Vance #11 transitions, from greece to italia

From Vance's email.  transitions, from greece to italia. 10/6/2014 6:18 PM

departed galatas by taxi with charlene and bob, 6:20a.m., arr. athens airport at 9. gorgeous sunrise!

airport goodbyes and then got ticketed - lufthanza - athens to venice 6:25p.m. spent a goodly amount of time in lufthanza's lounge, nice, good breakfast and lunch and noshes including execllent panna cottaa(cooked cream topped with quince jam), took a quick look at the flea market in athens and then flew to frankfurt, claimed my luggage there, they had lost the last time i came through frankfurt...so i rechecked the luggage and flew venezia to frankfurt. on board, surprise, economy - food?  delicious pastitisa, basically pasta with meat sauce and bechamel, but it was just right, tasty and very very hot, good roll and butter. quick transfer to marriott, smug evening staff, but excellent hotel, morning staff superb, map of venice, caught no. 5 bus to the boat - vaporetto, took it to san marco square, my tiny hotel is near hard rock cafe and best western and then just around the corner is calle Zorzi, tiny, tiny little dark alleyway...no one knows where it is but you find it anyway, buzz MORETTINO, gianni (john) answers, carries my heavy luggage up many many many steps and there is a perfect Venetian room, red and white, beautiful. he has only two rooms, the beams in the ceiling suggest old, yes, 1700. simply beautiful and just for one night...so be it.

how about a quick nap, great idea! then walk just a short way to the piazza san marco. there it is in all its crazy byzantine splendor. the line is really not long, 3:30 so drop my bag off, no bags allowed in san marco and no photos...ho ho ho, everyone is snapping like crazy...no one stopping them. in s.f. cwai and noam suggested i download rick steve's lectures on venice and florence...1. they are superb 2. the italy book is somewhere in s.f. enjoyed the time there, even sat in on a catholic tour group complete with their own priest who celebrated mass. picked up my bag and off to get my train tic for florence tues at 3:25.

the light was amazing, that special evening light. after getting the tic i wandered around stopping at various restaurants to eye the menu and also get the feel of the area. there is no such thing as a restaurant in venice that is not a tourist restaurant...but a bar/restaurant where they serve chidhetti - little bites - a glass of something with a little sandwich or some olives and bread are as close as you come. i looked at several, there are hawkers who come up and try to convince you to eat their food.. E12 for 3 courses, on and on finally, there is a nice place, small, nice tables, and the young man suggests 3 courses for 13.50, $18, well, it was a chichetti as well as restaurant. excellent pasta with clams, second course of calamari deep fried, teeny tiny sardines and small shrimp. the kind you eat the whole thing. and a largish salad. nice. delicious and real. many people sit and have a drink and chat with one another, none of them tourists. one couple on their honeymoon from dayton. got lost coming back, but finally found the train station and a boat bringing me back. hat a nice grappa d'oro and a prosecco and good night. a great day in venezia.

 my waiter, "a picture of me?" "si, a pic of you", he was so real and not the crass hawkster kind that tries to pressure you, but rather invites. good, honest food. not great, well prepared and tasty, deeply appreciated.

question:   why travel?

answer:     just to be here!

midnight bells are ringing in st. mark's square, time to sleep.

Vance #10 a quick ferry from galatas on the mainland to the island of poros which we see from the house

From Vance's email. a quick ferry from galatas on the mainland to the island of poros which we see from the house. 10/4/2014 9:54 AM

the island is much larger than i had thought, mountainous, dramatic, winding roads high above the water then dropping to sea level... here we had a little mid morning ouzo with a tomato, cucumber and tatziki (yogurt-cucumber dip) and bread (meze). it was calm, quiet and just lovely to sit and watch the water and boats, some huge yachts. quiet and satisfying, really vacation-like.

a bit more driving, through the hills, gorgeous light green of the pines painting the hillsides

 

