I’m Sometimes Unsure What Day it Is….

The days are beginning to blur together a bit and yesterday seems like months ago at times.

Yesterday… wait, yesterday happened yesterday?!? Well first we went to the Archaeological Museum in Sparta.  Then we headed up to the Byzantine town of Mystras.  We took a bus half way up and then hiked up to the top of the fortifications and the view was amazing.  

Top of Mystras

My hair is generally out of control.

Then we hiked down through the old town (I’ve been here before, so maybe you’ve read about this) and saw some great Byzantine churches with wall paintings and mosaics.  There is also a monastery there and we meet one of the adorable nuns there and bought some hand-sewn lace from her.

After Mystras we got on the bus and headed toward out next stop… the pit where the Spartans threw their babies into a well (ew.).  In the movie the 300 it looks like a round well.  In reality it’s a cave that goes way down.  It also has an air conditioning like breeze coming out of it.  They have discovered human remains there.  The Spartans were a militaristic society and so any child who was born physically disabled was not accepted into their society.

Next we went to a restaurant where I had some delicious lamb chops!  

Then we drove for a VERY long time to the southwestern tip of the Peloponnese.    We went to the Venetian fortress of Methoni.  The fortress walls were pretty great and the location is amazing.

 Then we headed to our hotel in Pylos, which is not on the water, but rather OVER the water.   I decided that dinner for the evening would consist of a Nutella crepe.  It was delicious.

Today we headed up the coast a bit to the site of what they refer to as Nestor’s Palace (reference link attached).
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/n/nestor.html
We were lead around by the site director and got some great information about the site and the excavation of the site. 

Hearth in Throne Room

Then he took us to see a tholos tomb and then we headed to the museum to look at some of what they have discovered at the site. 

After that we went to lunch and the beach for a bit.  Then we got on the bus and went to another beach!!  Yippee!!

After that we got on a little boat and headed to Pylos Island and the view was phenomenal! 

Then we got back on the battle and headed to the island of Sphacteria where a battle took place between the Athenians and the Spartans during the Peloponnesian War.  The interesting thing about the battle was that the Spartans had the island so they we’re fighting on land which was their strength.  However, the Athenians had surrounded the island by boats, and sea battle was their strength.  In the end the Spartans on the island surrendered (which Spartans don’t do).

For dinner I was tired and had another crepe, but added a whole bunch of cherries to the meal and I watched the sun set over Sphacteria.

Tomorrow we have many many many hours on a bus through the mountains, driving on switchbacks…