Well, this was it...our last day on the most spectacular trip our chorale has taken yet. Today, we went to the world-famous acropolis of Athens (acropolis simply means the "highest point" of a city), where we visited the Parthenon. But first, we visited the brand new Acropolis Museum (it's only been open a year), and this is where the most precious archeological relics from the buildings on the acropolis (and other ruins from ancient Athens) are now housed, preserving and protecting them in their natural states. It was fascinating...the guide we had gave us a full hour-long tour of the acropolis, and described all the major details of the Parthenon itself, and the history behind it.
Afterward, we walked up to the acropolis, and posed for pictures in front of the parthenon, as well as the temple dedicated to Athena and Poseidon nearby. But, the most meaningful part to me was getting to visit the very rock where St. Paul stood to address the people of Athens...Kris and I climed the rock and stood where he stood...again, we were covered in goosebumps from head to toe...this was the opportunity of a lifetime!
After the Parthenon and Acropolis, we head down and back into the famous Plaka district for lunch...Kris and I had what was, by far, the best meal of the trip...clay oven-baked pita bread with fresh hummus, dolmades (grape leaves stuffed with lamb and rice), mousaka, and souvlaki (lamb kabobs)...VERY good! After lunch, we headed back to the same hotel we had last weekend, and had a good five hours to prepare our luggage for the trip home tomorrow, and Mary Elizabeth, Kris, and I took care of last minute housekeeping details with paperwork details and other business (Kris and I also got to organize our pictures....see the newest ones we just added on facebook!).
We had our farewell dinner at a taverna in the Plaka district, complete with authentic Greek music and dancers...and they pulled ME onstage during part of the show...our group thought I was quite a hit...Betty and Kenny got it on video and are threatening to send it to my parents (Ann and Al)....yikes!! Anyway, it was a rip-roaring good time, and now we're back in the hotel...it is after midnight now, and we have to be up at 6:30 to be ready to be at the airport by 9:00 to fly home. This has been the trip of trips...thank you, Lord Jesus, for your gifts and blessings, and allowing us to walk in your apostles' footsteps!
We love you all and look forward to seeing you soon...we promise...NO "forced picture sessions", so all you Destin folks RELAX...the good pics are on facebook, and we'll have our laptop available for "voluntary" picture viewing. See you back in Mississippi/Florida on Sunday!
Friday, June 11, 2010
The Islands of Crete and Santorini (Thursday)
None of us were really sure what was in store for us in Crete - we were told our excursion was entitled "A Taste of Crete," but weren't really sure what that entailed. Well, we feel we really got our money's worth, and more!
Crete is the Mediterranean's 4th and Greece's largest island. We pulled into the Venetian harbor of Heraklion at 7:00 a.m., and departed at 7:30 in a little gold mercedes minibus (cool!) for a drive to the wine-producing area of Peza. The drive was breathtaking, as we drove through courtyards and vineyards as old as Minoan times. We stopped at a modern winery and observed wine-making methods and sampled some of the delicious Cretan wines, and did a little shopping. The winery also produces varieties of olive oil and olive soaps, and we purchased some of the latter for gifts.
The next "lagniappe" of the tour was a stop at ruins of the oldest farmhouse and winery in Crete (and possibly all of Europe), which dates back to the Minoan period, around 16th century B.C. While the ruins were interesting, what captured our fascination were the vast kinds of vegetation that flourished in the wild along the stone path to the farmhouse...we got some great pictures of grape vines, olives, pears, capers, and even wild artichokes! We continued on to the charming village of Archanes, where we stopped at a taverna to sample some local Cretan snacks, and were treated to live greek music and dancing. So, although not the most significant ports in terms of biblical or historical importance, this morning's tour ranked up there as one of our favorites.
ADDENDUM: Kris reminded me to add this...Dimitra, our guide, added some additional interest to the morning by providing us with some commentary about traditional village life in Crete. It was interesting to hear that many villagers have never left Crete, or for some, their villages for that matter, and local life is fiercely independent and family-centered. There is a church in every village, and a square around the church, which serves as the cultural center for everything in the village. When there's a wedding in the village, the entire village is invited...if the other family is from another village, everyone in THAT village is invited. If you're a tourist passing through in the summer months and you stumble upon the celebration, they'll invite you, too!
