• Home
  • Galapagos & Colombia
  • Africa
    • Morocco & Ethiopia
    • SA & Zimbabwee & Swaziland
  • Asia
  • Costa Rica
  • Ecuador and Peru
  • Europe
    • Camino
    • Greece
    • Iceland
    • Ireland
    • Italy
    • Paris
    • Turkey
  • North America
    • Canada
    • United States
You Are Always in my Prayers

Were there Cheaters at the Ancient Olympics?

9/26/2016

46 Comments

 
Picture
Today we visited the site of the ancient Olympics. We arrived before most of the tour buses and it was calm, shaded, and really quite peaceful, with loads of ruins. Dad raced against Ted from Halifax, Nova Scotia in the stadium. A huge thank you to Ted for being a good sport. In the also-ran category I ran the whole 192 m against myself--trust me I will not be receiving an olive leaf crown😄

Fun Fact: Do you know what happened if the ancient Olympians cheated (which they did--bribery, a form of doping, and blood enhancing)? Their names were engraved on the pedestals of Zeus statues that lined the path to the stadium. As the honest athletes entered they would spit on the cheaters names!

Do you know what I like about the picture I posted from the Temple of Zeus at Olympia? Well, those pillars are lying on the ground pretty well just as they fell when an earthquake struck in 551 AD. There is something so real about that.

You are Always in My Prayers. Love Mom.
46 Comments

Sunday in Corinth

9/25/2016

50 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Sunday in the home of the Corinthians--almost like church, right?😄 Attempts to construct a waterway here began as early as 7th century B.C., but the dream wasn't realized until 1881. As significant as it was to cruise down the canal, we found it equally fascinating to watch the roads disappear under the water to let the boats go by. There are no locks on the canal. Congrats to Dad for making this happen. It wasn't easy to arrange. We actually ended up phoning a fellow from a shipping company that has a boat that cruises the canal.

We have a car for the next few days so we can get to more remote places. The rest of the afternoon was spent hiking the Acrocorinth. From Greek myths to Franks, Venetians and Ottoman Turks this giant rock has stories to tell. Dad made it much farther up than I did. You know the walking is going to be strenuous when they give you a number you have to turn in at the end of the day!

1 Corinthians 13:7 Love takes everything that comes without giving up. Love believes all things. Love hopes for all things. Love keeps on in all things.

You are Always in My Prayers. Love Mom.

Nexus Note: There are very few MacDonalds in Greece. Instead the favourite fast food/burger place is Goody's Burger House. You can still get burgers and fries, but also food with a local flavour.
50 Comments

Athens Street Art

9/24/2016

40 Comments

 
Picture
Meet the ginger coloured mutt Loukanikos (Greek for sausage). Loukanikos was a much loved riot dog. During the protests of 2010 he became famous as he joined the crowds demonstrating against the Government. Sausage was even on the cover of Time magazine! When he died several artists got together and produced a mural in his honour. This was one of the many interesting works of street art we explored yesterday on our tour with Alternative Athens.

Yesterday was mostly about discovering modern Athens. We finished our evening watching a quirky Woody Allen movie at a roof top cinema under the Acropolis--then strolling the streets of the Plaka enjoying gelato.

Hugs to my puppy Jo-Jo. One more day in Athens. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom.



Nexus Note: One of the first advertisements we saw during our move in the outdoor theatre was "Nescafé since 1958". Nescafé instant coffee is huge here. A common drink you see in the squares is Nescafé Frappe. It seems to be cold instant coffee foamed up poured over ice. I tried it--I am NOT a fan. Ray
40 Comments

Our Evening in Athens

9/23/2016

33 Comments

 
Picture
An evening of traditional dance in an open area theatre followed a midnight stroll on the Acropolis Grand Promenade. Unforgettable!
33 Comments

One Tortoise and Two Boxes of Figs

9/22/2016

39 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
There is evidence that Kerameikos housed a cemetery as early as 9th century BC. That means that this morning we were strolling on ruins that have seen visitors for 30 centuries! As we walked down the sacred way we could see replicas of the giant funeral urns and gravestones (the originals are in their small museum and some are in the National museum we saw yesterday). Oh, and guess what else we found on the sacred way?--a really cool tortoise! (See video)

After that we headed to the Central Market. There were few other tourists there. This is more of a giant local market where Greeks head to buy squid, meat, fish, olives, cheese, and fruits and vegetables. There is definitely nothing "flea market" about it. It is very lively, and noisy. We bought a ton of stuff. Our guide book suggested we try the fresh figs. I accidentally bought two boxes of figs instead of two figs. Fortunately they are delicious😄

Resting up to head off to a dance performance later tonight. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom.
Nexus Note: I thought you might like a glimpse of the Central Market. The snails and crabs were live. We bought olives, feta, fruit (including lots of figs), and cucumbers and tomatoes to make our own Greek salad. Ray
39 Comments

There is One on Every Roof

9/21/2016

26 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Well, we are back in Athens where Dad can enjoy his morning run on the track at the Panathenaic Stadium. We already knew that our apartment water is solar heated, but while we were enjoying lunch on the terrace we noticed that every single building around us has solar heaters on the roof. A great concept for this almost always sunny climate!