 

 more coversation about along the way we passed many places to eat and yes, after an hour stopped for lunch...a huge shared salad of greens, shaved parmesan, light dressing, tatziki, rabbit stew, moussaka, fried calamari and dessert. in greece it is taken for granted there will be a simple dessert, perhaps apples like last evening dusted with cinnamon or today green grapes and red apple surrounding a mound of thick greek yogurt drizzled with honey and sprinkled with walnuts...and thats all included in 36 euros for four! amazing. very little tipping here...perhaps a few dollars, none of the 15, 20%!

a special receipt for octopus from matina, the owner. thaw the frozen octopus in warm water, put it into a pot with a bit of water, a bay leaf, a chopped onion and a bit of vinegar. simmer on low. when tender (hr or so) cut in strips, add a tomato and a glass of red wine. the wine adds flavor and turns the octopus red. charlene and i will give it a try. tonight our last dinner on the island of poros. im sure it will be extraordinary. matina speaks 5 languages, married an engishman, lived in so africa, speaks
afrikans and zulu.  

Vance #9 Pics (Galatas, dinner, etc)

From Vance's email. Pics. 10/4/2014 3:52 AM

 

pics of the house on galatas, 

 

my suite far lower left, fantastic 3 levels

upper level patio looking over the town of poros, a 3 min yacht ride from galatas which is mainland, the upper level a large "living room", i.e. seating, dining, kitchen, huge windows opening onto the sea, three levels of suites sleeping suites.

pic 2. bob and rocky,

pic 3 dinner at a very homey restaurant in galatas they know well,

and charlene and my hostess joanna petalas 

Vance #8 the greek life (Vathi, Argolic gulf, Poros)

From Vance's email.  the greek life. 10/2/2014 4:15 PM

 

greetings

my california friends, charlene and bob, invited me to come to greece to experience greek life. today was exactly that...first a nice breakfast of toast, home made orange jam, yogurt, honey and a few chunks of tender, moist octopus.

then a short drive in the area to view some antiquities from b.c. all in a lovely olive grove and then on to Vathi, a quiet little port, a cove really where sailboats anchor for lunch or over night. we ate very well - lovely , fasolaki - green beans dressed in olive oil and lemon, sauteed zuchinni with shreds of cheese and then dorado, a small white fish, grilled simply and served with olive oil and lemon. dessert...sure why not - a bit of walnut cake with ice cream.

another short drive above the coast of the argolic gulf, winding down a lane arriving at the rocky coast to swim. the water was refreshingly cool on a hot afternoon. after paddling around for awhile we returned to the car and drove along returning to galatas but no, as we passed a restaurant open to the gulf. the owner tassos and friend christos waved for us to stop. little did i know the architect of my hostess's home was out swimming and her husband was waving us to stop for a drink. "the greek" life unfolded in the next hours...ouzo, beers, raki (grappa, a white liquor made from grape peel and dangerous), plates of a beautiful cheese - graviera - a kind of greek gruyere, tomato chunks, salami, cucumber, appetizers (meze in greek) ! wait...we just ate lunch...but we managed to nosh away including some peanuts and chips for the next 3 hours.

all of a sudden christos began telling us about greek poetry of 15 syllables, decapende, the same feet as homer's odyssey and illiad. then he and his wife, recently back from her swim, began to sing. her pure voice was unaffected, a kind of honest folk quality with just the right amount of vibrato for color. there were also delightful melodic turns providing an exotic byzantine quality...both charming and captivating.

a short drive back home where the poros was bathed in that special 'end of the day light' film directors love. you see it in under the tuscan sun when she discovers marcello has found another love interest.

a shower and a nap and supper which charlene put together of octopus salad, a cheese and spinach omlet and joanna's cheese cake. sound good, absolutely...the greek life. be well all.