Later that afternoon, we pulled into the unbelievably beautiful volcanic island of Santorini. We were strongly encouraged to be on the top deck to view the island as we approached it, and we were not disappointed. The island appears, from a distance, to be one giant crescent rock, with three distinct snowcaps on top of it...as it turns out, the "snowcaps" are the three main cities on the island, made up of beautiful white-washed buildings with occasional blue domes and trim. We pulled a ways out from the dock, and took tender boats into shore...from there, we loaded cable cars and rode to the top of the mountain, and got to roam the streets of the town for approximately an hour and a half. Kris and I noticed there was a catholic cathedral there, along with a monastery of cloistered nuns attached, so we went inside and prayed, and took photographs of the modest, yet beautiful, interior. We continued strolling the meandering streets, pausing only briefly to peek-in at various places, but our main objective was to find breathtaking views (and subsequent photo-ops), and a place to get coffee. Sure enough, we accomplished both, and we truly enjoyed the little cafe we found for coffee. We found the perfect little cafe balcony that overlooked the mediterranean, and we just sat and relaxed with our espresso and water for about half-an-hour, immersing ourselves in the moment...the sun was setting, so we observed another beautiful sunset in paradise...fantastic!
We had dinner back aboard the ship, and our chorale actually participated in the ship's "finale" talent show afterward, and we sang "Good News, Chariot's Comin'" by Moses Hogan...we brought the house down; I don't think any of the French, Australian, New Zealand, or English passengers that heard us had ever heard a real honest-to-goodness American spiritual before, but they seemed to LOVE IT. Tomorrow (Friday) ends our cruise, and it's one more day in Athens before flying home.
Crete is the Mediterranean's 4th and Greece's largest island. We pulled into the Venetian harbor of Heraklion at 7:00 a.m., and departed at 7:30 in a little gold mercedes minibus (cool!) for a drive to the wine-producing area of Peza. The drive was breathtaking, as we drove through courtyards and vineyards as old as Minoan times. We stopped at a modern winery and observed wine-making methods and sampled some of the delicious Cretan wines, and did a little shopping. The winery also produces varieties of olive oil and olive soaps, and we purchased some of the latter for gifts.
The next "lagniappe" of the tour was a stop at ruins of the oldest farmhouse and winery in Crete (and possibly all of Europe), which dates back to the Minoan period, around 16th century B.C. While the ruins were interesting, what captured our fascination were the vast kinds of vegetation that flourished in the wild along the stone path to the farmhouse...we got some great pictures of grape vines, olives, pears, capers, and even wild artichokes! We continued on to the charming village of Archanes, where we stopped at a taverna to sample some local Cretan snacks, and were treated to live greek music and dancing. So, although not the most significant ports in terms of biblical or historical importance, this morning's tour ranked up there as one of our favorites.
ADDENDUM: Kris reminded me to add this...Dimitra, our guide, added some additional interest to the morning by providing us with some commentary about traditional village life in Crete. It was interesting to hear that many villagers have never left Crete, or for some, their villages for that matter, and local life is fiercely independent and family-centered. There is a church in every village, and a square around the church, which serves as the cultural center for everything in the village. When there's a wedding in the village, the entire village is invited...if the other family is from another village, everyone in THAT village is invited. If you're a tourist passing through in the summer months and you stumble upon the celebration, they'll invite you, too!
Later that afternoon, we pulled into the unbelievably beautiful volcanic island of Santorini. We were strongly encouraged to be on the top deck to view the island as we approached it, and we were not disappointed. The island appears, from a distance, to be one giant crescent rock, with three distinct snowcaps on top of it...as it turns out, the "snowcaps" are the three main cities on the island, made up of beautiful white-washed buildings with occasional blue domes and trim. We pulled a ways out from the dock, and took tender boats into shore...from there, we loaded cable cars and rode to the top of the mountain, and got to roam the streets of the town for approximately an hour and a half. Kris and I noticed there was a catholic cathedral there, along with a monastery of cloistered nuns attached, so we went inside and prayed, and took photographs of the modest, yet beautiful, interior. We continued strolling the meandering streets, pausing only briefly to peek-in at various places, but our main objective was to find breathtaking views (and subsequent photo-ops), and a place to get coffee. Sure enough, we accomplished both, and we truly enjoyed the little cafe we found for coffee. We found the perfect little cafe balcony that overlooked the mediterranean, and we just sat and relaxed with our espresso and water for about half-an-hour, immersing ourselves in the moment...the sun was setting, so we observed another beautiful sunset in paradise...fantastic!
