Who invented Lego?

Delphi and Meteora were both wonderful sites to visit, but again involved climbing into the heavens. We have learnt that Greece is a very mountainous country, involving extensive travel between the various historical tourist attractions. Whilst we prefer independent travel, a bus tour on the mainland allowed Adrian to enjoy the countryside, rather than focus on hair raising traffic and winding roads. 

Delphi was very impressive, although no hot water at the hotel for any of the guests at the commencement of the day was not so impressive. Getting to Delphi involved a steep ascent. Just when we thought the road could go no higher, there was another turn. We were in awe of George, our driver. 

Lower site at Delphi - function of the round building is unknown

Much of the information given us in Greece has focussed on mythology and the gods and goddesses,  their power and the respect Greeks had for them. We learnt about the Delphi oracle. The"Pythia" (oracle) would be seated next to a hole in the ground inside the Temple of Apollo from which vapours would arise. She would chew on olive leaves and go into a trance-like state and start chanting gibberish. Priests would act as "interpreters", conveying the meaning of the Oracle’s pronouncements to those seeking answers to their questions, giving them guidance in their future decision making. They would return to their homes to make some sense of what they'd been told.  A lot of the mythology helped the Greeks explain the world in which they lived. 

Above the Temple of Apollo

Treasury house at Delphi

At one of the sites at Delphi we have proof that the Danes did not invent Lego in 1932 as described in Google, but it was the Greeks in the 4th century BC. 

Ancient Lego

 

Then on to the plains of Thessaly which lead to the celestial heights of Meteora. Adrian experienced motion sickness at the top, feeling dizzy from being so high. The monasteries would normally be peaceful places to visit but with busloads of tourists cheek by jowl in the very small interior spaces, albeit retaining the appropriate sense of respect, it wasn’t very serene. The artwork was stylised and portrayed some very graphic and brutal scenes. Barbaric times!  And within a small ornate chest inside a cabinet was displayed the top part of the skull of St.John the Baptist…supposedly. For those who know their bible, he lost his head at the hands of Salome.  The gardens were beautiful though and the views absolutely stunning. How could they build those monasteries up there? Originally there were 24 but now only 6 remain, where nuns or monks reside. 

Monastery at Meteora

Hanging on for grim death

The rocks of Meteora

Taking time to smell the roses

We met some really nice people on the bus tour including two young French couples. They were very interested to hear about our previous travels in their country and it gave me further opportunity to practise my French. We also met a couple from New York and two young Mums from San Diego travelling in Greece, whilst their husbands looked after the children. 

 

It was a long ride back to Athens on the last day. En route, we learnt that a protest was planned in Syntagma Square less than 100 metres from our hotel. Things were heating up as the bus tried to get us as close to our hotel as possible and we saw police armed with protective shields. Not sure of the reason for the protest but we think it was related to the ship going down with African refugees off the coast of Greece, apparently headed for Italy. Suffice to say the roads were closed and we had to haul the suitcases the last 200 metres past the square where a crowd had gathered with loudspeakers blaring, just prior to the scheduled start of the protest. We headed out for dinner and saw another crowd approaching with banners and loud speakers, chanting their protests. We didn’t stick around to see what happened when they met up! Maybe on the same side,  but who knows?

 

Instead we had an enjoyable last meal in Athens with a view of the Acropolis and seated adjacent to the Ancient Agora and were treated to some fabulous Greek music – Guitar and Bazouki. The Bazouki player was brilliant, fingers moving so fast. Some spontaneous dancing from two women from Cyprus who were dining at the restaurant, was good to watch. 

We saw again one of the French couples from the tour and they stopped to eat where we were dining. They made a point of bringing their glasses of wine to our table to say "cheers'  and on bidding them Adieu afterwards, they enveloped each of us in a three cheek kiss. And we didn't even know their names. Such a pleasure to meet such lovely people. 

 

Today the sun is shining and we have arrived in Santorini.  The next 12 nights will be spent on three islands in the Cyclades and we expect it to be very relaxing.

En route to dinner

Sunset in Santorini from our restaurant