OOOPAH! Greek Driving Lesson

So, we have been driving around Greece for the last few days and also have had some day trips to Athens. Greek roads are in very good condition, for the most part, thanks to that EU money. Don and I suggest that California give a lot of consideration to joining the EU so we could get some EU money for our roads.

Here follow our helpful thoughts on driving in Greece:

***If the speed limit is 50kpm it is customary to double the number and drive 100kpm.

***At times you will see a sign with a line drawing of two lanes, one is 50 and the other is 70. Again, add them together and everyone ddrive 120.

***When driving through a construction zone 100kpm is the new 30.

***You will frequently see signs indicating that there is photo enforcement of the speed limits. This is just another Greek myth. Maintain your speed at 140kpm in the 50 zone.

***Stopping at stop signs and red lights is optional in Greece. If the light is yellow, that must mean step on it. Click on the first sentence of this paragraph to see some amazing examples.

***If the line for the left turn lane is too long for your taste, pull out around the line and drive into the intersection, positioning yourself in front of the first person in line.

***On any high speed road (over 35miles per hour), if you choose not to drive at least 140 (95mph), drive in the shoulder, or at least with two wheels hanging over the white line into the shoulder. It is the Greek polite thing to do.

***Frequent honking is mandatory. You don 't need a reason, just spontaneously honk at will. Always honk when the car in front of you stupidly stops at a red light, and also at any car in front of you on the highway.
***What else is the right lane of the highway for, but to turn on your 4-way flashers and park your car while you run into the supermarket for a few things. The photos above are of a high speed highway with two lanes going our direction. All of the cars in the right lane are parked with flashers on. Those slowpoke turtles (us) going 100 in the right lane will just have to pull out in front of the people going 140 and drive around your parked car. Parking on the sidewalk is another option. Pedestrians might not get run over if they have to step out into the highway to get around your car.

***If you are driving down the highway and you think there might be a car parked in the right lane, but you really don't want to commit to the fast lane, just straddle the white line between the two lanes until you decide which lane is right for you. See the pix in the lower left corner of the 4 above.

***Just ignore the nasty, mutilated wrecked cars that are on display alongside the roads. They are just there to intimidate you, so man up, speed up and get risky.

***Don't worry about cops. In Greece they like to stand around in groups of 3 or 4 and chat and scratch as the traffic goes by, happily honking and running red lights and speeding in their cute Greek way.

***Another thing about the cops in Greece--they appear to work 8-5, so no worries outside of those times. We never saw a cop write a ticket. We once asked a Greek tour operator what was happening because we saw many officers in their spanking sharp uniforms, guns in hand, massing on some of the main roads of Athens. With a shrug of her shoulder she responded, "Well, we pay them, so they have to do something."

On a more serious note, when you come to Greece, please drive defensively and don't end up like this:

Meteora

From Delphi we decided to take a drive north to visit the interesting region of Meteora. The drive through the mountain range was long and winding, but very pretty scenery, with lots of green hills and valleys full of scenic little red-roofed villages. It took us most of the day to get to Meteora, an area which is known for it's unusual geologic formations and monasteries.

Here we found unusual rock formations, towers and pinnacles abruptly sticking up 400 feet above the valley floor. Teetering precariously on the top of several pinnacles we could see buildings. These buildings turned out to be monasteries, some accessible only by and antiquated little cable car.
The scene from the valley floor is startling, and as we drove up into the mountain area to investigate, we were even more amazed at how steep and dramatic and inaccessible these structures are.The first monasteries were built here in the 1400s by monks who were looking for isolation and spiritual salvation. Today there are still 5 active monasteries remaining, although at it's height this region once hosted 24. The EU has had it's fingers in the monestary pie too, building driveways for access to these places where the residents don't want any visitors, and refurbishing stairways and other access methods. So now hundreds of visitors stream up the mountainsides and enter these remote and serene sanctuaries, but the remaining few monks are courteous hosts, providing unsuitably dressed women paper skirts to slip over their slacks during their visit.
Since we arrived fairly late in the afternoon we were just able to drive up the hillsides to check out the locations, visiting hours and conditions of the available monasteries before returning to our hotel for a glass of wine and a snack.The following morning we were dismayed to see drizzle and clouds in the sky. We were hoping for brilliant blue. We drove up the mountain road again and Don went in to visit one of the monasteries. We walked down the EU cobble road, around about 6 switchbacks, and then Don mounted the stone steps, leading to a hole in the rock, and then on to more stairs. Up and up he marched until he reached the top, where he looked around at the chapel and the views. He saw two elderly, crusty monks who still live there.

