Our first few hours in Greece were eventful! Not only did we see a bear cross the road, but we also admired the super deep Vikos gorge from the town above! Despite the rain that followed us from the Balkans, our journey to Athens was beautiful.
The rain foiled our plans to climb in the gorge, but we still got great views from both ends before making our way to Meteora.
Meteora, or “lofty,” is a collection of stunning cliffs with monastaries built like a natural extention of the rock. As the road snaked up into the cliffs, we stopped to admire the monastaries and take in the views. Wispy clouds lazily weaved their way around the spires.
That night the rain came again, ruining any hopes we had of climbing the compelling conglomerate cliffs. We spent the morning visiting monastaries and departed knowing we’ll have to return to climb another day.
Our next stop was Delphi, an ancient city/complex with the first temple dating back to 7th century BCE. Legend says that Zeus sent two eagles – one from the east and one from the west, and they crossed in Delphi, so it was determined to be “the navel of the earth”. We explored the ruins and recognized a reproduction of a monument that we saw in Istanbul – it was a gift in year 324. Woah!
After exploring the museum, we made our way to Athens. Since our ferry to Kalymnos left in the evening the day after we arrived to Athens, we had plenty of time to explore the ancient sights of the center city. While in line (early enough to avoid the massive crowds!), we decided to get the combination ticket for 8 different archaeological sites. As a result, our day took us back to ancient Greece, through the Roman takeover and eventual Ottoman rule. It was a fascinating day!
Our taste buds also had a great time in Athens. For dinner, we went to Mani-Mani, a restaurant that has created marvelous modern Greek dishes. We had a Greek salad that blew our minds… imagine that! For breakfast we munched on Greek pastries with coffee. Of course, we also treated ourselves to Greek yogurt topped with a dark cherry syrup from a trendy shop. And finally, a not-so-Greek (but AMAZING) lunch wrap packed with spices and made with love by a Syrian/Greek guy.
With enlightened minds, content appetites and sore legs, we boarded the ferry and cruised into the night on the Ionian sea.
I love Greece too!!! History, food and nature! And people!! We left thinking we truly want to be back. You did a Beautiful poetic description of Athens and Meteora. Still craving to make it to Delphi