Olympia to Delphi

Trip Start Jun 01, 2008
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16
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Trip End Jun 30, 2008


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Where I stayed
(Delphi hotels)

Flag of Greece  , Central Greece,
Monday, June 23, 2008

 A somewhat easier day, for which we're both very grateful! We visited the museum of athletics in the morning (since it's not air conditioned). Before we left Olympia, Karen went for a quick swim, which helped her stay cool. The drive to Delphi from Olympia takes about four hours not including a lunch stop at the Le Ponte bakery and café, located just north and east of the Rio Anti-Rio Bridge. It was worth the time lost to sit on their wind-cooled balcony with its wrought-iron railing complete with wrought-iron stalks of wheat, the symbol of Demeter, Goddess of grains. And afterwards we bought a box of various "glyka" (sweets) to help us get through the next few legs of our trip. Hey - it's a pretty demanding pace! And oh, are those pastries delicious!

We arrived at our hotel, the Acropole, in between waves of tourists - after the afternoon wave and before the evening wave - so were able to pull up right in front into the perfect parking spot. As requested, they gave us a room facing south with a magnificent view of the nearby town of Itea and the olive groves below. We walked to the museum and had 34 minutes in which to peruse the artifacts. We'll go back tomorrow. We also strolled to the Castalian Spring, where the Delphic priests and, later, the petitioners would take ritual baths. The water has been diverted from the ancient constructed fountain in order to preserve it. Instead they channeled the flow and had a small pipe lead over to a typical Greek spring, so it's still possible to bathe your face and have a cool drink.

We came back to enjoy a simple Greek meal on a triangle of a plateia made of rocks between Delphi's two main streets. We couldn't see the actual sunset from there but we did watch the light change as day went to dusk. Then we went home to catch up on blogs.

I'm still behind and falling further behind each day with the blogging. But as we are sticking to our itinerary and our set pace, so I can't complain. It's so amazing here!!! But I still need more sleep!
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