Wow! I apologize that I haven't kept you all updated as much as I would like. We've had a whirlwind tour around the Peloponnese so far that has left me extremely excited and tired! Our first stop on this trip was to Isthmia (one of the cities on the athletic circuit... just like Olympia where we get our Olympic games) where we saw a really great Roman bath complex with some cool mosaics... it made me crave a spa day! We also spent that evening climbing AcroCorinth, a ginormous hill with a fortification at the top and an amazing view of Greece. It was quite a hike, but it was optional, so I have only myself to blame for putting myself through the fantastic torture of climbing to the top. But the view was well worth it.
Another exciting place we've gone is to Nemea (another city on the athletic circuit) where in ancient times they used to hold the Nemean games. At the museum, we got to see this amazing video about how they think the race course starting gates were set up in ancient times. Then we got to head to the stadium where a large number of us had our own competitive race. We didn't run barefoot and naked in ancient style, but I must say, I did pretty well running in flip flops. Fun times. :)
The best part of this trip around the Peloponnese so far is the fact that we have been staying in Nauplion the past three days. It has got to be one of my favorite Greek cities. It's right on the beach and has spectacular views. Kristen, Alex, and I have been to the beach twice and I wish we had time to go more. The city is pretty quiet and laid back, but in the evening it comes alive on the main square and there are all of these families there just chatting and having an extremely late dinner while their kids are running around wild. It is so fun. We've had great gyro dinners and the most AMAZING gelato. There is this Italian gelato shop just down the street from our hotel and I am proud to admit that I've had gelato every day! Yum! There is also a Venetian fortress at the top of one of the large hills called the Palamidi or Fortress of a thousand steps. It doesn't really have a thousand steps, but pretty close (we lost track counting, but it was still short of 1,000). Our bus took us to the top of the citadel and then after we explored, we walked down back into the city. One of the really cool things we found at the citadel was what we thought was a cistern. But as we climbed down the spiraling staircase into the semi-darkness inside one of the fortresses (there are three on this hill), we found this underground room that had plaster falling off the walls and under some of the grafitti we could see canvas decorated with images of Christ and the apostles. There were pictures everywhere! This room must have been converted into a church. We felt like we had stumbled upon something absolutely amazing. It was pretty fun. (That was this afternoon.) Later I spent hours at the beach tossing the frisbee around with one of my friends. It was super fun.
Yesterday I gave my site report on Asklepios at Epidauros. He is a greek god who had a healing sanctuary nearby the city of Epidauros. I think my presentation went well and I had some of my classmates volunteer to read inscriptions of some of the 'cures' that people claimed happened at the site. It was all pretty funny. But the best part was that after we visited the site, we got to watch a modern play (Racine's Phaedra) in the ancient theater of Epidauros!!! This theater is one of the best preserved classical Greek theaters and we were sitting there right inside it watching a play! One of the leading actresses was Helen Miran! It was really great and the acoustics were incredible. The theater was set up to reflect nature through perfect mathmatical ratios/proportions and the end result is seating that allows for perfect distribution of sound. Usually, if you take a tour here, every tour guide will have you sit at the very last seat at the end of the theater and drop a coin down at the front of the stage and you can still hear it. Well, we got great acoustics last night. I was thoroughly impressed. It was a fun night for all.
I think I promised in my last entry that I would start introducing some of my classmates because I want you to get to know some of the fun people I've been hanging out with and who are keeping me from feeling too home sick. I think I'll start off with Kristen because I know her parents are also reading this blog. :) Kristen is super fun because she asks a lot of great questions and is always pretty excited about the places we are going to and the things we are doing. She hardly ever complains about anything and she's so friendly to everyone. She makes me laugh and I am thoroughly impressed by how fast she can fall asleep on the bus. We all pile in and the next moment I look over, Kristen is fast asleep. :) She adds spunk to the group and she's always willing to go swimming at the beach with me, so I'm glad she's around. She's one of my favorite people.
Well, I hope I haven't bombarded you with too much of an update. We've been doing so much, I can only hit the highlights, but I'm feeling at home here and loving almost every moment of this trip. Tonight I'll say farewell to Nauplion, but I will meet you all again when I'm in Sparta!
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