--
vance

Vance's #7. what beauty there is in life, place, friends, weather, food, drink (galatas)

From Vance's email.  what beauty there is in life, place, friends, weather, food, drink. 10/1/2014 4:48 PM

today, up at 6:30, ready by 7, nice lady tapped on my door telling me the phone was not working, for my wake up call, but my van to the boat was there, i was ready....sweet,

as i arrived at the van she ran up and  gave me a kiss on each cheek and a little bouquet of flowers from the garden...happeee beersteesdaye, loving, kind, human to wish me a happy birthday!.
 

then to the boat, huge, no wi fi, sit anywhere, open seating. interesting people on board, young and old, babies, strollers with twins, a handsome older male couple with a kitty, playing cards, a 5 hour trip. reading deepak chopra "super brain", cappucino coffee, a croissant, a few almonds, edited and titled my pictures from years back, a short nap and finally we arrived in refina, near athens. well not so near really as most airports are not so near!

there was supposed to be a bus to take me to the port pireaus to catch another boat to poros to meet my friends, charlene archibeque, colleague from san jose and husband bob and their good  friend joanna. no bus! hmm, what to do,

i caught a cab, great driver, 80 mi an hour and he got me to the port in 45 min to catch the 2pm boat. hmm, boat is an hour late. finally at 3:20 said boat loaded and left pireaus for poros. i know, too many names sound alike, pireaus, poroa, poras, but finally over an hour and a half late met my friends and new friend joanna, my hostess. great to be with people!

after all that boating yet another motor boat to galatas, a little island, galatas where joanna has a super gorgeous home. joanna got the car and off we drove up switch backs to the tip top of the mountain and there the sea, galatas, stunning!!!

what a view. amazing. now to setlle in. unpack my stuff in my palatial room, then to join the others for some delicious gravlax, (cured salmon), octopus, all home made, cheese, and fab tasty tomatoes.

later --- lots of emails, then a fab dinner of spinach with fresh pomegrante seeds and cheese in a vodka sauce. deeeeelicious. huge shrimp,  more bread, great mussles with a tomato cheese sauce, rich, and cheese cake for dessert. so a great trip and great reception.lively conversation. feeling happy to be here and just let go, rest with friends. we need our friends.

be well all
more tomorrow

vyg

Vance #6 delos island plus 81st birthday dinners

From Vance's email. delos island plus 81st birthday dinners. 9/30/2014 3:24 PM 

a lovely breakfast, the german folk sang happy 81st to me and then i had a really great bkast of boiled eggs, toast, 3 jams, super yogurt, mean really great yogurt, almost chunky like ice cream with honey and coffee. a cab posited me at the pier for the 45 min trip to delos. on board maybe 150 people, kinda like biblical babble, german, english, french, japanese, mandarin, all chatting and having a good, anticipatory time. the sea was rough returning.

we were met by an english speaking guide who gave a very dense lecture before departing on a fast tour of the marble and rock ruins of a lively city. very sophisticated in its day complete with cisterns for gathering water deep beneath the ground as well as rain water and sanitary drains. in fact there were very modern wooden planks with appropirate holes for the men after dinner to use. men dined alone, women, children and slaves in another room. the houses were enormous by todays standards, 4000 sq feet and four stories high. wooden roofs, marble and wooden lintles. everything had to be imported, marble, wood, food, no farming space on the island. sunny but barren.

many religions were allowed there without represssion of any kind. an enormous colossus of apollo dominated the island. 30,000 people lived there at its peak. it was a the most important commercial port in the agean. the mosaics in the floor, the wall paintings, sculpture and pottery housed in the musuem here on delos and in athens are simply beautiful. it is exciting to place yourself back in those times and imagine what your life might have been on delos, shop owner, father, mother, child slave.

our guide spoke very quickly and it was very very windy so hard to hear at times though she was informed. at times was almost running to keep up taking pics and listening. i did not use my new hiking sticks, way too cumbersome and slow.

the history is complex and many millenia involved so if you are interested below is wikipedia info or no. your choice. the quality of life is amazing to imagine. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

oh, today was a special dinner, of course celebrating 81 seasons on this earth. it all began at nikos restaurant with sea urchin salad, a little sauce dish of sea urchin with a bit of bread. i had chosen 2 small red mullets to be grilled. but...delivered, dry, over grilled with little chunks of sea salt making it crunchy, way too salty and inedible, bill please! ok, out of there, rushed, mismanaged restaurant.

