Trip to Delphi & Arahova

DELPHI

Where the oracle spoke.

The delightful Chinese engineer who spent the day with me.

Two photos for readers of Mary Stewart's My Brother Michael. This is the ampitheater. It still has excellent acoustics (I tested them) but only flowers for audience. And below is the Hotel Amalia. Did it look like this in the 1950s?

The stadium, high above the temple and treasuries.

Italian students line up in ancient starting blocks.

Crocuses are native here! And get their name from a Greek myth.

Looking down on the town of Delphi.

Rainy afternoon at the Museum Cafe.

The predator-shaped chimney caps used in Greece.

ARAHOVA

I stayed in this ski and hiking resort town near Delphi.

Looking down from the church.

How they lived before the tourists came.

An old-style tourist stop by the road, with a curious proprietor.

A nod to my dissertation research -- Japanese tourists debarking from a Club Med bus. As the only road through the mountains that leads to Delphi, it's quite a drama on the main street when 2 of these busses pass. Traffic backs up as the drivers' assistants get out and shout and motion, the busses clear the side buildings by centimeters.

Hustling CDs.

I bought beautiful handwork pillows that she and her sister made.

Someone with an artist's eye took care with her laundry.