'Get in & get out' was the usual mantra quoted. So, I didn't think Athens would be one of my favorite places and certainly the traffic, smog & congestion of 11.3 million, (yes! million!) people would make anyone feel like a blade of grass on a baseball field. However, with a manageable plan and some great friends (our pilgrimmage group), I began to feel like I could get excited about this city!
We walked a lot, climbed onto whatever wasn't prohibited, peered through anything closed, and tasted a delightful variety of culinary offerings. The Greek people smiled and chatted easily despite daily distractions of both internal and external political agendas.
A big smile goes a long way...
And, what about all those people flocking to the earth's navel, Delphi to worship Apollo where he slew Python, or distressed Aegeus leaping to his death at the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion? Guess after all that emotional mythology, next stop was serenity-based Mykonos, springboard for an island-hopping cruise tour.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Photos: mainland Greece & Mykonos
charming mykonos: cafés awaiting patrons, eye-popping
crayola hues trimming whitewashed buildings,
stone outlined paths, glimpses of island life,
flashlight beam sunsets, marina juxtapositions,
church steeple outlines, and US southwestern style landscapes.
done hunting for the spirit of the delphi oracle, steve rests.
one of athens' many cafés, even one inside ilias lalaounis
jewelry museum; his jewelry creations. frescoe in
church of the apostles.
hmmm..what's for lunch? frida kahlo in athens!?
steve eyeing the local deli; arches, acropolis amphitheater.
the acropolis in repose; the erechtheion w/athena's olive tree.
hmmm..what's for lunch? frida kahlo in athens!?
temple of poseidon, cape sounion; acropolis gleaming by night.
outside acropolis amphitheater;temple of poseidon,
cape sounion.
detail frieze depicts battle of theseus w/the pallantids;
standing in front of the hephaesteion temple built 415bc.
the acropolis in repose; the erechtheion w/athena's olive tree.
at the acropolis complex; en route to delphi:plaka in arachova.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
At home with Georgia
Sometimes anticipation becomes such a Goliath image in our mind, no reality could ever live up to it. Waiting a few years to see friends not seen for 3 decades makes the imagination soar to unrealistic levels. What will they look like? What kind of person are they now? How will we get along together? So many questions to needlessly occupy the idle mind.
But from the moment the taxi arrived at Athens airport and Georgia walked towards us, the veil of time dissipated. It became just 'the next day' from when I'd seen her last. Always gracious, always caring, no fuss, and after spending those few days together I know she's found her home because Greece becomes Georgia; it's where her soul resides.
We lingered, Steve & I, enveloped in that fugitive bubble of time called travel, spun by the magic that is Georgia, allowing ourselves to be vacationing sponges, absorbing all the Peloponnese delights from rice-stuffed tomatoes, snow-iced mountains, hikes through monasteries, sweet black coffee, colorful & fragrant flower blooms, the air echoed with hearty laughs and heartwarmed conversations of Georgia, Athena, Bruno, and friends. It seemed a timeless place and maybe it is; still a village, modernity tiptoeing through timeless ruins and eternal landscapes.
Thank you, Georgia, for reviving the intimacy of friendship with your sincerity and goodwill!
Love from Steve & Paula
But from the moment the taxi arrived at Athens airport and Georgia walked towards us, the veil of time dissipated. It became just 'the next day' from when I'd seen her last. Always gracious, always caring, no fuss, and after spending those few days together I know she's found her home because Greece becomes Georgia; it's where her soul resides.
We lingered, Steve & I, enveloped in that fugitive bubble of time called travel, spun by the magic that is Georgia, allowing ourselves to be vacationing sponges, absorbing all the Peloponnese delights from rice-stuffed tomatoes, snow-iced mountains, hikes through monasteries, sweet black coffee, colorful & fragrant flower blooms, the air echoed with hearty laughs and heartwarmed conversations of Georgia, Athena, Bruno, and friends. It seemed a timeless place and maybe it is; still a village, modernity tiptoeing through timeless ruins and eternal landscapes.
Thank you, Georgia, for reviving the intimacy of friendship with your sincerity and goodwill!
Love from Steve & Paula
Photos: visiting Georgia, Peloponnese
saying goodbye to our generous & loving friends! sincere thank you!
the monastery's church; coffee & treats hospitality!
inside the monastery church; beautiful wisteria in their gardens.
inside the monastery;herding sheep in the olive tree strewn mountains
more views of githio's shoreline; and looks like drying calamari to me!
seaside town & water view - githio, southern peloponnese
athena & bruno in githio; with beautiful georgia too!
athena & bruno in githio; with beautiful georgia too!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
How the Greece-Italy trip came about:
Alexander Graham Bell hit it right: "when one door closes, another door opens"; then there's the caveat: you've got to look around to notice the open door.
When dad passed a few years ago, his memory was brought to life for me again through his sweetheart Georgia who now lives in a little town near Sparta on the Peloponnese. We talked & wrote. Had it really been almost 30 years? I want to come visit, is that ok? Wait, she said, the time's not right ...
Mom passed last year. I still smile remembering the two of us adventurerers marching up & down Italy together in '03. We met so many 2nd & 3rd cousins, and cousins 'removed' to make my head spin! 'Now tell me again: how are they related?' And, I desperately wanted to revisit my Italian families. Even more, could I wish her gentle spirit back in step with me? When and how could we embark on such a trip?
So several months ago when our church announced a tour to follow the path of St Paul from Greece to Rome, the new door opened. We took note... and we walked through...
When dad passed a few years ago, his memory was brought to life for me again through his sweetheart Georgia who now lives in a little town near Sparta on the Peloponnese. We talked & wrote. Had it really been almost 30 years? I want to come visit, is that ok? Wait, she said, the time's not right ...
Mom passed last year. I still smile remembering the two of us adventurerers marching up & down Italy together in '03. We met so many 2nd & 3rd cousins, and cousins 'removed' to make my head spin! 'Now tell me again: how are they related?' And, I desperately wanted to revisit my Italian families. Even more, could I wish her gentle spirit back in step with me? When and how could we embark on such a trip?
So several months ago when our church announced a tour to follow the path of St Paul from Greece to Rome, the new door opened. We took note... and we walked through...
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