We had dinner back aboard the ship, and our chorale actually participated in the ship's "finale" talent show afterward, and we sang "Good News, Chariot's Comin'" by Moses Hogan...we brought the house down; I don't think any of the French, Australian, New Zealand, or English passengers that heard us had ever heard a real honest-to-goodness American spiritual before, but they seemed to LOVE IT. Tomorrow (Friday) ends our cruise, and it's one more day in Athens before flying home.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
The Island of Rhodes (Wednesday)
Today was a more relaxed day, as we were docked in the port of Rhodes for the entire day. It is here that the famous "Colossus of Rhodes" once stood, an 100-foot statue of bronze that is listed as one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world. We took a tour of the island by bus, and went first to the acropolis of Philermos, the highest point on the island. Here, we saw ruins of the temple of Athena, constructed circa 300 B.C. (wow!). There is now a greek orthodox church here, the original having been built in the 11th century. The current structure was revitalized and restored in the 14th century, and it was in pristine condition when we saw it. Typical greek orthodox characteristics...icons on every wall, oil lamps hanging everywhere, beautiful.
We next walked not far to a long path that contained the 14 Catholic stations of the cross, built by the Italians who occupied Rhodes from 1912-1943. We observed the stations, prayed there, and ended the path at a HUGE cement cross that stood approximately 5 stories in the air, and Kris, along with Linda, Joyce, and Beth, went up inside and onto the arms to look out over the mountain top (I got a great picture here).
We drove down to the acropolis of Rhodes, where we saw the remains of the temple of Apollo. Afterward, we went to the medieval center of town, and walked the cobbled streets of the ancient city before breaking for lunch. The majority of the crowd went back to the ship for lunch, but several of us stayed to visit and shop in town, and have lunch on our own (the ship's food leaves a little to be desired). Kris and I walked in and out of back alleys, searching for the ultimate "non-touristy" place we could find. But getting more tired and hungry by the minute, we ended up settling for what we believed was going to be a typical tourist trap...and being pleasantly surprised. One of the proprietors was standing outside trying to lure every passerby he could into his taverna..."Come, come! Good menu...you like my mousaka...you need place to have little food, little drink..." The name of the place was even cheesy: "Mama Mika"...(oh, puh-LEEZE). But, we actually had a nice meal. Their dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) were superb, and Kris had the most beautiful Greek salad of the trip...our main courses were great....Kris had a margheurite (sp?) pizza, and I had a "fisherman's spaghetti" with shrimp, calamari, mussels, and octopus...it was REALLY good!
I'm finishing this in a nice little cafe with internet hookup, enjoying a double espresso, while Kris is dashing off back into the little town for some shopping (I hung with her for a while, but I've had enough). The afternoon is free, so I'll head back to the ship before long, and then captain's dinner tonight on board the ship. Another 2 "famous" islands are in store for tomorrow (Thursday)...Santorini and Crete!
We next walked not far to a long path that contained the 14 Catholic stations of the cross, built by the Italians who occupied Rhodes from 1912-1943. We observed the stations, prayed there, and ended the path at a HUGE cement cross that stood approximately 5 stories in the air, and Kris, along with Linda, Joyce, and Beth, went up inside and onto the arms to look out over the mountain top (I got a great picture here).
We drove down to the acropolis of Rhodes, where we saw the remains of the temple of Apollo. Afterward, we went to the medieval center of town, and walked the cobbled streets of the ancient city before breaking for lunch. The majority of the crowd went back to the ship for lunch, but several of us stayed to visit and shop in town, and have lunch on our own (the ship's food leaves a little to be desired). Kris and I walked in and out of back alleys, searching for the ultimate "non-touristy" place we could find. But getting more tired and hungry by the minute, we ended up settling for what we believed was going to be a typical tourist trap...and being pleasantly surprised. One of the proprietors was standing outside trying to lure every passerby he could into his taverna..."Come, come! Good menu...you like my mousaka...you need place to have little food, little drink..." The name of the place was even cheesy: "Mama Mika"...(oh, puh-LEEZE). But, we actually had a nice meal. Their dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) were superb, and Kris had the most beautiful Greek salad of the trip...our main courses were great....Kris had a margheurite (sp?) pizza, and I had a "fisherman's spaghetti" with shrimp, calamari, mussels, and octopus...it was REALLY good!
