Posted by Kanga.
When in Instanbul, we saw many stray dogs, all of whom had tags in their ears. They were all large dogs and all well behaved and friendly.
This is the case in Athens as well. Our food tour guide told us that the dogs are collected, neutered and vaccinated before being released. They all seemed to be healthy and well fed. Shop and property owners allow them to take shelter out of the rain.
Posted by Kanga.
We finally got to the National Archaeological Museum during open hours. It is always interesting to see ancient artworks and how finely detailed they sometimes are. This lion and bull are from royal graves in Mycenae ca. 16th century B.C. (approximately 3500 years ago)
DaddyBird got to hang out with Poseidon.
I found this fellow below compelling. This is part of a full size sculpture of a philosopher. He was found in a shipwreck. Only the bronze bits survived. Just imagine the artist spending numerous hours/days/weeks/months creating this, but before it can be installed in its intended display place, it goes down with the ship. If only the artist could know that over 2000 years later it would be one of the most photographed items in a museum. I sat and watched as others came through the doorway, saw him and immediately pulled out their cameras.
How many tries did it take to get a picture of this horse and rider without someone walking through the picture? At least four. It is a rather amazing piece.
They don’t seem to be able to make up their mind whether this is Zeus throwing a lightning bolt or Poseidon throwing his trident. Since the weapon is missing, there is no clue.
The woman standing to the left was interesting to watch. She was almost floating around the room with a beatific look on her face.
To see the rest of the pictures, click here.
Posted by Kanga.
Today we hit the road. We arranged a day trip to Delphi with George, the Famous Taxi Driver. It started with pick up at our apartment at 8 am (and ended back at the same spot around 5 pm). Costas was our driver for the day.
We stopped briefly in Arachova, a mountain town that serves as the happening winter vacation spot for Greeks. Quite beautiful and amazing to see it clinging to the side of the mountain.
A short distance beyond Arachova, we reached the ancient site of Delphi, where the Oracle of Delphi presided at the Temple to Apollo.
Stairs. Why must there always be stairs?
Seeing Mount Parnassus and the view of the valley from the temple site, I was beginning to see why someone might choose this location.
More stairs! There was plenty of stair climbing involved, but the views were worth it all.
This is the central attraction, the Temple of Apollos.
Above the Temple is an amphitheater. DaddyBird gave an impromptu performance.
There was even more up the hill, the stadium, but time was slipping through our fingers and we wanted to make it to the museum as well, so back down the hill it was.
My personal favorite was the bull. This was originally a three dimensional, life-size bull sculpture. The center was partially wooden and clay/wax. The metal was forged and then fitted onto the form. It must have been magnificent in its day.
This model shows how the buildings would have looked in their prime.
Just down the road is the gymnasium and the bath house. This bath house was the first round colonnaded building. (Notice the olives in the tree?)
Then we were off to the current village of Delphi for a hearty lunch (earned by much climbing of stairs.)
The water in the distance is the Corinthian Gulf. We had a marvelous day. The weather was perfect. Costas was a great driver and very informative about the history and the area. The food at lunch was terrific, as we have come to expect here.
For the rest of the pictures taken, click here.
Posted by Kanga.
We took a food tour through Context Tours called “Beyond Feta.” Our guide was Nikitas, a Greek who is an architect by profession, but does these tours because he loves the city, food and history. Normally, the tours are done for up to 6 people, but we had Nik all to ourselves and it was a splendid day.
We followed him through several bakeries, getting sesame seed covered pretzels and dense brown breads. We stopped in at a shop that carries a variety of local wares – marmelades, wines, soaps, liquors, cheese, etc. We tasted a liquor made from Mastik, which is the sap from a bush that grows only on one Greek island. No one has succeeded in growing it anywhere else. It tasted like you would imagine alcohol from bush sap would taste, a little “pine-like.”
We also went to this spice and herbs shop. We learned that brewed oregano is good for digestive tract trouble (but tastes very nasty). Genuine tea is not very popular in Greece, but there are many herbal teas that are used and enjoyed.
On to the cheese shop where we got some smoked cheese and yogurt. We also walked through the meat market (again). The stalls are prized and passed down in families for generations.
Sausage and preserved meats are a relatively new addition to Greek cuisine. Many other things are “relatively” new also – tomatoes & potatoes (as New World discoveries), citrus fruits (new with the Crusades), preserved meats (new with the Turkish occupation). With an ancient civilization comes a long view definition of the word “new.”
My camera’s battery was out of action, so DaddyBird was in charge of taking pictures. We stopped at a basement “wine and food” restaurant which is owned and run by a lovely old man who inherited it from his father and grandfather. He makes his own wine. It is retsina wine which means that it has resin added solely because of the taste it provides.
This was supposed to be a “tasting” not a lunch, but we ate our fill. Greek salad, chickpea soup, bean soup, and fava bean paste. Very delicious. DaddyBird liked the fava beans so well, I suspect he will research how to make it in future.
We ended our tour with sweets. These aren’t called donuts, but they are the best I have ever had. They are not as sweet as American donuts even though they are served drizzled with honey. They are best eaten immediately and are crunchy on the outside. Very good. The other pastry is filo pastry with a creamy filling. Very good.
Our tour may have been over, but our day was not. We decided to walk down to the Temple of Zeus.
