We visited Greece a few years ago but this trip took in some places we missed that time.
We came in from the north through the Thessalonian countryside.
The hotel had a bouquet of these thirty three Thessalonian thistles.  Say that fast three times.


Past Mount Olympus off in the distance.


And occasional animals in the fields.


Platamonas Castle built in the early 1200s is sited on a low hill between us and the sea.


We went from plains to more rugged terrain.


Our first views of Meteora with its 24 monasteries (only 6 are active) perched on the tops of these natural stone columns.


When we climbed to their level we found  gardens hanging on the edge of sheer drops of up to 1800 ft (550 m).


The view is spectacular.


There are four monasteries in this picture


One we visited had been a monastery but was now used as a nunnery.
The women in our group were given long skirts to wear if their legs weren't covered to the nuns' satisfaction.
Another great garden with fragrant old style roses.


The building contractors on our trip agreed that these could not be built today.
The labor safety laws wouldn't permit it.


We found that there were sometimes bridges from cliff to column.
 

Or in one case a cable car is used to deliver supplies.


We were surprised to run into our guide from our previous Greek trip.
She is on the left.


We saw some of Greece's flat land as we proceeded southeast.
Of course we were on winding roads in the hills so we could get a good view of it.
You will often see these little shrines along the road.
They may be at the site of an accident to honor someone who died or give thanks because no one did.


One of the most famous battles of antiquity was the battle of Thermopylae.
There a small band of Greeks held off the Persian army that outnumbered them by nearly 1000 to 1 (according to modern research) while the rest of the army fell back to defend their cities.
Older reports referenced in the plaque at the site gives even more overwhelming odds.


A couple of views of the valley of Phocis where Zeus had determined was the center of the earth, where Gaia's navel was located.
It was there that the Oracle of Delphi held court.


A visit to the Oracle  may give some valuable information if you are careful how you ask your question and interpret the result.
One famous prophecy was given to Croesus of Lydia (circa 546 BCE) who asked if he should invade Persia. Her reply was that if he did invade a mighty empire would be destroyed. Croesus thought this meant he would be victorious and invaded leading to the fall of his own empire.  Clearly her prophecy could be interpreted more than one way.

The Oracle apparently had the day off so our questions remain unanswered.

The treasury, front and back view.
It was clearly the most well preserved of the structures at the site.


The Temple of Athena was below us near the valley floor.


The Cyclopean wall according to myth was built by one eyed giants.


The amphitheater with an orator coming to the stage.


The stadium could seat more than 4000 but there was a light turnout when we were there.


As we headed toward Athens we noticed a number of large and small solar farms.


We walked to dinner and our guide pointed out two huge hanging baskets of bougainvillea.
I don't think any of us would have missed them.


A night of good food, music, dancing, and wine ensued.


On the way back to the hotel we passsed below the Parthenon.


The next day we set sail on the Agean Sea.


First stop Mykonos.
Picture perfect, just like the postcards.


Another fabulous dinner. Hard to imagine it being any fresher.


Sunset and into the evening.


We had visited Kusadasi, Patmos and Heraklion on a prior trip so we passed on the whirlwind shore excursions

  

And enjoyed some of the amenities of the ship.


As we were leaving Patmos it was clear that it deserved a picture.


We had also visited Santorini but it was one that we really enjoyed and we were anxious to see more of it
Here the ship is approaching the entrance to the lagoon that was created when the volcano blew the center of the island away in 1628 BCE.
                     

That isn't snow on the cliff it is the white buildings of the town of Thira.


A tall ship graced the harbor and ours as well.


You can walk up the switchback trail or if you wish ride a donkey to the top.
It is 1.6 miles and an elevation gain of nearly 400 feet.
We chose to ride.


We reached the top.


This young lady doesn't have extra arms her bridesmaid is standing directly behind.

See, there she is.


We made the descent via cable car.
Considerably smoother than the ascent.


Back on the ship and setting sail.


Evening libations with some of the mob.
Did I mention that everyone else on the tour was Australian including our guide.


Back to Athens and the top of the acropolis where we looked down on an amphitheater, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus.


The Temple of Hephaestus


The rock where the Athenian Ekklesia (assembly) met to govern the city state.
Or possibly it is the other one, depends on which guide knew what she was talking about.


Restoration by careful hand work and high tech evaluation.


The cannon is not likely to be restored.
It seems to have exploded when a cannonball lodged in the barrel as it was fired.


Porch of the maidens or the Caryatids, is on the southwest side of the Erechtheum.


Heavy equipment required for some restoration work


The Parthenon.


If you can manage to ignore the people popping in and out of existance and look between the columns at the front you may get a 3D effect.


Another view of Athens and the hills and sea beyond.


A stadium built for the Olympics held here in 2004.


A couple of shops with assorted antiques on display.
The instruments are sort of French horns, sort of Tenor horns but not quite either.


Hadrian's gate.


The Corinth canal and Gulf of Corinth


At the other end of the gulf there is the  Rion-Antirion cable stayed bridge.
Its design is remarkable because it spans an active earthquake fault and should be able to withstand relative motion of several meters.
All the more amazing because the bases of the four pylons rest on poorly consolidated loose sediment with bedrock 500 meters below the sea bed.


Next leg of our journey was an overnight ferry ride to Italy.


Our port of departure.

Another view of the bridge and sunset over the Adriatic Sea.


There was a school group on board that I introduced to several puzzles and tricks.
Here they are working on the Eight Queens Problem.


If you would like to see pictures from Our previous Greek trip: click here. 
Be sure to come back to see more of the other countries we visited on this one.