I'm finishing this in a nice little cafe with internet hookup, enjoying a double espresso, while Kris is dashing off back into the little town for some shopping (I hung with her for a while, but I've had enough). The afternoon is free, so I'll head back to the ship before long, and then captain's dinner tonight on board the ship. Another 2 "famous" islands are in store for tomorrow (Thursday)...Santorini and Crete!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
The Bible Comes to Life! (Tuesday)
We got an extra-early start on the day, and had to meet the group at 6:45 a.m. for an early departure into our next port, which was Kusadasi, Turkey. It was here that we met our local guide, Ayca (pronounced " I ' - cha"), who took us by private charter bus to what we feel has been the highlight of the trip so far, Mt. Koressos, or "Nightengale Mountain," which is home of the little house where the Virgin Mary is believed to have spent her last days on earth. Ayca told us that there is much proof of this both in the bible and in local archives. Of course, as we all know, the bible recounts Christ's command to his beloved disciple, John, to take Mary and care for her after his death...and local records here show that John later came to live this area, presumably with the Blessed mother.
The site contained a small church, or chapel, adjacent to the little single-room house. This is a very holy site, and is revered by muslims and Christians alike (Mary is honored by muslims as the virgin mother, and they actually have much respect for Jesus, whom they revere as a prophet). There was a shrine with candles in the chapel, with soft recorded music of a cloistered choir of nuns singing latin playing in the background. The feeling of reverence and holiness in the house was incredible...people passed quietly as they viewed the chapel and house, and several of us knelt and prayed. Afterward, we bought some holy water for our prayer group, and a book that explained more about the house (and has nice photographs, which we could not take on our own), and our next site, Ephesus!
As we continued to the ancient city of Ephesus, we were shown a little castle-looking structure on top of a hilltop in the distance, which we were told was the prison in which Paul was incarcerated after attempting to preach in Ephesus. We stopped at the ruins site, and were told that only 15% of the city has been excavated...but this is hard to believe, as we saw acre after acre of an incredibly complex city, complete with public latrines, sewer system, irrigation system, wide roads, and impressive buildings. The library building and brothel were located across the street from each other, with an interesting tunnel that was discovered to run between the two...we learned that men of the city could tell their wives they were "just heading to the library"...and in a sense not lie...because they could enter the library, then sneak underneath to the house of ill-repute! My goodness... :-)
The last stop in the ruins was the huge amphitheatre or forum that held up to 25,000 people. It was here that Paul attempted to preach, and was thus arrested and imprisoned as a result. This is recounted, I believe, in the 19th chapted of Acts (check it out!). The Chorale stopped and sang one of our numbers just outside the forum before heading to our next stop.
We ended our stay in Turkey by attending a rug-making demonstration, which was (as usual) a marketing ploy arranged between Encore and the rug makers to get our business. After a semi-interesting demonstration, we were pressured by the sales folks, and 4 people in our group ended-up buying several thousand dollars-worth of Turkish rugs.
We were back to the ship for lunch, and by noon, we were on our way to the island of Patmos which was not only breathtakingly beautiful, but also full of more biblical history! This is the island to which Paul was exiled in 95 A.D., and also where he received his famous revelation from the Lord, and had a scribe record the vision in a cave. We were actually able to enter the cave and touch the writing table (carved into the cave wall), and touch the very spot where he purportedly had his vision! There is natually a shrine and chapel built around the cave now, and it took a great deal of twists and turns to wind our way down steps to reach it, but it was WELL worth it. Again, how awe-inspiring to walk in the footsteps of an apostle of Christ!
After the cave, we headed by bus to the upper-most point of the island, the monastery of St. John. This is a large Greek orthodox monastery and museum, dedicated to the apostle, and was established in the 11th century. We saw the church and monastery, as well as the impressive museum that contained artifacts from the church and island dating as far back as the 11th century...MOST fascinating. The island and surrounding water were sights to behold from the high mountain, and I got what I believe will be some great pictures to bring home. To end the port visit, our driver took us on an amazing drive down the backside of the mountain to some more residential areas of the sparsely-populated island, and we ended up back on the cruise ship by 6:30 p.m., just in time for our early seating for dinner at 7:00.
After dinner (Greek-themed, and we all wore whatever blue-and-white we could find), we attended the "Greek Night" show in the lounge/theater, and then came to the internet cafe to make this entry. What an INCREDIBLE day! Tomorrow, we visit Rhodes. More later!
The site contained a small church, or chapel, adjacent to the little single-room house. This is a very holy site, and is revered by muslims and Christians alike (Mary is honored by muslims as the virgin mother, and they actually have much respect for Jesus, whom they revere as a prophet). There was a shrine with candles in the chapel, with soft recorded music of a cloistered choir of nuns singing latin playing in the background. The feeling of reverence and holiness in the house was incredible...people passed quietly as they viewed the chapel and house, and several of us knelt and prayed. Afterward, we bought some holy water for our prayer group, and a book that explained more about the house (and has nice photographs, which we could not take on our own), and our next site, Ephesus!
