Sat, April 11

Started the day early with a climactic hike up to the Acropolis. The wind had finally died down, the skies were clear & the temp had risen! It was a perfect morning! After 3 days of going to the various museums & learning the history & seeing the artifacts-- it was incredible to see it all! It's one of those experiences like seeing the Taj Mahal-- you've seen the image a hundred times, but actually seeing it just doesn't compare. The Acropolis is fantastic-- in spite of the Invasions, explosions, looting & theft, it is just awe inspiring. What a morning! We picked up our rental car at 1:30pm & headed north to Lake Plastira ringed by snow-covered peaks. We were making great time & then all of a sudden, we don't know what happened--but we were lost & ,Agatha, our GPS wasn't helping. We finally stopped at this taverna in a tiny village for help. The husband didn't speak English, but his wife did, kind of. Between the 4 of us we pieced together directions & found that we were about 30 miles off course. Following their multi-lingual instructions (English, Greek, sign language & hugging), we made it to our darling little 4 room B&B on the edge of the lake.  Only 2 hours late! The owner, Catherine, offered us her homemade candied apricots-- we needed fermented fruit that had turned to alcohol, but politely accepted the fruit. We soon made it to the local taverna for local trout & lamb stew AND a bottle of local wine. We're back now & waiting to go to midnight Greek Orthodox Mass. We tried to say we were too tired, but they insisted it was the most special ceremony. We couldn't refuse especially since we'd gobbled up their candied apricots. So Happy Greek Orthodox Easter to all,, more to follow . . .