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Vacation from vacation--Delphi

Time for a break from our vacation. Monday we packed up and headed out of town for a trip to Delphi. We headed out from Nea Makri and drove through Athens and on, along the Gulf of Korinth, and finally arrived at Delphi.

The village of Delphi sits on a very steep slope and has 3 one-way streets which cut across the face of the cliff. Even midweek in the off season the town was busy and crowded with tour buses and cars. Trexie navigated us right to our hotel and Don, the parking god, got a spot right in front.

We checked into the nice, family run hotel, Pitho Rooms, and our very friendly and gregarious host, George, welcomed us and showed us to our nice room on the top floor. The room is spacious and has a nice little balcony with table and chairs, which overlooks a pretty garden and decorated wall. George remarked on our luck to get such a good parking spot, and admonished us not to move it. Don explained his parking godliness, but I think George thought this was a bit exaggerated. We settled in and took a walk around the town and down to the ruins of Athena's temple and the gymnasium, since it was almost closing time for the main site. We decided to return tho the main site the following day.

A little Delphi history for those of you who are rusty on your ancient history and Greek myths: Delphi is a sacred place where fumes waft up from a cleft in the rock. This site has been a place of worship for all of recorded history. The myth about Delphi is that Zeus released two eagles in opposite directions and they flew around the world and met in Delphi, which was then named the center of the earth. This momentous event was commemorated by a carving, called the Omphalos, (the tummy button of the world), a replica of which is in the museum. The famous Oracle of Delphi, from ancient Greek times, sat here in Apollo's temple, getting high on fumes from the fumerole and other burning weeds, and issuing vague prophesies to pilgrims. The priests who interpreted her responses to questions also collected the tributes and offerings, and probably enjoyed them very much.


Some anecdotes about the Oracle and her prophesies are amusing and interesting. Once Alexander the Great made a visit and asked if he would conquer the world. The Oracle knew she was dealing with a powerful man and had to be very careful about phrasing an answer that wouldn't get her into trouble. She hemmed and hawed and finally Alex got so impatient and frustrated that he grabbed her by the throat and shook her and demanded that she answer his question. At this point, with her life in jeopardy, she answered "You are unstoppable!" Alex dropped her and said, "OK, I have my answer." And, he went on to conquer much of the world.

Another story is about when Nero came to get advice about whether he should go to war or not. The Oracle said, "If you go to war you will destroy a powerful nation." And, she was right. Sadly for Nero the nation he destroyed was his own.As we strolled through the ruins at Delphi I imagined what it would be like to travel hundreds of miles by foot or horseback to consult the Oracle. Upon arrival the penitent would bathe at the Kastalian Spring at the foot of the cliff, and don his richest clothing, then he would pray and begin the long walk up the mountainside along the Sacred Way. Offerings would be made along the way at several conveniently placed depositories. According to Rick Steves the least acceptable cover charge was a loaf of bread, but of course the more elaborate and precious the offerings, the better the prophesy. Goats, precious gems, statuettes, gold, silver and brass items were common offerings. Many wealthier pilgrims built monuments and had statues carved and arranged permanent placements at the site. Finally the pilgrim would arrive at Apollo's huge temple where the air was scented with burning laurel leaves and the Oracle sat waiting. One more offering for good measure and then you were allowed to pose your question and wait while the Oracle pondered. Eventually an answer would come down and you were left to puzzle over what the heck it meant.Today we tourists still walk up that same Sacred Way and admire the massive temple to Apollo, the grand theater, and the various treasuries and fancy permanent offerings made by the city-states of Athens and Thebes and Sparta. The pillars of mighty Apollo's temple still stand, as does much of the huge theater.
After visiting the site we went to the museum which has wonderful ancient artifacts on display. Many of the items are in pretty good shape because they were buried in the disastrous eathquake of 373AD, and thus protected from looting by the Romans and Turks. Noteworthy displays include the enormous Sphinx of Naxos, 570BC, two huge statues of the twins of Argos, (quite handsome guys), 600BC, a frieze depicting the Trojan War and the various gods watching the battle and rooting for sides, the silver plates which covered a life-sized wooden bull, another frieze depicting the epic battle between the Greek gods and the older race of giants lead by Gaia. The displays are very good, presented well and really made the visit much richer.

