Phil at the track & field stadium of the "original" Olympic games
Marders in Greece: Day 8
Olympia
We woke up this Saturday morning to sunshine and mild temperatures. What a welcome change from the dreary, cool weather of yesterday! After enjoying our breakfast and packing up the motor coach, we took a short trip to the historical center of Olympia, home of the ancient Olympic games. This was the weather that we had hoped for our entire trip. It was cool and sunny. The red buds were in bloom and the wild flowers were filling the grounds of the archeological site with color. Our guide, Helen took us into the museum where she gave us a very nice escorted tour through the highlights of the museum. She described how this Olympia was erected by the Greeks in 776 BC as a tribute to Zeus. It was the local leadership's view to start these games as a friendly competition between the city states of ancient Greece. In the museum we saw artifacts unearthed from this site including pottery and sculptures from the very oldest and most primitive to those from hundred of years later showing very fine and beautifully detailed art that we learned was often copied by the Romans and then by the Italians like Michelangelo during the renaissance. Incredibly, they permitted photography albeit without flash. After visiting the museum, Helen escorted us on a tour of the grounds. Here we saw the ruins of all the surrounding structures including that which housed a giant statue of Zeus once considered one of the 7 Wonders of the ancient world. The highlight of the walking tour, of course, was seeing the original track and field where the ancient Olympic games took place during those times. To this day, the Olympic flame is lit here every 4 years and carried by foot to the site of the new games. Last week, when we were on our Greek island cruise, the flame ceremony took place on this very spot and began its journey to Beijing, China. After visiting this site, we had lunch and made a 5 hour drive northeast to our next hotel in Delphi. During this drive, we crossed the Corinth bay (at Patras)) on a new suspension bridge and saw some breathtaking scenery, including more snow-capped peaks. I never thought that we would see such mountains during our visit to Greece. We arrived at our destination in Delphi around 5 PM. Delphi is a high mountain village and historical site. We strolled through this small town that reminded us of a mountain sky resort in Colorado.
See slideshow for this section by clicking HERE
Marders in Greece: Day 8
Olympia
We woke up this Saturday morning to sunshine and mild temperatures. What a welcome change from the dreary, cool weather of yesterday! After enjoying our breakfast and packing up the motor coach, we took a short trip to the historical center of Olympia, home of the ancient Olympic games. This was the weather that we had hoped for our entire trip. It was cool and sunny. The red buds were in bloom and the wild flowers were filling the grounds of the archeological site with color. Our guide, Helen took us into the museum where she gave us a very nice escorted tour through the highlights of the museum. She described how this Olympia was erected by the Greeks in 776 BC as a tribute to Zeus. It was the local leadership's view to start these games as a friendly competition between the city states of ancient Greece. In the museum we saw artifacts unearthed from this site including pottery and sculptures from the very oldest and most primitive to those from hundred of years later showing very fine and beautifully detailed art that we learned was often copied by the Romans and then by the Italians like Michelangelo during the renaissance. Incredibly, they permitted photography albeit without flash. After visiting the museum, Helen escorted us on a tour of the grounds. Here we saw the ruins of all the surrounding structures including that which housed a giant statue of Zeus once considered one of the 7 Wonders of the ancient world. The highlight of the walking tour, of course, was seeing the original track and field where the ancient Olympic games took place during those times. To this day, the Olympic flame is lit here every 4 years and carried by foot to the site of the new games. Last week, when we were on our Greek island cruise, the flame ceremony took place on this very spot and began its journey to Beijing, China. After visiting this site, we had lunch and made a 5 hour drive northeast to our next hotel in Delphi. During this drive, we crossed the Corinth bay (at Patras)) on a new suspension bridge and saw some breathtaking scenery, including more snow-capped peaks. I never thought that we would see such mountains during our visit to Greece. We arrived at our destination in Delphi around 5 PM. Delphi is a high mountain village and historical site. We strolled through this small town that reminded us of a mountain sky resort in Colorado.
See slideshow for this section by clicking HERE
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