Packing with the Pagáns

The Acropolis, the hill high atop Athens. The Parthenon is the actual building. Over the years it has been a temple, a mosque and a church! It was started in 447 BC Pillars in The Temple of Zeus Arch of Hadrian. It marked the passage between Greek Athens on one side and Roman Hadrianopolis on the other side. Caryatids on Acropolis. Caryatids are just building pillars that are shaped like females. Parthenon Many beautiful church's in Athens Looking up at the Acropolis at night So many cute alleys with restaurants. Good food in Greece Athens as seen from the Acropolis. Meteora is the name of amazing rock formations in central Greece. Meteora in Greece means "suspended in air"... and so it was! It is known not only for it's unique geology but for the precipitously built Eastern Orthadox monasteries. Six of the original 24 are built on huge n...

Santorini was form by a volcano exploding over 80,000 yrs ago..making it the only inhabited caldera. The first settlement on Santorini was in 3600 BC.  In the 1930's a cholera outbreak hit Santorini. People painted their houses with a limestone wash..which was thought to have disinfectant properties. Then in the 1960's a law was passed that Santorini homes must be painted white and blue to represent the Greek flag and patriotism. Now, people keep up the tradition and it makes for beautiful views..especially in the town of Oia. The alleys and streets were full of shops and vendors. We all laughed at these bottle openers that were EVERYWHERE. But Russ seemed to enjoy them a bit too much! 🤣 Windblown on the black beach Donkeys coming up the steps from the beach. We opted to take the cable car..felt bad for the donkeys! Sunset in Santorini..looking at out ship The steps up the hillside at dusk. Now you...

Such a beautiful city..Venice. It was PACKED with tourists ( like us) but so amazing. Ambulance rushing with siren on Coolest doorbells we saw in an alley Our obligatory gondola ride. Luckily we did it away from the high touristy places. Sitting watching the view at our hotel's boat taxi dock. That's the crowds I'm talking about! Clock tower in Piazza San Marco. Amazing how it keeps a digital time ( half in roman numerals) Look closely and you'll see it's  12:50  ( XII    50) Piazza San Marco is one of the lowest points in Venice. It's almost at the same level as the Venetian lagoon.  During high tides water bubbles out of the sewer drains. At low tide it empties out. Not much leeway for flooding! MARCO POLO'S house..as seen from our gondola. From the 1200's. Bye to Venice and on to Ravenna, Italy Rav...