Saturday, June 21, 2025
We went back to the mainland on the Flying Cat. It was a nice trip, but the cat was a bit hairy, making my sinuses act up a bit. On top of that we were positioned near the tail and so the trip was a bit twitchy. (LOL!)
In actuality, the Flying Cat was a huge catamaran that took us back to Piraeus, where George was waiting to take us to the National Museum in Athens.
The National Museum holds some of the most important treasures of Greece. The vases (of all sizes) have exquisite decoration and the jewelry uses stones from across the known world at the time, showing the large trading networks.
Artifacts found from the Battle of
Thermopylae recall how a small Spartan force held a mountain pass against the might of the
Persian army.
This larger-than-life statue is either
Zeus or Poseidon. It is unclear because we do not know what he was
holding. Poseidon would be holding a
trident, or Zeus a lightning bolt. In
either case, it is a marvelous sculpture.
Below is the racing horse with its
very, very young jockey. Uncharacteristic
emotion shows in both rider and horse.
There was also a fascinating display of
medical implements, with many examples that we might see in any medical office
today. Forceps, clamps, probes, needles,
and spreaders are just some of the many instruments.
Probably though, the most interesting
thing there was the famous Antikythera Mechanism, a bronze, hand-powered device
discovered on a shipwreck in the first century BCE. It could be used to predict eclipses, track the
phases of the moon and the motion of the planets. It has been called the first analog
computer
It used a complex system of interlocking gears that move various dials. The device was found in pieces and some of the gears are missing. But it is believed to have been constructed in the 2nd century BC and uses technology not seen again for over 1200 years.
Before we left the museum, we got a photo of Ioanna with Mamma Fey.
Back at the hotel, it was time for a snack run. Ioanna told us that there was a loukoumades place nearby and some of went to check it out. Loukoumades are basically fried balls of dough with honey and cinnamon. They had several different filled varieties, but you could only buy them in lots of ten. So, we just had to suffer through eating ten of them—like that was such a burden! I got two regulars, then two lemons, two cream, two chocolates, and two with Dubai chocolate (which is chocolate with pistachio filling). And they were sooo delicious, especially the Dubai chocolate! YUM!!
Then it was time to rest a bit and clean up for our last dinner together. And we had a surprise guest – Alfredo came to dinner with us and he is feeling much better. So, we had the chance to have a goodbye meal with both of our guides.
And now our time in Greece comes to an
end, at least for this trip. As always,
meeting new friends was the best part of our trip.
Rose and Thorns:
Worst thing that happened – losing Lyle’s wedding ring, flight delays getting home