Delphi

Greek yogurt and pastries fortified us for our excursion to Delphi, one of the most important sights of Ancient Greece. Our drive took us near the location of the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) and past modern Thiva, which was built on top of the ancient city of Thebes. If we stopped at every historic location, we wouldn't get very far in a day in Greece!

On our way to Delphi, we stopped at a rest stop for a short break and got to see one of the empty cotton trailers up close. After asking the driver's permission, some of the group plucked a piece if cotton off the trailer and took a picture with it (and returned it to the trailer so that the US customs sniffer dogs wouldn't think that we were trying to import cotton).

While the road to get here offered beautiful scenery, the remains of Apollo's Temple at Delphi are breathtaking. Maria guided us through the ruins in the same sequence a visitor looking for an answer from the Oracle would have taken over 2,500 years ago. It was a very moving way to visit a place that factored so prominently in Ancient Greek life. The adjacent museum held elegant sculptures and other artifacts associated with the excavation of the site. 

On our return to Athens, we stopped for a brief photo stop in the town of Arachova, which just happened to be getting ready to greet the Olympic torch as it traveled through Greece before the official  hand off to Russia tomorrow in Athens. We unfortunately couldn't stay to see the torch pass by, as we still had most of the drive back to Athens ahead of us, including Friday night traffic.

We've enjoyed our stay at the Zafolia Hotel here in Athens. The breakfast buffet offered something for everyone and the dinner buffet allows us to sample unfamiliar foods. Tomorrow we take an overnight trip to Ancient Olympia before coming back to Athens to get ready for our cruise on Monday.