Olympia to Athens
Trip Start
Jun 09, 2007
1
19
25
Trip End
Aug 13, 2007
Enjoyed a wonderful early morning walk (in cool conditions) around ancient Olympia - place where original Greeks trained in athletics and other sports to show how fit and strong they were. Apparently all sports of the time were carried out nude, hence the various statues always showing the male of the species naked. The area was discovered by a German in the 1800's and was further excavated by both the British and later by Greeks. Most of the valuable artifacts found there are on show in a museum close to the site or at the National Museum in Athens. By the time we had finished our walk, the place had filled with masses of tourists who had arrived by coach and taxi and the sun had began to have a real sting in it - got to almost 40 by late afternoon!
We moved on to our lovely Hotel in Toulon - the best yet, with a crystal clear swimming pool and stunning rooms. Enjoyed a long cool dip in the pool then sat in the shade drinking long cold beers before having a good 4 course Grecian meal at our hotel, finishing a thoroughly lovely day.
The following day we made a visit to another ancient site at Myceania to view 4,000 year old ruins some of which were in exceptional condition, then on through to Corinth for our lunchtime stop next to the incredible deep Cornith canal dug during the 1800's allowing large ships to pass through from one sea to the other saving more than 200 miles of the journey to Athens.
We moved on to our lovely Hotel in Toulon - the best yet, with a crystal clear swimming pool and stunning rooms. Enjoyed a long cool dip in the pool then sat in the shade drinking long cold beers before having a good 4 course Grecian meal at our hotel, finishing a thoroughly lovely day.
The following day we made a visit to another ancient site at Myceania to view 4,000 year old ruins some of which were in exceptional condition, then on through to Corinth for our lunchtime stop next to the incredible deep Cornith canal dug during the 1800's allowing large ships to pass through from one sea to the other saving more than 200 miles of the journey to Athens.

