Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Greece May 14th-16th
This will be a quick post. Muir actually isn't even using the computer today. Ron need to use the internet to email some clients, so we are only here for a short time and then off to eat lunch. We are currently in Nafplio.
Sunday, May 14th
We went to the island fortress of Monemvasia, and hiked to the top. There was a church on the way to the top, and Gene (a tour member) had to exchange his passport for a key to it. (he got the passport back of course). There was a small church (wee wee small) in a cave on the side of the rock that we also went into. You cannot drive to the island, but can take a small shuttle to beginning of it and then walk in. They use donkey to haul food in for the tavernas. After the hike, we went swimming in the ocean. There is a small platform with a ladder going into the sea. Once I spotted Colin & Joe swimming, I ditched Muir and headed down there and jumped in. It was the best part of the day, and felt great after hiking. Muir did make his way down to the ocean, but of course didn't go in. He's no longer the fish used to be when he was a child.
For dinner in Gythio, we went to the General Store & Wine Bar, which is owned by a chef that used to live in Gig Harbor, WA. He used Greek ingredients to do american type of dishes. The bus driver said that the food was good, but it was different because they are used to having everything served on different dishes, not one. (we had chicken with brie in it, and a side of potatoes and green beans. starters were the usual fare, but also sausage soaked in a citrus sauce). After dinner someone in our group started dancing, and then there was lots of dancing after that, even the bus driver joined in and taught as a few things....did I mention the alcohol may have helped with the joyous dancing? We had a couple of bottles of white wine and also another couple of bottles of red wine. Plus, we each had a shot glass of a greek alcohol called...uh...well i can't think of the name of it off hand right now. I'll get back to you with the name, since Muir will probably remember. btw, the proper way to drink ouzo is pour a little into a glass and mix it with water, which will turn white. Then you sip it, not shoot it.
After dinner we went to a couple of bars, with a few people who wanted to go dancing, but there was no one there because it was a Sunday night. Oh well - at least we tried.
Monday, May 15th
Today was church day! We have been seeing a lot of churches on our trip, but today we went to Mystras, an important Byzantine site in Greece, where there is 5 churches and a couple of monestaries. My Catholic upbringing came in handy when we were looking at all the frescos. It was nice to understand how they do things in the Greek Orthodox church. World history has also been handy on this trip, as they talk about the different historic periods and the split of the 2 churches. After our visit to Mystras, we had lunch in Sparta (yes, for those Michigan State fans - Go Spartans!), and then took the bus to Nafplio (not much to see in Sparta).
In Nafplio we are staying at a very pleasant hotel run by 3 brothers. We had a wine tasting as a group, and then walked around and had dinner.
oooppps...time is out they are waiting for me. I will write more in a few days.
-Jenny
Sunday, May 14th
We went to the island fortress of Monemvasia, and hiked to the top. There was a church on the way to the top, and Gene (a tour member) had to exchange his passport for a key to it. (he got the passport back of course). There was a small church (wee wee small) in a cave on the side of the rock that we also went into. You cannot drive to the island, but can take a small shuttle to beginning of it and then walk in. They use donkey to haul food in for the tavernas. After the hike, we went swimming in the ocean. There is a small platform with a ladder going into the sea. Once I spotted Colin & Joe swimming, I ditched Muir and headed down there and jumped in. It was the best part of the day, and felt great after hiking. Muir did make his way down to the ocean, but of course didn't go in. He's no longer the fish used to be when he was a child.
For dinner in Gythio, we went to the General Store & Wine Bar, which is owned by a chef that used to live in Gig Harbor, WA. He used Greek ingredients to do american type of dishes. The bus driver said that the food was good, but it was different because they are used to having everything served on different dishes, not one. (we had chicken with brie in it, and a side of potatoes and green beans. starters were the usual fare, but also sausage soaked in a citrus sauce). After dinner someone in our group started dancing, and then there was lots of dancing after that, even the bus driver joined in and taught as a few things....did I mention the alcohol may have helped with the joyous dancing? We had a couple of bottles of white wine and also another couple of bottles of red wine. Plus, we each had a shot glass of a greek alcohol called...uh...well i can't think of the name of it off hand right now. I'll get back to you with the name, since Muir will probably remember. btw, the proper way to drink ouzo is pour a little into a glass and mix it with water, which will turn white. Then you sip it, not shoot it.
After dinner we went to a couple of bars, with a few people who wanted to go dancing, but there was no one there because it was a Sunday night. Oh well - at least we tried.
Monday, May 15th
Today was church day! We have been seeing a lot of churches on our trip, but today we went to Mystras, an important Byzantine site in Greece, where there is 5 churches and a couple of monestaries. My Catholic upbringing came in handy when we were looking at all the frescos. It was nice to understand how they do things in the Greek Orthodox church. World history has also been handy on this trip, as they talk about the different historic periods and the split of the 2 churches. After our visit to Mystras, we had lunch in Sparta (yes, for those Michigan State fans - Go Spartans!), and then took the bus to Nafplio (not much to see in Sparta).
In Nafplio we are staying at a very pleasant hotel run by 3 brothers. We had a wine tasting as a group, and then walked around and had dinner.
oooppps...time is out they are waiting for me. I will write more in a few days.
-Jenny