This church was built by the “smoke tax collector.” There was a period when if you had a cooking fire in your home, you were taxed for it. (One way to determine “wealth.”) The tax collector may have had something weighing on his conscience, so he funded this church. Later, it was slated to be destroyed, but those who wanted to protect it got the attention of the king and it was saved.
We did finally arrive at the Temple of Zeus, but like all tourist sites, it closed at 3 pm. So, we had to be content with looking in through the fence.
Nearby is Hadrian’s Arch.
It was a very busy, educational, and enjoyable day.
Tomorrow, we are on the road to Delphi!
Posted by Kanga.
This was Boxing Day or the day for glorifying the Mother of God. Not much happened, but we had an amazing dinner.
Drinks – red merlot wine, a bottle of ouzo (licorice flavored liquor) and a bucket of ice.
Appetizers – tiny fried fish.
Baked potato – paper thin slices of potato baked with a grated cheese similar to parmesan, like scalloped potatoes, but less messy. (not pictured)
A LARGE bowl of mussels. Some of these guys were overachievers on size, too.
At this point we were thinking “our table’s too small.” Then, way before we could finish our appetizers, our main dishes came.
This tenderloin was so tender that when I gave a piece to DaddyBird to try, he asked if it was meat or butter because it was so tender. Truly melt in your mouth.
DaddyBird’s meal was a bowl, same size as that of the mussels, full of spaghetti with shrimp.
(We liked their light fixture, too.)
The food was very delicious and the portions were large. Very worthwhile. We had a leisurely dinner followed by a leisurely walk home.
What are we doing on Day Eleven? Why a food tour, of course. Good thing we do a lot of walking.
Posted by Kanga.
Another part of our Day Eight adventure involved finding these kittens in an abandoned building.
The kittens were adventurous, but Momma Cat was not sure we were trustworthy.
In the window above was another watchful tabby
Then he found something really interesting to watch. (Cat on the right, pigeon on the left)
We were walking through a run down neighborhood. Just prior to discovering these kittens, DaddyBird had noticed a rather suspicious fellow following us. When we suddenly stopped to take pictures of stray cats, it put a kink in the guy’s plan. He actually stopped and had to act nonchalant for a while. He continued to follow us, so we played a little leap frog, stopping suddenly and changing directions and getting behind him. After we “lost” him, we continued to be watchful, in case he was not working alone. Maybe it was nothing, maybe it was something. Either way, DaddyBird’s watchfulness averted anything bad from happening.
Warning pickpockets, we stop for cats.
Posted by Kanga.
Christmas decorations have been somewhat reserved. This is due to the economic crisis. However, I have a few pictures to share.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
Posted by Kanga.
Today is one of those days when we did nearly nothing, but it is still too much to fit into one blog post. We went down to the Archaeological Museum which was closed for the holidays.
We met up with these orange kitties during our espresso/hot chocolate break.
We then walked down to the central part of town.
At first when I saw Jesus was missing, I feared he had been stolen, but then I remembered it is Christmas Eve and he hasn’t arrived, yet.
Yet, here come the wise men (two years ahead of schedule) with their camels (who appear to have escaped from the planet of the apes).
Then we walked to the central market. (Brace yourself, Kris – meat market ahead.)
Where we purchased some very nice pork chops.
You can also get goat/lamb, rabbit, chicken, beef, and various organs.
We also bought half a lamb/goat (not sure which, they look the same on the inside) and the butcher chopped it up for us.
We met up with this very amiable stray dog who would have liked a little of what we had in our bag, but luckily was not insistent about it.
These pan flute musicians were playing in Monastiraki square. They seem to be seriously confused about their Native American tribes. They are playing South American instruments, but are dressed and kitted out like North American plains tribesmen. But, I’m being picky.
Posted by Kanga.
More dogs sleeping in whatever dry space they can find. I like the fact that they seem to be tolerated even on hotel steps or in shops.
Posted by Kanga.
Due to the continued rain, DaddyBird needed a hat. This was the one and only style of hat in the shop. I like it. (Notice I had to turn the camera sideways to get the beard in.)
We went to the downtown area which has been largely pedestrianized (no cars allowed). (It’s difficult to tell, but in the distance is the plateau of the Acropolis.)
This is the Church of the Metamorphosis.
When you see it from the back, you can see it has gone through a metamorphosis of its own.
We stopped for a late lunch at the Saita Taverna.
This is retsina wine. This a 1/2 kilo carafe. One can also get a full kilo carafe. It comes out of oak wine barrels stored in the restaurant.
We ordered appetizers. They did not have sausages, which we had ordered, so brought the fried cheese instead. The other plate contains grilled octopus, which was delicious.
The fried zucchini was very delicious and I ate most of it before DaddyBird had a chance. You snooze, you lose.
Our main dishes – lamb chops and bakalairo (salted cod).
The mashed potatoes were served cold with olive oil and a generous amount of garlic. I don’t need to keep repeating that this was delicious, do I?
We continued our walk through the shops. Many of these shops carry touristy items.
Before long we had entered a very different shopping area where you could get clerical vestments made or pick up a nice censer or candlestick for your Byzantine church.
We diverted a bit to look at this wonderful little church. Behind it is its 19th century replacement which is currently under renovation. A man working at a nearby restaurant came out to talk to us and tell us about the churches. He was pleased to hear that we come from Oregon, which he is convinced is a state known for cowboys.
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