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Changing of the Guard and Monastriki

After our tour of the Acropolis Museum we set out walking over to the Parliament building to see the changing of the guard. We had planned to take the Red Bus over there, but I was worried about time, so we did the walk, through the Plaka and over to the National Gardens and up the busy street to the Parliament building.

The Plaka is a colorful and pleasant area of many sidewalk cafes and tourist shops, medieval buildings, churches and ancient ruins. As we strolled along we were solicited by the restaurant hucksters at every turn. The shopkeepers called out, "Hello, Lady", trying to get us to stop as did the African boys sitting on the pavement with their boards of goods, knockoff Gucci purses, fake Rolex watches, sunglasses and reforming tomatoes (red jelly balls with eyes and a green topknot that you splat on a hard surface and then they reform into a ball again). They all tried to entice us to buy, but Don told them all that we were on a mission to get to the changing of the guard and they seemed to accept that.

We crossed the busy Amelias Avenue and proceeded to the front of the Parliament building. There the hunky Greek guards, dressed in their short, white, pleatedskirts, white tights and shiny black shoes with huge pompoms attached to the toes, were standing at attention while tourists stood next to them for photos and the odd lady fed droves of pigeons.

Pretty soon, marching along the walkway, came the guard replacement team. Three soldiers high-stepped along, loudly slapping their 'tsarouchi' shoes, then sticking out a white-stockinged leg at a right angle from their body, bending their knee at a right angle and slapping down their shoe before raising the next leg to repeat the process.The soldiers selected for this duty are all big, strapping boys, at least 6'3" tall, handsome and muscular. They marched along, making a smart left turn to approach the raised platform which houses the Tomb of the Unknown Solider in front of the Parliament Building. Then an officer in cammo marched up and inspected each costumed soldier, untangling their tassel and shining a button here and there, and saying something secret to each one. Then the soldiers who were going off shift did their special march away from their posts and back towards the wall and the new duo marched up the steps and diagonally over to the other soldiers. Eventually the very structured process was completed and the relieved soldiers kick-marched their way out of the area and the new men took their posts, to stand at attention for the next hour, rigid and unsmiling as the tourists ran up to take photos and try to get them to smile. The three-man guard team, dressed in cammo kept them safe, preventing tourists from touching the guardsmen or distracting or hurting them in any way.

After the ceremony we returned across the street and back into the Plaka for lunch. I had a chicken and spinach dish and Don had sausage and pasta.
From the Plaka we meandered along the ancient roads to the famous flea market, the Monistraki. The big market is on Sunday, and since today is Saturday, we won't see that, but really, there was plenty to see. As we entered the plaza a fellow was calling out, Strawberries, one kilo for one Euro. The berries were beautiful and ripe, piled high in a huge mound on his cart. Dangling from the sides and roof of his cart were nice banana and bordering the strawberry mound were oranges and other fruits. It was all so colorful and appealing. I bought a kilo of berries and a bunch of bananas, all for $3.
We strolled through the bazaar, looking at the furniture, clothing, purses, jewelry, shoes, junque, and tchatchkes. Even though it is Saturday, there is plenty to see and buy. We finally made it to the other end of the bazaar, and headed up the hill along the Acropolis, and back to our car.
Don scooted us out of town and back to our nice home in the burbs. He has the route down pat now, but we still program Trexie just to keep us out of trouble.

Another great day in Greece.

More pictures of changing of the Guard

The Guards "The Evzones"

The Acropolis Museum

Returning to our favorite parking area the next day, March 10, Don snuggled into his favorite spot and we walked over to the Acropolis Museum.
This museum is new, just opened 6 months ago, and WOW! This is the place to start your tour of the Acropolis. Don't even go up the hill until you have visited here.

We entered the museum and started on the ground floor, moving up to the third floor, but our recommendation is to go to the third floor and go to the movie first, then tour the third floor and move down, touring each floor, to the ground floor.

