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Published: April 2nd 2018
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The first Olympic games were held nearly 2800 years ago and today I stood where they competed and held victory so long ago. Our travel group was up and ready for the day and the first stop was by all accounts an Olympic one. We visited the first Olympic Stadium in Olympia, Greece.
We met our guide for the day, an older Greek woman with so much knowledge, that time ran out before she was done. She told of how the participants came, how they camped by the river with their families and where they competed for each sport. She spoke of the temples and Zeus, of how the men competed naked due to the temperatures and how women were not allowed into the stadium at all. When thinking of an Olympic Stadium, I expect something grandeur, some type of structure similar to the buildings of that era, but the stadium was nothing more than an open field about 600 feet long and the seating area was the grass hills around the stadium. I tried to get Shelby to run around the stadium just like they did in ancient times, but she refused. Instead she just stood on the finish
line. The ancien Olympic Games were created as a festival for Zeus. Participants were required to have Greek ancestors to participate and an Olympic truce was enacted during the time of the games so that the participants could travel to the games without worrying about their safety
Even though there was not any structures around the stadium, there were plenty in the Olympic area including a gym, council housing, temples, judges housing, competition area and other components. It was a true Olympic village. There were statues depicting the winners and cheaters at one time, but now only the pedestals remain. I am amazed that such structures were built in those times and to the level of detail they included. The area is truly a masterpiece. Over the years more buidlings were added and more events were added. After touring the first Olympic village, we walked through the museum and saw many stattues and relics of the times. Historians state the games continued until the year 394 - when they were banned because they were thought to be a pagan event.
The next stop of the day was at a special olive business that Mimmo visits often. It was
there that we got to participate in olive tasting, olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting and for the adults - wine tasting. The owner had a very large spread and a huge variety. Everyone enjoyed all of the tastings and some purchased items to take home. I was not about to chance a bottle of olive oil breaking in my luggage, so I declined.
Then it was lunch time. We had a special treat at a local restaurant titled Tourist Club. The restaurant was very charming and is exactly what you expect in Greece. It was an authentic Greek style buffet with so many options that you could not try them all. And it tasted fantastic. After we were all stuffed, we boarded the bus for the long ride to Patras.
We arrived in Patras, which is a very busy city and a bit more modern than we have seen so far. It is a port city and where we needed to board the ferry for our trip to Italy. With our passports in hand, we retrieved our ticket, went through security and found our tiny cabins. We met back up for dinner and just hung out a
bit talking and playing games. About the time we decided to go to our rooms for the night was when the ferry started to rock. Like hold onto all hand rails kind of rocking. And then several people started getting sea sickness. Including my roommate - in our tiny cabin. Not fun. It was going to be a long night
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