Delphi, Mycenae, and Napflio

Last week I was a little homesick. It could have been that Jim was traveling, and it was rainy so the kids and I had to stay inside, and it was rather a bear of a day with the kids “testing their boundaries,” or pushing my buttons, or however you want to say that they were misbehaving. We are at about the halfway point in our European stay, and my thoughts have turned to home more often. We have also visited many of the major places in Greece that we wanted to go, and I feel our time here drawing to a close.  Of course there is much, much more that we could see and do (the islands of Santorini and Crete top the list), but I feel like I’ve had a sampling of many of Greece’s main attractions. We have visited two islands (Mykonos and Hydra) and Athens several times. For our last major excursion in Greece, we rented a car to drive to Delphi, and then to Mycenae on the Peloponnese, seeing more of Greece’s landscapes, from mountains to olive groves, along the way. I asked an archaeologist who works in Greece what her "must-see" sites were, and Delphi and Mycenae topped her list. They were both truly impressive, and well worth the drive; I'm so glad we were able to visit them.

Temple of Apollo, Delphi

L2 overlooking the Delphi theater

J, L1, and L2 at the stadium, Delphi

Athenian treasury, Delphi 

Delphi: breath-taking classical Greek site on Mount Parnassus, among the pines. Known for the temple to Apollo and the oracle.

Stayed at the Pythos Rooms.

Feat of endurance: carrying both kids up the mountain to the stadium shortly before the site closed.

Kids’ favorite: eating cookies and playing with a Greek boy outside the museum.

J’s favorite: being in the mountains.

Sanctuary of Athena, Delphi

Ancient Mycenae: massive, stonewalled, fortified city dating to around 1350 BC.

Most impressive: the Lion Gate.

Kids’ favorite part: building pine needle houses while waiting for mom to tour the museum, and drinking fizzy lemonade while waiting for dad to tour the museum.

I will remember the scent of orange blossoms, the buzzing of bees among the wildflowers growing thickly among great blocks of stone, and the chatter of French school kids.

Stayed at the Petite Planete, which served an excellent dinner and breakfast on the patio.

The Lion Gate

Grave Circle A, where Heinrich Schliemann excavated the "Mask of Agamemnon"  

Photo by L2

L1 at Mycenae

Drove to Napflio on a whim because the guidebook described it as the prettiest town in Greece.

Built in the 1700s, it has three massive stone forts protecting the city. Today, it has an abundance of gelato shops.

Kids’ favorite part: fruity drinks by the sea.

Napflio fortress with bougainvillea

Prettiest setting for a playground, Napflio

Sleeping at last on the way home.

Busy week with friends

Island of Hydra

Friends of ours who are living in Prague for two years visited us in Greece with their two young children. We will return the favor in a couple of weeks, visiting them in Prague. We all had a wonderful, if busy, time. Two trips to Athens and a trip to an island called for early mornings and often turned into late nights, at least for the little ones. L1 was so excited to have a playmate his age, and continues to talk about E (the daughter of our visiting family). I think the highlight of the visit for the kids was exploring the front yard, picking flowers, playing with sticks, and running through the bushes. Never mind hiking up the Acropolis. We have now visited the Parthenon three times, and each time it has been necessary to encourage the kids' climb to the top with the promise of snacks once we get there.

The kids picking up rocks and flowers.

Island of Hydra

We took two days to visit the island of Hydra, which had been recommended to us by several locals. This is one of three islands (the others are Spetses and Poros) close to Athens that the Greeks, themselves, visit for vacation. Hydra has no motorized vehicles except for a few work and emergency trucks. The island is quiet and picturesque, perfect for strolling through narrow streets and enjoying a coffee break in a port-side café. Because there are no cars, donkeys act as luggage porters – and as entertainment for the kids. L1 calls Hydra, “Donkey Island” for this reason. L1 and E shared a donkey ride, while L2 and I rode another donkey on a loop through Hydra Town.  L1 spent a good portion of his mad money (thanks Chris and Christina!) on bronze figurines of a donkey and a dolphin.

Greek Independence Day

Greek Independence Day

The day we arrived happened to be Greek Independence Day (March 25) when the people of Greece commemorate their war of independence from the Ottoman Empire starting in 1821. Greece had become part of the Ottoman Empire in 1453. As we sat on a side street eating lunch, a parade of school children came by, bearing flags and dressed in traditional costume. It was a nice happenstance.

Lunch under blooming wisteria.

