The next stop after Athens was Delphi, Greece.
We didn't actually spend the night there, just the afternoon,
but I am so thankful that we spent time there at all.
It is the site of the infamous
mythological Greek oracle
and the Pythian games,
the precursor to the modern Olympic games.
Delphi is nicknamed "the navel of the earth"
because it was the center of the ancient world.
All the ancient Greeks made pilgrimages to Delphi
to consult the oracle or to attend the Pythian games
or to participate in the many other competitions and celebrations
that occurred in Delphi during the times.
We really enjoyed our visit to Delphi.
There, we visited an ancient Greek museum and the ruins within the city.
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| Beautiful Delphi |
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| Antinous, Hadrian's lover in classical contrapposto stance |
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| Chariot Racer |
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| Classical Greek sculptures |
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| Jonathan playing with the Whisperer {The Whisper is the big box hanging from our necks and the earphone in our ears -- the guide speaks into the microphone and the whole group can hear. Nothing screams tourist more, right? But it helped SO much} |
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| We got it working!! Jonathan, not our tour guide, telling me about the vast beauty of Delphi. I think we were having a little too much fun with the simple pleasure of having the microphone in our possession. I wonder who else heard us in their earphone!?! |
Do these really need captions?
Alex and Jonathan took to the stage like fish in water.
Clearly, they are naturals!
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| In the 4th c Delphi theater |
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| Teachers being rebels -- you see that chain in front of the seats? Oh yeah, we climbed over it! |
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| At the top of the theater in Delphi |
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| Al at the top of the theater at Delphi |
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| Heading to the stadium!! |
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| Alex showing off his guns in front of the stadium. This thing could seat 6,500 spectators. It was mostly used for field events like shot put and discus. |
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| A dad on our trip, George, getting ready to take off in a sprint to the other end of the stadium! |
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| Jonathan and Alex in front of the stadium |
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| Al and me in front of the 5th c stadium |
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| Sitting in an ancient aqueduct in Delphi |
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| Ionic Column |
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| Penny, our FABULOUS tour guide. See, she is the rightful possessor of the Whisper microphone ;) |
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| Ruins of the Temple of Apollo This is where the oracle did her business |
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| This picture is not from Delphi but I don't know what city we were in. After leaving Delphi, we had to travel 6 hours to catch a night ferry to Italy. We were originally supposed to catch the ferry in Patras, Greece but the harbor shut down in protest to the government. So, we had to travel a long ways north. Meanwhile, we enjoyed the scenic drive through the countryside of Greece. It was truly breathtaking. These pictures were taken during a rest stop in some city in Greece. |