back to kolinas from last  night. chose a small sea bass from many specimens. they give that fish to the grill man and soon you receive a perfectly sea bass. lesson, when in doubt get out a bad situation like nikos as fast a possible. let it go.

the elegance and delectation of eating a whole fish. lots of bones, simple fish grilled with nothing but olive oil...no salt, licking bones. served with the head on. behind the eyes are the cheeks, best part of the fish. missed by many. skin crisp, flesh moist and tender. this is perhaps one of the best fish restaurants in all of greece, the world maybe. owned by a fisherman it is simple and true. deeply apprecaited.

tomorrow boat to rafina, bus to pireaus, boat to piros, then to meet charlene and to galatas.

DELOS

The island of Delos, Carl Anton Joseph Rottmann,1847.

The theatre.

Investigation of ancient stone huts found on the island indicate that it has been inhabited since the 3rd millennium BC. Thucydides identifies the original inhabitants as piratical Carians who were eventually expelled by King Minos of Crete.^[2] By the time of the Odyssey the island was already famous as the birthplace of the twin gods Apollo and Artemis. (Although there seems to be some confusion of Artemis' birthplace being either Delos or the island of Ortygia.) Indeed between 900 BC and AD 100, sacred Delos was a major cult centre, where Dionysus is also in evidence as well as the Titaness Leto, mother of the above-mentioned twin deities. Eventually acquiring Panhellenic religious significance, Delos was initially a religious pilgrimage for the Ionians.
A number of "purifications" were executed by the city-state of Athens in an attempt to render the island fit for the proper worship of the gods. The first took place in the 6th century BC, directed by the tyrant Pisistratus who ordered that all graves within sight of the temple be dug up and the bodies moved to another nearby island. In the 5th century, during the 6th year of the Peloponnesian war and under instruction from the Delphic Oracle, the entire island was purged of all dead bodies. It was then ordered that no one should be allowed to either die or give birth on the island due to its sacred importance and to preserve its neutrality in commerce, since no one could then claim ownership through inheritance. Immediately after this purification, the first quinquennial festival of the Delian games were celebrated there.^[3]

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Delos
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
Column with phallus at the Stoivadeion
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iii, iv, vi
Reference	530
UNESCO region	Europe and North America
Coordinates	37.393333°N 25.271111°E
Inscription history
Inscription	1990 (14th Session)

After the Persian Wars the island became the natural meeting-ground for the Delian League, founded in 478 BC, the congresses being held in the temple (a separate quarter was reserved for foreigners and the sanctuaries of foreign deities.) The League's common treasury was kept here as well until 454 BC when Pericles removed it to Athens.^[4]
The island had no productive capacity for food, fiber, or timber, with such being imported. Limited water was exploited with an extensive cistern and aqueduct system, wells, and sanitary drains. Various regions operated agoras (markets).
Strabo states that in 166 BC the Romans converted Delos into a free port, which was partially motivated by seeking to damage the trade of Rhodes, at the time the target of Roman hostility.
Italian traders came to purchase tens of thousands of slave captured by the Cilician Pirates or captured in the wars following the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire. It became the center of the slave trade, with the largest slave market in the larger region being maintained here.
The island was attacked in 88 BC by the troops of Mithridates VI of Pontus, a staunch enemy of Rome, who killed some 20,000 of the resident Romans and Italians. Another devastating attack was by pirates in 69 BC. Before the end of the 1st century BC, trade routes had changed; Delos was replaced by Puteoli as the chief focus of Italian trade with the East, and as a cult-centre too it entered a sharp decline.
Due to the above history, Delos - unlike other Greek islands - did not have an indigenous, self-supporting community of its own. As a result, in later times it became uninhabited.
Since 1872 the École française d'Athènes ("French School of Athens") has been excavating the island, the complex of buildings of which compares with those of Delphi and Olympia.
In 1990, UNESCO inscribed Delos on the World Heritage List, citing it as the "exceptionally extensive and rich" archaeological site which "conveys the image of a great cosmopolitan Mediterranean port".

