A Brit on the Road is worth 3 in the bar
| Here are some choice pictures from the seat of democracy and Atlantis! First - I'm going to bore you with a short history lesson on me. I'm an ex-architect. When I was at college, I particularly loved the Caryatids on the Erechtheion on the Acropolis. See those sexy ladies shine! (Want to hear more about the load baring trickery in the sculptures? That's why they all have 1 leg in front of the other and hair that bunches around the neck... I'm such a nerd)  Then, we all went to what is rumored to be Atlantis. An island that housed a powerful Minoan civilization (2nd only to Crete - and I'll talk about Knossos later if you are unlucky...), but was destroyed by a catastrophic volcanic eruption several thousand years BC. The rim of the volcano still exists, as well as 2 new active volcano islands in the middle of the old volcano. Its dead pretty! This photo is taken from Ia (1 tip of the island), and looks in towards the center of this ring of islands formed from the ancient volcano eruption. The 2 islands in the middle of the ring are on the left hand side. You can see the other end of the main island in the center background (about 5 miles away)  Here are the steps of the Theatre of Dionysos. At the foot of the Acropolis, it would have held approx 15,000 people back in the day to watch Sophocles' stuff.  Plaka is the old (read not 1950's concrete, not classical greek) part of Athens. Its really picturesque, but this kind of graffiti is a lovely contrast. (Btw - I ended up calling "Plaka" the "Crapper" since it is full of tourist tat)  Now, before visiting Athens, I was all for the return of the Elgin Marbles. However, I was rather shocked by how haphazardly things seemed to be looked after. Everywhere you looked, there were piles of ancient build blocks, and no one seemed to be doing anything. If they were returned (or hadn't been taken in the 1st place) would they still be around?  Holding the Plaka together  Obligatory Parthanon shot... Again - nerd alert... there are so many things to say about this building: Wonderful example of the most refined Doric order; 9:4 ratios; columns bulge in the middle and lean inwards as well as the floor being slightly convex to maintain the illusion of straight lines. This counteracts the optical illusions that things are bending created by such bulk... blah blah blah.  Byzantine church near the Tower of the Winds  The Gods Rays  Not so ruined... in the 50's it was decided to rip up a section of the Plaka and rebuild the Ancient Roman Agora, and keep the surrounding area as ruins. Thanks Rockerfella $$$. At least it is a little bit of green in Athens  Ia in Santorini. This is the little village we stayed at in Santorini. People are bused in every day to check it out. I'm so glad we visited in "winter" since the number of people there bought in to see the famous sunsets was ridiculous. I would have been driven crazy if it were hotter and more crowded.  Fishing boats moored at Nea Kamini - one of the volcanic islands in the middle of the Santorini caldera.  Ia at the sunset... Sigh.  Some cliffs at Santorini. I suspect this is actually from Thirassia (population 200 summer, 100 winter) - one of the smaller islands in the Santorini caldera ring.  Where did I start? |
FranklinMinty rants @ 4:18 PM
Comments on "A Brit on the Road is worth 3 in the bar"
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smallerdemon said ... (5:23 PM) :
post a commentw00t! Great pictures. It certainly looks like you guys had a great time too. Of course, no cuban cigars straight from the source. ;)