Minoan Pottery

Here is a small part of the Minoan pottery collection at the Iraklion Archeological Museum.  I never tire of visiting these pots.  The pottery is spectacular, in my opinion.  My favorite is the pitcher with the leaves climbing upwards.

Stone rather than clay.  The Minoans carried this type of vessel in processions.

Stone rather than clay.  

Also stone.

My favorite.

Sweethearts 2

Steve and Cheryl were our second set of sweethearts.  Suzanna's brother and our sister in law.  We met them in Iraklio at our regular hotel.  I was so exciting to drive to Iraklio to meet them.  It's a beautiful drive.  I don't know how many times we have taken the road along the coast, but I never tire of it.  Maybe Grier does though, he is doing the driving most of the time!  The Iraklio archeological museum is now open with all the new exhibits.  When Lena and Aaron were here in April parts of the Minoan collections was still closed, but by the time Steve and Cheryl got here in May it was open.


Steve and Grier went for a hike down the Irene Gorge to Sougia.  Cheryl and I had the task of going to Sougia and sitting in a taverna across from our hotel with our feet up sipping cold drinks and reading.  We then went to the bottom of the trail to another taverna and met them there where we had lunch.  Very exhausting for us.  Steve and Grier said said that at one point they started hearing a loud buzzing sound that continued for the rest of the walk.  It was coming from on top of the cliffs on either side of the canyon.   At first they couldn't figure out what was making the sound.  It was, Bees, millions of honey bees.  Another one of the spectacular Cretan food products.

Steve and Cheryl in front of a 1,000 year old church in a small mountain village.

Hotel balcony in Agia Gallini.

Irini Gorge

Previli Monastery platia wi bell tree.

Old Previli Monastery

Archway in the old Previli Monastery.

Inside the old Previli Monastery.

House with Bougainvillea and Mulberry trees across from the small old church.

Lunch at the Monastery Restaurant in Chania.

Looking north along the peninsula north of Kolumbari.

Monastery at Kolumbari.

Mountakn village of Loutraki.

Hikers at the trail head of the Agia Irini Gorge.

Steve and Cheryl in the evening at Paleo Chora south coast of Crete.

Steve taking a picture of Paleo Chora.

Beach at Paleo Chora.

Cheryl feeding a donkey at a taverna rest stop on the west coast.

Good bye donkey!

Various Vantastic Visits, Sweethearts 1

This naturally formed rock at Delphi marks the center of the universe.  Really?!

This is the temple at Delphi where the Oracle was located.

Theater at Delphi.

Our first visitors this spring were Lena and Aaron.  We got to keep them with us for about three weeks.  They were here over Easter and we were invited to go to Ioninna  in northern Greece to spend Easter with family.  Although the weather didn't cooperate and was rainy we had a wonderful lamb cooked in the oven rather than on the outdoor spit.  We drove to Ioninna and stopped at Delphi on the way there and Athens on the way back.

We went on a road trip on Crete when we got back.  Went to Iraklio and then to the south coast where Lena and Aaron hiked from Chora Sfakia to Loutro.  They really liked Loutro and thought it would be a good ida to just say there for a week or so, but we only had one day.

This is the Stoa of Atalos at the Agora in Athens.  It was reconstructed in the early 1900s using the same type of materials and methods that were originally used.  The columns were not fluted for about the bottom 6 feet on public buildings so that people could lean on them comfortably.  Only the temple columns were fluted all the way down.  

Sweethearts

Stoa of Atalos

At the base of the Athens Acropolis on the north side is small neighborhood that was built by immigrants from the Cycladic Islands.  So this neighborhood looks like what you might see on Santorini.  The picture below is of this same neighborhood.

This is in Athens and is an interesting example of the tradition of painting every thing with a fresh coat of whitewash just prior to Easter.  Look closely at the sidewalk.  It seems like it would have been easier to move the mother cycle than to white wash around it.  This makes me think there must be a story here somewhere.

Grier, Lena, and Aaron getting on the ferry to come home from Athens to Crete.

View of Piraus from the ferry.

On the ferry deck.

This is Loutro on the south coast of Crete.  You can hike here or get here by boat.

Lena heading down for a swim.

And Aaron too.

Little fish.

Still in Loutro.

Loutro and guess who.

This is a fisherman setting his nets.

Here's the ferry that we rode back to Chora Sfakia.

Back to the Athens ferry.  Here's what our cabin looked like.