The island of Paros is gorgeous! The afternoon sun made this church seem to glow! I absolutely love the blue and white colors that are so common in Greece!!There are all kinds of shops with beautiful walkways. It is not loud, but peaceful and relaxing.As I was taking the previous photo, this friendly woman ran out of her shop and asked me to take her photo! I was happy to comply. She has a beautiful smile and was fun to see her excitement.Our group leader described how older marble is often re-purposed from previous buildings and made into a new Greek structure. This wall was build from an amalgamation of repurposed marble to protect the city from pirates!!This is a beautiful scene of the Aegean Sea from the island of Paros!The previous view of the Aegean Sea was taken while standing in front of this beautiful church!I love the vibrant colors in Greece!! It makes me smile to see such beauty everywhere!!This is another section of re-purposed marble used to protect the city.Some of these re-purposed marble are quite old!!I am captivated by the blue color of Greece that are seen in so many places!!We were inside a sort of dark church and our group leader was telling about its history. Unfortunately, she is blurry as I had to use a very long exposure to capture the design of the church.Re-purposed marble was used to make this fountain. Water flowed from it until several decades ago.We went into this church. The whole outside has old marble to build it. Services were going on when we entered, so no photos were allowed.I liked the silhouette of the bells and cross of the church against the evening sky.I liked the repetitive columns and arches in the church grounds!At dinner, I had my first taste of ouzo!! I really enjoyed it because it tastes like black licorice!!While eating dinner, we looked at this fantastic sunset!! Greece is such a beautiful place!!
The small island of Delos is one of the most important archeological sites in all of Greece. We saw kinds of artifacts from the Greeks.Sections from various columns have been collected and work is being done to better understand the findings.These lionesses are some of the most well-known sculptures in Delos.I thought this lioness was impressive!Stray cats seem to be everywhere in Greece. This group of cats in Delos seemed content to watch all the people walk by.This sculpture of a left hand is important and our group leader requested a photo to document it. It is stored at the museum on Delos. The right hand is currently stored at another museum.This foot is also on display in the Delos museum.The Delos museum contained a number of sculptures.I thought some of the sculptures were particularly impressive!As we were walking through the Delos ruins, this friendly lizard stopped by to say hello!Within a few feet of the previous lizard, this guy was running around. I have never seen a lizard with such a colorful design on its back!The remanent of the “stucco” colors shows that the buildings created in Delos were not drab colors. Different reds and yellows that these buildings were quite colorful.These two enclosed “windows” are where lighted candles would be placed to light up a room. Remnants of the wall coloring can also be seen.I thought this mosaic was especially impressive!! The detail was amazing!I was also quite amazed at the intricacy with this mosaic!
Today was absolutely amazing!! We climbed up the Acropolis and then were able to see the Parthenon!! This is absolutely an amazing structure!!This is an amazing theater on the Acropolis. When it was in use, it had a roof over the structure. I especially liked the arches that were built!I was amazed at the structure of the columns! They were huge and could support an amazing amount of weight!!The walls with the columns seemed to stretch “forever.”These sculptures were across from the Parthenon. The quality of their design was absolutely amazing!!I was completely amazed at the quality design of the columns and how they were shaped!!I simply stand amazed at how these enormous columns were built!!I liked seeing how the columns changed their diameter as you looked up to higher sections of the columns!! Truly amazing designs!!Everyone loved to see this huge Greek flag!!I am simply astounded at the intricate design of the columns and support beams!!These intricate designs were created centuries ago without the use of computer technology. Truly amazing!!I preferred the lighting on the sculptures from this angle. It is hard to believe they exist, even though I am standing in front of them. Amazing craftsmanship!!The structure and design are amazing. I wish I could have seen it when it was finished!This is an outside auditorium near the Parthenon. I was never designed to have a roof. You can see the fancier chairs along the front row for the nobility in the town.We went inside the nearby museum and saw all kinds of artifacts. I really liked this owl!This display showed the various types of rocks that were used to create colors for the sculptures and other artwork!!This shows original artwork on the left that used to be part of the Parthenon. On the right is a plaster of Paris product that shows an image that was removed from the Parthenon by the British and now sits at the British Museum.I liked this sculpture of a lion!!I was amazed at this Greek sculpture of a woman!! I especially loved how her hair was designed! Absolutely amazing artwork!!These sculptures were totally amazing to me!!The detail in this sculpture were amazing to me!!
For our welcoming dinner for our first night in Athens we went to a restaurant on a rooftop of a building with a great view of the Parthenon. This view was when we first arrived at the restaurant in the evening.There was a beautiful Greek flag blowing in the breeze near the restaurant. I love the blue color in the Greek flag!!We watched the sunset and the lights on the Parthenon were beautiful at night!! Athens is a spectacularly beautiful place!!
Fiesta on Wheels 