on the end of an unbelievable drop here. Scary as.

Outside Courtyard

 We wound our way back down and had lunch at a restaurant where the owner was a grandma and still serving. You went into the actual kitchen and we were served from various huge cooking pots. Lots of choice and delicious. A great family run business.

Inside had collections.

So unusual to be served in the kitchen.

Waterfall across the Road.

 Afterwards we went for a walk to look at the village.

Lots of leather shoe shops

Greek Linen, Olive Motifs and Grecian Symbols

7 hour trip the next day back to Athens. Lucky our room that night had a verandah so I washed everything in the bath and hung it outside. All dry and I found an ironing board in a tiny staff area and ironed it all.
 Long drive stopping for lunch at a petrol station, lots of cotton fields to see as well.

Cotton Fields Everywhere Ready to Pick

We had a quick stop at the Spartan Memorial for a quick history lesson and photo of the group.

Till next time, going on a cruise.