Greece Trip #20: A Quiet Lunch Along the Pretty Streets of Milos

Sometimes, when you travel with a group of people you don't know you, just need to go off on your own. Whether it is to enjoy exploring an area, or to get some quiet time, it can be a relief. In today's blog, you'll experience how we did just that on the island of Milos, Greece. 

TAKING TO THE STREETS - After dealing with bad behavior from some immature members of our travel group, Tom and I hopped on our ATV and decided to drive to a small town for lunch by ourselves. Although I don't know the name of the town, it was on a high hill. There, we enjoyed eggs and tea in an outdoor cafe. 

SCENIC STREETS - After lunch, we walked around and enjoyed the scenic streets of this hilltop town in Milos. Some of the streets had bougainvillea flowers draped over trellises. It was the same beautiful flowers that we saw in Athens. 

TOM THE ATV DRIVER- Since Tom rode motorcycles in his younger days, he drove the ATV and I was the passenger. Normally, at home, I do all the driving, so it felt good to let him take the reins. The Island of Milos has a lot of curvy roads, because it's very hilly and sandy, and looks much the same (there are very few trees on the entire island). I wound up giving Tom directions from the hilltop town to the port of the island. Once there, we bought at-home COVID tests for all of the group because we needed them to take a sailboat out the following day. 

NEXT: The White Volcanic Ash Beach

So. Carolina Visit to Tom's Folks and Firemen!

 This past week, Tom and I flew to South Carolina for 3 days to visit with his mom  and stepdad. Back in January they moved from Maryland to an assisted living facility in So. Carolina (close to Tom's sister) so we were overdue for a visit.  During the visit we enjoyed time together and one evening we got a firehouse tour by 2 handsome firemen. Story/Pics in today's blog!

VISITING THE PARENTS! - Since we only took care of the packing and moving aspect of Tom's folks in Maryland and his sister managed the arrival and settling in So. Carolina, we had not seen the place they moved into down south.  We flew American Airlines (we had a credit to use), and had to change planes since there's no direct flight to Greenville. So, instead of a 90 minute direct flight it was 6 hours in airports and 2 flights (we realized it takes 7 hours to drive there). 

   We enjoyed a couple of meals together, sat and joined them watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune (neither of which we've seen in years) and enjoyed the family time. They decided to move to another facility- (a much better, newer one), so we toured that with them. - Although the place they are in is okay, it's not kept up (they didn't sweep out the elevator, and when I used the stairs, one of the door handles actually FELL OFF in my hand!). Glad they are moving! 

Yes, we found the Dunkin' Donuts, and I also found a comic book store, so the visit was complete. :) 

FIREHOUSE FUN - One evening Tom and I decided to walk around the area of the assisted living facility and found a relatively new firehouse (and you know how I like firemen).  So, we walked into the station and got a tour from two handsome, muscular firemen, Jake and Troy. They explained about the firetruck and rescue vehicle, and told us that the station is only manned by 3 firefighters at a time (due to budget constraints). 

About 10 minutes into the tour, the alarm sounded, so tall Jake and the shorter, musclebound Troy (baseball cap) were joined by another fireman and we quickly left the building!

(Photo: L to R; Jake, Troy, Tom, Rob) 

A Fun Weekend Visit to No. Virginia (w/Some History Thrown in)

In October, I took a couple of days to drive to north-central Virginia to visit my friend Jonathan, who is a man who dedicates himself to the health and welfare of animals as a veterinary technician. He's got a huge heart, and also does pet-sitting. In today's blog, you'll see some of the fun things we did over the two days near Culpeper.

(Photo: Rob and Jonathan at an outdoor coffee cafe)

CULPEPER, VA- Culpeper is about 1 1/2 hours west-southwest of Washington, DC. It's the only incorporated town in the county of the same name. 

FAST FACT -Chartered in 1749, Culpeper County was named for Lord Thomas Culpeper, Colonial Governor of Virginia, 1680-1683. That year, at the age of 17, George Washington was commissioned to survey and plot the Town and the County of Culpeper.

DINNER AND FUN COFFEE-  We had a nice dinner at a restaurant with outdoor seating, called GRILL 309. The waitress provided the best service I've had in ages. These are photos of the Raven's Nest coffee shop that we went to afterward, where the coffee and the desserts were amazing. We sat at a sidewalk table talking for over 2 hours! 

REVOLUTIONARY WAR FACT - During the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), the Culpeper Minutemen, a pro-Independence militia, formed in the town of Culpeper Courthouse. They organized in what was then known as "Clayton's Old Field," near today's Yowell Meadow Park.

