Ancient Greece in Four Days

On Monday, September 20, we found ourselves on a four day bus tour with 48 strangers. The guide was a no-nonsense, practical Greek woman who was leading a bi-lingual tour for French and English speaking tourists. We were the only people on the bus from the United States. Our first night we sat at dinner with a couple from Australia and a couple from Belgium. We became fast friends with Don and Ros from Sydney. Even meeting up with them again in Santorini for a lovely sunset and a good dinner together.

Each day on the bus trip had a rigorous schedule that included amazing ancient sites and a tour of some touristy shop with overpriced Greek souvenirs. Our first day included a stop at the Corinth Canal, the Theatre of Epidauros, Nafplion, the Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae and a ceramic's factory. (That is me center stage in the theatre.)

Day two was Olympia and it's museum, the new Rion-Antirion Bridge, a store specializing in Greek wines and the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia at Delphi.

Day three was the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi and the museum, the memorial to the Battle of Thermoplyles and an icon factory.

Day four was the Monasteries of Meteora and a fast trip back to Athens because of the truck strike.

When I looked at the itinerary ahead of time all I thought about was how it included the major things I wanted to see. I never processed what it would feel like to experience that many incredible places in four days. One woman on our bus told me that she never needed to see another archeological site in her life. I had the opposite reaction. I wished for more time at each location. I wished I could wander around in each museum so that I had a better understanding of what each site would have looked like when it had all its statues, pillars, and friezes. I wanted to imagine the chariots riding through the gate at Mycenae; the athletes entering the stadium at Olympia; and travelers sharing their questions with the oracle at Delphi. I wanted time to be overwhelmed by the fact that some of what I was seeing at Mycenae was constructed in the 17th century B.C. I got a taste of Ancient Greece and I wanted to savor it.