Down for
breakfast around 7:30 am. The place is mobbed. Lots of people on tours. I have an omelet, toast, juice, and coffee. Check out. Pay the balance of our bill 240€/$343.72USD. This was a nice hotel and we'd stay here again. On the road by 9:00 am.
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| Busy at breakfast |
Today we are driving north to see the monasteries of
Meterora. Stop for gas 50€. Beautiful scenery. Olive trees. Cypress trees. We drive through Itea, Lamia, Trikala. It takes us around 4 hours to reach our destination.
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Almost there!
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| Wow! |
KALAMBAKA. Thessaly Valley. This town is outside the monasteries of
Meterora. Dwarfted by 2 of Meterora's rocks. Known as Stagi in Medieval times it was an important settlement during the Byzantine Empire and there are churches from that time-St. John the Baptist and Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary. Our hotel is located in this town. The town is small with a few shops selling local handmade embroidery, leather sandals, and carved wooden handicrafts. A handful of restaurants.
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Kalambaka
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DIVANI METERORA HOTEL. This hotel is only a short distance away from
Meterora. It has a pool which Richard enjoys having. Lots of parking for our rental car. I've made a reservation here for 2 nights. Upon check in we're charged for our stay 240€/$343.72USD. Our room is #356. We have a small balcony with 2 chairs and a nice side view of the "rocks." The room is nice. The hotel pool is a good size. Hopefully we'll get to use it. But now we need to drive to the one monastery that I want to see today.
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Our balcony
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| View from our balcony |
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| Reception |
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Seating area
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| Dining area |
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Kalambaka is the larger town on the right and Kastraki is the small village on the left
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METERORA. Suspended rocks in the air. Northwestern plain of Thessaly. UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's believed that the monasteries were built here on the summits of these soaring rocks half way between earth and sky. Living as close to God in heaven as they could. Devoted to prayer and spiritual contemplation. There are 6 monasteries on my list to visit but they are not all open daily. Dress code. Men-long pants, long sleeve shirt. Women-skirt below the knee. Unfortunately there was a slow decline prior to 1940 from being pillaged by invaders of different faiths. The treasuries and manuscripts that survived are today in the monastery of the Great Meteoron.
ROUSSANOU. Today is a Tuesday so this place is open. It's closed on Wednesdays which is tomorrow and our only full day. No historical evidence for the founding of this monastery back in 1388 as speculated. It is known that in 1545 the Epirot brothers and hieromonks Ioaseph and Maximos built the katholikon in the Byzantine style over the site of the ruined church of the Metamorphis Of Christ and renovated the monastery. Cross a small bridge from another peak. Outstanding wall paintings, icons. Dedicated to St. Barbara. Easier to get to than some of the other monasteries. Because of the unusual contours of this rock, Roussanou is oriented towards the north rather than the east, as is tradition. Hours 9:00 am-1:00 pm, 3:30 pm-5:30 pm. Admission 2€ per person. It is very serene here. Functions today as a convent for Benedectine nuns. I bought a book and a postcard 4.50€. The book is great. It has a lot of historical information and colorful pictures. Worth every penny especially since so many of the monasteries don't allow you to take pictures inside of the wall paintings, icons, etc. No pictures allowed inside which is a shame. I saw others taking pictures so I snuck just a couple. That's why I buy the postcards!
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Roussanou
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Park the car and walk up
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I wonder why he took off his long sleeve shirt?
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Lovely view
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Now I see why Richard took off his long sleeve shirt!
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St. Barbara icon
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Postcard-The Day of Judgement
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Postcard-Christ in Glory
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Back to our hotel after a very successful first monastery visit.
Pool time. It's a cold day so not too much time here. Afterwards we walked into town. Dropped off laundry at Green Wash. 8€ per kilo. Did some window shopping.
ARCHONTARIKI. Dinner. There's really not a lot of places to eat so that's kind of disappointing. This place was open and had several diners eating here. Outdoor seating is also available. It is a cold day so we opted to sit inside and order comfort food. I had spaghetti with minced meat-just like a tomato meat sauce-and cheese. Richard back on his Greek salad kick. Bread. Drinks-Mythos beer and coke. Cost without tip 17.60€. Ample portions, good service, and the food was tasty. Walking back around town we stop to get ice cream 4€.
Back to our hotel as tomorrow we have a busy day. I want to try to visit the other 5 monasteries on my list!
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