The movie was excellent. They show it continuously, once in Greek and once in English. It is an excellent history of the Acropolis, with good illustrations and photos. When describing the building and destruction of the Acropolis through the ages Don and I actually gasped at the animation of the Ottomans destroying the sculptures. Even in animated form it was shocking to see the beautiful statues of Poseidon and Athena crash to the ground.

After the movie we walked around the third floor. The displays here are in the form and size of the actual Acropolis. The theater is in the center of the open area of the Parthenon and when you exit the theater and pass through the shiny steel pillars you realize that the floor plan is a replica of the floor plan of the Parthenon. Walk around the exterior to see the sculptured reliefs from the pediments, friezes and metopes, each artifact set in it's proper place in the skeleton of the structure. Sketches and photos show how each section of the Parthenon looked when intact and there are models of the Parthenon to show how it looked at each stage of it's life through the millennia. It was used as a pagan temple, a mosque, a church, a meeting hall, a museum. it burned down a few times, was destroyed by warriors and by bombs, and always rebuilt, because it is clear that this is a sacred place to all beliefs.

I loved being able to see the beautifully composed scenes which adorned the Parthenon, recreating the stories of the Iliad and the Odyssey, the battle between Athena and Poseidon for the rule of Athens, and the Battle of the Giants. The sculpture is very fine and top quality, being a gift to the goddess. The work had to be perfect.
We moved through each floor, which show works from the Archaic period (800-600 BC), to the Classic period (500-400 BC), to the Hellenistic period and the Roman period. We saw the originals of the 6 maidens of the Erectheon, many statues of Kore, and the famous statue of Moschophoros, a man carrying a calf on his shoulders.

We highly recommend this museum as a first stop in your exploration of the Acropolis.

No photos allowed inside, darn!

Athens National Archeological Museum

The National Archeological Museum in Athens is reputed to be one of the biggest and best in the world. We decided to drive into Athens and buy a pass on the tourist, hop on, hop off bus for a tour of the town and then to visit the museum.

Don returned to his secret parking area near the Acropolis and got a good spot and then we walked over to the bus stop for the Red Bus. On the way to the museum we passed by the National Gardens, the Parliament Building, and the downtown shopping area, enjoying the bus commentary along the route.

We got off at the museum stop and paid our admission and entered the museum. The collection is amazing and extensive. Rick Steves recommends doing a quick walk-thorugh and then going back for more detailed examination, but this just isn't possible for us.

In the first room we were awed by the golden mask of Agamemnon and the fabulous display cases of beautiful golden jewelry. We had to stop and examine them more closely. In addition were many display cases of more golden funeral masks, statuettes and idols, pots and bronze objects from antiquity. We couldn't bring ourselves to whiz through, we had to stop and examine the artifacts in each case. The layout of the museum displays kept moving diverting us from the main route, sending us off into side rooms that turned into labrynths full of more and more interesting items.
Eventually we got back on the route and entered room after room of marble statues and busts--Artemis, Poseidon, Athena, Persephone, Socrates, Plato, Dionysus, and many more mythological, historical and notable citizens put us in marble overload and by 3pm our brains were numb and our tummies were growling, so we decided to call our visit complete and get some lunch.

After lunch we took the bus back to our car. Great day and great tour.

Temple of Poseidon

Well, March 7th is here and it is time for Cheryl to head back to Ione. She got all packed last night and so was ready to head for the airport, leaving herself a substantial safety cushion of time. I am one who likes to arrive at the airport as late as possible and get on the plane last, but the Myrah kids like to get there with hours to spare and be the first on the plane. Nowadays it is a good idea to get on the plane as soon as possible to secure some overhead storage, but oooh, that airport waiting does me in.

So, we took Cheryl to the airport, arriving with plenty of cushion time, said our goodbyes, and headed out to tour the southern part of the Attiki region.
We drove south over to the Apollo coast, stopping to visit more ancient theaters and ruins along the way. We traveled all the way to the southern tip of the region, stopping at the Temple of Poseidon, an impressive columned temple on a cliff near the sea at Sounion. the view looking out to the Aegean Sea was beautiful.

We continued along the coast and then stopped an a nice bayside park for our picnic before turning north and returning to our cozy home.

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