Raynebows: Greece, Road Trip

After a good night's rest at the Hotel Amalia, we woke up bright and early, tucked in a hearty breakfast and were all ready to enjoy the day's adventures. The weather that day was perfect: pale blue skies, bright sunshine yet the air was cold and crisp (about 16 degrees C, I think). Beautiful!

Waiting for the other travel companions to board our bus...

First destination was to the archaeological site of the Sanctuary of Olympian Zeus - the ancient stadium and the archaeological museum. The bus parked right in front of this quaint charming hotel...

I just love the wintery foliage framing this photo!

We alighted from the bus and took this long scenic walk to the site...

The site is like a lovely park... but with a difference. Everywhere there're areas marked and cordoned off... all in the name of conservation. Those stone structures are all that's left from the ruins of the ancient buildings...

The Temple of Hera is one of the several sacred temples of ancient times...

The arched entrance to the ancient stadium of Olympia... I could almost imagine the troops of athletes marching in through this stone arch...

This was where the ancient Olympic Games took place every 4 years, bringing together the entire Greek world in peaceful sporting competition.

As we stood around on the now-empty vast area that was the stadium many centuries ago, listening to our wise guide telling us the stories and history of this place, the sky started to darken and grey clouds blew our way... and the temperature dropped further...

The 1st Olympic Games, dating back as early as 776B.C. (or even earlier), were held to honour Zeus.

View from the other side of the arched entrance...

The skies turned to a slate grey as we hurried out of the park, making our way to the museum...

We sought refuge in the museum among the company of these artifacts... sculptured ornaments from the Temple of Zeus...

This was everyone's favourite... one of the masterpieces of ancient Greek art... the beautiful marble statue of Hermes, carrying the infant Dionysos...

Maybe you'll like the rear view better ;-) Just look at those lines & curvatures of muscles and flesh... so real!

From the Sanctuary of Olympia, we drove on and stopped at a quaint little restaurant - Ambrosia Restaurant & Tavern, for lunch.

My favourite: Moussaka - heavenly layers of mashed potatoes, aubergines baked to soft tenderness, topped with sprinkling of cheese....mmmm!

The boys' favourite: Solid porkchop - what more can I say?

All around the restaurant were countless orange trees... and they didn't seem to belong to anyone... I mean, they were all like growing wild and abundantly by the road side ...

... like, in no man's land...

And so... here's the answer to why nobody was picking the oranges to eat (a mystery I left unanswered in my previous post). It is because, the moment you take a bit into an orange there, your face will look like this...!!

You get the picture, eh?!!

Those oranges were the most sour ones we ever tasted in our lives! More sour than lemons and limes, I would say. I think they are meant to be juiced (and not eaten raw! and can only be palatable after adding tons of sugar!

With tummies fully satiated, it was back to the bus again... this time driving through the plains of Ilia and Achaia.... with breath-taking snow-peaked mountains in the distance... and little towns and villages dotting the slopes and valleys...

As we approached the crossing over the Corinthian Bay from Rion to Antirion, we were greeted by the magnificent sight of the famous world's longest cable stayed bridge...