Olympia

Bear with me while I get my notes in order - I didn't manage to post yesterday, and I'm getting my days mixed up and what I did. Lucky thing I've got Jan with me, or I might start telling you about Dublin!

One of the best preserved bronze statues
of ancient Greece, in the Delfi museum

So yesterday morning we checked out the museum in Delfi (really spelled Delphi or Delphoi, but I'm not one to admit I made a mistake) where they put all the parts of the Delfi temples most susceptible to erosion, as well and numerous other finds such as pottery, bronze statues, pottery, everyday items and pottery.
So then was a whole lot more driving on the agenda. On the way, after driving through the chaotic, anarchic traffic of Patra, we stopped to have lunch on a beach. Promptly an old lady came down from a nearby house and gifted us a massive bag of grapes and tomatoes, speaking Greek the whole time. Very nice, but slightly intimidating. I gratefully accepted them, but ended up throwing the tomatoes out. I'm sure they were good, but I don't eat tomatoes. Still, I've been snacking on the grapes on and off since then, so I'm happy.
Our stop yesterday was Olympia - naturally the original home of the olympic games and the site of one of the ancient wonders of the world, the massive statue of Zeus.

THE Olympic Stadium

Again the whole place looked like Zeus had been playing jenga - the very minimal, bare stadium itself was the tidiest and most well preserved part of the complex, but the rest of the area was made up of a jumble of temples, accomodation and other buildings that have since fallen into ruin. Unfortunately the statue of Zeus is long gone - destroyed and melted down, but I did take a leisurely walk up and down the stadium where 2500 years ago Greek athletes sprinted like things possessed.

Temple of Zeus. Well, what's left of it.