Tuesday
So the trip began promptly at 7:30a on Tuesday. We had our third stop at the Corinth Canal, which never ceases to be wonderful.
Our first stop was the ancient site of Nemea. At Nemea the 2 cutest creatures first greeted us ever.
We determined that dogs know where all of the cool places are so if we get out and there are dogs – it will be cool. The temple there was very cool looking.
Then we stumbled upon the ancient bathhouse at Nemea.
Then, of course we can’t leave a site without checking out the museum! This museum was very nice with some awesome jewelry like always.
Then it was off to the races. In our City States class we are also doing some athletic competitions, which began here at the ancient stadium in Nemea. It had rained a lot the night before so the track was a bit wet – I chose not to compete in my jeans and hiking boots. There would be some strength competitions that I would compete in at a later date.
Then it was off to Sparta! The view during the bus ride was amazing.
The first stop in Sparta was the archeological museum. There were some interesting finds there.
Afterwards it was time to go up to the Artemis Orthia. I am convinced that the Greek day care is just driving children around to sanctuaries and letting them play because at this sanctuary there were a busload of kids.
After that we checked into our hotel at Sparta – the view was amazing.
Then we took a walk from the hotel to the ancient Acropolis and theatre of Sparta.
The Sparta team stopped for a photo opportunity.
Then off to Ancient Sparta!!!
The rest of the evening was spent napping, eating amazing pizza, walking the streets, purchasing some carnival goodies for Tone and I, a beautiful sunset, and some exploring.
Wednesday
The view from the hotel on Wednesday was amazing.
The first stop of the day was Byzantine Mistras. This place consisted of some of the most beautiful churches and views. It was incredible. The weather was beautiful. Here is a bunch of photos:
The bus ride from Mistras to Messene was one of the most beautiful things ever. These pictures do it no justice at all but I will describe it. It was basically through the mountain of Taygetus. Mountains surrounded us; mountains were literally cut out so that we were surrounded on 3 sides. It was amazing.
After the amazing trip we ended up in Mavromati for the ancient site of Messene. We ate lunch around the ancient walls where we spotted some intense Peloponnese hunters.
Then we climbed on some ancient walls.
After that it was a short trip to get to the ancient city. It was beautiful. There was a natural spring that ran through the mountains and over the site where we stopped for some water – it was amazing. Best water ever.
After ancient Messene we stopped at the village of Mavromati for a break. I had some packed lunch from breakfast and ate watching some goats!
Then it was a bus ride to our destination of Pylos. The hotel was right on the water and the town was amazing. We all spent the night exploring, eating,
Thursday
We awoke in Pylos to a rainy day but that didn’t stop any of our plans of course. We ventured to Methoni to go to the medieval castle of Methoni. The rain seemed to make it more epic. The castle was amazing. The rain made us freezing and wet but also led to some fun umbrella tricks! Here are photos from that adventure:
We departed Methoni reluctantly and boarded the bus soaking wet to make our way to the Palace of Nestor. We did take a café break to dry off where I made good use of the air dryers in the bathroom and got most of my jeans dry! The Palace of Nestor was a great place with a beautiful view. The weather cleared up and led to some great photos:
Then of course there was a museum to match the site!
After the palace, we ventured to a cute town of Kyparissia where I got to enjoy lunch on the water.
And I also got to play with an abandoned train.
We then ventured yet again in the bus through some amazing views.
The bus was all over the place and we were not quite sure where we were going until we ended up in this cute, ghost town of Adritsaina. There was no one. We got excited when we saw a person on the street. However, the view was amazing. Here are some photos of the town:
The hotel was great and some people in our group stayed in a house which led to a fantastic home cooked dinner and house party. Our wake up call for the next morning wasn’t until 9:30a – we think that was intentional. All in all it was a great night.
Then some things made me think of the girls!!!
Lunch time led to some good roomie pictures!
Friday
I awoke Friday morning in Adritsaina with a pretty kitty in my window and a beautiful day.
It was a quick breakfast and then an adventure to Olympia (our last stop of the trip). The bus ride was long but well worth it – I loved Olympia. The first stop was to unpack our things at the hotel.
Then it was a walk to the site.
We got to the archaeological site of Olympia and the weather was beautiful and the site was covered in flowers. We did the normal sanctuary adventure while I just looked at a lot of flowers. Here are some basic pictures of the site.
Then it was off for more Olympic races. I sat this one out and saved my energy for the wrestling later which I dominated. But it was funny to watch the boys race topless. Made my day.
After all of our school obligations I got a chance to catch a half-sunset.
I spent the rest of the night doing dinner and hanging out with people. Everyone was so exhausted that we turned in quite early for our last day of the trip.
Saturday
The next day was our trip home. But before hand I got to test out our hotel room bathrobe!
Breakfast was amazing at the hotel. After breakfast and packing up the bus we went back to the ancient site for some more exploring! Here are some photos:
Then it was back-to-back museums. First it was an archeological museum with some great sculpture and ancient mojito stirrers (haha, nooooo hair locks)
Then some things made me think of the girls!!!
And I may have left a mark in Olympia...
Lunch time led to some good roomie pictures!
Then it was off to the Olympic Games Museum where there was some more fun old stuff!
Then a loooooong 6-hour bus ride back to Athens. Overall the trip was amazing. We saw so much in such a short amount of time and had great tour guides along the way. Amazing trip.
Typical Athens...