WHAT IS MICHIE TAVERN - Michie Tavern located in Albemarle County, Virginia, is a Virginia Historic Landmark that was established in 1784 by Scotsman William Michie. The Tavern served as the social center of its community and provided travelers with food, drink and lodging. It remained in operation, in the Michie family, until 1910, when it came to be owned by the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 1927, the Tavern was purchased by the Josephine Henderson, who had it moved seventeen miles from Earlysville to its present location, close to Monticello.

THE TAVERN TODAY - Today, it's a working restaurant, and employees dress up in period costumes. However, when we visited to try and have lunch on a rainy Saturday, they were closed. So, we walked around the grounds, stuck our head in signs for goofy photos and walked through the only thing that was open, the GIFT SHOP, of course!! 

FINALLY- What short trip would be complete unless I got to stop at a comic book shop? So, Jonathan was patient and allowed me to find one and pay them a visit! It was a really nice and memorable getaway... although be warned that in October, there were still a LOT of stinkbugs out in Virginia! 

Greece Trip #19: A Famous Milos Fishing Village: Klima

In today's blog, we'll tell you and show you about a famous fishing village on the island of Milos, Greece. It's called Klima. You can look down on it from the Ancient Theatre of Milos and the discovery site of the Aphrodite of Milos statue, that I covered in the previous couple of blogs. To learn more, read on! 

(Photos: Multi-colored houses on Klima. Credit: T.W.)

WHAT IS KLIMA? Klima is a fishing village that is one of the most picturesque spots on the island of Milos. You can only really experience the multiple colors when you're on the water looking back on the shoreline (fortunately, we took a sailboat cruise  - which is coming up in a future blog- so we could see it!)

WHY DIFFERENT COLORED HOUSES? What is known as Syrmatas are a long strip of multi-colored traditional fishermen houses. They are all along Milos Bay.  The houses were initially painted in different colors so they could be easily recognized by their fisherman owners!  Each house is two stories. The bottom has a boat garage and kitchen, and the second floor is a living space.

ARE THE "SYRMATAS" HOUSES STILL USED? According to  theworldismyplayground.org, they are no longer used by local fishermen, and some have been made into vacation homes.  

HOW TO GET THERE?    This village is mostly accessible by boat, but you can hike down the hill from the Catacombs (it supposedly takes an hour down a dirt path). 

HOW LONG HAS KLIMA EXISTED? Klima inhabitation goes back to around 1100 B.C. when the first settlement at Fylakopi was destroyed. Due to its strategic position in the Aegean Sea, Klima flourished, reaching its peak from the 7th to the 5th centuries B.C.

NEXT: Quiet Lunch Along the Streets of Milos

Greece Trip #18: Milos Island, Greece: The Discovery Site of the Venus de Milo!

 Today's blog is about something that took me completely by surprise. I've known about the famous Venus de Milo statue since I was a kid because my parents had a 3-foot tall replica in our living room growing up. When I was a kid, I was fascinated with the Roman and Greek Gods, so I knew that Venus was the Roman Goddess of Love (in Greek, she's Aphrodite). What I didn't know was that the original statue was discovered in Greece!  You'll learn all about it in today's blog.

CLIMBING DOWN!  - We noticed the sign along the road to the amphitheatre (in yesterday's blog), and had to see where the statue was discovered.  To get to the site, you have to leave the road and descend down a 30 or so foot 45-degree rocky slope. At the grotto today, on the exact site the statue was excavated (apparently in 2 pieces), there's a white marble carved plaque identifying the location it was extricated from the rocky wall. 

WHY IS VENUS DE MILO FAMOUS? Venus de Milo is immediately recognizable by its missing arms and is believed to represent Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, who was known to the Romans as Venus.

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ROMAN AND GREEK GODDESS? In Roman mythology, Venus was the goddess of love, sex, beauty, and fertility, like the Greek Goddard Aphrodite. But, Venus had many abilities beyond Aphrodite; she was a goddess of victory, fertility, and even prostitution.

(Photos: a look at the rocky grotto we climbed down to see and the plaque identifying where the statue was found in 1820. Credit: TW).

HOW NAMED? Since the statue was found in a grotto on the Greek Island of Milos, it was named "Venus de Milo" or "Venus of Milo(s)." 

WHO CARVED IT & WHEN? A sculptor named Alexandros of Antioch on the Maeander River carved it between 150 and 125 BC.

WHEN WAS IT DISCOVERED? It is generally asserted that the Venus de Milo was discovered on 8 April 1820 by a peasant named Yorgos Kentrotas, inside a buried niche within the ancient city ruins of Milos. The consensus is that the statue was found in two large pieces (the upper torso and the lower draped legs) along with several herms (pillars topped with heads), fragments of the upper left arm and left hand holding an apple, and an inscribed plinth (a heavy base supporting a statue or vase). 

AND HOW BIG IS IT?   Made of Parian marble, the statue is slightly larger than life-size, standing 204 cm (6 ft 8 in) high. The statue is missing both arms, with part of one arm, as well as the original plinth, being lost after the statue's rediscovery.

