Early call this morning so we could go on our tour of the old Olympia site. The beds in the hotel are comfy and everyone has had a good night's sleep.
Olympia only has one main street. It's a little hard to get lost. As you walk down, the shopkeepers all try to lure you in to buy their wares. I was intrigued with one shop with its old style vases and urns, and statues - some hand made. They weren't cheap though. I have bought two dresses - who knows when I will actually wear them! There is a coffee shop down on the corner where we all gathered last night to drink good coffee and use his free wifi.
This morning we set off at (seemingly) the break of dawn. It is a short walk to the site from the hotel.The original Olympics were not for amusement or sport but a religious ceremony honouring Zeus. The site was not engulfed by natural disasters or events but fell into disrepair with disuse. They have excavated a lot of it but have left most of it unrestored. We went into the old stadium where the sports were conducted. The original track is only about 200m long; if they were running a longer race, they simply turned around and ran back. There was no marathon in the old Olympics - the marathon race has evolved from the story of a runner from the town of Marathon (look up your own Greek myths lol). The ending point is a line of marble
blocks. All the sports were conducted on the same arena except the chariot races which were on a course closer to the river - this no longer exists. The museum had all the artifacts they had found - statues, vases, implements, even glass bottle from 2000BC! I got into trouble for having the flash on, although there were no signs to say this. Not many photos got taken afte that. After the careful restorations in Italy, it is a shock in Greece to see how little they do. Perhaps it is different in Athens.
At 10:45 we hopped onto our bus for the drive to Athens. There are a lot of solar panels in Europe, and wind generators. Greece seems to have an abundance of solar hot water systems. There are also a LOT of toll roads - it seems every few km there is another booth. This applies over all the countries we have been to so far.
Driving into Athens was a depressing experience. It is shabby and tired and this appears to have been the case for a long time before the current financial crisis. There are empy shops everywhere but the whole place, as we drove in, was just run down as though no one even cared what it looked like. In the city, there are 'good' areas which are nice,clean and bright but mostly it is just depressing. I don't feel particularly safe here either - it is an atmosphere thing. This was not helped by events tonight. We were to join another group for a walk around the Plaka then to a taverna for our dinner. As we waited, there were police everywhere particularly interested in an empty car parked near us - looking into it, under it, and finally arresting a man who came to open it. A few of us started slowly moving away from the area- we have been told that if there is a demonstration or riot police appear, to move from that area and don't get involved. And once again, the warnings about pickpockets. When we return to Italy from Patros, they will need to check under and around the bus to ensure that no illegal immigrants have tried to hitch a ride with us.
With the group that joined us for the walk, there were over 70 people and this was far too much for the guides to handle and watch in the narrow lanes of the Plaka. The whole thing was rather rushed and, of course, involved a lot of hills and stairs.
I don;t think Greece has hills that go down, just up.
The taverna was good - good food and wine, and Greek dancers who got us up to dance with them. then again, the inevitable walk uphill to the bus. Everyone is very tired after the early start. We have another tomorrow when we head off for an island tour.
Hotel: Golden Age, Athens. Nice hotel. Comfy beds. Free wifi in room but it is very slow
Wakeup: 6:00; Breakfast: 6:30 ; Depart: 7:30
Olympia only has one main street. It's a little hard to get lost. As you walk down, the shopkeepers all try to lure you in to buy their wares. I was intrigued with one shop with its old style vases and urns, and statues - some hand made. They weren't cheap though. I have bought two dresses - who knows when I will actually wear them! There is a coffee shop down on the corner where we all gathered last night to drink good coffee and use his free wifi.
This morning we set off at (seemingly) the break of dawn. It is a short walk to the site from the hotel.The original Olympics were not for amusement or sport but a religious ceremony honouring Zeus. The site was not engulfed by natural disasters or events but fell into disrepair with disuse. They have excavated a lot of it but have left most of it unrestored. We went into the old stadium where the sports were conducted. The original track is only about 200m long; if they were running a longer race, they simply turned around and ran back. There was no marathon in the old Olympics - the marathon race has evolved from the story of a runner from the town of Marathon (look up your own Greek myths lol). The ending point is a line of marble
blocks. All the sports were conducted on the same arena except the chariot races which were on a course closer to the river - this no longer exists. The museum had all the artifacts they had found - statues, vases, implements, even glass bottle from 2000BC! I got into trouble for having the flash on, although there were no signs to say this. Not many photos got taken afte that. After the careful restorations in Italy, it is a shock in Greece to see how little they do. Perhaps it is different in Athens.
At 10:45 we hopped onto our bus for the drive to Athens. There are a lot of solar panels in Europe, and wind generators. Greece seems to have an abundance of solar hot water systems. There are also a LOT of toll roads - it seems every few km there is another booth. This applies over all the countries we have been to so far.
Driving into Athens was a depressing experience. It is shabby and tired and this appears to have been the case for a long time before the current financial crisis. There are empy shops everywhere but the whole place, as we drove in, was just run down as though no one even cared what it looked like. In the city, there are 'good' areas which are nice,clean and bright but mostly it is just depressing. I don't feel particularly safe here either - it is an atmosphere thing. This was not helped by events tonight. We were to join another group for a walk around the Plaka then to a taverna for our dinner. As we waited, there were police everywhere particularly interested in an empty car parked near us - looking into it, under it, and finally arresting a man who came to open it. A few of us started slowly moving away from the area- we have been told that if there is a demonstration or riot police appear, to move from that area and don't get involved. And once again, the warnings about pickpockets. When we return to Italy from Patros, they will need to check under and around the bus to ensure that no illegal immigrants have tried to hitch a ride with us.
With the group that joined us for the walk, there were over 70 people and this was far too much for the guides to handle and watch in the narrow lanes of the Plaka. The whole thing was rather rushed and, of course, involved a lot of hills and stairs.
I don;t think Greece has hills that go down, just up.
The taverna was good - good food and wine, and Greek dancers who got us up to dance with them. then again, the inevitable walk uphill to the bus. Everyone is very tired after the early start. We have another tomorrow when we head off for an island tour.
Hotel: Golden Age, Athens. Nice hotel. Comfy beds. Free wifi in room but it is very slow
Wakeup: 6:00; Breakfast: 6:30 ; Depart: 7:30
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