As we continued to the ancient city of Ephesus, we were shown a little castle-looking structure on top of a hilltop in the distance, which we were told was the prison in which Paul was incarcerated after attempting to preach in Ephesus. We stopped at the ruins site, and were told that only 15% of the city has been excavated...but this is hard to believe, as we saw acre after acre of an incredibly complex city, complete with public latrines, sewer system, irrigation system, wide roads, and impressive buildings. The library building and brothel were located across the street from each other, with an interesting tunnel that was discovered to run between the two...we learned that men of the city could tell their wives they were "just heading to the library"...and in a sense not lie...because they could enter the library, then sneak underneath to the house of ill-repute! My goodness... :-)
The last stop in the ruins was the huge amphitheatre or forum that held up to 25,000 people. It was here that Paul attempted to preach, and was thus arrested and imprisoned as a result. This is recounted, I believe, in the 19th chapted of Acts (check it out!). The Chorale stopped and sang one of our numbers just outside the forum before heading to our next stop.
We ended our stay in Turkey by attending a rug-making demonstration, which was (as usual) a marketing ploy arranged between Encore and the rug makers to get our business. After a semi-interesting demonstration, we were pressured by the sales folks, and 4 people in our group ended-up buying several thousand dollars-worth of Turkish rugs.
We were back to the ship for lunch, and by noon, we were on our way to the island of Patmos which was not only breathtakingly beautiful, but also full of more biblical history! This is the island to which Paul was exiled in 95 A.D., and also where he received his famous revelation from the Lord, and had a scribe record the vision in a cave. We were actually able to enter the cave and touch the writing table (carved into the cave wall), and touch the very spot where he purportedly had his vision! There is natually a shrine and chapel built around the cave now, and it took a great deal of twists and turns to wind our way down steps to reach it, but it was WELL worth it. Again, how awe-inspiring to walk in the footsteps of an apostle of Christ!
After the cave, we headed by bus to the upper-most point of the island, the monastery of St. John. This is a large Greek orthodox monastery and museum, dedicated to the apostle, and was established in the 11th century. We saw the church and monastery, as well as the impressive museum that contained artifacts from the church and island dating as far back as the 11th century...MOST fascinating. The island and surrounding water were sights to behold from the high mountain, and I got what I believe will be some great pictures to bring home. To end the port visit, our driver took us on an amazing drive down the backside of the mountain to some more residential areas of the sparsely-populated island, and we ended up back on the cruise ship by 6:30 p.m., just in time for our early seating for dinner at 7:00.
After dinner (Greek-themed, and we all wore whatever blue-and-white we could find), we attended the "Greek Night" show in the lounge/theater, and then came to the internet cafe to make this entry. What an INCREDIBLE day! Tomorrow, we visit Rhodes. More later!
Cruising the Agean (Monday)
After a later-than-usual rising today, we ate breakfast, brought our bags onto the bus and bid a temportary farewell to our hotel in Athens. We headed for the port of Piraeus (adjacent to Athens) and boarded our cruise ship for our AGEAN CRUISE! We were pleasantly surprised by the cruise ship. Although not as large or ornate as the typical Royal Carribean or Carnival cruise vessels, it is comparable in comfort and ammenities - nice cabins, dining choices, lounges, pool, entertainment, etc. We set sail by 11:00 a.m., and sailed to our first port-of-call, the island of Mykonos. This island is what most people envision when they picture the Greek isles...it's the most cosmopolitan of the Greek islands, and its capital, "Hora," or "Mykonos Town," is built into the hillside above the port with fascinatingly-narrow and twisting alleyways. We discovered that the almost-haphazard feel of the twists and turns of the little cobbled streets were designed by plan - to thwart the scores of pirates who threatened the Mediterranean hundreds of years ago. Our guide even pointed-out the balconies that were shaped in such a way as to aid in the dumping of boiling water or oil onto the attacking pirates down below. The timing of this port visit could not have been better...we arrived close to dusk, and explored the picturesque resort town with a goreous sunset as a backdrop (I think the pictures we took did it justice). We passed through the white-washed houses and shops of "Little Venice" as we worked our way up to a line of ancient windmills that have been restored recently, and were used to grind corn and wheat centuries ago. While most of the tourists ventured back down the hill to the more crowed areas, Kris and I continued hiking upward through the more residential part of the town, and stopped at an internet cafe to check email, and got some refreshing gelato. We enjoyed "getting lost" inside the nooks and crannies of the place, and took our time strolling back to the ship before our deadline of 10:00 p.m. We had a late dinner onboard the boat and got to sleep late (right before midnight). The day was everything we could have hoped-for in a "perfect" Greek island tour, and more. This will be hard to be topped!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Singing for the Greeks
