Ancient temple of Poseidon

We landed at the big, new Eleutherios Venizelos Airport but a driver did not meet us. It was a misunderstanding with the travel agency. (Of course, I was upset but we weren’t going to waste time in the airport.) I should have expected a snag. We were compelled to hire a cab driver who took us for 42e (euros).

As I learned the streets of Athens, I later came to realize that he took us around Athens and did not drive directly to the hotel. I think Athenian taxi cab drivers should be, in keeping with the “humanistic” policies of the new European Union, sentenced to life in jail without parole. Actually, they should bring back the Rack, which they used to torture people in medieval times, and bring on a revival of nostalgia.

That evening we headed for the Plaka but on our way, I spied an evzone (soldier) marching as we were turning towards Syntagma Square.  I ran to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of the Parliament building. We took Andrea’s picture standing next to one. She loved it and every evening or afternoon we were in the neighborhood we had to stop and visit the evzones.

The Plaka is like the old medieval villages: narrow, streets, shops, tavernas, etc., but you can see the Acropolis from there.  At night it is lit up and quite beautiful. The Parthenon is on the other side and I know we’re going there later in the week so I stayed near the other end. As the government built the Metro, more antiquities were discovered and you can see some of the excavations that have begun as a result.

We had a delicious dinner at an outdoor taverna (salad and mousaka) and passed Syntgama square and the evzones again. It was quite dark by this time so we didn’t take photos.

The next day we took a long motor coach trip to Delphi. We passed industrial buildings and an agricultural region. There are many, many olive groves.  We stopped at two different villages to rest and buy souvenirs. Finally, reach Mount Parnassus which is an awesome site by itself.  We enter the site and descend. The first stop is the old Roman agora or marketplace. You can see Parnassus close up and it is more imposing than from a distance. Delphi gave me chills because I came to realize that Alexander and other famous Greeks from ancient history walked these very paths and consulted the Oracle.

We climbed to the very top in intense afternoon heat, past the Rock of Sybille and other architectural landmarks. We finally reached the stadium there. It is like a football field. Mike and Andrea were ready to race the length of it but I stopped them. No use getting sunstroke now. The descent was easier but no less hot. We also visited the museum with the famous sculpture of the charioteer.  Another interesting object that I saw was the early version of glass which was later developed by the Romans into the form it is today.

It’s also interesting to note that under these mountains were gasses. The Oracle would go down into the cavity of mountain and take a whiff of the stuff. Then she would come up and give her cryptic messages.

Archaeologists from Pennsylvania recently found traces of a gas in the mountains around Delphi giving some proof to this theory.

The view here is heady enough because you can see for miles and Mount Parnassus dominates the valley. That would give me a high especially if I came to work everyday to recite prophecies; I wouldn’t need anything else.

When we returned we walked to the Temple of Zeus which, like every other monument, is lit up at night. It is tall and isolated from the Acropolis which can be seen from there. Next to it is the Botanical or National Gardens. We ate at the cafe there. I had yogurt that tastes like the home made kind my mother used to make and “cure” in the linen closet. Mine had wonderful honey poured over it.

As we left, I again spied out of the corner of my eye, an acrobat. Andrea and I ran to see him and when we were close we realized that it was someone swirling ropes of fire. He was being photographed in front of the Zappeion so I guess it wasn’t a formal show. He repeated his act, though and I took pictures which I hope come out. Mike, in the meantime, wandered off to the restaurant a few yards away. The restaurant was showing MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING in the back to a party of diners.

The Gardens are filled with evening strollers and it is curious no one feels afraid. They stroll quite freely in the semi-darkness.  I certainly did not fear to walk the streets at night and we often did so.