WHERE IS THE STATUE TODAY? It is now in Paris at the Louvre. 

Photo:  Venus de Milo
Greek: Αφροδίτη της Μήλου

NEXT: A Look at a Famous Milos Fishing Village  

Greece Trip #17: Milos Island's Ancient Amphitheater & Bad Behavior

 In today's blog, we'll take you to the ruins of an ancient Roman amphitheater on the Greek island of Milos and show what remains. Then we'll tell you about some bad behavior there (and not by ghosts).

 (Photo: All that's left of the stage of the amphitheater. Credit: TW)

There was a diagram that sketched out what the theatre looked like when it was built. There was a large stage with multiple columns on the stage, but today all that remain are the remnants of 4 columns. 

WHAT IS THE ANCIENT THEATRE ON MILOS? This amphitheater is located on a rocky slope, close by the famous catacombs that we highlighted in yesterday's blog. 

(Photo: The entire Amphitheater from a distance with the harbor of Klima in the background. Credit: TW)

WHEN WAS IT BUILT? - The Romans built during the Hellenistic period. The three centuries of Greek history between the death of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great in 323 B.C.E. and the rise of Augustus in Rome in 31 B.C.E. are collectively known as the Hellenistic period

HOW MANY PEOPLE DID IT HOLD? The Milos Amphitheater held as many as 7,000 people during performances, however, in its present condition, it can only fit around 700.

(Photo below: the front part of the stage area. Credit: TW)

WHAT IS THE CONDITION OF IT? It was destroyed during Roman times and rebuilt out of marble. Most of it is actually ruined and is not in the initial shape as it was hundreds of years ago. The ancient theater of Milos used to organize theater festivals.

WHAT ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS? - Along with a stage and a few ornamental monuments, seven rows and five stairwells of marble have been carefully restored.

IS IT USED TODAY? - Yes, there are some cultural events.

WHERE IS IT LOCATED? The theatre is located close to the village of Tripiti, 5 kilometers from Adamas and 2 kilometers from Plaka. It is above the harbor of Klima. Klima is a famous village that is known for its bright colors. We'll explore the village in a later blog.

WATCH FOR A SIGN - On the way to the amphitheater, keep an eye out of the signpost showing where the “Aphrodite of Milos” statue was found. Also known as “Venus of Milos,” the famous statue now resides at the Louvre Museum in Paris. It was discovered near the Ancient Theater in 1820, and it's also believed to be from the Hellenistic period. The statue depicts the Greek goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite.

BAD BEHAVIOR - Previous blogs have noted some of the poor behavior of some of the grown men in our travel group and this site brought no exception sadly. When we were walking around the amphitheater, some of the guys in our group decided to stand in the middle of it, and mock the Greek actors, and sing in an off-key. After we left the  Amphitheatre, we met a woman at the Venus de Milo grotto who asked if we were part of the group. Reluctantly we said yes, but were embarrassed by them. She said they were insulting the Greek people and should be ashamed. She was glad at least we had an interest in history and respected the culture.

NEXT: THE DISCOVERY SITE OF THE VENUS DE MILO!

Greece Trip #16 - Milos Catacombs and a Septic Surprise

Today's blog is about a challenging revelation that was completely unexpected and a cool trip to some catacombs on the island of Milos, Greece. 

WHAT ARE THE CATACOMBS? There are catacombs near the modern settlement of Trypiti, next to the site of the agora of the ancient city of Melos and 200 meters to the east of an ancient theatre, which we will explore in the next blog.

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CATACOMBS? The Catacombs of Milos are considered to be the most important early Christian monument of worship and burial site in all of Greece. ... The complex fills a rectangular burial chamber in the form of the cubicula of the Catacombs of Rome.

(Photo Right: The entry and exit from the catacombs. Credit: RG)

ABOUT THE CATACOMBS  - These catacombs were found in 1844 and it is estimated that they were built towards the end of the 1st century. They were used as Christian cemeteries during Roman times. The catacombs are three in total and they are found underground. The hallways are typically about 200 meters in length with 5 to 7 carved graves on each side of the hallway. Each vault or grave was lighted by an oil lamp. The oil lamps have now been replaced with more modern electrical lights. 

(Photo: One of the graves within the catacombs. Credit: T.W.)

The graves for the more important people of that time have Christian symbols and epitaphs on them. Archaeologists have studied these graves in the past. Their research was deterred by the fact that most graves have been destroyed by exposure to natural elements.

(Photo: Each carved "hole" lit up by a light was the location of where a body was placed. Credit: R.G.).

BURYING AND CHURCH WORSHIP - According to Greeka.com, the graves are mostly decorated with natural jewels and pictures. These catacombs were not just places to bury the dead. They were also used as Christian churches during the time when Romans were persecuting Christians. 