Vance #5 greetings friends and family from mykonos, at last

From Vance's email. greetings friends and family from mykonos, at last. 9/29/2014 5:35 PM

 

was not sure i would make it to mykonos because of high seas

when the sea is too rough the boats dont run, meaning the fast boats
the giant catamarans cut the time in half when going from
island to island

today seas were rough, but ok, i imagined i was a dolphin swimming
from santorini to mykonos was ok, we were late taking off
but after 3 hours we arrived in extremely touristy mykonos,
ok i live in a tourist town so i recognze tourism  and know it value
to the economy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

white white houses sweeping from the top of the

mountain down to the sea

found my bus to the neo aeolus hotel, sounds musical

new harp perhaps?

checked in, nice germans also checking in so we chattered a bit
actually they are austrian and i told them it was my birthday the 30th

so there was general good will and good wishes exchanged

 

then walked down down down to the water front

i mean the hips and knees and ankles and tootsies exclaiming "down"

waves crashing over the breakwaters

could have drenched me but avoided it

on the one end of the island are windmills

four of them, i sat there watching the sun set
with literally h u n d r e d s of tourists

a large cruise ship had just disgourged a whole load of them

yes,  know i am also a tourist!!!

after watching the sun set

made my way back to a recommended fish restaurant

WOW

koulenas, a real seafood restaurant

as you approach there is a guy outside

grilling whole fish over a fire, turning it just right
david xiques and datevig so that the skin is crispy
and the interior moist, juicy and flakey

climbed the two flights

perused the menu

fresh clams.......
fresh sea urchin........

all manner of fish.........

pastas......
octopus........

i ask the waiter

"possible to have pasta with sea urchin?"

not on the menu

he descends the stairs, returns,
yes
i say, no tomato sauce please,
just olive oil and garlic and fresh sea urchin

yes yes yes

sooo dear friends i celerated with a glass of sparkling prosecco

and a plate of 8 meaty clams, fresh, tender

they gave their lives for me, thank you

a little lemon 
i was a happy boy

then a huge pasta with sea urchin entangled
hiding in all manner of strands of al dente spaghetti

cappellini would have been better but this was simply superb

lots of buttery sauce providing good toothsome eating

thank you

 a lively table nearby just bubbled with joy and fun
so i just simply walked over a few feet and asked
where are you from?
  london and australia and france

they asked me to sit while we all had cinnamon mixed with grain alcohol

they were great fun, chatty, had lived in mykonos 20 yrs ago
were back just for a week of fun, two gay couples and a single female

with whom i chatted most

very fun and very celebratory

after awhile they were taking off for a bar

and i decided to grab a cab, E5, cheap, and right to my door

as i entered the hotel two austrians invited me to have a celebratory

so we chatted in english and german and had a great time
just sharing life stories and experiences

all in all a good, no..... a great day

hoping the sea is calm tomorrow

thanks ron for the recommendation to visit delos

where the greek antiquities lie undisturbed and just
there for the viewing

have my hiking poles with me

all ready to celebrate

thanks all for your good wishes for a happy birthday

its going to be superb

be well all
vyg

Vance #4 adventures in and on the island santorini, a beautiful windswept island

From Vance email. adventures in and on the island santorini, a beautiful windswept island. 9/28/2014 3:22 PM

high on the top of the island is the little town of fira, an ancient port

a bus picked me up in the drizzle and wound its switch back way

much like dehra dun to mussoorie to fira and the blue suites
one of hundreds of places to stay

wind, rain, cold prevailed
not unlike san francisco at times, poor weather for tourists
i understand in the summer its hot and wonderful

in the rain walked the length of the hira with many places for

quick greek food but i wanted fish

but
first ichtyotherapy, fish therapy, a fish spa
no, not therapy for the fish, therapy for tired feet

ok
weird,
30 minutes in a glass tank with tiny garra rufa fish that defoliate
your feet and legs

kinda tickles but after awhile it feels good
and then off to eat some fish
i know, nutso

fancy restaurant totally full

raining, so i trudged on and there it was

a real family restaurant

with a whole sea bream, white fish, delicate, flaky, grilled!

