Monday 5/8 This morning left Olympia, traveled north to Patre then on to Rion where we took ferry (about 15 min. sail) to Anto-Rion, then on to the seaside resort of Parga, now on the Ionian side of the mainland. The hills here are literally covered with olive trees and harvesting has started. Strong nets are placed beneath the trees and the trees shaken so the olives fall into the nets. The olives are gathered and poured into heavy (possibly leather) sacks. These sacks are placed on donkeys and small horses, in strings of three, brought in all daylong to the small processing rooms where the olives are pressed in vats to extract the oil (that smothers every dish prepared in Greece. One phrase I soon learned in Greek - how to ask for Greek salad without oil!). Two of these small processing establishments are just below my hotel room and in the morning we are awakened to the klop-klop of the hooves bringing in the olives, and all day the strings of little animals pass by.
Tuesday 5/9 This morning Florence, Ray and I hiked up to the Venetian fortress on top of the hill overlooking the city and we spent about two hours roaming the ruins and taking pictures. On the way down we bought a freshly baked loaf of bread in a little bakeshop amidst the little homes on the hill, then stopped at a grocery for cheese and pastry, and prepared lunch in our room with some tea. Spent the afternoon poking around. Have enjoyed the scenery, the people, everything in Parga.
Wednesday 5/10 Traveled north today to Igoumenits, then east to Metsovon, then slightly south but still east of Kalambaka, where we spent the night. We drove through extraordinary beautiful high mountain country on this trip, with snow-capped peaks and at high elevations, reminiscent of Montana, Wyoming or the Alps. After settling in our hotel - modest indeed - we drove back to Meteora, the collection of massive rock formations housing monasteries and hermit caves. Took many pictures and then visited the monastery that was open to the public this day, that of St. Valaam. Inside of church is completely covered with paintings of the Byzantine persuasion, starting about the 15th century. It is fantastic to see these monasteries perched atop the massive and towering formations like eagle's eyries.
Thursday 5/11 The journey today took us from Kalambaka to Thessaloniki by way of Trikal, Laris, Katerini. Before reaching the city, we stopped at the ruins of Pella, an archeological dig of exceptional importance. This was evidently the city from which Alexander set out to change the face of the ancient world and spread Hellenism to the end of the known earth. The period being uncovered so far is about the 4th and 3rd century B.C. Phillip, father of Alexander, evidently had made his capitol here. Pella was founded by Archelaos, who in addition to bringing great artists to decorate his palaces with mosaics, also enticed Euripides, the great tragedian poet, to live here. Among other works, he wrote Iphigenia here. The murals which have been restored so far are exceedingly beautiful. We viewed the floor mosaics outdoors and the mosaics housed in the museum - which makes Pella the outstanding site for mosaics. Here, also, we saw a "dig" being worked.
This evening in Saloniki we drove to a waterfront restaurant for a special fish dinner. This consisted of various "salads" and courses of various fish (mezedhes: appetizers taken with wine to prevent intoxication). During the interval of the dinner, along with a fine white wine (St. Helena) we consumed, as salads with bread: fish roe, eggplant salad, cucumber salad, fresh cucumbers, lettuce salad, fried potatoes, french fried zucchini. The fish we sampled were: prawns, squid, octopus, mussells, tspoura and glossa. To top the feast, we stopped at a confectionery establishment for pastry and brandy and coffee, altogether too rich and altogether unnecessary, but there you are!
Observations: In restaurants all over Greece, it is customary for the waiter to bring out, first of all, a basket of the crusty Greek bread (almost like S.F. sourdough bread) that is hard to resist nibbling on until the meal arrives. All over the country too, where produce is raised, a particularly delicious cucumber - somewhat long and almost seedless - are a staple, and very liberally available for Greed salads or any other combination or alone. Also, Greeks grow a particular variety of artichokes and these are always served in some cooked dish. Greek people seem to eat lots of salads and lots of cooked vegetables, often in a tomato sauce. As for the patisseries and confectionery shops: I have not before seen such a profusion and variety of sweets, of which the omnipotent baklava is but one among dozens.
Friday 5/12 This morning the rest of the group went out with George to visit St. Sophia, the Byzantine church, other churches and monuments. I chose to take a two hour walk along the waterfront. The whole waterfront is beautifully landscaped with flowers and gardens, and huge apartment houses overlook the water. Salonika is Greece's second largest city, with fine shopping areas, good open marketplaces for fruit and flowers and baked goods. In all places we visited, we patronized the fruit stalls and shops for the extra oranges and apples to supplement our restaurant diet, and for the delicious breads and rolls. A week or so later we were able to buy good cherries, like our Lamberts in color and flavor, and huge strawberries, reminding me of our Hood berries.
The evening of this day, six of us went to the opera - Rossini's "Italian in Algiers" - well sung, and considering the small stage, well acted and directed. The costumes were lavish and very colorful, and the Greek in which they sang was no more comprehensible than Italian but the body language conveyed the story.
