Back in Tucson

We got home at midnight on Thursday night, and come Friday morning, we were reminded of why we like to travel in summer.  Tucson is rather hot!  There are bonuses of Tucson in summer... beautiful skies in the morning and evening, less traffic, no worries about tornados, low humidity, and time to catch up on all the indoor things we’ve put off during the rest of the year.  I still walk every morning, just earlier.  The morning sky today was magnificent!

Best of Summer 2019 Travel

1. Google maps offline - we couldn't travel abroad without them!  I set my Ipad  to airplane mode when we leave the US, and operate solely offline while navigating wherever we are.  Particularly in Greece, where many signs did not have an English translation or any sign at all, Google maps offline got us where we wanted to go every time!


2.  WiFi - Using airplane mode, I use WiFi in hotels and other lodging for internet.  Internet in all of Europe is faster than what we experience in the US, so I am also able to make phone calls using WiFi.


Favorites: 
Mallorca with Audrey, Lauren & Taylor - we explored a different beach each day, hiked on the ancient trail behind our house, explored nearby towns, and enjoyed meals outside on the patio - loved the time with family!

Time with childhood friend, Pam and her husband, Kenith, in France and Italy - they haven’t spent much time abroad and were willing to come along with us.

Lodging - Par la Rivière on the Dordogne

Restaurants - Every single meal was good, but particularly liked Cibus in Ceglie Messapica, Italy, Mezzaluna in Rhodes, and Valia Caldes in Kalambaka, Greece

Places -
Pylos, Greece - beautiful setting that we shared with the Emir of Qatar and his 404', $300 mil yacht
Delphi, Greece
St. Emilion, France
Matera, Italy
Lecce, Italy
Nafplion, Greece
Epidaurus Theater
Mycenae, Greece
Padirac Cave, France
Meteora, Greece
Navarino Castle, Greece, with its view of Voidokilia Beach below
Lascaux, France
La Roque Saint-Christophe troglodyte village, France
Cuevas de Arta, Mallorca
Palma, Mallorca
Stone walls of Mallorca and southern Italy
Trulli of southern Italy
Castles in Dordogne, France
Chateau Lamothe du Prince Noir - Black Prince’s hunting castle

Roads in Greece - wide and well paved, with long merge lanes, free parking everywhere

Surprises - southern Italy has been “found” and there were people and traffic everywhere.
Peloponnese and mainland Greece were primarily agricultural with little population, great roads, good food, and Oh So Cheap!  It seems as Europe did 25-30 years ago, with local people trying to help us everywhere, and restaurants often bringing an extra course “on the house,” such as an appetizer or dessert.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites visited -
Serra de Tramuntana mountains in Mallorca
City of Bordeaux
St. Emilion
Lascaux, La Roque Saint-Christophe
Rocamadour
Cadouin Abbey
Trulli of Alberobello
Matera
Delphi
Olympia
Mycenae & Tyrins
Mystras
Medeival City of Rhodes
Hosias Loukas Monastery
Meteora

Conversations enjoyed along the way -
Julie and Mathieu at their vineyard, Le Grande Clotte near St. Emilion
Cosimo at Masseria San Paulo Grande near Ostuni
Athenisa, her husband, and son at Hotel Dimitra near Patras
Alex and Rebecca, from Barcelona, in a boat in Padirac Cave, and we’ve emailed since
French couple we met in a monastery in Meteora, then talked at another monastery, and saw them again at the grocery
And many more!

Cars driven:  Papa is the driver, always!  I'm the navigator, always!
Peugeot 208 - favorite of trip, Skoda Citigo, Renault Clio, Toyota Ayo - least favorite.  All got good mileage, more than 45 mpg, with Skoda getting 60+ mpg.  Many cars we see in Europe are not imported to the US.

So few police sightings over 6 weeks, we can count them on one hand. 

Fresh organic foods - Europe doesn’t allow insecticides and other spraying of foods.  We had lots of fresh fruits and vegetables every day.

Walked 219.2 miles June 11-July 25, about 5 miles/day.

We enjoy the historic sites in much of the world, outside the US.  Much of the rest of the world developed to a higher degree thousands of years before Native Americans were settling into pueblos or Europeans came in the 1500’s, so they have more historic places to visit, longer traditions. 