Sunday was definitely one of the highlights so far. We sang at the Greek Evangelical church, which is actually a reformed Presbyterian church. The reverend and people there were SO wonderfully nice...we were in the balcony, and they had a translator on staff who sat in a little media booth and translated, while we all listened on wireless headsets...I felt like we were U.N. ambassadors! We sang before and after the scripture reading, two pieces during communion, and one piece for a postlude. The ultimate compliment came from one of their resident musicians who told us that "Cantate Domino" sounded extremely European, and that our latin was "perfect"...."no American accent at all!" he told me. :-)
After the service, and lots of hugs and well-wishes goodbye to and from the people of the church, we changed and ventured across the street to the temple of Zeus for pictures (see the facebook postings). This is the largest of the temples in Greece, even bigger than the parthenon (which we'll see Friday), because, of course, Zeus was the father of all the Gods. We learned that the parthenon, though, is on the highest point in the city because it is the temple of Athena, for whom Athens is named.
We then had some free time back in the plaka district, and we got lunch on our own (Kris and our group followed Dimitra, our guide, and she led us to a little out-of-the-way gyro stand where we got the freshest, most DELICIOUS hand-carved gyros...yum!). Kris, Joyce, Will, and I chose to visit the national gardens adjacent to the parliament building, which was a nice afternoon spent...we saw lots of varieties of trees and other flora, and even a nice exotic birds containment.
We went back to the hotel and the five catholics on the trip freshened-up for mass. Dimitra arranged cabs for us to get to St. Dennis by 7pm, where there was an all-English mass...it was PACKED! It was interesting to find that it was mostly a philipino (sp?) and african crowd, but an all-english mass. They had a HUGE choir, very contemporary, with keyboard, guitar, and bass...but BEAUTIFUL singing...really lifted our souls. It was truly enjoyable. We were picked up by the bus, and the whole group then headed to dinner back in the plaka, where we visited a lively restaurant (VERY animated wait staff), who served us lots of traditional greek sample-platters...gyros was the main course...but lots of greek salad, feta (of course), french fries in olive oil (I'm getting addicted to these)...VERY nice.
We ended the evening by being taken to the highest point in the city (surprisingly, this is NOT the acropolis), where got a breathtaking view of the city at night, and I attempted to take some pictures, but they didn't come out very well; I may post some on facebook later. We got back to the hotel and turned-in by midnight, and are now up bright and early Monday morning, ready to head to our most anticipated portion of our trip, the cruise around the Agean Sea to the Greek Isles!
This may be my last post for a few days, because I don't think they have internet access on the ship; we may be pleasantly surprised, but stay tuned and I'll catch-up on Friday when we return to Athens. You all have a great week...we're excited to hear they've capped the oil leak!
After the service, and lots of hugs and well-wishes goodbye to and from the people of the church, we changed and ventured across the street to the temple of Zeus for pictures (see the facebook postings). This is the largest of the temples in Greece, even bigger than the parthenon (which we'll see Friday), because, of course, Zeus was the father of all the Gods. We learned that the parthenon, though, is on the highest point in the city because it is the temple of Athena, for whom Athens is named.
We then had some free time back in the plaka district, and we got lunch on our own (Kris and our group followed Dimitra, our guide, and she led us to a little out-of-the-way gyro stand where we got the freshest, most DELICIOUS hand-carved gyros...yum!). Kris, Joyce, Will, and I chose to visit the national gardens adjacent to the parliament building, which was a nice afternoon spent...we saw lots of varieties of trees and other flora, and even a nice exotic birds containment.
We went back to the hotel and the five catholics on the trip freshened-up for mass. Dimitra arranged cabs for us to get to St. Dennis by 7pm, where there was an all-English mass...it was PACKED! It was interesting to find that it was mostly a philipino (sp?) and african crowd, but an all-english mass. They had a HUGE choir, very contemporary, with keyboard, guitar, and bass...but BEAUTIFUL singing...really lifted our souls. It was truly enjoyable. We were picked up by the bus, and the whole group then headed to dinner back in the plaka, where we visited a lively restaurant (VERY animated wait staff), who served us lots of traditional greek sample-platters...gyros was the main course...but lots of greek salad, feta (of course), french fries in olive oil (I'm getting addicted to these)...VERY nice.