delicious

with eggplant and peppers grilled

wonderful greek salad of cucumbers and real tomatoes

fish cheeks, licked the bones, a rather generous catch

devoured with gusto then relaxing into pleasure and
satisfaction

fish to the second power, lol

the aging owner/waiter recognized an eater and was gentle and kind
wife on skype chatting in a rather too loud, excited motherly voice with grand children

i suppose

two chefs who were turning out moussaka in a tureen,
looked really great, two californians across attested to its quality

others were served massive platters of vegetables and various meats,
as the owner proudly stated
this is a family restaurant not a tourist restaurant, meaning,
not full of hype but rather honest family owned, cooked food,
really greek and proud of it

stopped at the mini market enroute returning to the hotel
blue suites 
a little sparkling water and a night cap of ouzo

THE greek drink

today, minimal breakfast of coffee and cheese and toast

sunny

very very windy

means internet does not work, we are too high so they say

looking out over the sea,
meditating on the blue blue sea

watched a family of goats looking for anything green, a bit of

grass, low hanging leaves of trees,

the male with long blond fluffy hair with curving antlers
or is that only for deer

and his winding horns,
mama black and blond spotted,
one baby bleating to find the flock, her coloring
none of the others including 3 blond babies answer,
too windy so the black one runs off lost

walked up to town and took a bus to perissa

walking --- be careful
way too many two wheel, 4 wheel bikes, mini cars, small cars,
most driven by tourists, whew

huge huge tour busses managing narrow lanes,

enroute to perssia sparse vegetation, lots of eucalyptus trees,

this is an island created by a volcanic explosion

so indiana friends unlike our flat state
this is mountainous and the roads vary from narrow barely paved
to two lane, everyone slows, walking is treacherous on volcanic rocks

cemented, not polished smooth so worse than cobble stones for ankles

this tiny windswept island is populated by many villages,

and the rest of the landscape dotted with private homes,
all in the traditional rounded roof, blue domes, lots of new construction,
once again with long rounded roofs,
some circular with traditional windmills,

corey, is this architecture one that grew out of the reality of wind

as the electric car, or the old vw's which creates less wind resistance?

michael pappas, bakeries are in every nook and cranny and one
really great one in hira, is the th an H in greek? you see thira everywhere

45 min to perissa, a black sandy beach covered with empty lounges

tourist season is over though the many restaurants along the beach
are all serving tasty food, i had a greek salad there watching the

perfect surfing waves, tested the waters, shoes and socks soaked 
the water - perfect for swimming but did not have my swim stuff,
another time.

back to hira after lunch
to the local museum loaded with lots of pottery large and small
figures and wall paintings dating from the 6th - 3rd millenia,
much of the local pottery beautifully painted and some imported from crete. a thinner more elegant pottery.
this from 1700 b.c.
the pottery ranges from cook ware and small vessles for sauce or olives
to huge 4 ft tall jugs. this was really well spent time.

then to the other edge of the town for a different view of the sea and hundreds of tourist shops, some with very beautiful items, a lovely orthodox church, 1975, beautifully painted of christ pancreator

in the very top of the dome surrounded by saints.
anomaly - a little greek lady, cleak, in black dister, on her cell phone, selling candles and items and chatting non stop, on sunday, technology.

back to the hotel, change of socks

and back to hira, hiking rather quickly to catch the sunset at 6:30

nice high restaurant up and up the stairs to the third floor for the view

ouzo and a single octopus tentacle, grilled

think a dense 8 oz steak, chewy, tender, edges charred,
tasty with olive oil and a dash of vinegar

sun cooperated and was brilliant sinking behind dark gray clouds

after

walking just to be walking past myriad gift shops
just like san francisco's marina or china town, all the same stuff

living just to be living

traveling just to be traveling

joy

be well all
vyg

Vance #3 enroute to santorini on the blue star ferry, maybe a few hours, i.e. 8

From Vance email. enroute to santorini on the blue star ferry, maybe a few hours, i.e. 8. 27 Sept 2014.

