Friday, May 8, 2009

Taking the Peloponnesse by Storm!

Many of us are already planning to move to Greece, we're having so much fun (and learning, of course!)

We left Athens the morning of the 6th, to make our way into the Peloponnesse. Our first stop was the city of Corinth, an ancient center of the Peloponnessian area. We passed over the Isthmas of Corinth, which is 6.5 km long, leaving behind the mainland. We learned a great deal about St. Paul's influence on Corinth and the amazing architecture of the ruins. After Corinth, we ventured to Mycenae, where we saw a cylopean wall that kept out many offenders of the Mycenaens. During our tour, we encountered a thunderstorm, which was thrilling, yet terrifying to witness on top of the fortress.

The rain cleared as we headed to Epidaurus, the sanctuary of Asclepius, the god of healing. The main structure that was still in tact was the theater, which if you stand in the very center of the orchestra, you can be heard throughout the 18,000 seating stadium. One of our beloved bloggers, Sarah, tested this assumption by performing "Defying Gravity" in front of all the tourists in the area. A group from Japan even asked for an Encore, and a Brazilian man claimed it was beautiful.

We spent the night in Nauplion, a beautiful harbor town, where we relaxed and enjoyed a free night! We left the next morning for Sparta!

On the road to Sparta, we took some interesting detours and hiked many mountains. During our visit Mystras, it started pouring rain as soon as we reached the top, so the trek down was very treacherous. Luckily, our wonderful tour guide Heidi, treated us to hot chocolate to warm us back up. We stayed right in Sparta at the Apollon Hotel, where some of us had to fix the plumbing!

Today, we set out for a beautiful scenic tour of the western edge of the Peloponnesse, going through many little Greek villages overlooking the sea. We enjoyed fresh squeezed orange juice and coffee during the morning, and had lunch by the beach in Kalamata, the place of the famous olives! Our hotel we are currently at in Pylos is right on the harbor, and we found a small beach to spend the afternoon floating in the surf. All in all, a wonderful day!

Tomorrow, we set off to Olympia and Delphi as we make our way back to the mainland!

Sarah and Nicole

P.S. Happy Birthday, Mom!!!! Love, Sarah

1 comment:

  1. Nicole....you CANNOT move to Greece!!! lol Miss you so much, love you!! So happy you are having a great time!!!! Mom

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.