We love traveling on our own.  We make the best of every situation, knowing that standards are not the same everywhere.  We often find much more luxurious bathrooms when traveling in France and Italy than we do in the US.  Meal times are a time to relax and enjoy the meal and conversation - in almost every place we travel outside the US - we don’t opt for fast food in the US and never abroad.
We enjoy travel in Europe without showing passports after landing first time - no more customs until back in US, regardless of number of countries traveled to.  We flew on Volotea and Ryan Air, on flights from Mallorca to Bordeaux, Bordeaux to Bari, Bari to Rhodes, and Rhodes to Athens.  The most expensive flight was $60.  Europeans travel because it is so cheap!

Particularly when traveling, we are aware that we, as people, are all the same, regardless of skin color, religion, language spoken, or profession.  “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” is what we try to live by, regardless of where we are.  We are not better  in any way than people everywhere else.  We are respectful of others wherever we are.  We try to never be “those ugly Americans.”  There are already plenty of them! 

Poseidon’s Temple

After visiting Hoisias Loukas Monastery on our last full day in Greece, we drove about three hours, past Athens to Sounion where we stayed in an Aegean front hotel, overlooking a pretty cove with several sailboats and an island nearby.  We also had a view of Poseidon’s Temple from our balcony.  “Poseidon’s Temple was erected in 444-440 BC, to honor Poseidon, god of the sea.  The time was during the ascendancy of the Athenian statesman Pericles, who also rebuilt the Parthenon in Athens.  Poseidon’s Temple is perched 200’ above the sea.  In 413 BC, during the Peloponnesian War against the Spartans, the Athenians fortified the site with a wall and towers to prevent it from falling into Spartan hands, which would have threatened Athens’ seaborne grain supply route.”

We went to Poseidon’s Temple just before sunset and walked all around the site.  It was a beautiful setting and a perfect end to our six weeks in Europe and last night in Greece on this trip.

Housias Loukas Monastery

While checking out of our Delphi hotel, the owner asked where we were going next.  He recommended we stop at Housias Loukas Monastery, on our way back to the Athens area.  We did just that, and Hosias Loukas impressed us!  It is situated in a rural agricultural area on the slopes of Mount Helicon, about 35 km from Delphi, and surrounded by thousands of acres of olive trees.  It was founded in the early 10th century AD by the hermit, Housais Loukas.  St. Loukas was a hermit who died on 7 February 953.  It is believed the Monastery’s Church of Panagia was constructed from 959-963.

The main shrine of the monastery is the tomb of St. Loukas, located in the Katholikon, dated at 1011-12.  The Katholikon is the earliest domed-octagon church and it contains the best preserved complex of mosaics from the period of the Macedonian Renaissance.  They are stunning with tiny pieces of colored stone and metals, the size of a small finger nail, and covering ceilings and walls of the church.  A crypt is underneath the church, and contains frescoes considered “the most complete program of wall paintings surviving from the Middle Byzantine period.  They were mostly painted soon after 1048 AD.  The Katholikon is connected to a second church, the most ancient one, the Church of the Virgin Mary, dated to the middle of the 10th century, and dedicated to Housias Loukas. It is considered a masterpiece of Byzantine architecture.  Housias Loukas Monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Delphi

We left Meteora by mid morning and drove about four hours south to Delphi.  We arrived by 2 in the afternoon and checked into our hotel.  We talked with the man at reception and he advised us to have lunch, then go to the Delphi Museum, then on to the ruins, open until 8 pm.  We took his advice and enjoyed Delphi with very few other people.

Delphi sits about 2100’ above sea level, on a cliff with mountains in one direction and the Sea of Corinth in the other.  It is a very dramatic location.  We sat on the patio of a local family’s restaurant, with that big view, while eating lunch.  A breeze was blowing and it was beautiful!

Delphi is a small town and within 1000m of the entrance to Delphi Archaeology Museum.  We arrived at the entrance by 4 and were glad we saw the museum first.  It helped put the story of Delphi in perspective.

Delphi “also called Pytho, is famous as the ancient sanctuary that grew rich as the seat of Pythia, the oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world.  Ancient Greeks considered Delphi to be the center of the world, marked by the stone monument known as the omphalos or navel.  Delphi occupies an impressive site on the southwestern slop of Mount Parnassus overlooking a coastal plain.  It is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site by having had a phenomenal influence in the ancient world, as evidenced by the rich monuments built there.  In myths dating to the classical period of Ancient Greece (510-323 BC), Zeus determined the site of Delphi, by sending two eagles flying from the eastern and western extremities, and the path of the eagles crossed over Delphi where the omphalos was found.