the miracle of wi fi on board

amazing

we had fab wifi on united to d.c. from san francisco

have no idea on transatlantic, presume there was wifi but just getting seated in that huge bird and finding how to work the movies, and settling into a decent  sleep on board the plane was all i could think of

 

here on a large ferry with seims and cars in the hold and several decks for passengeres, im sitting next to a window in business class, nice upholstered seat, no one beside me, there are other classes, deck class which is a bit breezy and chilly today. 

glad i brought a heavy corduroy over shirt...athens too was hot
but when the sun went down, like san francisco - turned cool.

be well all
vyg

Vance's Athens. adventure 2, sept 26, walking to syntagma square, travel arr, & the museum

From Vance email. adventure 2, sept 26, walking to syntagma square, travel arr, & the museum. 26 September 2014.

i love athens, mild, breezy, amazing cloud formations, streets full of athenians and tourists. the athenians are very friendly, tipping is nothing like the states.

gorgeous day, a bit of rain but a nice lunch and thanks patricia for the recommendation of galaktoBUrico, on the left, fab sandwich and coffee

then to travel agent to arrange island visits. all done then to the museum which i had not seen the last trip. amazing, huge windows open onto the whole city. you can see the acropolis in back of me...yup, thats me, then to the upper floor to walk around the figures they have removed. after 2500 years some are clear, others barely discernible but they have added plaster to complete and give you an idea of the original. of course huge chunks are in london, thanks lord elgin, plz return.

wonderful videos of the reconstruction, ideas of the ancient site on which the museum is built with glass flooring showing the excavation that continues today under the museum.

the third picture is a battle between a centaur and man, the metaphor being civilization and barbarism. these sculptures were first molded in clay then with dots on the clay and corresponding dots on the marble the artist would begin to chip away. much like a pattern with dots which you use chalk to make the outline and the shapes. 

athena, daugher of zeus sprang from his forehead fully formed, goddess of wisdom. her figure was the center of the temple, the parthenon beautifully colored. the whole temple was brightly colored and the figures had bronze spears and horses bridles and trappings in bronze, making them more lifelike. so degas put a real tutu on his ballerina, hmm.

the temple became a church then a mosque and now they are restoring but much of what was on the hill is now in the museum.

adventure to santorini begins tomorrow, long boat trip.

first though to dinner here in athens, then a bit of ouzo on the hotel roof, taxi at 6:20 A.M.!!!

I looked for socrates today, he did not appear but alexander the great or his very closest friend i definately saw at the museum where i was having herbal tea gathered from the hills.

-- vyg

Vance - In Athens. pic 1. the acropolis hill from my roof,, pic w. souvlaki, below pic 3. the acropolis hill from the plaza monastiraki

From Vance email 25 September 2014. in athens, pic 1. the acropolis hill from my roof,, pic w. souvlaki, below pic 3. the acropolis hill from the plaza monastiraki 9/25/2014 6:00 PM

From D.C. 5 hours, 2 layover, 7 to frankfurt, 1 layover, 3 to athens arrived today with no bag. lufthanza airline probably did not get it on so they kindly gave me a package with toiletries and a tshirt and 200 euros. nice but hopefully ill get my bag tomorrow. 

 

arrived at 7:30 at attalos hotel, nice place, very spartan, reminds me of the abbeys we have stayed in bill and ann in rome and venice. simple but adequate and cheap. and i love the area, its just below the parthenon, which you see from everywhere. its in the monastiraki neighborhood, a bustling place with a plaza and streets striking off from the plaza packed with people playing drums and just being. the souvlaki restaurants are endlsss one flowing into the next. every taverna or restaurant has its own bozouki player, a fat beliied, plucked instrument and beautiful. souvlaki, for those who have never had it, think chicken breasts stacked onto a long spike which turns in front of a fire and roasts. as the outer edges roast the chef slices off the done parts, just a bit charred and serves with a yogurt cucumber sause...very tasty.

i cimbed a little hill and there were the diggings of another temple. across the street i bought a panama hat and then found a quiet restaurant, not crowded. i had some tasty little fried fish-gauros - think tiny sardines barely  dusted with flour and flash fried, crispy and just right with a small beer. cwai and noam you will appreciate two kitties immediately appeared and i shared half the plate with them. back to the hotel roof for a spectacular view of the whole hill, the acropolis with the temple to athena in the middle. its dramatically lighted nightly.

