Prague Journal

Sunday, September 26, 2004.

Our wakeup call came at 6 a.m. so that we could have breakfast before the bus picked us up at 7:15. A three-hour bus ride through rural Greece took us to Delphi, the “navel of the earth” and center of wisdom, according to Greek lore. We visited the Sanctuary of Apollo Pythios and the theater and stadium on Mount Parnassus. Again, the view from this acropolis gave us the feeling of being on top of the world. The museum at Delphi was every bit as impressive as the ruins themselves. In the same style as the other archeological museums we had visited, the displayed were arranged in chronological order, with explanations about the progression of history and culture of the time.
The bus made three or four stops along the way, time for tea both to and from Delphi and also for lunch. At every occasion, Barb (and other tour passengers) bought jewelry and souvenirs at several gift shops. Barb, having been confined to training camps and competitions over the last four months, was eager to get gifts for friends and family back home.
We were back at our hotel by 6:30 p.m., with plenty of time to escort Barb via metro to the OAKA complex to catch the athletes’ bus to the Olympic Village in time for dinner. Rick and I went back to Tripolis, the restaurant we had dined at the day before, and received royal treatment as if in gratitude for our return! The evening was refreshingly cool, so our stroll back to the hotel was especially pleasant.

posted by JWinn @ 8:39 PM