Living in the Sky

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Continuing the journey through Greece, I have made it to Meteora! After the last night in Athens and leaving in three inches of snow, we arrived in Meteora a little before 6pm. Shortly after, the city or town was explored. I find it to be quite quaint and must be a hot tourist destination in the summer as there are many hotels, cafes, tavernas, and beautiful places to sit if there were flowers.

Today, we went up to the monasteries in the sky. The first place we went to was Varlaam and the second of St. Stephen. The bus wound it's way up the valley to the rock pillars rising up out of what was once a lake bed but the sandstone was washed away leaving these great fixtures. Once we were at the top, we could look out over the valley and see the mountains rising up the other side of the valley as well as other monasteries on rocks. Inside the monastery of Varlaam, the icons were a little older, but none the less beautiful. Since women had to be wearing skirts, I had to put on a wrap skirt over my pants before entering the buildings. At St Stephen, the icons were more newly painted and were bright and beautiful. Unfortunately no photography was allowed inside.

After site visiting, we went for lunch. A few of us ended up at a cute little family owned Greek Taverna. It was a couple of about 30 and their 2 year old son. Probably the cutest little boy I've ever seen. The food was also delicious. I had toast mixed (toasted ham and cheese) and oregano balls (mashed potatoes, onions, oregano, and secret ingredients formed into balls and fried in olive oil). After we went to a bakery and I got a piece of black forest cake (yum).

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