Corinth, Mycenae, Nauplion

So here's the 411 on the busiest, but maybe the funnest, day trip of our adventure. We got everyone on the bus at 7 AM, which for college students is cruel and unusual punishment; but we knew we had a lot of ground to cover. An hour and a half later, we arrived at Ancient Corinth--any of you who know our (Les & Phil) history know that it has a special place in our hearts (shout-out to David Romano, and thanks for joining us for Leslie's birthday!).

Our dear friend Liz Langridge-Noti, who is much of the reason why we have this great relationship with Deree, not only came out to give the students a stellar tour of the site and the museum, but also invited all of us over for refreshments at her house. We all enjoyed meeting her family, and playing with her kittens!

Liz orients everyone to the forum.

Ellie meets an old friend. She named this dog "Dee Dee Day Day Water" last year, much to the student's delight. This year she was just "Ruffy".

Group portrait on the Lechaion Road.

 From Liz' balcony it was back onto the bus, and down to Mycenae. We heard a presentation from Erika on the Shaft Graves, and explored the site, which we had almost to ourselves--a combination of the depressed tourist market and our early arrival.

Somehow we managed to have the Lion's Gate to ourselves for long enough to get this shot.

The "high point" for many of the students was the descent into the underground cistern. We warned them to bring flashlights; flashlight apps on phones doesn't quite cut it.

After the site and the museum, energy started to flag; good thing Ellie had all the students to carry her around.

 Determined to cram in as much as possible before our afternoon break, we had the bus drive up to the top of Palamidi. This was a revelation: it's been years since I'd been to the Venetian fortifications at the top of the hill overlooking Nauplion. I'd forgotton how breathtakingly beautiful it is up there; how extensive and rambling the fortifications are; and how, er, unguarded it all is. Gorgeous views, but not kid friendly.

View of Nauplion from Palamidi.

Some of the more adventurous explorers. Yes, that's a sheer drop behind them.

Alex with his binoculars. Hello to all the ships at sea.

Not as dangerous as it looks. Honest.

Posing like true Venetians.

 After our adventure at the top, we drove down to Nauplio, where we scattered to fill our various needs. Some students sensibly made for the water, and came back to the bus a few hours later still dripping wet. Others, including us, had food on our minds. We found a small estiatorio whose owner ushered us into the kitchen; liking what we saw, we ate there. Two of us had kouneli stifado--rabbit with onions. You got a problem with that?

Ellie is in this picture--she's collapsed in mom's lap.

After a hearty late lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon in our two favorite leisure activities--shopping and sitting at a cafe, nursing expensive glasses of orange juice and staying cool. What a day!