29.1.11

My big, fat, Greek vacation.

Before a couple weeks ago, the closest I had come to Greece was walking down Frat row at U of A or eating Fage yogurt.  I was immersed into the culture during a 5 day visit with my sister.

We had planned to spend 4.5 of 5 days traveling by car around the Peloponnesian Peninsula.  After arriving in Athens at night and being in complete awe of the illuminated acropolis and scattered ruins, we decided to cut our Peloponnesian tour down to 4.25 days, so we could spend a few more hours in the Greek capital.



The Acropolis through Hadrian's Gate


View of Temple of Zeus and the modern Olympic stadium from atop the Acropolis


And, of course the Parthenon

We fought through the Athenian traffic in our rental car like true warriors and were off to Delphi.

The very well preserved Treasury of the Athenians
Delphi was the center of the world according to ancient Greeks.

The temple of Apollo

Pythian Stadium
Delphi was also home of the Pythean games, which rivaled the Olympics.

We crossed the Gulf of Corinth to shack up in Patras, which was a completely dead shithole (at least during off season travel).

On the road again bright and early to my favorite archeological site – Olympia.


 It is amazing to think of how much labor and resources were put into constructing this city which revolved around athletics.

Archway leading to the Olympic stadium

Lined up at the original starting line, from over 2500 years ago

Rachel and I had pretty much the entire ancient city to ourselves.

From Olympia, we migrated like sheep, south through the olive tree forests.

We kicked our feet up in Kalamata on the Messinian Bay in our luxurious hotel, which seemed like our private villa.

Amazing food and gorgeous beaches kept us both content.

The next morning we were off along curvy roads through the hills that led us to the Diros caves.


The caves were… cavey.


Then, we were Sparta bound.

There were no Spartan warriors in site... just oranges.

We stopped and toured ancient Mycenae.

These walls are more than 3500 years old!


And home of the amazing tomb of Agamemnon.


Nearby Nafplio was my favorite stop along our journey. 


There were awesome fortresses from the Venetian rule during the medieval times.


It was during the night in Nafplio when 22 delicious, living sea creatures were put to death for the sake of my sister and my appetites.


Finally, through Corinth and back to Athenian traffic we headed.

We were constantly on the move as we looped through the Peloponnese, but I never felt as though I had bitten off more than I could chew.  I really enjoyed traveling during the low season (which in Greece is REALLY low…).  Even though many shops and restaurants were closed down for the season, it was so nice not having to deal with the masses.  I am quite proud of my trip planning ability, not to mention my European driving skills.

BA-out

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