The past four days has kept us on the move every day on a bus tour of mainland Greece , staying at a different hotel each night and travelling big distances. As the tour was bilingual - French & English - our tour guide Dimitra had to say everything twice, but it provided great aural practice for my French. Our bus driver was George...of course. It is the most popular male name in Greece.
We stopped at the Corinth Canal and encountered a cranky coffee man who seemed to enjoy shouting at his customers. First it was the turn of the poor woman from Hervey Bay. God alone knows what her crime was. Then up I trotted, feeling safe, paying for my coffee at 3.50 with a 5.00 euro note. But no, that was not good enough. He wanted me to produce 50 cents as he "didn't have the right change"! Then he only gave me back 1 euro. So I stood my ground. Further abuse followed and then Adrian rocked up with his palm open with coins and he snatched what he needed, noting we were together. Adrian said to him "be happy' and so he was sent packing with a mouthful as well.
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Corinth Canal linking the Ionian Sea to the Aegean Sea
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| Ancient theatre at Epidaurus |
A highlight of the day was seeing the Theatre of Epidaurus, an open air amphitheatre dated 4th century BC. Unfortunately drizzly rain had started. As tourists wandered along the seats, clapping their hands to test the acoustics, Adrian urged me to sing a few bars from the gravel "stage". So I sang a bit of Ave Maria. I don't think people knew where the sound was coming from, but everyone listened and they applauded. Later when asking Adrian if he could hear me, the guy from Hervey Bay replied "well I could and I'm deaf'.
Then on to Mycenae, a significant archeaological site from the second millennium BC before stopping for the night at Olympia.
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Entrance to the city of Mycenae
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The real "Wilson" - can you spot him?
Adrian enjoyed recreating the character "Wilson" from the US sitcom Home Improvement which our family enjoyed in the 1990s.
The ruins of Ancient Olympia were only unearthed in the latter part of the 19th century by German archaeologists, when Greeks took control once again of their land from the Persians. Winners were presented with their trophies in front of the Temple of Zeus. Each winner brought great honour to his region, community and family.
 | | Stadium at Ancient Olympia - no seats for the spectators! |
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Columns from the colonnades adjacent to the training grounds.
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| Temple of Zeus as it appears today |
love those wonderful photos. So nice to hear about all your pleasing encounters with interesting and kind people in Greece and from all over the world. Plus the 'Coffee Nazi'. And the fellow who could hear you sing even though he was deaf!!! So funny. Keep enjoying your holiday and keep those blog posts coming.
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