Delphi served as the major site during classical times for the worship of the god Apollo.  It was a post-Mycenaean settlement of the late 9th century BC.  Apollo’s sacred precinct in Delphi was a Panhellenic sanctuary, where every four years, starting in 586 BC, athletes from all over the Greek world competed in Pythian Games, one of the four Panhellenic Games, precursors of the Olympics.  Apollo spoke through his oracle, an older woman with a blameless life.  She would speak from a tripod seat over an opening in the earth with mighty fumes rising.”

The site of Delphi was captured and recaptured over time.  It suffered earthquakes, fires, and looting. The Romans were fascinated by Delphi and Emperor Hadrian visited the site twice.  By the 4th century AD, Delphi had acquired the status of a city.  Despite the rise of Christianity across the Roman Empire, the oracle remained a religious center through the 4th century AD.  The site was abandoned in the 6th or 7th century AD.  A severe earthquake in 1500 caused considerable damage.  The English became interested in Delphi in the late 1700’s and Lord Byron visited in 1809.  Reconstruction began in the 19th century.  Most of the ruins visible today are from the 6th century BC.”

Visiting Delphi brought into perspective so many places we’ve seen over many years and over the past two weeks, that were supportive of Delphi back in the 7th-5th centuries BC, when they were erecting monuments - “treasuries” at Delphi, to honor Apollo.  The cities of Argos, Nemea, Athens, Marseille, Knidos, Ephesus, and Miletus - three ruined cities in Turkey, erected beautiful and very expensive monuments at Delphi. Delphi was an extraordinary place over 2500 years ago.  We couldn’t have enjoyed our visit to Delphi more!

Cave Hermitages and Monasteries

Last evening, we walked about Meteora, fascinated not just by the many monasteries but also by the dozens of hermitages built in caves hundreds of years ago.  “Cave-dwelling asceticism in Meteora was an early form of monasticism, practiced by hermits or recluse monks.  They created small places of prayer inside the caves that served as their hermitages, with the first monastic community formed in the twelfth century.  During the 14th and 15th centuries, the hermits ascended to higher rock pillars, with the help of stakes, ropes, and ladders.”  We woke up this morning and went exploring again after breakfast.  The Hermitage of St. Nicolas Bandovas dates from 1387 and is a 6 story building inside a cave.  There are hermitages all over Meteora, and some low enough you can see inside them.  The high ones are fascinating, to think how the hermits got to them and lived there.

Meteora in the Morning

We were up early and left our hotel after a huge breakfast, by 8:15.  We drove up into the rocks, under clear skies, and enjoyed every second of the views of six monasteries on top of the rocks.  We first toured the Holy Monastery of Varlaam, the second biggest of the monasteries.  It was founded in the 14th century and completed in 1541-42.  It is considered the most elegant of the monasteries.  Next we toured The Great Meteoron Monastery, the largest and the oldest of the monasteries at Meteoro. The founding of this monastery, in the early 1300’s, is considered the beginning of the organized monasticism in Holy Meteora.  The churches in both monasteries were stunning, with every inch covered in painted scenes from Christ’s life.  We enjoyed the views from both monasteries and drove around the high road to enjoy seeing all six in morning light.  Meteoro is a beautiful place.

Drive to Meteora

We drove about four hours today.  We started just south of Patras, the third largest city in Greece, and on the north coast of the Peloponnese, on the Ionian Sea.  We drove over the Rio-Antirrio Bridge just north of Patras, one of the world’s longest multi-span cable-stayed bridges and longest of the fully suspended type at 7808’.  The Rio-Antirrio Bridge crosses the Gulf of Corinth linking the town of Rio on the Peloponnese peninsula to Antirrio on mainland Greece.  It opened in August 2004.

We drove through beautiful mountains, most in the range of 7500’-8500’ along the northern coast of mainland Greece and into the center of the country.  The mountains and lakes we passed along the way reminded us of the Austrian Alps.  Absolutely beautiful!  Note:  photos taken from car window as we rolled down the road.

We arrived at our destination, Meteora, by 1:30 in the afternoon.  Meteora is a rock formation in central Greece hosting one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries.  The six (of an original twenty four) monasteries are built on immense natural pillars and rounded boulders that dominate the local area.  Meteora is located near the town of Kalambaka at the northwestern edge of the Plain of Thessaly.  We rested a bit after lunch, then went on a drive around Meteora to see the monasteries.  The sun was not in the best position for good photos, so we’re going back tomorrow morning.  Still, we loved seeing the monastery locations on top of the boulders, along with dozens, probably hundreds of hermit cliff dwellings in the rocks.