Athens

When my niece, Kelsie, decided to spend a semester studying in Greece, Bubba (my mom, Kelsie's grandma) felt Kelsie would need someone to look after her.  Through a friend of a friend, she connected with a lady living in Athens and bing! bang! boom! that's how Matta entered our lives. 

I landed in Athens around 12:30 yesterday afternoon, and by 5:00, Matta had me climbing around in the mountains visiting the ruins of an ancient temple.  Matta is an amazing woman filled with more energy than a Tasmanian devil on speed!  My mom would like to come to Athens and hang around with Matta, but I'm afraid the only way she would be able to keep up with her is if Matta would throw her in a little red wagon and pull her along behind.

The Temple of Poseidon in Sounio was built during the Golden Age of Pericles in the 5th century BC.  Imagine something that old still standing!  It sits in the southern most tip of Attica.  Getting there from Athens involved about a one hour drive along the scenic and beautiful coastline.  Matta was an entertaining and informative guide as she shared with me what the activities surrounding the temple would have been like all those thousands of years ago.

We spent about an hour or so wandering around the temple site.  It sits on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean and the view was so spectacular that we decided to hang around and watch the sunset.  Since we had plenty of time to kill and since my stomach was bitterly complaining about being neglected we decided to pass the time eating.  A short walk down the mountainside brought us to an outdoor cafe.  What a delicious and satisfying meal!  We shared several small plates of food called "mezethes" and a small bottle of ouzo. 

I don't know if the meal was really spectacular, or if the ouzo hitting my empty stomach was putting me in a happy mood, but I had a delightful and delicious time.

The sunset was amazing and can hardly be captured in a photograph so you're going to have to throw some imagination into the mix as you look at the photo below.

Today, we spent the day on the island of Hydra.  Hydra is about 40 nautical miles from Athens and to get there we took a high-speed hydrofoil.  As we left the apartment, Matta was concerned about my "summer" attire but the weather was gorgeous and she had me climbing up and down mountainsides until my heart was racing and my brow was sweating.  I'm sure this was all good for me and it sure worked up an appetite.  Matta doesn't seem to remember to eat and if I don't remind her, it's likely she would let me starve to death!!!  What a contrast coming from Turkey where my wonderful hostess, Selma, was constantly offering me things to put in my mouth!  I guess it's either feast or famine.  (O.K.  this isn't entirely fair because once I remind Matta that it's mealtime, she does a wonderful job of providing me with delicious food)

(photos taken by Matta)

Hydra's past is steeped in naval history and has high walls and cannons surrounding the coastline.  The village has many shops filled with jewelry, clothes, and artwork made by local artists.  There are hotels, restaurants, and cafes along the coastline and up through the cobbled mountain roads.  We saw many beautiful old homes, breathtaking scenery, and the monastery Kimiseos of the Theotokos which was built in the 17th century.  But one of the highlights for me was the cemetery.

To reach the cemetery was a long hike up the mountainside, but it was worth it!  The graves were surrounded by wild flowers and Eucalyptus trees.  Most of the graves had a windowed box as the headstone and these boxes contain memorabilia of the dead person's life; often times even photographs!  Some of the photographs were so old and it was fascinating to look at them and realize that the body belonging to that face was buried right below.

From the cemetery we headed back down to the seafront for a late lunch (I say late, but Matta would probably disagree!)  The island is populated with cats of all colors and sizes and these beggars hung around our table patiently (really!) waiting to be fed bits of fish.  The were all calm and polite until a scrap of food was tossed down and then they grew downright ugly; hissing and scratching each other as they fought over the food.

After lunch, it was time to catch the hydrofoil back to Athens.  I'm glad to be home a little earlier than last night.  Matta is just back from visiting a sick friend in the hospital so we are going to eat and then I'm looking forward to spending some time with my nose in a book!