Meteora means roughly “above the clouds” and relates to the words meteorology and meteorite. This is such a good description of the area. The spires of rock near the town of Kalampaka once held many monasteries and havens in the caves and fissures of the rock, now only 6 buildings remain active. These orthodox monasteries […]
Meteora in central mainland Greece is made up of six active monasteries atop rock pillars. The Monastery of the Holy Trinity typifies this very well. It sits on top of its own own small spike of rock and like the rest only accessible via steep stairs carved in the rock. It was the smallest of […]
On the far end of the Meteora chain of monasteries from Grand Meteoron stands the Holy Monastery of St Stephan. This one is quite a walk down the road, but worth it. The monastery stands at the edge of a cliff like all of the rest at Meteora, but unlike the rest has no steep […]
Meteora is a group of 6 active monasteries on top of rock pillars. The Holy Monastery of Varlaam is second in the row from top to bottom and also the second largest. I went without a tour bus and so walked from the Grand Meteoron along the road to the turn off for Varlaam. On […]
Mykonos was the last stop on my week long boat trip through the Cyclades. It is, like a lot of the islands in the chain, well known for being a party place. We were there a little after high season and it was still wild enough for me. I am glad we weren’t there earlier. […]
Everyone raves about the blue domes of Santorini. The postcards all have them. The rounded blue domes in a sea of angular white buildings clinging to a cliff. Although they are amazing and this post is not about the domes, but about the doors (only a few letters different anyway, right). I really like doors […]
Meteora is a group of monasteries in central Greece perched on top of mountainous spits. The Holy Monastery of Grand Meteoron is the largest of the remaining active monasteries and one of the first stops of the daytripping groups. It is a fascinating place. The day I went, the building was writhed in fog that […]
Kalambaka is the Greek town at the base of the mountains that form Meteora. Although most people come here solely to see the monasteries up top, I found the town very cool. It is small and yet due to the tourist draw of Meteora nearby has decent infrastructure. When I was walking around the monastery […]
Ios is an island of the Cyclades island chain in the Aegean sea in Greece. I went as a part of a week long sailing trip a few years ago. It was the first stop for us after we left Santorini and is mostly known for its party scene. Though none of the four of […]
The Agora in Athens was my favorite part of the two days that I spent in Athens. I was not overly fond of the city, but I did enjoy walkign around this set of ruins. My favorite part of the Agora was the reconstructed Stoa of Attalos. A Stoa is a ancient Greek covered, yet […]