Ali and Deborah’s Grand Tour

After three glorious days at Mereviglia, we packed our bags and made our way up the coast to Igoumenitsa, where we were departing on the midnight boat. We stopped on the way to have a look at Parga, a beautiful resort but packed with holidaymakers, quite a shock after the isolation we had been experiencing. We ate our final spanokopita looking down onto the harbour from the grounds of the Venetian castle which perches above the village. We then continued on our way. Arriving in Igoumenitsa, we visited the Archeological Museum which has an excellent collection of artifacts  covering a period spanning from the middle Paleolithic period, 100.000 years ago, to the years of the Ottoman domination. The main focus is the Hellenistic Age, a period of remarkable prosperity for the region. Having time still to kill  before we had to return the car, we decided to backtrack 5 km and have dinner in the beautiful harbour of Plataria. The dinner wasn't up to much, but the view  of the s...

"A remote place, richly endowed by nature, Delphi became a sacred place from earliest antiquity, then a refuge for the mariners who eventually became its priests and finally a crossroads and the navel (omphalos) of the earth" P.M. Petsas, Delphi, Monuments and museum According to myth, Apollo built a temple at Delphi to purify himself of the crime of killing the serpent, Pytho, who guarded the spring of Kassotis.  In his temple, the high priestess, known as Pythia, served as the Oracle of Delphi, giving prophecies under divine possession (enthusiasmos) by Apollo . One theory is that these "enthusiasmos" were caused by fumes from a crack in the earth below the temple.  From 7th Century BC to the 4th century AD, the Pythias were among the most powerful women in the classical world. Before consulting the Oracle, supplicants had to present gifts, which made the priests managing the site very rich indeed. Additionally, the Pythian Games were held here. The ruins at Delph...

Our whole trip was inspired by the Man in Seat 61’s description of sailing into Patras. It did not disappoint. We rose early to watch the sun rise over Greece. And the sail through the Greek islands was as magical as we had hoped. This was a wonderful experience. After arriving in Patras we collected another car and drove over the bridge which links the Peloponnese to mainland Greece. This is a beautiful piece of engineering, opened just before the Athens Olympics in 2004, and used to transport the Olympic flame.   We drove the scenic coast road of the Gulf of Corinth stopping at a seaside taverna frequented by local Greek people having their Sunday lunch. Resuming our journey, we drove up into the mountains to Delphi where our hotel had spectacular views.  We finished this wonderful day with a  dinner at Bacchus  restaurant in Delphi town. This family run restaurant provided one of the best meals we had eaten on our trip,  which we ate whilst watching the sun s...

    We were sad to leave the Masseria, but excited to be continuing on our journey to Greece.  After returning the car, we wandered through the streets of the Old City in Bari  watching the tourists from the cruise ships watching the old ladies making orecchiette (a type of pasta shaped like a small ear).  We visited the Basilica di San Nicola, built between 1087 and 1197, which  is an important pilgrimage site, holding as it does the relics of Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus). On St Nicholas’ Day (6th December) each year, the  clergy of the basilica lower a flask into his tomb to extract some of the myrrh  which is believed to exude from the relics. Containers of this myrrh are sent all over the world, and believers have reported numerous miracles as a result of being anointed  with it (according to Wikipedia). Having lunched, on orecchiette of course,  we eventually made our way to the ferry terminal, where we waited for a while for the fe...

Arriving in Bari, we left the inedible items on the train and hotfooted it to the nearest cafe. The first cappuccino in Italy lived up to expectations. Suitably fortified, we picked up our Fiat 500 from the hire company and drove into the hills to Masseria Grieco . This old farm complex dates back to the 16t h Century, and consists of the original rustic house of the owners, and the “casinos”, which were the homes of the workers, as well as a 19th century church.   This was a wonderful place to spend a couple of days, with a fabulous swimming pool and hammock chairs to relax in, beautiful gardens, and most delicious breakfasts. While we were there we were both saddened to learn that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had died. May she rest in peace.

Our train from Paris to Milan didn’t leave till lunchtime, which allowed for a little sightseeing in the morning. We wandered out of our hotel and past the Pompidou centre before breakfasting at a typical Parisenne cafe. We crossed the Seine and despite not having booked tickets we joined a queue and were lucky to rapidly gain entry to the Sainte Chapelle, which Deborah first fell in love with 50 years ago on a school trip. The Sainte Chapelle is  a Gothic royal chapel set within the Palais de la Cité , the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century. It was commissioned by King Louis IX to house his passion relics, including Christ’s Crown of Thorns, and was consecrated in 1248. It has one of the most extensive 13th century stained glass collections anywhere in the world, and is truly breathtaking (the photos do not do it justice! Leaving Gare de Lyon at lunchtime, our train to Milan sped through France and slowed as it reached the beautiful scenery of the Alps, eventu...