Don't wanna forget...

Demitrios, the best hairstylist in Pangrati.

The sound of the church bells.

Slippery marble and yellow sidewalks.

The conversations of moms in our apartment building fussing with their children on the weekends.

That they found Roman remains dated to 500 BCE right in front of our apartment.

I could probably forget the early morning jackhammer, though.

Chuck taking pictures of construction sites.

The tour buses of eager tourists flooding the platia in front of the stadium.

Religious icons sold right next to the phallic-bottle-openers.

Selfie-sticks and not-so-free roses.

That when you see someone taking a photo, you may want to, as well.

The sound of the front door of our apartment building slamming.

The standing-room-only public transit.

The fact that siesta is only kept by the businesses you want to be open.

The crazy locks on everything.

Buskers and street performers everywhere people gather.

Strolling Thissio.

Frappes, espresso freddos, and the best yogurt and honey in the known world.

Standing on the hillside in Delphi, looking out towards the sea.

Watching the store owners coming to life with the sunshine.

Every taverna featuring live music.

Taverna recruiters wanting us to stay as long as possible 

because I smile at everyone.

Pronouncing lamb as 'lamp'

The Greek-style-kiss-greeting of friends,

and the firm handshake of someone who was really glad we were there.

Dancing by the Cathedral in the waning afternoon sunlight

to our own private music.

And, we don't want to forget having the privilege of gazing upward and seeing the Acropolis, 

whether in the sunshine, or lit up in the night sky - 

it is this glorious past that is the true glory of Greece.

Welcome to Thessaloniki and Northern Greece

headed out for the last field trip of the semester

I don't think Greeks believe in soft beds. Just an observation.

haha! I think he is happy to be on a field trip!

view from the balcony - the traffic was rather light in this shot

a tiny, but nice, bathroom - couldn't figure out why it needed a mirror on the ceiling, though

The chaos of check-in; I don't think the hotel staff appreciated our group, frankly.
While the hotel was nice, and the breakfast was superb, the staff wasn't very welcoming and were downright rude
when it came to requests for the wi-fi code (which didn't work, by the way). I will say it again - don't advertise a
feature of your hotel if you are not willing to make it work (no excuses, please).

What an imaginative name! I kept thinking of the major news network...looks the same, huh?

and, the adventure begins!

Our Delphi Accommodations

European bathrooms

Hotel Acropole

poor Chuck - every time he tries to take care of something, I want him to smile for a pic!

I am pretty smiley in this pic after just having lost all the pics I took at the monastery.

We stayed in the modern town of Delphi. So, we were absolutely soaked to the bone from walking around in a torrential downpour, the bed was rather stiff, the heat was a bugger to get going, the floor was ice cold, and the shower was a challenge. But, the breakfast was delicious, and I think this was the cutest hotel we have stayed at yet. Unfortunately, I was such a drowned rat when we arrived, I didn't even think of snapping pics of the lobby or front of the hotel. I did get some pics of the room, though.

Breakfast in our Athens Apartment

This a rather mundane post to capture a morning in our Athens apartment...

Chuck splurged on a non-stick pan to make our
breakfast preparations a little easier -
we discovered what the itty-bitty burner is for: Greek coffee!

no cutting boards needed on this marble counter;
the sink is all marble, as well

I love using our french press for coffee instead of
having instant coffee; also, we have been putting the
wonderful Greek honey in our coffee or raw sugar, which is
called brown sugar here

in the cupboard...our stash of mountain tea -
we have been enjoying it, but unfortunately you
can't seem to get it in the states (it is absolutely
everywhere here!)

we use the electric tea pot daily and love the little crocks from yogurt
for all types of catch all - this one is almost overflowing with our corks;
not much storage space in this kitchen, that is for sure! I would think that
if you lived here, you wouldn't cook much, as it seems cheaper to eat out

our itty-bitty fridge - we haven't purchased much
food, and yet it is pretty stufffed

this is almost less than a one-butt-kitchen! 

Snaps of Olympia

Whoa...can you say FIRM? Welcome to Olympia!

it was rather unfortunate that there was a
leak in our bathroom...we were offered another
room, but for one night it wasn't worth it!

view out our room window - this place was next to deserted

very nice lounge but empty - would have been nice
to relax here...

the staff at this hotel was very nice and welcoming- and the wifi actually worked! It was just too bad I didn't
have enough oomph to actually blog.

my sweetie keeping me going!

waiting to get on our bus to go to the site of Ancient Olympia

Hangin' in Sparta

Welcome to modern Sparta

Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, Spártā; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, Spártē), or Lacedaemon (/ˌlæsəˈdiːmən/; Λακεδαίμων, Lakedaímōn) was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the Eurotas River in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. Around 650 BC, it rose to become the dominant military land-power in ancient Greece. Given its military pre-eminence, Sparta was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars. Between 431 and 404 BC, Sparta was the principal enemy of Athens during the Peloponnesian War, from which it emerged victorious, though at great cost of lives lost. Sparta's defeat by Thebes in the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC ended Sparta's prominent role in Greece. However, it maintained its political independence until the Roman conquest of Greece in 146 BC. It then underwent a long period of decline, especially in the Middle Ages, when many Spartans moved to live in Mystras.

Modern Sparta is the capital of the Greek regional unit of Laconia and a center for the processing of goods such as citrus and olives. Sparta was unique in ancient Greece for its social system and constitution, which completely focused on military training and excellence. Its inhabitants were classified as Spartiates (Spartan citizens, who enjoyed full rights), Mothakes (non-Spartan free men raised as Spartans), Perioikoi (freedmen), and Helots (state-owned serfs, enslaved non-Spartan local population). Spartiates underwent the rigorous agoge training and education regimen, and Spartan phalanges were widely considered to be among the best in battle. Spartan women enjoyed considerably more rights and equality to men than elsewhere in the classical world. Sparta was the subject of fascination in its own day, as well as in the West following the revival of classical learning.[n 1] This love or admiration of Sparta is known as Laconism or Laconophilia. At its peak around 500 BC the size of the city would have been some 20,000 – 35,000 free residents, plus numerous helots and perioikoi (“dwellers around”). At 40,000 – 50,000 it was one of the largest Greek cities. however, according to Thucydides, the population of Athens in 431 BC was 360,000 – 610,000, making it unlikely that Athens was smaller than Sparta in 5th century BC.

a fabulous place to sit and watch this male-centered culture

burgers! Chuck said the bun wasn't as good as in Athens...

my handsome American

our hotel in Sparta

crappy wifi, but a great desk for computer work - gah!

a pretty nice bathroom - yay!

"For I suppose if Lacedaemon were to become desolate, and the temples and the foundations of the public buildings were left, that as time went on there would be  a strong disposition  with posterity to refuse to accept her fame as a true exponent of her power. And yet they occupy two fifths of the Peloponnese and lead the whole, not to speak of their numerous allies without. Still, as the city  is neither built in  a compact form nor adorned with magnificent temples and public edifices, but composed of villages after the old fashion of Hellas, there would be an impression of inadequacy. Whereas, if Athens were to suffer the same misfortune, I suppose that any interference from the appearance presented to the eye would make her power to have been twice as great as it is. We have therefore no right to be sceptical, nor to content ourselves with an  inspection of a town to the exclusion of a consideration of its power." ~Thuclydides (Book I.10)