bags are packed: Delphi and Dr. Pap

I had to start the blog with something that happened later in todays trip. You never know what you will find, and where. Well, we were on our way to Delphi, an important religious center from 600 BC. However, as we were driving through the little town of Arachova, we were told this was the birthplace of Dr. somebody I can't pronounce, known as Dr. Pap. And he, my dear friends, was the "inventor" of the Pap smear. One of our fellow bus passengers, a male born in Joplin but living in Las Vegas, said he thought if the guy who discovered prostate exam lived here, no one would care.

Last nights view of the Parthenon--well, probably the view every night.

Just a portion of the breakfast at our hotel, in addition to pastries, eggs, had least 4 hot items, boiled eggs, but not hard, I discovered. Yuck. But plenty to satisfy.

It took 2 hours to drive to Delphi, but well worth it. As we approached Delphi, we could see in the distance the pass at Thermopylae where the 300 Spartans died. All the way up the mountain there were monuments, temples, treasuries (like giant safe deposit boxes), etc.

The views here are tremendous.

Restored treasury

The walls of the "city" are covered with ancient grafitti--the names of all the people who worked on building Delphi

The theater. John again giving a lecture, but no one came. Above this site is also a hippodrome. I didn't go that far.

This is the view from the theater. Even if you didn't like the speeches or play, you could still enjoy the view.

Finally, a WC with something other than stick figures.

At the Delphi museum, a Greek Sphinx from the Oedipus story

Depicting the polished shield that Medusa saw herself in and turned to stone

These were awesome. Sorry I can't show you the fronts.

The small amounts of gold found at Delphi. Apollo wasn't good looking, so I guess he needed the bling. There was also Diana his sister, and she was accessorized, as well.