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Europe » Greece » Central Greece » Delphi
August 30th 2013
Published: September 30th 2017
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Delphi is famous for the Oracle that once resided here, so renowned for her ability to foresee the future that the most powerful people of the ancient world traveled vast distances and paid small fortunes to consult with her before making any major decisions. Wouldn't they feel ripped off if they knew scientists now believe she was just spouting random drivel while high on ethylene gas?

Turns out there was a chasm near where she sat, spewing toxic gases that made her all loopy and caused her to mutter nonsensical phrases that priests would interpret for those who had come to see her. The messages were rarely clear, and could often be understood as either good or bad, depending on what the receiver chose to believe. Sounds like a bunch of high hippies running a scam on people!

Whether or not the Oracle was legit or not is irrelevant, as she is the reason why we have come here, to visit the ruins of the Sanctuary of Apollo, which once housed her temple. Truth be told, we are pretty sick of ancient European ruins; however, Delphi is one of the cooler ones we have seen, mostly because of its spectacular natural
More Spectacular Than the Temple of Apollo ...More Spectacular Than the Temple of Apollo ...More Spectacular Than the Temple of Apollo ...

... is the natural setting of Delphi.
setting, but also because we arrived late in the day and had the place pretty much to ourselves.

Even without the ruins, Delphi is a cool little town worthy of a visit - perched high atop a cliff, almost every hotel, restaurant, and cafe has a terrace with awesome views of the valley below, and the Corinthian Gulf shimmering in the distance. Being able to get high sniffing some ethylene gas was just the icing on the cake!


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Corinthian ...Corinthian ...
Corinthian ...

... apparently, there are three types of classical Greek columns - Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Perhaps I knew that from an architecture course, or perhaps because I read that in the Rick Steves guidebook - you decide!
Even Cooler Than Delphi ...Even Cooler Than Delphi ...
Even Cooler Than Delphi ...

... is Arahova, a nearby ski town. Delphi is neat but is really only a one-street town, whereas Arahova offers not only the views, but also a lot more action and energy in its numerous plazas.
Taverna Vakhos ...Taverna Vakhos ...
Taverna Vakhos ...

... stewed rabbit and whole onions, in a sweet and fragrantly-spiced sauce. Really tender and juicy compared to your typical rabbit dish, and not stringy at all.
Mixed Grill ...Mixed Grill ...
Mixed Grill ...

... the highlight was the awesome sausage, but a close second and third were the chicken breast and the Balkan-style burger. The pork chop was a bit dry and the lamb chop a tad gamey.
Better Baklava ...Better Baklava ...
Better Baklava ...

... a little gun shy about ordering it again after some recent missteps, we lucked out tonight with this homemade variety. Crisp and not drenched in syrup for once, this version wasn't too sweet, and had a nice hint of cinnamon and candied citrus peel to it.
Nasty ...Nasty ...
Nasty ...

... Delphi had a bit of a wasp problem recently, which I found out when I went to pour sugar in my coffee, and a live wasp fell into my cup. There were at least three live ones inside of this jar.


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