Thursday 5th November - Athens to Delphi

The morning was spent in Athens, where we visited the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the remains of which still convey how massive the temple would have been (the largest in Greece, originally with 104 17m high Corinthian columns), and the recently opened Acropolis Museum.

Construction of the museum was delayed after remains of a city dating back to ancient times was discovered during excavations, the ruins of which have been incorporated into the building, visible through elevated walkways and glass floors.

The museum makes note of the “theft” by Lord Elgin of bits of the Parthenon, and there are empty spaces for the missing pieces. However, having seen the Parthenon/Elgin Marbles in the British Museum, the remainder in Athens are in a shocking state in comparison, so there is a preservation argument to be made by the British Museum (which still won’t give them back!).

Our sandwiches were eaten under the Acropolis for a last look before we braved the Athenian traffic to exit the city and head for Delphi, where we installed ourselves as the only guests in the campsite with some spectacular views down to the Gulf of Corinth, some compensation for Anne’s disappointment that there were no fireworks. SPOT