Well, here I am in Greece on Mother’s Day and my daughters are in California. My heart was touched with joy and happiness when I woke up to a sweet Hallmark email card from Jennifer on our laptop– she misses me and I miss her too. It felt so wonderful to read her greeting on the computer (our only way of communication at times). I love you Gigi.
Lyndsey was a little busy today – just a little ceremony she had to attend … where she received her MASTERS DEGREE! - What a wonderful Mother’s Day gift that was. Whoo – hoo! Later in the day Jennifer sent me photos of the graduation ceremony.
David and I rented a little car and decided to drive to ancient Olympia – the site of the original Olympic Games. The games were held every four years between 776 B.C. and 393 A.D. then the Emperor Theodosius banned all pagan festivals; the Olympic Games celebrated the ideal harmony between mind and body. After the emperor banned the games, he had the temples destroyed. An earthquake in the 6th century compounded the destruction. Excavation and preservation of the ruins began in 1875 and Olympia was declared a National Park in 1976. Every four years the sacred flame of Altis is rekindled right here to light the torch for the modern games. We stood at the sight of the lighting – very remarkable to see. It made me feel particularly Olympic like – so we crossed through the Krypte – (the official entrance to the stadium) and I perched my feet right on the marble starting line – ready, set, go - I looked like a vision of athletic splendor (thank God for stretch jeans) Sometimes whilst among the ruins I like to pose like a Greek Goddess – it makes me smile inside - plus people think I’m a little nuts, which makes me smile even more. Over 40,000 spectators could fill the stadium to witness contests ranging from foot races to the pentathlon. We went to the Archeological museum on the grounds also – the coolest was the statue of “Nike” winged victory of Paionios. She is missing several pieces and most of her face is gone – how sad that these treasures did not survive better.
Okay enough history – we drove back to Katakoln and we able to drive along the sand of the beach – lots of people were doing it so we figured “when in Greece” - we drove up the beach – the sea was crashing just a few feet from our tires, we had the windows rolled down and we soaked in the view, sound and smell of the ocean. We originally drove down to the water to see what beachfront homes looked like and to our surprise we were able to cruise on the beach. There were homes and places to eat - now those of you who know me this is when I start to talk about the great Greek food – my taste buds are in blissful ecstasy here is Greece. The place we walked into was packed and the people who looked like Greek mafia – men in suits, women dressed very fashionable – us in our jeans – were they dressed so nice because of Mothers day? Because it was Sunday? Whatever the case – the food smelled heavenly and we got a table by the window. We had our typical plate of sliced peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olives and feta cheese. A yogurt dip called tzatziki (yogurt w/ garlic) and wonderful bread. They had no red wine so Dave and I split a beer – the place was packed and so many people were smoking – that is one thing here – people smoke a lot and they smoke everywhere! So Mothers Day was wonderful – I had a computer letter from Lyndsey the following day, so all is well in my world.
Lyndsey was a little busy today – just a little ceremony she had to attend … where she received her MASTERS DEGREE! - What a wonderful Mother’s Day gift that was. Whoo – hoo! Later in the day Jennifer sent me photos of the graduation ceremony.
David and I rented a little car and decided to drive to ancient Olympia – the site of the original Olympic Games. The games were held every four years between 776 B.C. and 393 A.D. then the Emperor Theodosius banned all pagan festivals; the Olympic Games celebrated the ideal harmony between mind and body. After the emperor banned the games, he had the temples destroyed. An earthquake in the 6th century compounded the destruction. Excavation and preservation of the ruins began in 1875 and Olympia was declared a National Park in 1976. Every four years the sacred flame of Altis is rekindled right here to light the torch for the modern games. We stood at the sight of the lighting – very remarkable to see. It made me feel particularly Olympic like – so we crossed through the Krypte – (the official entrance to the stadium) and I perched my feet right on the marble starting line – ready, set, go - I looked like a vision of athletic splendor (thank God for stretch jeans) Sometimes whilst among the ruins I like to pose like a Greek Goddess – it makes me smile inside - plus people think I’m a little nuts, which makes me smile even more. Over 40,000 spectators could fill the stadium to witness contests ranging from foot races to the pentathlon. We went to the Archeological museum on the grounds also – the coolest was the statue of “Nike” winged victory of Paionios. She is missing several pieces and most of her face is gone – how sad that these treasures did not survive better.
Okay enough history – we drove back to Katakoln and we able to drive along the sand of the beach – lots of people were doing it so we figured “when in Greece” - we drove up the beach – the sea was crashing just a few feet from our tires, we had the windows rolled down and we soaked in the view, sound and smell of the ocean. We originally drove down to the water to see what beachfront homes looked like and to our surprise we were able to cruise on the beach. There were homes and places to eat - now those of you who know me this is when I start to talk about the great Greek food – my taste buds are in blissful ecstasy here is Greece. The place we walked into was packed and the people who looked like Greek mafia – men in suits, women dressed very fashionable – us in our jeans – were they dressed so nice because of Mothers day? Because it was Sunday? Whatever the case – the food smelled heavenly and we got a table by the window. We had our typical plate of sliced peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olives and feta cheese. A yogurt dip called tzatziki (yogurt w/ garlic) and wonderful bread. They had no red wine so Dave and I split a beer – the place was packed and so many people were smoking – that is one thing here – people smoke a lot and they smoke everywhere! So Mothers Day was wonderful – I had a computer letter from Lyndsey the following day, so all is well in my world.
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