Venice

Hey Guys! 

So as mentioned, we headed out on a whirlwind trip to Venice on our way to Sardinia. This involved a very early flight, and it was in the airport that Jared learned we were headed to Venice. I had kept it a secret, all he knew was that we were going somewhere on the way to see Karo and Jaime. 

Seth was a little trooper, heading through the airports and the manic pace of the next 24 hours. The first thing we did once we landed in Venice was take a vaporetto (boat) along the Grand Canal to the Plaza San Marco. There was hardly anybody else on the boat and we had the little 'stern' to ourselves. Seth wanted to run all over the place, which was a little terrifying on a boat, but we kept him corralled.

 

We got a great snapshot of Venice this way, with all the grand facades and boats going by 

Looking back at the Rialto Bridge 

At the Plaza de San Marco, there was a bit of a line for the Basilica, but Jared walked around with Seth and I chatted with a guy from Spain in the line, which was actually moving pretty quick. I'm so glad I waited, I regretted not going to the Basilica de San Marco the last time I was in Venice (2009). It is hard to find the words to describe how beautiful and awe-inspiring this church was. It is huge, in the shape of a cross. The entire interior is decorated with mosaic tiles, many in gold but also full colour to depict various religious scenes and the saints. There were marble pillars everywhere, the floors were beautiful tile mosaics, and there were lots of carved marble figures. 

I paid extra to see the 'Pala D'Oro' which was an altar embellishment, but was really such a spectacle in itself. It was in a massive frame, with all sorts of scenes from the Bible depicted in gold and inlaid with precious stones.  

Jared and Seth on a walking tour while I was in the church. 

This is the 'Bridge of Sighs' which is the bridge people would take from the interrogation rooms in the Doge's palace to the new prison (Prigioni Nuove). It was many a convicts last look at the beautiful city of Venice before being taken to their cells below. Hence the sighing. 

We all met back in the square, and Seth got to do his favorite activity: chasing pigeons. 

 We were totally exhausted by the time we got to Sardinia, but I think in the end it was worth it. 

Until Next Time! 

Greece- Santorini

 

Once on the island of Santorini, we settled into an awesome AirBnB. Here we are hanging out on the roof, with an amazing view over the town, close to a local church. 

Santorini is a really unique place. It used to be one big island, but a volcano erupted and left a large crater rim, with a few steaming islands in the middle. We spent the first morning strolling around Thira town, appreciating the amazing views over the Aegean Sea. 

The 'Three Bells of Thira' looking out over Nea Kameni (new burnt island) and Palea Kameni (old burnt island), two volcanic islands. More on them later. 

Poor Seth, he was barely tall enough to see over to appreciate the view.

That evening, we took a bus to Oia, a very quaint little town on the north end of the island of Thera. It has some great western exposure, so many people come out here to watch the sunset. 

The white buildings really do glow a beautiful orange in the setting sun. Can you spot the windmill near the top of the hill? These would have been used to grind flour, and most that remain on the island today were built in the 17th Century. 

The next day we headed out on a catamaran tour of the islands. It didn't occur to me until we were actually on the boat that this could have been a really bad idea with Seth, but he was totally awesome. The two guys taking us around loved kids (like all the Greeks, basically), and we actually got to enjoy ourselves. This was the coolest thing we did on Santorini. We boated from place to place inside the crater rim, and enjoyed a fantastic Greek BBQ before watching the sunset out on the water. 

There were some fantastic rock formations along the way, thanks to all the volcanic activity

High atop the hill you can see the Akrotiri lighthouse. built in 1892. 

We headed for the two volcanic islands in the center of the flooded caldera. The first stop was Nea Kameni, which is thought to have been formed around the time of Christ, according to the historical texts of the day. It is pretty barren, just a bunch of black volcanic rock, which is why we found it kind of wild there were people living on it. They even kept some pigs and goats. It was a bit of a ramshackle existence, but I suppose that's one way to live mortgage free...

We circled around to the other side of Nea Kameni, to the hot springs. Jared was the only one in our group to go for a swim. I was told the sulphur was bad for pregnant people, so I sat this one out. He said it got warmer as you went deeper into the mouth. 

The next stop was to Palea Kameni, which is a little bit older, and looks to have just a bit more greenery on it. It was no problem for me to take a swim here, even though it was a bit brisk in November for ocean swimming, even in Greece! 

Seth took a little nap while we caught the sunset. It was a fantastic day. 

For our final day in Santorini, we headed down to the Old Port in Thira. Thira town is up on the ridgeline, it was built like this to protect the inhabitants from marauders. However, they needed access to the sea, so there was a bustling port at the base of one rather lengthy staircase. We took a little tram down, thinking how nice it was to 'take the easy way out.'