The streets of Hydra

We stayed at the excellent Mistral Hotel, and had a long lunch on the first day at a tavern just around the corner from our hotel. We sat outside under a pergola covered in wisteria, enjoying the fragrance of the flowers and the soft sea air. The kids ran around (sometimes under) tables and  chased cats (of which Hydra has many; all appear well-fed). The waiter encouraged us to come to the kitchen and pick our food, including fresh fish. I don’t know what kind of fish it was, but it was certainly delectable – almost like lobster, with creamy, white flesh, served with clarified butter. Yum. Hydra provided a lovely island experience. It is hard to choose a favorite event of our time in Greece, but visiting Hydra was certainly a highlight that we will remember fondly.

Anyone know the red fish? It was delicious.

Breakfast at the Mistral Hotel on Hydra

Another day in Athens

Waiting for lunch

J wrote thoroughly about the places we saw on our second day in Athens on his blog; I’ll add the family bits here. The bus from Rafina was late so we had a delayed start to our day, and went straight to lunch in a café just off Monastraki Square. Lunch included moussaka (eggplant, potato, spiced ground meat, topped with a creamy béchamel sauce), a plateful of gyro and souvlaki (kebabs), tzatziki (yogurt and cucumber), bread, pita, and meatballs and potatoes for the kids. The generous portions of hearty food filled us well for a day of walking around Athens.

Sitting on the steps of the Stoa of Attalos in the Ancient Agora

Ancient Agora

We strolled through the flea market and the Ancient Agora, expecting L2 to fall asleep in the stroller. No luck, so we headed toward the Parthenon Museum, and L2 finally fell asleep on the way. One of my favorite parts of the day was walking by the Odeon Theater where a street musician (of which there are many around central Athens) played “Never on a Sunday” on a violin. The song won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1960 for a film of the same name, in which an important scene takes place at the Odeon. The weather turned blustery while L1 had his portrait drawn by a street artist. The artist took about 40 minutes to draw his portrait; have you ever tried to keep a 3-year old still and quiet on your lap for 40 minutes? Later, we passed another artist advertising portraits done in just 5 minutes; we’ll know where to go to get L2’s portrait drawn.

L1 having his portrait drawn 

By the time L1’s portrait was done, L2 was awake; the afternoon was wearing on, and the weather getting worse. We had promised to go to a playground at the National Gardens, and so we skipped the Parthenon Museum (for the moment). L1 was very tired, switched places with L2 in the stroller, and fell asleep. He awoke just in time for the playground. At the end of a good run around the playground, L1 found several bits of colored paper streamers and tied them together to make a “kite” which he proudly carried all the way home. We splurged on a taxi home instead of the metro because it was late and still chilly by the time we left the playground. L1 and L2 giggled and screeched all the way in the taxi. I don’t know if they gave the taxi driver a headache, but I figured it was better than crying, which was a distinct possibility given the late hour and how tired and hungry the kids were.

L2 in the National Gardens on the way to a playground

We have only seen a fraction of the things we planned to see; I'm looking forward to another trip to Athens next week.

Bits and pieces of daily life

Our neighborhood playground. We are usually the only ones there.

What is the kids’ view of Greece? They notice everything, but focus on the small details within their grasp and understanding. It is hard to take a walk with L2 because he wants to sit on every step, touch every wall, and pick up every rock. Rocks are great. Rocks, water, and a bowl to put them in are THE BEST whether in Greece or back home. Dogs and cats (of which there are many), and airplanes are exciting and merit an exclamation whenever they are spotted. Playgrounds don’t have to be fancy to be fun.

L2 with a bowl of rocks collected from the driveway.

Greek playgrounds (at least the ones within walking distance from our house) close from 2-6pm. For me, these are prime times when I want to get the kids out of the house to run off their energy. I understand this is the time people here take a break; most shops are closed. But come on! I have yet to figure out if Greek children follow this quiet afternoon and late bedtime schedule too. We’ve seen very few children at the playgrounds.

The Greek people are generally very friendly, especially toward children. Everyone we pass by smiles at them and says hello. Many old men have come up to pinch L2’s cheek. L2 is not impressed.

The Magic Garden, a nice playground and coffee shop just around the corner from our house.

L1 is picking up a few words of Greek: hello, thank you, and dog.

In Greek,  “good morning” is “kali mera.” Jim, passing an old Greek lady dressed in black, politely said, “kalamari.”

L2 is having an (English) language explosion. He has added a new word to his vocabulary every day for about a week. New words include “cold” (he knew “hot” previously), cookies, bath, hat, and keys.

Next time: another excursion to Athens.