Saturday 5/13 This day we traveled from Salonika to Delphi by way of Larissa then almost to Volos and down the coast along the Agean to Lamia, then down to Amfissa and from there along a high mountain road to Delphi. Once again, we were enthralled with the wide plains and spectacular mountain scenery. Delphi is charming, its site above the valley, with the view of the bay, spectacular. The site of the ancient city is described: "The town of Delphi and its shrines lay at the foot of two enormous crags of Mt. Parnassus.... It is these crags that lend the Delphic landscape its singular and incomparable beauty. Opposite, the lengthy Mt. of Desphina blocks the horizon and in-between lies a valley overgrown with olive trees and traversed by a river, the Pleistos. The olive groves of Chrisso and Amfissa, like a sea of trees, extend down to the Itea Bay with its assure water sparkling in the sunlight..." Each ancient city we have viewed had its own special landscape but surely Delphi is the most spectacular.
In the shops of Delphi the merchandise was of outstanding quality. Bought my handmade and painted plate of the "geometric period" (9th to 7th century B.C.) and miniature pitcher (Corinthian) in shop of 3 brothers, two of whom do the painting.
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The creator wrestles with a hard, invisible essence that is superior to him. And the greatest victor emerges defeated because our deepest secret - the only one worth telling - always remains untold. It can never submit itself to the material boundary of Art. We rage at every word. We see a tree in bloom, a hero, a woman, the star of Dawn, and we cry "Ah," and our heart can hold nothing more. When we try to analyze and convert this "Ah" into thought and art, to communicate it to others, to save it from our own corruption, how cheap it becomes in brazen, painted words, full of empty air and fantasy.
This evening in Saloniki we drove to a waterfront restaurant for a special fish dinner. This consisted of various "salads" and courses of various fish (mezedhes: appetizers taken with wine to prevent intoxication). During the interval of the dinner, along with a fine white wine (St. Helena) we consumed, as salads with bread: fish roe, eggplant salad, cucumber salad, fresh cucumbers, lettuce salad, fried potatoes, french fried zucchini. The fish we sampled were: prawns, squid, octopus, mussells, tspoura and glossa. To top the feast, we stopped at a confectionery establishment for pastry and brandy and coffee, altogether too rich and altogether unnecessary, but there you are!
Observations: In restaurants all over Greece, it is customary for the waiter to bring out, first of all, a basket of the crusty Greek bread (almost like S.F. sourdough bread) that is hard to resist nibbling on until the meal arrives. All over the country too, where produce is raised, a particularly delicious cucumber - somewhat long and almost seedless - are a staple, and very liberally available for Greed salads or any other combination or alone. Also, Greeks grow a particular variety of artichokes and these are always served in some cooked dish. Greek people seem to eat lots of salads and lots of cooked vegetables, often in a tomato sauce. As for the patisseries and confectionery shops: I have not before seen such a profusion and variety of sweets, of which the omnipotent baklava is but one among dozens.
Friday 5/12 This morning the rest of the group went out with George to visit St. Sophia, the Byzantine church, other churches and monuments. I chose to take a two hour walk along the waterfront. The whole waterfront is beautifully landscaped with flowers and gardens, and huge apartment houses overlook the water. Salonika is Greece's second largest city, with fine shopping areas, good open marketplaces for fruit and flowers and baked goods. In all places we visited, we patronized the fruit stalls and shops for the extra oranges and apples to supplement our restaurant diet, and for the delicious breads and rolls. A week or so later we were able to buy good cherries, like our Lamberts in color and flavor, and huge strawberries, reminding me of our Hood berries.
The evening of this day, six of us went to the opera - Rossini's "Italian in Algiers" - well sung, and considering the small stage, well acted and directed. The costumes were lavish and very colorful, and the Greek in which they sang was no more comprehensible than Italian but the body language conveyed the story.
Saturday 5/13 This day we traveled from Salonika to Delphi by way of Larissa then almost to Volos and down the coast along the Agean to Lamia, then down to Amfissa and from there along a high mountain road to Delphi. Once again, we were enthralled with the wide plains and spectacular mountain scenery. Delphi is charming, its site above the valley, with the view of the bay, spectacular. The site of the ancient city is described: "The town of Delphi and its shrines lay at the foot of two enormous crags of Mt. Parnassus.... It is these crags that lend the Delphic landscape its singular and incomparable beauty. Opposite, the lengthy Mt. of Desphina blocks the horizon and in-between lies a valley overgrown with olive trees and traversed by a river, the Pleistos. The olive groves of Chrisso and Amfissa, like a sea of trees, extend down to the Itea Bay with its assure water sparkling in the sunlight..." Each ancient city we have viewed had its own special landscape but surely Delphi is the most spectacular.
In the shops of Delphi the merchandise was of outstanding quality. Bought my handmade and painted plate of the "geometric period" (9th to 7th century B.C.) and miniature pitcher (Corinthian) in shop of 3 brothers, two of whom do the painting.
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| Pella - Mosaic Floor - Alexander the Great (1978) |
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The creator wrestles with a hard, invisible essence that is superior to him. And the greatest victor emerges defeated because our deepest secret - the only one worth telling - always remains untold. It can never submit itself to the material boundary of Art. We rage at every word. We see a tree in bloom, a hero, a woman, the star of Dawn, and we cry "Ah," and our heart can hold nothing more. When we try to analyze and convert this "Ah" into thought and art, to communicate it to others, to save it from our own corruption, how cheap it becomes in brazen, painted words, full of empty air and fantasy.
Nikos Kazantzakis, Journeying
