Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Day 9, Olympia Sightseeing Day

Having made the decision to bin off the trip to Sparta, we were at the Olympia archeological site just after it opened. It was a 10 minute walk. Including a visit to the museum we probably spent about 4 hours there.

The site is huge, with remains of buildings of all shapes and sizes, nicely signed so you know what you are looking at, the sign boards being in 3 languages and showing a picture of what the remnants would once have looked like. I only found out as we were halfway round, that you could rent a VR headset, showing buildings as they would have been. That would've been pretty cool I think. 

Despite the blazing sun, there's sufficient trees to provide ample respite, plus lots of benches. It's one of those places where you take lots of pictures but they maybe won't be that interesting to those who weren't there. You have been warned. 😉

The games were started to honour the god Zeus and the biggest structure understandably, is the Temple of Zeus. It's incredible to learn, as you go round, how close to today's Olympic setup this place was, e.g. they built accomodation for all the athletes. Who'd have thought? Of course, what everyone wants to see, is the arena. It's not hard to see where the Romans got the idea for their chariot racing arenas, the shape is exactly the same. They think it would have held 48 thousand people. The only proper seating would have been for the dignitaries, a bit like the royal box, halfway along. I had a little sprint along the 'track', which drew some welcome applause from a small group of people.

Having done the outside we made our way to the museum, a very modern and spacious building. The collection of artifacts in there is stunning, lots of bronze worked objects. What is great, is the way they are exhibited, i.e. they are lit from inside the cabinets, so when taking pictures, you don't get any glare on the glass, just a nice clear picture of the object. Really thoughtful. There is a large display of statues too and it was noticeable how the Italians took pictures of the various Roman emperors. I took one of Hadrian, the only one with a head. Had to be done, after all the guy built a wall to keep the Scots out. Fair play.

One room is dedicated to the statues that decorated the top edges, I can't remember the technical term, the pointy ends! They have an amazing amount, very impressive. All in all, it was well worth a visit and the €20 entrance fee. If you like ancient sites, this is a must do.

When we were done, it was time for some lunch. We walked back into town and found a taverna, where we had gyros pitta, washed down with a welcome ice cold Mythos beer. When we'd finished, we made our way back to the hotel, via a pharmacy, stopping at a bar we 'admired' an old stepthru scooter, with sporty exhaust and air filter fitted. The owner offered it to us for €5k. 😂 Naturally, we declined.

The rest of the afternoon was spent chilling in the room. Before long it was dinner time and we ventured along the road to another place our host Damian had recommended, we think! Grizzly had baked feta, which he enjoyed so much, he's even talking about making it at home. 2 more beers were consumed, so I think that makes the running total 18 now. Correct me if I'm wrong someone. 

Some pics.

See Below

The Base, see above
                                                            
Victory, see above
                                                        
Ready, Steady, GO!

Bronze Corinthian Helmet

The Temple of Zeus
                                               
From the Temple of Zeus

As Above


Tomorrow we are heading east to Epidaurus. Having skipped Sparta and a fuel stop, I've had to juggle the route. If I've calculated correctly we'll not need any fuel until Thursday, then again on Saturday. The Shadslow has been setting record MPG figures, so we should be OK.

That's it for now.














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