RESIDUAL ENERGY - As you can imagine, there was a lot of emotion in these catacombs, and because I'm sensitive to it, I immediately got a very heavy, depressed feeling, especially toward the back of the catacombs. I also got the sense that that was where the religious services were held.  

SEPTIC SURPRISE - When we arrived at the beautiful hotel in Milos, one of the things the group was instructed not to do, was to put toilet paper in the toilet. Seriously. Look it up on Google. "All apartments in Corfu usually warn customers not to put toilet paper down the toilet." I was pretty horrified. I thought - "We are paying to stay at a beautiful hotel, and can't flush toilet paper." The response was "put the used paper in the trash can and open the bathroom window." Gross. Such is the way on all of the Greek Islands that we toured. That whisked my desire to return right out the window like an unwanted odor. Now, onto better things.

(Photo: A typical sign in the bathrooms on the Greek Islands.) 

NEXT: The Ancient Amphitheater

Greece Trip #15 - Arrival on the Island of Milos, Greece :Ferry, ATVs, Dinner Dilemma

Picking up from the previous blog, we departed the Greek mainland and took at 2 hour HUGE Ferry over to the island of Milos. By the way, Greece has 227 islands, and Milos was one of three we visited. It turned out that the island of Milos was our favorite. In today's blog you'll learn what's needed to get on a ferry, where and what is Milos, and the best means of transportation... and sadly, a difficult dinner experience. 

(Photo: Shane the tour guide; Robbie; and Rob doing errands on Milos. Credit: R.G) 

ABOUT THE FERRIES - The ferries to the many Greek islands are huge! They a like giant freighters and have lots of room for trucks and cars and freight to carry to the islands. They have a huge deck or decks for passengers, and to get on the ferry we needed a ticket, Proof of COVID vaccine, completed on-line form of personal info, and our passport. That's a lot to show someone to get onboard! 

(Photo: A look a the huge ferry that took us to the island of Milos.Credit; R.G) 

WHERE IS MILOS? Milos or Melos is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete. Milos is the southwesternmost island in the Cyclades group.

WHAT IS ON MILOS?  There are over 70 beaches, there are archaeological sites (which we will take you to), natural wonders with unique rock formations (which you'll see later on in blogs), sea caves and villages. Milos is shaped like a tilted letter "U."

(Photo: A view of one of the rocky beaches from Milos. Credit: R.G)

GETTING ATVS - Milos is a large island with narrow streets, and the landscape appears desert-like (there are few trees). Because of the narrow streets that cover the island, all-terrain vehicles or ATVs are the best thing to rent. ATVs are popular because they are small and can navigate easily through the narrow streets in Milos. Because Tom used to ride a motorcycle in his younger wild days, I let him drive and I played passenger. For once, it was nice to not have to do all the driving (as I do at home).  He knew all the tricks to starting it, and keeping it going, too, while some others struggled. 

(Photo: Rob sitting on a ATV to pose. He didn't drive one. Credit: R.G)

OFF TO THE HOTEL and a SHORT ERRAND RUN - There were 17 of us in the tour group and a couple of us paired up on ATVs, so in total I think there were about 12 ATVs to account for every time we traveled to a spot on the island. We all followed the guide to the hotel and most of the guys went to the pool, including Tom. Because the tour guide, Shane needed to do errands and I'm NOT a pool guy, I opted to join him and one other guy came along on his own ATV (I went on Shane's with him). I got a good overview of the island, all the places he was going to take us the next day, and got a feel for the roads and directions. 

DINNER DILEMMA - One of the things we learned quickly when traveling with a group of people you don't know, is that some people won't pay for everything they order at restaurants and expect others to cover it. On the first night in Milos, we drove our ATVs to a restaurant where they put up two long tables for our group outside (it was about 90 degrees Fahrenheit still at 7:30pm, but shaded). We sat with our friends Bill and Bill and there were 6 others at our long table. The other 6 EACH ordered an appetizer and consumed a good deal of alcohol. Tom and I had meatballs with fries and iced teas. Our meal was 26 Euro (I mentally noted it) so we put in 35 Euro to cover a tip. . At the end of the night, Shane got the bill for our table and it was still 70 Euro short. The guys at the end of the table refused to contribute more, despite all the excess they ordered, ate and drank. Tom and I, and Bill and Bill wound up covering the additional 70 Euro (that's between 80-90 U.S. Dollars).  The others didn't care...      That made Tom and I pretty disgusted. So, I suggested to Shane that people record costs on their phones to make paying tabs more fair and easier (BTW, I don't even drink alcohol, so paying for others' booze is a pet peeve of mine). Of course, we only ate with the group 2 more times and made sure the costs were separate or noted in my phone.   

NEXT: Milos Catacombs and a Septic Surprise