Sept 8

Today, we drove to Delphi to see the Oracle. I had a simply horrible night. Between David snoring and worrying about Justin's family - with a brand new premature baby boy born the day right we left and Casey with shingles and Matilda with chicken pox - I barely slept. I was considering going home early to be available to help. But I realized that I couldn't really change anything or add additional help if I did go home. Determined to stay in the moment. We all got ourselves out of bed and armed with coffee, we hit the road. Although it was only 120 miles, it was a brutal 120 miles of winding roads. It was raining fairly steadily with occasional downpours. Awe inspiring to see the Greek mountainous countryside as we drove. We stopped and got another coffee about an hour into our journey. David and Avi liked it but I found it undrinkable. The place we stopped had cases of beautiful pastries though and I enjoyed looking although admittedly, not really interested in eating any. I can still appreciate incredible desserts. We got to Delphi safely, paid for our tickets and entered the sanctuary. More very ancient ruins. We hiked about a half mile to the top and the whole mountain has a story to tell. Delphi was an important ancient Greek sanctuary sacred to the god Apollo. It is on Mt. Parnassus and home to the famous oracle of Apollo which gave cryptic predictions and guidance to both city-states and individuals. Avi loves this stuff and read every board and soaked up all the information and views. It is incredibly beautiful but between the rain and a chilly day, I hit my limit a bit earlier than he did. I enjoyed the hike up and then hoofed my way down quickly and sat in the car while Avi and David finished their journey. We then made one more stop to see the Temple of Athena, just a few miles down the road. I enjoyed it but was very much done with being cold. We were dressed for summer weather and it was about 66 with rain. I was ready for warmth! 

We crossed Mt Parnassus on the way home where the village of Arachova is located. The mountain is home to a few ski resorts now and we stopped for something to eat. Most of the shops and restaurants were closed but we found one that wasn't and it was the best food I've eaten since arriving here! So delicious. Unusual Greek specialties but truly so good. And didn't have those off-putting intense flavors that I've had a hard time with here. 

After we ate, we headed home. It was still pouring rain and we were all tired. David was such a trooper and got us safely back. We turned in the car and then walked back to our Airbnb. Of course, we stopped for Avi to eat ice cream. And after returning, he wanted more food. I headed out with him and we bought a pizza and shared it. Tasted so good. Can't remember the last time I had pizza with a gluten crust! 

Got packed up for our departure the next morning and fell into bed. So tired. 

Sept 9

Caught an early ferry today. Up bright and early at 5:15 am to shower and get ready for our taxi which was picking us up at 6. We all were ready when the taxi arrived and took the drive to Piraeus Port. There were lines here, we haven't seen many of those. But we showed all the paperwork we had prepared in advance - and there is tons of it for EVERYTHING because of Covid. Passenger locator forms, negative Covid tests, vaccinations cards, passenger health questionnaires. Makes traveling a bit more dicey for sure. The ferry is HUGE but they got everyone on board very efficiently and off we go to Naxos, our home for the next two days.

First thing in Naxos was our rental car which went smoothly and then checking in to our Airbnb. Of course, this was not perfect. The roads in Naxos are impossible to describe. Extremely narrow cobblestone streets and Google and Apple maps are unable to tell us how to get to where we are supposed to go. The Airbnb hostess sent us a link and after parking incorrectly and walking to the wrong spot, we started over and managed to find the apartment. As soon as we were settled in, we headed out to eat. Found an authentic Greek restaurant and had another Greek lunch. I got Moussaka and it was good but so heavy and filling. After we ate, we walked to the Temple of Apollo which is out on a hill by the port. It was beautiful every way you could see and of course, more ruins. We wanted to walk Old Town Naxos and see the castle that was built in the 12th century so we set off to walk there. Of course, with the narrow winding alleyways, our phones didn't help much and we got lost multiple times. By the time we found the castle, we had walked our legs off, up and down the hilly cobbled streets and all of us were feeling exhausted. The views at the top were splendid. We admired them for a bit and then hauled our tired butts down and back home. David and Avi headed to the beach to swim and I stayed back to do some laundry as we were all nearing the end of our clean clothes. By the time I made it to the beach, they were done. It isn't hot today and the water was a little too cold to enjoy. Grabbed the car and headed out to see the Temple of Demeter. This was about a 30 min drive into the interior of the island. Beautiful Greek countryside but very arid and dry. Lots of sheep and agriculture in this area. When we reached the Temple, it was fenced off so we had to view from outside the fences. What can I say. More Temples. More Ruins. Not that I don't enjoy. Drove back to town and headed to a pizza place. It was getting cold and I wanted my jacket. Our apartment was just a five min walk from the restaurant so I headed back to get my jacket and could NOT find our spot. Tried multiple times and finally gave up. Felt a little old and silly. Went back to the restaurant and Avi went with me. Google maps wasn't mapping to the exact location and I had missed a side street that was needed. Finally had the jacket! Pizza tasted so good. Avi finished up the night with a crepe made to order - apples, cinnamon, honey, nutella, walnuts and vanilla ice cream on the side. UGH to me but he loved it. Watching this boy eat is really quite incredible. 

The day is over. We are all so tired and glad we don't have to get up early tomorrow.