August 1, 2011

Arachova and Delphi

Our first day in Greece was essentially an evening in a car driving to Arachova. After the Easy Jet experience, Autumn and I were just tired, so it was good to just unwind a bit with Todd and Jennifer. They got to Greece a few days ago and rented a car, so they picked us up at the airport.

Flying in, I was reminded of Vegas: a desert mountain landscape that would offer a pleasant dry heat. It took us a couple of hours to drive to our rented place in Arachova. Since it was dark, we missed the spectacular mountain views that would await us the next morning. After a bit of breakfast in the quaint resort town of Arachova, we drove to Delphi and basically spent the day, both at the museum and the archeological site. I was just blown away to be in the center of ancient Greece’s spiritual world—their mountainous link between this world and the gods of Olympus. Try to read a Greek tragedy or epic that doesn’t mention the Delphic Oracle at some point. The museum was stunning, and the day was sunny and clear for our visit to ancient Delphi.

It was pretty strenuous seeing it all, since it was built literally on the side of a cliff, but I’m glad we did. After, we checked out the Temple of Athena within view from Delphi, then on to Distomo and the new World War II monument that commemorates the 218 people slaughtered by the Nazis in 1944. Finally, we ended our long day of sightseeing at the Byzantine Monastery of Hosios Loukas, just outside Distomo.

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  Autumn at Delphi.

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Canon Camera Information
Camera: Canon Digital Rebel XT1, Canon EOS 30D, Canon EOS 5D, or Canon EOS 6D • Prime Lenses: Sigma 10mm f/2.8 EX DC Fisheye HSM, Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM, or Canon EF f/1.2 85mm L USM • Zoom Lenses: Canon EF f/2.8 16–35mm L, Canon EF 24–70mm L, Canon EF 70–200mm L IS USM, Tokina AT-X 124 AF PRO DX 12-24mm f/4 • Processed with Apple Aperture.