Neda Olympia

... by starting at the line and running the length of the Stadium. Also the stadium itself is in very good shape with sloped grassy hills where people sat. Only the wealthy got seats. The athletes performed in the nude and women were not in attendance. The original Olympics had horse racing as an event. The original Hera's Altar is still used today as the place ...

... was the first Olympic track, Roman baths, a gymnasium, wrestling facilities, and Temples honoring Hera and Zeus the second being one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. We also saw where the Olympic torch is lit every Olympic year before it is ran through many parts of the world. It was a very hot day here appx. 40 degrees Celsius which translates to, I'm not sure, but pretty damn hot! Altogether it was a good experience and we are glad that ...

... of a possible flat-roofed structure on the top. We made our way towards it along the track - although plainly little-used and fairly overgrown in places, it was still easy to follow. On our right were the swelling wide slopes of the hill of Dhiaforti, with the mightier heights of Mount Lykaio beyond; to our left were gentler slopes down towards the plain of Megalopoli. The heat was becoming a felt presence, but it was far from unbearable and as yet we had hardly ...

... been spent here to maintain the air of a traditional mountain settlement. We enjoyed tasty tea and coffee at Simo & Simo on the main square - we had been there the previous year - but eventually decided to go on to Karytaina, where we knew we stood a good chance of getting an affordable room with a fridge and the opportunity to cook a little.

And so it turned out. By around five o'clock, we were ensconced in ...

... better. Our itinerary went from Athens to Nafplio to Mystras to Pylos to Olympia. Now we are spending our last two days in Greece in the small town of Delphi, which is absolutely beautiful nestled up in the mountains overlooking the plains between us and the Mediteranean. Today we spent the whole day in Olympia where the Olympic Games were started in 776 BC. We had fun touring the ruins, despite the summer heat ...

... a large vat, so I'm a happy camper with that for breakfast. And coffee of course. And if you forget it in the buffet line, they'll bring it for you! The service is amazing! At 815, we went for our tour out to the original Olympic Village ruins. First thing to greet us as we walked down the gangway was a very handsome man in a toga and a fake torch for us to get our photo taken with (they're taking another picture every time you turn around!) There's ...

... to do with the high rainfall the place receives but the odd shower did little to damp my impression of the place. Ancient Sparta was abandoned in 371BC and the modern city has little in common. As I toured I noticed a number of digs in different parts of the city reveiled a large complex of foundations of the old town. Where better to find out more than the ...

... had to come out naked too. Apparently this started because some lady decided to dress up as a guy and train her sons, but when they won she got so excited her clothes fell off. After that, coaches had to be naked too. The games, along with all other pagan festivals, were banned in the fourth century A.D. when Christianity became the official religion. People left Olympia for good in the early 7th century A.D. because of earthquakes and disease. Excavation in the 1880 ...

Stopped a couple of times this morning at small towns to look at handicraft shops - K&R bought a lambskin rug Spectacular mountain scenery all the way to Olympia, although hard driving on the narrow winding roads Olympia lived up to all our expectations - original Olympics stadium, other ruins in the sanctuary Checked out the township of Olympia then drove on to Pyrgos & stopped in some woods