Today we left the hotel at 8 am after breakfast and drove to Delphi. Delphi is home to the Oracle of Apollo and the Pythian Games. It lays in ruins but they are working at restoring it, which basically amounts to put artifacts back in places, like columns, etc. They clean it up to where you can see outlines off the buildings and you have to imagine the way it looked. We started in the museum where many of the marble (?) statues are displayed. There are depictions of pieces with outlines of what is missing which makes it a little easier to understand. I’m just in awe of the sculptors who created these masterpieces out of stone. It’s one thing to draw something on paper or mold something out of clay, but these statues and other works of art were carved out of stone. There is a building in the ruins which looks like a small scale model of the Parthenon. Over many of the temple entrances were lintels with engraved carvings and they could be very detailed. The ruins of the Temple of Apollo are there as well. There is also the Delphi Stadium which functioned much as the Colosseum in Rome but on a much smaller scale. They did, however, have rooms underneath where animals were kept for some of the sports. Most often lions, our guide said. The city lays in ruins due to earthquakes.

Once we finished our tour, our bus took us on a long drive to Athens. We stopped along the way at a restaurant and had a meal. Once again, they were ready for us and had the welcome mat rolled out. We were in/out in about 45 minutes. We then got back in the bus and drove to Athens, arriving about 5:45 p.m., earlier than expected. We were able to relax a bit before dinner which again was a buffet. I can’t lie. . . I am not a fan of Greek food. It is just too rich for my taste and has a lot of vinegar in the dishes along with large chunks of cheese. I like cheese, but they serve it with everything.

We are in The Stanley Hotel which is very nice. I have a balcony room that overlooks a courtyard below with a waterfall. I went up to the top/pool deck with some friends because the Parthenon is visible from there. I even went back a little later to get a picture of it all lit up. I’m anxious to go visit it tomorrow, but we are leaving a little earlier. The forecast is for 95° and it’s going to be miserable.

Will next time. . .

Dale