We ended the evening by being taken to the highest point in the city (surprisingly, this is NOT the acropolis), where got a breathtaking view of the city at night, and I attempted to take some pictures, but they didn't come out very well; I may post some on facebook later. We got back to the hotel and turned-in by midnight, and are now up bright and early Monday morning, ready to head to our most anticipated portion of our trip, the cruise around the Agean Sea to the Greek Isles!
This may be my last post for a few days, because I don't think they have internet access on the ship; we may be pleasantly surprised, but stay tuned and I'll catch-up on Friday when we return to Athens. You all have a great week...we're excited to hear they've capped the oil leak!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Footsteps of Paul!
After an extremely restful first night, we rose this morning (Saturday) at 6:00 (10:00pm Friday night for those of you back home), and after morning prayer, enjoyed a generous and extensive breakfast buffet in the hotel. Today's schedule was altered from our original itinerary, and due to planned demonstrations in the city of Athens, we did our trip to Corinth today instead of next Friday. Encore is really looking out for us...our city tour of Athens was planned for today, and with the current political unrest (mostly labor-related), the planned strike and demonstrations could have interrupted our plans. Actually, yesterday, some of you would have found it interesting that we were driven by the bank that was firebombed a few weeks ago that claimed several lives. The building definitely appeared to be gutted (charred), and one or 2 two of the large glass windows were replaced with boards. It broke all our hearts to see the rows and rows of flowers and momentos laid along the sidewalk outside the building from bereaved family members and citizens.
Anyway, today, we began our walk in the footsteps of Paul by traveling to Corinth! Our bus stopped at the archeological museum of Corinth (by way of a brief stop to see the famous Corinth Canal), which was adjacent to the ancient ruins area of the city. We were immediately impressed by the remains of the temple of Apollo; this is the tallest point of the ancient site, and is what most people visually associate with ancient Corinth.
Our step-on guide, Vicki, was wonderful. She took us inside the museum where we saw hundreds of artifacts from Greek, Byzantine, and Roman cultures dating back as far as 6th century B.C.! We have some wonderful pictures from the museum; remind us to show them to you. Once outside, we were taken to the ruins site (which was several acres of excavated buildings, some in pieces, some more intact), and we learned some wonderful history behind it. The whole city of Corinth was completely destroyed by the Roman general Leucius Mommius in 146 B.C., and then ordered to be reconstructed by Julius Ceasar a century later. This site we were on was basically the remains of a Roman forum with several temples, buildings, etc., the most visible, as I mentioned above, being the temple devoted to the god Apollo. However, what we were most impressed with was the area where Paul walked...and we were shown the land where the synagogue was estimated to have been (no building remained), where he addressed the Corinthians, these same people to whom he wrote his noted two letters later from prison. But more impressive was getting to stand in front of the remains of the Rostra of the Roman Forum, more commonly known as the "Bema," which was basically like our modern-day courthouse where Paul was arrested and prosecuted! Some of the pictures turned out really nice; I'll try to get them up on facebook if I get a little time later. Before leaving the site, our group joined hands in a circle and we prayed together; what an awesome experience!
After completing our visit to the rest of the ruins, we headed for lunch at Rigani's, a spot that was really out-of-the-way, and virtually unknown to tourists. Dimitra (our guide) and her husband have a summer home close to Corinth, and they eat at this taverna quite a bit and she was nice enough to get us a reservation. The food was absolutely spectacular; if you love (or even just LIKE a little bit!) Phoenicia Gourmet or Mr. Greek back home, you would LOVE this!! Kris had chicken seasoned with fresh lemon and rosemary (with olive-oil fried potatoes...YUM), and I had spicy meat sausages seasoned with cumin, served with homemade mashed potatoes, all covered in a red sauce.
After lunch, we visited a little resort town on the gulf of Corinth called Loutriki, and they had a beautiful boardwalk that extended the length of the pebble beach, and bordered numerous hotels and cafes (we stopped at one and had an afternoon gelato). We all strolled the boardwalk, took in the sounds, smells, and sights as mostly-Greek tourists enjoyed the little town with us. This was a nice, enjoyable way to spend the afternoon before loading the bus to return to the hotel.
