On May 16 we returned our rental car in Perpignan, France and boarded a high speed train for Barcelona, Spain (BCN). While on the train we sat across from a couple from Australia - who also happened to be traveling for a year. The trip took about 2.5 hours and we spent the whole time comparing notes and learning about each others lives. It was a great gift for us as we'd had very little opportunity to talk with people for the past month - due to our lack of French. We had good connections via metro from the airport to the hostel that we booked in downtown BCN, which had a lovely terrace for relaxing on.
Since we only had a short time in BCN, we promptly headed for the Sagrada Familia, an incredible Basilica (that is still under construction) designed by Antoni Gaudi. He has designed at least 10 buildings in BCN (6 of them are World Heritage sites) From here we strolled the famous La Rambla walking street, then hung out at the Catalunya Plaza with its fountains, flowers and interesting people-watching opportunites. Our favorite memory of BCN however, was the chance to meet up with an old friend, Carla Santizo de Montenegro. Carla grew up in Guatemala and along with her family, hosted us on our past missions trips to her home country. Carla and her husband and 3 boys pastor a church in BCN. We had a wonderful visit together.
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Sagrada Familia in Barcelona
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Inside the Sagrada Familia
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| Meeting our friend Carla at Catalunya Plaza in Barcelona |
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Next morning we boarded a flight to Athens, Greece where the following day, we met up with Olive's brother Ed, his wife Bert and a day later their son Nathan. During our 3 days in Athens, we explored the Agora area, the Acropolis and Parthenon, the National Archaeological Museum, the National Garden, the Plaka and other temples and ruins. We really enjoyed Greek foods and were thrilled to have another opportunity to spend a couple of weeks traveling with family members (we spent a week with Olive's sister and husband earlier in Australia).
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| Looking up at the Acropolis overlooking Athens |
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Visiting the Parthenon with Ed, Nathan & Bert
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| The Acropolis at dusk |
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On May 19, the whole group of us rented a car and drove up to Delphi to see more archaeological sites including the museum, the sanctuary of Apollo with its many ruins, the gymnasium and the temple of Athena. We stayed at a hotel with a balcony overlooking a beautiful valley of olive trees and the Corinthian Sea in the distance. It is hard to explain the historical significance of what we have seen in Greece so I am not even going to try, there is just too much history that it overwhelms. You will have to experience it for yourself!
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| View from our hotel balcony in Delphi |
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| Theatre in Delhpi |
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| Temple of Apollo in Delphi |
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| Looking out at the bay in Rhodes |
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| Beach in Rhodes |
We left Athens in the evening of the 20th and flew to the island of Rhodes where we have continued sightseeing. We have enjoyed great food, drinks, an afternoon at the beach and the people of Greece that we have met.
On May 23, we will part ways for a little while; I will catch a ferry to Santorini, Olive/Ed/Bert/Nathan will catch a ferry to Fethiye, Turkey where the girls will begin a 7 day cruise around the coast of Turkey with 5 other women from Canada and the guys will head out to explore Turkey. I plan to meet up again with the girls on May 31 and then we will meet up with the guys around June 4.
We are continuing to have an incredible time and so often find it hard to believe how fortunate we are to enjoy and experience all that we are.
