On the road back to Athens
3:45p local time on 7/16 (Thursday)
I'm sad for this mini-trip to be over. We've had a lovely time with our new friends from Australia. They about have us convinced to visit them soon. Perhaps a graduation present? We would have to go over my winter break because summer time for us in the states is the dead of winter for them - very cold and rainy while Christmas time is quite warm for them. Our new friends are all in their 50s and have children just a couple years younger than me and they've been very sweet to me and Stuart. Our tour guide as well - she's made sure everyone knows we are newlyweds on our honeymoon. She even told the nuns in the monastery who coo'd and blushed at me.
We traveled last night to Kalambaka which is the city at the mouth of Meteora. Kalambaka was a very hip town, big, vibrant, and youthful with lots of nightclubs and open air restaurants. We had a good time roaming around with our Aussie friends poking in all the shops and eating local chocolates. Though they are more than twice my age, they had way more pep than me. In the morning, we drove up to Meteora, which isn't really a town so much as a district of the monasteries in the mountains. The rocks are sheer and look suspended in midair and the monasteries were built at the very top of some of these rocks. A system of cable cars or pulleys gets things and people to them. The two we visited are accessible by stair and they were quite a climb.
The nunnery was dedicated to Saint Barbara and was built in 1575. According to custom, in order to visit the monasteries, men must all wear long pants and the women must wear long skirts and have their shoulders covered. There is a visiting area before entering the church with a tiny shop that sells the idols and christian items they make. The church inside was incredible, all the walls were entirely painted with saints, the apostles, Jesus, Mary, and depictions of stories from the Bible all with gold crushed into them according to the Byzantine style. It was awe-inspiring and I felt honored to be allowed into such a sacred space.
The church itself was built in strict according with Orthodox methods, enter west, priest eat, cross shaped, upper part only for God and Jesus, next for apostles, then bible stories, then saints all painted and covering every inch of the walls.
Other things I want to talk about or remember:
-From there, we went to a monastary for men
-Saint George and the scarves
-Lunch with Mama (Come ti Mamie)
Right now we are traveling the 6 hours back to Athens on a highway that follows the coast of the Aegean sea. I'm sitting on the left so every time I look up from typing there is the Mediterranean right there, I wish that I could live by an ocean, it makes me feel so peaceful and happy. Especially these indigo waters out here. I will miss it.
I'm sad for this mini-trip to be over. We've had a lovely time with our new friends from Australia. They about have us convinced to visit them soon. Perhaps a graduation present? We would have to go over my winter break because summer time for us in the states is the dead of winter for them - very cold and rainy while Christmas time is quite warm for them. Our new friends are all in their 50s and have children just a couple years younger than me and they've been very sweet to me and Stuart. Our tour guide as well - she's made sure everyone knows we are newlyweds on our honeymoon. She even told the nuns in the monastery who coo'd and blushed at me.
We traveled last night to Kalambaka which is the city at the mouth of Meteora. Kalambaka was a very hip town, big, vibrant, and youthful with lots of nightclubs and open air restaurants. We had a good time roaming around with our Aussie friends poking in all the shops and eating local chocolates. Though they are more than twice my age, they had way more pep than me. In the morning, we drove up to Meteora, which isn't really a town so much as a district of the monasteries in the mountains. The rocks are sheer and look suspended in midair and the monasteries were built at the very top of some of these rocks. A system of cable cars or pulleys gets things and people to them. The two we visited are accessible by stair and they were quite a climb.
The nunnery was dedicated to Saint Barbara and was built in 1575. According to custom, in order to visit the monasteries, men must all wear long pants and the women must wear long skirts and have their shoulders covered. There is a visiting area before entering the church with a tiny shop that sells the idols and christian items they make. The church inside was incredible, all the walls were entirely painted with saints, the apostles, Jesus, Mary, and depictions of stories from the Bible all with gold crushed into them according to the Byzantine style. It was awe-inspiring and I felt honored to be allowed into such a sacred space.
The church itself was built in strict according with Orthodox methods, enter west, priest eat, cross shaped, upper part only for God and Jesus, next for apostles, then bible stories, then saints all painted and covering every inch of the walls.
Other things I want to talk about or remember:
-From there, we went to a monastary for men
-Saint George and the scarves
-Lunch with Mama (Come ti Mamie)
Right now we are traveling the 6 hours back to Athens on a highway that follows the coast of the Aegean sea. I'm sitting on the left so every time I look up from typing there is the Mediterranean right there, I wish that I could live by an ocean, it makes me feel so peaceful and happy. Especially these indigo waters out here. I will miss it.