We relaxed for a bit at the hotel, then departed for dinner at 7:30...sounds like all we do on this trip is EAT, doesn't it?? *I'M* certainly not complaining! Dinner was great...the name of the restaurant was "Gods' Restaurant"...notice the apostrophe AFTER the "s"...multiple gods (as in Greek gods...). :-) The food was traditional Greek fare, and out of this world...they brought us samplings of fried feta, olive and vegetable salad, fresh bread with olive oil, greek meatballs, you name it...followed with main entree's of mousaka, fresh cod, chicken or pork slouvaki (skewered meats, kabob-style)...oh my gosh, the list seemed endless!
We are now back at the hotel, preparing to turn-in...tomorrow will be a busy day...we sing tomorrow morning for mass at the greek evangelical church (actually a Presbyterian church, from what we understand!). Please forgive all my typos...I'm very tired and trying to finish quickly...more tomorrow!
Anyway, today, we began our walk in the footsteps of Paul by traveling to Corinth! Our bus stopped at the archeological museum of Corinth (by way of a brief stop to see the famous Corinth Canal), which was adjacent to the ancient ruins area of the city. We were immediately impressed by the remains of the temple of Apollo; this is the tallest point of the ancient site, and is what most people visually associate with ancient Corinth.
Our step-on guide, Vicki, was wonderful. She took us inside the museum where we saw hundreds of artifacts from Greek, Byzantine, and Roman cultures dating back as far as 6th century B.C.! We have some wonderful pictures from the museum; remind us to show them to you. Once outside, we were taken to the ruins site (which was several acres of excavated buildings, some in pieces, some more intact), and we learned some wonderful history behind it. The whole city of Corinth was completely destroyed by the Roman general Leucius Mommius in 146 B.C., and then ordered to be reconstructed by Julius Ceasar a century later. This site we were on was basically the remains of a Roman forum with several temples, buildings, etc., the most visible, as I mentioned above, being the temple devoted to the god Apollo. However, what we were most impressed with was the area where Paul walked...and we were shown the land where the synagogue was estimated to have been (no building remained), where he addressed the Corinthians, these same people to whom he wrote his noted two letters later from prison. But more impressive was getting to stand in front of the remains of the Rostra of the Roman Forum, more commonly known as the "Bema," which was basically like our modern-day courthouse where Paul was arrested and prosecuted! Some of the pictures turned out really nice; I'll try to get them up on facebook if I get a little time later. Before leaving the site, our group joined hands in a circle and we prayed together; what an awesome experience!
After completing our visit to the rest of the ruins, we headed for lunch at Rigani's, a spot that was really out-of-the-way, and virtually unknown to tourists. Dimitra (our guide) and her husband have a summer home close to Corinth, and they eat at this taverna quite a bit and she was nice enough to get us a reservation. The food was absolutely spectacular; if you love (or even just LIKE a little bit!) Phoenicia Gourmet or Mr. Greek back home, you would LOVE this!! Kris had chicken seasoned with fresh lemon and rosemary (with olive-oil fried potatoes...YUM), and I had spicy meat sausages seasoned with cumin, served with homemade mashed potatoes, all covered in a red sauce.
After lunch, we visited a little resort town on the gulf of Corinth called Loutriki, and they had a beautiful boardwalk that extended the length of the pebble beach, and bordered numerous hotels and cafes (we stopped at one and had an afternoon gelato). We all strolled the boardwalk, took in the sounds, smells, and sights as mostly-Greek tourists enjoyed the little town with us. This was a nice, enjoyable way to spend the afternoon before loading the bus to return to the hotel.
We relaxed for a bit at the hotel, then departed for dinner at 7:30...sounds like all we do on this trip is EAT, doesn't it?? *I'M* certainly not complaining! Dinner was great...the name of the restaurant was "Gods' Restaurant"...notice the apostrophe AFTER the "s"...multiple gods (as in Greek gods...). :-) The food was traditional Greek fare, and out of this world...they brought us samplings of fried feta, olive and vegetable salad, fresh bread with olive oil, greek meatballs, you name it...followed with main entree's of mousaka, fresh cod, chicken or pork slouvaki (skewered meats, kabob-style)...oh my gosh, the list seemed endless!
We are now back at the hotel, preparing to turn-in...tomorrow will be a busy day...we sing tomorrow morning for mass at the greek evangelical church (actually a Presbyterian church, from what we understand!). Please forgive all my typos...I'm very tired and trying to finish quickly...more tomorrow!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