 

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vance

Vance - Greek adventure 2014 off to explore the wonders of the world again!

From Vance's email 24th September 2014.

Subject: greetings friends, off to explore the wonders of the world again! 9/24/2014 9:04 PM

 

this time traveling first to greece to experience thousands of years of culture, and other civilizations followed on september 7 to Florence, Italy to observe some opera rehearsals and then work with a choir to learn how to rehearse in italian. 

Greece: first the Minoans - 2000-1400 BC -peaceful traders in pottery, jewelry, and foods - wine, olive oil, and saffron. this civilization disappeared, no explanation.

then the Mycenaens - 1600-1200 - warriors, the lions gate, rock tombs constructed like stone igloos, think Agmemnon and Clytemnestra or google them, Homer's Illiad and Odyssey, perhaps he wrote about the Mycenaean civilization which like the Minoans also disappeared, earth quake, volcano eruption, a mystery.

 

then the Dorians and Ionians and finally the Athenians who constructed a temple to Athene on the Acropolis (high city in greek), the most important ancient site in the western world. The Parthenon is the most famous temple on the planet, a symbol of ancient Athens golden age from 2,500 years ago.

im bringing history to life by visiting Athens and some greek islands. you will remember athens had  great philosophers and mathematicians which we know both by name and association -

<socrates -  his favorite words - "know thyself" angered authorities who thought those words might pose a threat to Athenian youths, socrates committed suicide rather than change

<plato - a follower of socrates, mathematician

<aristotle - a follower of plato, emphasized the natural world

<pericles - charismatic, promoted democracy

<pythagoras - gave us a2 + B2 = C2

<euclid - laid out geometry as we know it

<diogenes - lived just below the acropolis, in the agora, today a fun market area

<aristophanes, sophocles, euripides wrote comedies and tragedies still performed today, i hope to see one

<hippocrates -  medicine as science resisting superstition re the body

<pheidias - designed the statuary of the parthenon

<praxiteles - scuplted lifelike, beautiful human figures

ancient Athens was a city-state, population 80.000, gathered around its

Acropolis (high town), and was both religious center and fort. good farmland and a harbor brought Athens prosperity. the best craftsmen, thinkers, food (souvlaki). amphitheaters with music, drama and poetry festivals made for a bustling city with great art, architecture, science and philosophy. this really set the pace for our civilization. and, all this from a small town in greece no largeer than Muncie, Indiana!

the golden age
the golden mean, balance, order and harmony.
balance in everything, the concept that nature is orderly and man is good.

hellinism

alexander the great was tutored by aristotle. he loved greek culture, he was hooked on it but he loved military power finally conquering today's turkey, palenstine, egypt, iraq, iran, and moved even into india. he founded new cities on greek models, opened greek schools and spread the language. hellenism gave us realistic art, real people with real emotions.

roman greece

as alexander conquered country after country rome was rising and eventually conqued greece. however, curiously the greeks conquered the romans. rome adopted the greek gods, art styles and fashion. they even sprinkled their latin with greek expressions much like we might slip in a french or italian word to suggest sophistication. the greek slave was without a doubt more sophisticated than his roman master.

greek culture did live on through the invation of the turks, justinian, resurfacing throughout our Western history and influencing the medieval christians, renaissance sculptors and even the neoclassical architects of Washington, D. C. in an exceedingly heavy greek style.

now lest you think, i really remembered all that from history class -

no no no, rick steves travel book on Athens provided the info. i found it interesting enough to share it with you. there will be more but it will be illustrated with pictures of places and descriptions of food!

be well all
vyg