A Day Trip to Delphi

I arrived at the Athens airport, collected my bags and grabbed the metro into town. The AirBnB I lined up is coincidentally about one block from the hotel Paul, Christina and I shared in Athens almost exactly 10 year ago. Thinking back to that trip, I don't recall feeling that Athens itself was a particularly exceptional city, overall...but it was the first trip I made to Europe as an adult so I'm curious if my opinion will be different this go around. Also, since I'm half Greek I've committed myself to coming to Greece every so often to try to get some sense about the people and places here which define half my heritage. This between jobs Mediterranean city hop seemed like the perfect time for a repeat visit.

Getting off the train at Monastiraki I was instantly reminded of what a chaotic city Athens is. It's so densely packed, has narrow streets, and there are people, cars and motorbikes everywhere. Athens can be a bit overwhelming. I'm also instantly treated to a view of the Acropolis at sunset, which is a beautiful site. At this point I'm feeling pretty good about being back and I'm eager to settle in and work out a plan for the next few days. In total, I'm in Athens for 4.5 days. My friends Peter and Janice are coming from the UK for about 48 hours in the middle to keep me company. :)

Athens from above.

Monastiraki and the Acropolis at sunset.

First meal in Athens - Souvlaki.

After some internal debate on what to do the first day, I decided a day trip to Delphi would be a great opportunity to see more of Greece. Last time we visited, I ended up getting pretty sick and we had to skip Delphi. I didn't want to miss the opportunity again. I ended up getting my AirBnB contact to line up a private driver for me for the day, instead of waking up at 5:30 am to catch a super early 3 hour public bus there and then having to remain at the site for 6 hours before the return bus arrived. This was obviously more expensive, but the time and price difference seemed fair to me.

My driver's name was Dimitris. He's a mid 50s Greek man who speaks only a little English, but we had nice short conversations and he went out of his way to show me things he thought were interesting, including adding a "secret gift" side excursion to the day trip because he said he likes me. Dimitris used to be in the marines, studied at the academy and stopped doing extreme sports after being deployed to Bosnia and Kosovo. I didn't ask why, but I could speculate. He used to run Marathons, including the famous namesake run in Greece. Fun fact, when I told him that my family was half Greek and half Italian he told me they have a saying in Greece that Greek and Italian people share the "same face." This would be the first of two times today people commented on my face...

The drive to Delphi is half on the highway (boring) and half on a smaller road that winds through mountains and villages (awesome). Since it's winter, many of the mountain peaks are covered in snow and picturesque villages cling to some of the cliffs. Not a bad way to spend a day.

Don't worry, the dog is sleeping. There are dogs and cats everywhere in Greece.

Ski town at the base of Mt. Parnassus called Arachova.

Looking up to the snowy mountains.

Dimitris was eager to show me this monument to WWII victims.

After we arrived, Dimitris left me to wander around the ruins. Afterwards, I toured the small museum which holds artifacts unearthed in Delphi. To wrap is up, Dimitris and I both walked down to the Athena Pronaia Temple to see the Thalos. Delphi is a really cool archaeological site, with a really dramatic backdrop with the mountains behind and river valley below. Most of the site is destroyed, but there are a couple notable somewhat remaining buildings and signage along the route does a good job in describing what was here some 2,000 years ago. The museum also hosts interactive exhibits that do a good job in helping fuel your imagination on what a trip to Delphi must have been like to ancient people (Greeks, Asia minor peoples and Romans all visited the Oracle here for advice). 

Ancient Greek text on a stone tablet.

The sun is trying to peak through.

The best preserved building on site - the Athenian Treasury.

It's the great valley! I found it! ;)

Unfortunately, most of Delphi is rubble with the exception of a few column fields.

The site itself is as captivating as the ruins, like a mini-Machu Picchu.

Shot looking down at the Temple of Apollo where the Oracle would make prophecies.

Panoramic shot of the amphitheater, which held up to 5,000 people.

Eventually the sun came out and my pictures got better.

The front approach to the Temple of Apollo.

Artsy fartsy.

A group of columns.

These guys didn't skip leg day!

Me in front of the Thalos.

The Thalos money shot.

This was a perfect time to visit. There were hardly any people here and the weather was nice. I've heard it's a madhouse here in summer so if you're thinking of when to go, don't be afraid of coming in the winter! 

After wrapping up sightseeing in Delphi, Dimitris asked if I wanted to stop in Chalcis on the way back to Athens. He said it's just about 15 km out of the way and is on a spot where tides force water to rush in and out of a narrow opening in the bay with great force. He offered to take me on the detour for free. I think he just didn't have much else planned for the day and wanted to visit his old stomping grounds - he went to school here at the marine academy. But, not being one to turn down local suggestions on things to see I agreed and off we went! Chalcis is a really cute city on the island of Euboea at the Europis Straight. There's a nicely developed waterfront, cute houses and lots of restaurants. At the spot where the straight is very narrow you can see how quickly water was rushing through. People would kayak in that spot and be pulled through quickly for fun. Some men were trying to paddle against the current (perhaps for exercise) but were unable to make headway. Nature is fun! Dimitris and I watched the kayakers for a bit while I ate a gyro and we called it a day, returning back to Athens.

Europis Straight

Pinch point where the tide forces water through with bonus velocity.

After thanking Dimitris for a great day, I returned to the AirBnB to find it had flooded! Something went awry in the bathroom while I was gone and there was 1/2" of water covering the kitchen and bathroom floors. I called my host and he and Dimitris came to check it out. They seemed pretty shocked themselves, and we never determined with certainty what the source of the flooding was...maybe the toilet or washing machine. Either way, I'm on flood watch! While waiting for a plumber to return his call, the AirBnB owner, Sakis, asked me where I was from. I told him I was American, but had Greek and Italian parents. He gave a big "ahhh" and said I have a Mediterranean looking face so it made sense to him. Comment #2 about my face in 24 hours.

After the commotion, I took a stroll around Athens in the evening and found a place that sold open-faced Greek calzones. Yummy! Janice and Peter come tomorrow, I'm looking forward to eating in some actual restaurants. :)

Dinner! It's like an open-faced calzone.