13 December 2025
Today, a change of pace. After breakfast, we walked to Syntagma and through the National Garden. We hope to see more green, fewer rocks, receive a little edification, and explore the more modern side of Athens.
(more…)12-13 December 2025
So many ruins, so many rocks – the Ancient Agora and the lively area of Monastriaki Square lie below the north side of the Acropolis. More carved columns and ancient history. I think, I might be reaching my limit for columns and rock foundations. Perhaps we beseech Dionysus for some early relief.
(more…)12 December 2025
Fortified with our usual breakfast of Greek yogurt and fruit, we face a full day filled with rocks, columns, more rocks, and ancient ruins.
Everywhere one looks, the city is decked out for the holidays.
Athens is a sprawling metropolis of around 3.2 million people, making it home to nearly one-third of Greece’s entire population. The city stretches from the base of surrounding hills all the way to Piraeus on the Saronic Gulf. However, the city municipality consists of about 650k. Its modern life moves among layers of more than 3,000 years of history. Its core, centered around the Acropolis, is compact enough for walking.
(more…)11 December 2025
Our final day in the Peloponnese begins with a visit to iconic ancient rock ruins before a stop-over to see a big cut into solid rock accomplished by human engineering, not gods. We load up and head east.
Our Swiftie zips into the peaceful, green Greek countryside. Undaunted, fearless, scoffing at these crazy Greek drivers. “Eat my dust,” declares Swiftie.
Swiftie believes Stop signs indicate the need to stop. White lines indicate road lanes.
All those mini-chapels along the roadsides hint at the number of foolish drivers who passed cars while going uphill and around blind corners. Generally, two lane roads indicate just that – two lanes. Swiftie refuses to be intimidated.
Our destination is simple and less than 15 miles north. We visit two remarkable sites that lie not far apart, yet span centuries of Greek history—the Heraion of Argos, one of Greece’s oldest sanctuaries dedicated to the goddess Hera and the legendary citadel of Mycenae, home to Agamemnon and the heroes of Homer. It promises a day where myth and stone, legend and landscape, all converge under a bright Greek sun.
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