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Eat, Love, Walk and Ponder--England and Greece 2017
Bourton-on-the-Water
Cool pub in London near our B&B
Waiting for Carole King musical "Beautiful" to begin. It was an excellent show!
At the excellent Victoria and Albert Museum in London
One of charming "rustic" stone houses that characterize the English countryside
Typical churches of England, a mixture of period and style
Scenic spot along a hike
Taking a lunch break--the views were fabulous from this hillside!
Our walks took us on the "right-of-way" trails, which often crossed a cultivated field
Another magnificent church
The trail also followed village paths..this path sits between the old church wall and a stone fence of private residence
We learned about slate shingles, which are commonly used today, but also saw thatched roofs done the traditional way.
Another typical "right-of-way" path through a village
Lunch break beside a field of sunshine!
Trees trying to be mushrooms
Path through the woods
Liz and Dan from Whistler, having a moment to celebrate their anniversary on the trail
Walking along the ridges left by an Iron Age Fort
A house being eaten alive by ivy and wisteria...so beautiful!
Bluebells make a carpet in the woods
The trees are growing around the door of this beautful church in Stow-on-the-Wold
Walking through fields of rapeseed
Sometimes fields aren't flat! This stone beacon marks a battle between the Royalists and the Parliamentariams in the 17th c
Swallowed up in a field of rapeseed
Watching the traditional HF "boat" races down t he WIndrush River near Harrington House
Cousin Penny shows us a typical English afternoon--walking the dog, Lola
The Webbers Meet for Lunch in Poole!
Liz and Dan from Whistler are also Village Hosts, so we sent this photo to the leader of the VH program
Chania, Crete, Greece
Chania, ancient harbour tower
Chania harbour
OMG there's snow on the mountains of Greece...and we're headed up there Ina a few days!
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Beautiful but rocky trail down to the bottom of the gorge
The walls of the Gorge are closing in
Caught in the middle of French and German tour groups, but the scenery is stunning!
The Gorge "narrows" and the river goes underground....
Paleochora skyline...not much there, but a few nice beaches and a ruin of a fortress
Following the creek in the gorge
At the start of the Samaria Gorge
Vista down the Gorge--its along zigzag down to the bottom!
Are you kidding? You think those sticks will stop gravity?!?
We crossed the river too many times to count
The walls are closing in!
Almost there'
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Len on the hill fortress in Paleochora
Beautiful juxtaposing of beauty and decay
View from ruins of fortress above Paleochora
The Greek Salads are HUGE!
Beautiful Minoan jewelry 1400BC--displayed at the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion
Pottery dredged from t he ocean floor at the fortress in Heraklion.
Winos in the vineyards of Crete
Passionate olive oil producer--tasting olive oil is a strange experience
Greek woman pouring Greek wine--we never knew how good Greek wine is until now
Our tour group--Len and I, and a couple from Chicago on their honeymoon
An amazing lunch to top off our tour
Proprietor of the restaurant we lunched in---nice fellow with good English to explain his marvellous feast
Palace of Knossos in Heraklion--an underwhelming experience
This was the best moment of the Palace of Knossos site.
Naxos
Our ferry stopped at Santorini but we didn't get off. This island is VERY touristy...on the cruise ship itineraries!
Ios, another island we passed...looks lovely!
The whitewashed narrow lane ways of Naxos town reminded us of Spanish white hilltop towns
Loved wandering the streets of Naxos town! We were heading up to the top of the hill for a view!
I see you! There were many twists and turns as we wandered the streets of Naxos
Another beautiful little alley; residents sure take pride in curb-appeal!
A beach near Naxos town--we walked for several hours along the waterfront to fine a perfect "palapa"
The Portal at the Harbour in Naxos town
One day we took a bus to a small mountain village and went for a short hike nearby. We found this tiny but still-used church
We found this great hiking trail but ran out of time to go very far.
A room with a view--in the mountain village of Aperanthos
The island of Naxos is very mountainous, with a huge valley in the middle
One of the more developed areas of the beaches near NAxos town--a perfect place for a meal
Is this the perfect beach in Greece? The colour of the water is astounding
the beauty showed up in Naxos town harbour one morning
Beautiful Naxos Old Town with its castle on the top of the hill
Athens, Greece
Guards with pompoms do the Monty Python silly walk in guarding changing ceremony...hard not to laugh
After the very weird ceremony, we watched groups of people go right up to the guard, probably trying to get a smile out of him..
Ancient church in the middle of a modern city
The remains of the Roman Agora, or market
a neighbourhood modelled after greek village...in the heart of downtown Athens!
View of the Roman Agora with the Acropolis above
A proud Greek leader, Emperor Constantine, who was the final ruler of the Byzantine empire in the 15thc
Hadrian' Arch, built by the Roman emperor to mark the entrance to his new city
Amphitheatre at the Acropolis with Old city behind
Had my picture taken in this very spot (Acropolis entrance) 38 years ago!
Parthenon at the Acropolis--always restoration!
The perfect photo spot!
Temple of Erectheon at the Acropolis
This was the entrance to a Rick Steves restaurant recommendation..would you enter?! (we did)
Cupid and Pan flirting with Athena...
Found out the statues on the temple at the Acropolis are fake--these are the real ones!
Acropolis at night--a fabulous view from our hotel rooftop bar
Mask of Agememnon in the Archaeological Museum
Meteora, Greece
Once you got up to the top, you still had to walk up stone paths and stairways to get to the monasteries
There are six remaining inhabited monasteries...yes, people actually live up there!
But what a view!!!
One of the bigger monasteries. All are open for the public to visit.
Stunning views!
Gotta get a "tourist" shot..NO. NO SELFIE STICK!
Stormy weather on its way!
These "cliff condos" were built for workers of the monasteries and also a prison (escape is futile!)
The town of Kalambaka at the base of the surreal rock formations
sometimes a whole building can be built into the cliff face
Yes, these are bus tourists lined up to get into the monastery! Scratch that one off the list!
Monks and nuns lived their lives there in relative isolation...excpet now there are so many tourists paying to visit, they are g
we found out many monasteries connected a line between so they could send messages...before cellphone of course!
What a view! The green spilling through the valley below is apparently one continuous olive orchard--the largest in Greece
Handsome guy at the Temple of Apollo from 4th C BC
Our last Greek meal, with a view to die for...great way to end!
Standing where men in togas once stood!
Temple of Athena, a nearby free site that was virtually deserted
Ancient stadium at the Temple of Apollo
Temple of Apollo ruins...so much history here
Temple of Apollo ruins in Delphi, from 4th C BC