After walking around the Old Port, it was time to head back up. Unfortunately, the line was insanely long for the tram, so we decided to walk up all 900 stairs. Kudos again to Jared, who had to carry Seth. There was also the option of donkey rides, but due to a combination of cheapness and not knowing how the backpack carrier would fit into a saddle, we gave them a pass. However, I very much appreciated seeing them all tacked up and ready. It was very 'Greek island culture' for me. 

Here we are about halfway up. Lots of breaks were taken!

Almost there! This was the donkey stable right before the top 

On our last morning, I took Seth to a playground. We snuck in some nice views along the way, because you have to really keep your head down if you don't want to see beautiful things around here. 

After Santorini, I had planned a very manic, surprise visit to Venice. All that Jared knew was that we were going 'somewhere' for 24 hrs before landing in Cagliari, Sardinia. It involved an early morning flight to Venice, spending the day there, and then flying out early the next morning to Sardinia. There we would meet up with Karo and Jaime, our old travelling buddies from South America.

Until Next Time!  

Greece- Meteora

                                         

More Greece, anyone? 

We continued on down the road, driving a few more hours to Meteora, the site of monasteries built on the tops of mountain pillars. Greek Orthodox monks started building these monasteries in the 1100's, and most were completed by the 1500's. I was so excited to visit this place because I couldn't get over how fascinating the whole concept was. The rock formations alone would be enough to draw you to this place, which are thought to be over 6 million years old, formed by eons of erosion. Then you add a bunch of monasteries, constructed in medieval times, clinging impossibly to the tops of these peaks. It proved to be just as cool as I thought it would be. 

      

In this picture, Seth and I are admiring our amazing view from our hotel balcony. Way on top of one of those rocks was the St. Stephen's monastery or Agios Stephanos, the first one we visited. 

Historically, these monasteries would have been pretty challenging to visit. The only way in and out was either an 80 ft ladder or a net on a rope that was hoisted from a big winch inside the monastery. The whole point for the monks was to achieve solitude and safety. They had originally fled into these hills to escape religious persecution, so being hard to access was all part of the appeal. 

For the rest of the blog, I occasionally used some photos from the internet that did a better job of showing the monasteries in their unique positions. If it looks like we didn't take the pictures ourselves, you are probably right. 

Here is a 'bird's-eye' view of the St. Stephen's monastery, which became a convent for nuns in the 1960's. Pretty recent history if you consider the fact the foundations date back to the end of the 12th Century. 

This picture was taken as we entered the monastery. Although the pictures will never do the place justice, try to picture us walking across a deep chasm on a concrete bridge to enter the place. Historically, this wouldn't have been here. You would have likely been brought up in a rope net on a winch off the side of a cliff. 

Here was one of the historic winches used to bring people and goods up and down

All of the monasteries had a common theme. You entered the katholikon (church) via the narthex, which was full of beautiful Byzantine art, depicting the lives and deeds of the various saints. Then you would continue to the nave which is in the shape of a Greek cross. Jesus was depicted on the ceiling, right in the centre. If the monastery had collected relics, they were usually housed here. 

Seth and I posing with a much more famous mother and baby 

One of the excellent parts of these monasteries was the view we enjoyed from all of them. From St Stephen's, you could see over the entire Kalabaka town, where we were staying. 

The nuns had also built some very beautiful and tranquil gardens, here on the top of the world. This one was full of lavender. 

After exiting the monastery, there was still enough daylight to venture out on the rocks for some amazing viewpoints and pictures.

 

The next morning, we headed back into the hills to see everything we had only got a taste of the day before. Our first monastery was Varlaam, which involved a bit of a climb up some stairs. Luckily I had Jared for packing around little Seth. At the top, we were rewarded with a fantastic view from a big open courtyard. There were also a bunch of exhibits down in the basement, and I learned that there used to be 26 monasteries up in these hills. Now there are only 6. 

It was a day completely full of beautiful views 

This was our lunch spot. Our food attracted a bunch of stray kitties, which provided ample entertainment for Seth.  

Here we are with the Holy Trinity or Agias Trias Monastery in the background. If you are a fan of old-school James Bond, it was featured in For Your Eyes Only. 

It was my favourite monastery. It had the longest climb, but I kept reminding myself that these places are still 100X more accessible than they used to be. I was also spoiled because Jared carried Seth everywhere. 

Here they are, almost at the top! 

This place was so tranquil and calm at the top, and the Byzantine art was some of the oldest we saw. It was hard to leave this place, because it was like nowhere I had ever been before. I will always remember the combination of stunning rock formations and beautiful monasteries. However, we had flights booked to Santorini in a few days, so it was time to start heading back for Athens. 

This was a familiar scene on the many hopper flights we took, jumping from Greek mainland to Santorni, and then onwards to Italy. Seth slept really well on pretty much all of the flights. 

Next blog will be Santorni. Until Next Time!