Olympia, Greece

We visited Olympia, site of the ancient Olympic Games.

Temple of Zeus -- You break it, you bought it

This is the original field of competition:

In the back there they light the Olympic flame every four years.

I heard the guide say to the man, "Don't lean there, sir; these ruins are fragile."

Really?  These 2500 year old ruins?  Fragile?!

Of course the on-site museum had all the good stuff

This is the only preserved complete, massive, bronze relief in ancient Greek art.  630-620 BC.  Depicts a griffon.

Glorious artifacts

Sailing South to Greece

Out of Venice our first stop was SPLIT, Croatia where we had lunch in the ruins of Diocletian's Palace.

Photo by Split local photographer Goran Leš

Not bad for a retirement home, eh?  Emperor Diocletian (244-311 AD) was an unusual Roman emperor, in that he actually did retire (the first Roman emperor to abdicate voluntarily) and also in that he was not a Roman, having been born in Salona (now Solin) Croatia, not far from Split.
More on the Palace here.
More on Emperor Diocletian here.

Sarande, Albania was not very interesting, but next day with great weather we went on to DUBROVNIK, Croatia.

Gorgeous, eh?

16th Century walls

Great view from the top of the cable car

Windy above the Adriatic

More on Dubrovnik here.


And then we wandered on to MYKONOS, Greece.

The classic windmills

Inside one, wooden machinery

Ancient among the relatively modern

Quite the amazing maze

Thank goodness for small trucks

Typical Greek crafts

Off Again ... in more ways than one

GUESS WHERE ------- ?

Venice, of course

Shannon and I had visited Italy several times over the past twenty years but had never been to Venice before April of this year.  It is unique.

Gondola Rides, 90 Euros.  Troppo caro!

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection of modern art on the Grand Canal

The Angel of the City, by Marino Marini

Elsewhere in the city, this fellow seems to say,

"The dog bit me right here."

Yes, that tower is leaning slightly

After a few days we sailed away on the HAL Oosterdam

Passing by Piazza San Marco on our way out to the Adriatic Sea

México Deluxe -- Part Three (briefly) MEXICO CITY

Castillo Chapultepec, the fabled Halls of Montezuma

From the halls of Montezuma is, of course, the first line of the Marines' Hymn, commemorating the 1847 Battle of Chapultepec, which ended the Mexican-American War.  Chapultepec Castle stands atop a 200 foot tall hill in the center of modern day Parque Chapultepec in the heart of Mexico City but the hill has been a military stronghold dating back through time immemorial.  El Castillo Chapultepec is today a jewel among the many museums in Mexico City.

As you walk in through the Bosque Chapultepec toward the castle you see this monument dedicated to the six legendary Niños Heroes of the Battle of Chapultepec.  (More on them later)

It pays to be early and beat the lines at popular tourist attractions such as the Castle.

Two hours later the above was a mob scene.

Many furnished rooms represent the occupancy of the Castle by Emperor Maximilian and later by Porfirio Diaz

Lots of stained glass made in Europe

Great views over Mexico City

This stairwell ceiling mural is by Gabriel Flores, depicting Juan Escutia leaping from the castle walls to his death, wrapped in the Mexican flag to prevent the flag from falling into U.S. hands.

Los Niños Héroes are a key part of Mexico's patriotic folklore, commemorated by a national holiday on September 13.


IN BRIEF, TO WRAP UP, in the last week we hit all the major must-see points -- the National Anthropology Museum, el Palacio de Bellas Artes, Palacio Nacional with many wonderful works by Diego Rivera, the Zocalo, the Museum of Modern Art with its Caravaggio (!) exhibit, and several others.  It was a busy week.  We agree our favorite of all was the National Anthropology Museum.

Aztec Calendar Stone

Rivera's mural in El Palacio Nacional depicting first contact of the Spanish conquest

Diego Rivera's favorite subject for his many, many murals was Mexican history. Here he includes a subtle comment by painting the eyes of the little baby looking straight out at you (to the right of front and center) as green eyes, clearly not a native trait.


Huichol artwork, supposedly inspired by peyote hallucinations.

Busy, busy

And finally, this playful Mayan-inspired 2004 sculpture by Nadin Ospina in the Palacio de Bellas Artes:

Doh!

México Deluxe -- Part Two Sayulita and MEXICO CITY

SAYULITA, Nayarit

After our week with family in Puerto Vallarta we bid them goodbye and ventured north up the coast to a little village long popular with surfers.

The Conductor

This young fella on the beach north of Sayulita was 'conducting' the surf, raising and lowering his arms to lead the waves as they rose and then crashed on the beach.  He was having a great time living his fantasy.

Mar Y Sueños was our little boutique hotel, off the beaten path.

Our top floor room was a lot like a tree house, looking out on bamboo forest.

Above us a rooftop breakfast spot

Also ideal for sunset viewing:

We spent a lot of time that week strolling the beaches, hiking through the jungle up to San Pancho, and exploring the steep hillside neighborhoods.

Early each morning, above the distant booming surf, we would begin to hear ... first a few roosters, then a dog or two, a cat maybe, some sweet birdsongs ... and then the raucous noisy calls of the Chachalacas.

If a bird could bray like a jackass, that would be the chachalaca.  Here's one up close:

Red eyes, maybe hung over

After a week of beach bumming we were ready for some excitement, and we found it in Mexico City, the vibrant capital city of México, with it's 26 million inhabitants (some say 30 million, but who's counting).

So our first night we opt for ceviche, that's how adventurous (nutty) we are.

On Sunday morning (Palm Sunday of Semana Santa) thousands of people took to the streets, here on Paseo de la Reforma, under El Ángel (monument Angel of Independence) near our hotel.

The beautiful jacaranda trees were in full bloom

We went on the obligatory pilgrimage to Casa Azul, home of iconic artists Frida Kahlo and her off-and-on husband Diego Rivera.

Very popular place

Luckily they manage to keep crowding inside controlled

Many oddities, as befits artists

Frida's boot with a lift

Some extreme oddities

Beauty-filled place

Then on our second full day we toured the Templo Mayor, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe (i.e., Wolf River) and the pyramids of Teotihuacán.  At its peak population of 125,000 Teotihuacán was the 6th largest city on earth.

Temple of the Moon, viewed from mid-level of the Temple of the Sun

It IS large

Steep?  I guess!

Are we having fun yet?!

On the coach ride back we passed these barrios where neighbors paint their houses matching colors over the hillsides.  Looks sorta like Guanajuato but coordinated collectively.