The National Archeological Museum is definitely first class. Probably the most unique thing we saw today was the Mask of Agamemnon. This funeral mask is part of almost 14 kg of gold found at Mycenae. We are going to Mycenae on this trip so I suppose that made it even more interesting. It turns out the mask didn't cover Agamemnon's face in his grave, but it did cover someone's. This makes it a creepy but cool choice of costume-wear for any up-coming October parties. What do you think?

You are Always in My Prayers. Love Mom.
Nexus Note: Athens has been influenced by many cultures including middle eastern. Went for falafels at one of Athens top ten street food restaurants. Both sandwiches were great. Mouchhamara (the not so secret ingredient) is a hot sauce. Ray
Picture
26 Comments

Metéora~Suspended in Air

9/20/2016

17 Comments

 
Picture
The literal meaning of Metéora is "suspended in the air". When you see the six monasteries of Metéora this definitely makes sense. The monks (there are very few now) originally chose these locations for solitude and safety. As UNESCO world heritage sites there is no more solitude and security is now provided by bright lights and security cameras.

Scenes from the Bond Movie For Your Eyes only were filmed here. Although I didn't perform any Bond-like stunts, I did feel pretty brave getting close to the edge of some of those giant rocks.

You are Always in My Prayers. Love Mom.

Picture
Nexus Note: The Greeks definitely like to stuff things: peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, pastries. Today's tasty surprise was tomatoes stuffed with rice. So, you better grab those last few Ontario tomatoes and give this a try! Ray
Mom Being Brave...Watch Out James Bond😄
17 Comments

The Belly Button of the World

9/19/2016

82 Comments

 
Picture
In the 6th to 4th century BC the Oracle of Delphi was the most important shrine in all Greece. Pilgrims came to the centre of the world (the belly button) to get their questions answered by the priestess. Now we just Google it 😄

We are enjoying a two day bus tour out of Athens. Lots of great information, great local food, and cooler temperatures.

Surprise of the day: Greece is one of the top ten cotton producing countries in the world. We passed field after field of fluffy cotton.

You are Always In My Prayers. Love Mom.
Picture

Nexus Note: "Greek Salad" for lunch today. In greek it is called a village salad. Rules for greek salad: no lettuce or greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, a LARGE piece of feta, perhaps a little green pepper. Then drizzle with olive oil and oregano. Diane was having a hangry moment when we finally found this local taverna; so this salad may have actually saved lives. Ray
Picture
You Asked...Here it is 😄

It is an "outty". Zeus let his two eagles loose at the edges of the earth to find the centre of the earth. The met at Delphi, the navel of the world.
82 Comments

Best Military Uniform in the World?

9/18/2016

39 Comments

 
Picture
This morning, after snacking on giant doughnuts in Syntagma Square, we headed over to the parliament building to watch the changing of the guards. The Evzones (Εύζωνες) perform the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier every hour. But on Sunday at 11 a.m. there is a big hoopla with a matching band and a parade. These presidential guards are fascinating for two reasons: the outfits and the high stepping march. Each guard must be prepared to raise their legs to shoulder height. I couldn't even do that standing still! The red clogs weigh over 3 kg and the kilt-like skirt has 400 pleats (one for each year of the Ottoman occupation).

We spent the rest of the day in the Ancient Agora or its modern day equivalent.

Having a blast. Everyone we meet is very friendly.
You are Always in my Prayers love Mom.
Picture
Picture
Nexus Note: In the mornings, all through Athens, one can find little carts selling all kinds of breads. I was delighted to find this very large plain sugar coated donut. Not sure what it is called in greek--I just called it delicious.. Ray
39 Comments

Athenians Head to Aegina

9/17/2016

17 Comments

 
Picture
In order to avoid archeological indigestion we like to switch our days up a bit. Today we took the ferry over to the island of Aegina to enjoy the Pistachio Festival. Absolutely the best pistachio ice cream I have ever tasted! Of course the endless free samples of pistachio nuts and pistachio products were pretty awesome too. We did manage to take the local bus out to the beautiful little temple of Aphaia. It sits on the hillside overlooking the Mediterranean. While on the bus I eyed a wonderful place to swim just down from an archeological site--definitely a favourite with locals. The water was soooo warm.

Back to more of Athens tomorrow. You are always in my prayers. Love Mom.

Nexus Note: We taste tested a pistachio pesto at the festival. Delicious. Of course it had to come back to our apartment for dinner.
17 Comments
<<Previous
Forward>>

    Ray & Diane Homewood

    Sharing the Blessing of Travel

    Archives

    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016

    Categories

    All

Powered by
✕