Our Grand Tour

Herodius Atticus.  A wealthy benefactor to Athens and Marathon. He was born in Marathon. His bust is in Marathon museum. We had an interesting day today. We knew there were sites and museums to see but were reluctant to hire a car. So we hired Costas and his shiny yellow taxi.  He has lived in Marathon all his life and drove us around. We saw the battlefield where 1000 Athenians held off 'the hords of Persian barbarians '     and the tomb where 192 Athenians were buried. (Above) We went to the ancient Helladic tombs 4500 to 5000 years old. Only discovered in 1970s. A lot of artifacts were found and preserved in the Archeological Museum. The items are jars, pots, frying pans etc. Plus they have statues etc from the battle site. The Archeological Museum also had other finds from the immediate area. It was a small but beautiful museum. As part of our tour Costas pointed out his house which backs on to the starting point of the yearly Marathon. 50,000 people p

This is our beach. We are staying at Marathon Beach on the Golden Coast. We arrived by bus from Athens on Saturday.  It was supposed to take an hour and a half but we over shot our stop and had to get another bus back! Our conductor seemed to take it personally.  He put us off the bus and demanded that we 'WAIT There!' I will try to get day time views of the resort but so far we've been relaxing. This is a shot from the taverna where we ate tonight. I had fresh anchovies which are not at all like the salty preserved ones. Marathon is (obviously) 26 miles from Athens and a very  Greek holiday resort.  We plan to hire a taxi to  visit key sites later in the week. We've been swimming . The sea is lovely once you're in but stoney when walking in.

The search for the ideal. This was a room of philosophers heads at the museum.  All dead of course though Peter says he's not dead just standing  amongst other great thinkers.... This looks like a dance but is actually the guards outside the Parliament building. They change every hour in the mornings. They stamp their feet down with a snapping sound. After this stamping display we took ourselves off to the National Archeological Museum. It was a lot more interesting than it sounds! There was an enormous amount of fabulous items. Lots of beautiful gold which was only dug up in 1800s by a German who immediately donated it to the Greek King. He hoped it would form a museum which would bring wealth and people to Greece. (Unlike Lord Elgin, who we were told in a video yesterday 'looted' key marbles by ' chiselling them off'!) Obviously there were lots of wonderful statues. This is Poseidon. And fab artifacts from the bronze age Cycla

So here we are in Athens and this is us visiting the Acropolis. It's been a very hot day and although I didn't bring an umbrella my hat is almost as big as one. The actual site is very large and extensive and conservation work is on going. There is also a newish museum nearby full of statues etc. We got in half price as we are still 'Europeans '. Our ticket gave access to several archeological sites so we've also seen The library of Hadrian (1600 books) This photo is for Gigi. We saw a few of these little creatures moving slowly around. Do you know what it is Gigi? I'm sure you do. The Greek Agora This shows the inside of the Stoa which was recreated by a US organisation and now holds a museum. It is vast. Peter says it was where people gathered for trade learning and socialising. The Roman Forum which was less restored so we didn't go in. The Plaka area was fascinating (to me) with little winding alleys and shops. Really

We have enjoyed our time in Bologna. Our hotel oozed Italian style. We fitted in well! I have taken photos of breakfast cakes for Sebastian.  Today there was a choice of 6. Sebastian you should have been born an Italian. The cakes were in addition to everything else including cooked to order omelettes. After breakfast we made our way to the train station.  We had a 6 hour journey to Bari and were surrounded by chattering Italian ladies for most of the way. We saw the coast of Puglia from the window. We have had a lovely holiday here before in September.  The huge beaches were almost desserted although we know the temperature is just right and the sea still warm. Bari is very different to Bologna.  It is not as cosmopolitan although its a port town. It has an ancient heart to it with narrow streets where people live almost on the street , putting tables outside their doors and keeping the polished marble stone clean.  Turn around and you are in front of a church. 

This was our ferry to Patras. It took on an enormous number of large lorries and some cars. Not a lot of foot passengers.   We had a large cabin  this time,  designed for 4 people so we didn't have to use bunk beds.  The bathroom was still tiny and you could  have sat on the loo to have a shower again. (Sorry this is Sebastian information!) The voyage took about 16 hours. We then had to catch a bus from the train station to another station to get to Athens. There's no money to upgrade the railways.  First impressions of Athens are how run down it is , with holes in the pavements and roads.  Poor old Greece.