Delphi and Meteora

This post begins a series on my trip to Greece. Having arrived in Italy on Monday the 17th, on Friday the 21st, being an expert (in the four days I was here) on the local trains, I returned to the Rome airport and flew to Athens. The reason for the the trip to Greece, other than to see Greece, was the wedding of two students I taught back in my New Jersey years. But those pictures will come later.

I started by signing up and joining a 2-day bus tour to Delphi and Meteora. The first you've heard of and studied. The second you might have seen but might not have heard of. The bus tour, usually I'm totally against them, but this time I just wanted to sit back and do nothing about worrying about how to get places and dealing with people who didn't speak English. I put my travel in the hands of the tour and it was two days of relaxation. Pictures of Delphi....

The Sanctuary of Athena, at the lowest elevation on the side of Mt. Parnassus, is where the visitors to the Temple of Apollo and the Oracle, as well as participants in the Pythian Games, gathered before ascending to the Temple.

This was the treasury the Athenians built upon a major victory. Like many structures here, it was destroyed. This re-creation was built by the city of Athens in the early 1900's.

The columns from the Temple of Apollo

The columns again

The Temple of Apollo

The stadium used for the games are located at the highest elevation of all Delphi structures.

Being a Geometry teacher, I'm amazed at the circular seats the Greeks were able to contruct

After the first day, I, and the three other Aussies who, like me, chose the 2-star hotel and not the more expensive option, had a great conversation about the differences between the two countries. They were fascinated by California's problems, were quick to admit that Obama was unknown because during his inauguration their country was consumed by the major fires there. Their great comment was in summary to America's problems, "well, that's what happens when you have rushed democracy." I also learned to rules of cricket and the three were kind enough to simulate a game on the dinner table using toothpicks and the salt and pepper shaker. I'm still fuzzy on some of the macro issues, such as why matches might take days, but I know that it's the ultimate insult to be called a "chukka" or without the accent, "chucker."

Day 2, pretty spectacular. The reason why you may have seen the monasteries of Meteora are that a James Bond movie has been filmed here.

The buildings are monasteries of the Eastern Greek Orthodox religion built on top of rock formations above the plain of Thessaly in NW Greece

Built between the 12th and 14th Centuries, these could only be reached by rope. In modern times, steps have been carved into the towers for most of the dozen or so monasteries. However, a couple are easily reach because a road is built and a bridge links to the building itself.

Chimneys from each "cell" in the monasteries (which actually also house nuns, but still called monasteries).

Stairs leading to the monastery shown below

Looking down on the town of Kalambaka below.

For you cat lovers, feral cats live throughout the Meteora rock formations.

Lastly, according to Wikipedia, the bank Linkin Park has an album called "Meteora.". Anyone think there might be a connection between the two?