So today began with an early check out of my hotel room and a quick jaunt over to the Metro station. I had a wee bit of trouble finding the right platform, but eventually I made it over to the hotel where I was to meet up with the tour bus that would take me on my 2-day adventure to Delphi and Meteora!
Although the bus was a bit late, I made it on safe and sound and tried to prepare for the long ride ahead of me! Luckily the bus was very spacious and fully air-conditioned (I even had to wrap myself up in my scarf!). Our guide for the first half of the day was a little Greek woman who reminded me of slightly of a prune.... She was nice enough and gave us alot of information on what we would be seeing, but she got a little crazy when some Brazilian kids next to me wouldn't stop talking amongst themselves and she tried very hard to sell us stuff at the rest stops we passed through.
However, once we began to near the area of Delphi, the scenery was gorgeous and made up for her quirks...
Although I didn't catch much of what she was saying about what we were driving through (her accent was pretty thick), I did understand that we were going to be passing Mount Parnassus...frankly I had no idea there were such mountains in Greece, but it was so stunning and gave me a little taste of home in Colorado!
Also, we drove through this adorable little town called Arachova that literally was hanging on the side of a mountain! Our guide said that there is still a contest that occurs around Easter where all men over the age of 80 have to climb a huge staircase in the middle of the town and whoever reaches the top first gets a lamb for their Easter table! Evidently the town is known for the long life-spans of its inhabitants! Love it!
We continued on for another half-hour or so until finally we reached Delphi!! Although our tour only allowed us to see the ruins for an hour, it still was amazing! The site literally is tucked into the side of Parnassus and although there wasn't a ton to see, it was so cool just to stand there and look at the view! I can't even imagine what it would've been like in it's prime - when the Oracle was who everyone came to see, when the Temple of Apollo was pristine and brilliant, and when the theatre there was filled with people ready to be entertained!
...'navel' of the world! Supposedly Zeus sent 2 eagles from the East and the West and wherever they met would be the center of the world - Delphi was the spot!
...Treasury of Athens
...Temple of Apollo!
...SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!
...the Rock of the Sibyl - where the first prophecy was proclaimed!
...4th century BC theatre!!
So, obviously I could've stayed longer to gawk some more at the site, but our bus was ready to jet off so I had to say goodbye. Luckily, the group continuing onto Meteora was cut down from our initial group and there were only 6 of us getting on the bus with a couple other folks from a previous tour. The other 5 from our group consisted of a cute couple and young guy from Canada as well as another couple from Boston - the woman in that pair who we believe to be bi-polar and off her medications. I'm not joking, the way she introduced herself was to us was with her name and whether or not we liked NATO and that she was part of the Ron Paul Revolution......awesome. Her husband was akin to a potato. He basically followed her around and said nothing when she began to climb over the ruins or argue with the tour guide.
The other folks, however, were AWESOME! We all immediately hung together and soon began to chat it up! They all are a bit older than me, but the young couple is pretty funny and the young guy, Nick, is actually a Greek Canadian and has been keeping us all thoroughly entertained with his translations of what the people around us are actually saying to our ignorant faces. lol!
Anyways, after Delphi, we continued on our long ride through the Greek countryside. We saw groves and groves of olive trees, numerous other crops, gorgeous hill-towns, and even the ocean!!
Then we finally arrived at Thermopylae - the place where the 300 Spartan soldiers stood their ground against 300,000 Persians, ultimately allowing the rest of Greece to prepare for the coming attack!
King Leonidas! "This is Sparta!!!!" haha!
So, after our stop, we made the last leg of the journey to our final destination - Kalambaka - the town right below the stunning cliff-top monasteries of Meteora!!! Although we can only look at them from afar tonight, we will see them up close and personal tomorrow! Can't wait!!
As for everything else, we shared dinner the hotel provided - it was good for buffet food! - and I got to know better the other folks in our group - including one of the other couples (an older pair from Australia!) and especially Nick. We're totally best buds now and he's already been teaching me some Greek and telling me about where to go on Santorini - where he just got back from! He's a hoot!
So now I'm off to bed to dream about the amazing sights I have and have yet to see!
Yay Greek tours! haha!
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