Delphi to Athens (Peania)

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Geo: 37.9523, 23.852

This was a bit of a travel day - it was a 3 hour drive, so we didn't have to start too early but didn't want to arrive too early at the B&B that we had found near the airport in Athens.

We left after breakfast and drove through the next town (10 mins away) of Arachova. Frankly, we should have done this yesterday afternoon rather than exploring Delphi, as Arachova is much prettier. It is famous for its woven rugs etc and is a ski town. We didn't stop because we weren't sure of our timing and wanted to get underway - next time! 😉

Then a lovely drive through mountains, with small amounts of snow on the side of the road. At one stage, a dark-haired man appeared on the side of the road, waving his hand at us. We were nervous as to why he was stopping us - but then we realized it was so his sheep could cross the road!

We drove through the village of Distoma (where nazis killed everyone in the village) through lovely countryside to Hosias Loukas, a monastery situated on the slopes of Mount Helicon. It was founded in the early 10th century AD by the hermit, Venerable (Greek: Hosios) St. Luke. This was such a peace-filled place - if I am ever stressed out to breaking point, look for me here. Monks still live at the monastery, and I loved seeing a couple of orthodox priests deep in conversation. We bought some icons and some super yummy sesame snacks.

Then we drove on - Steven had found a recommendation online that we stop at Leivadia, which it described as one of the prettiest towns in Greece. We must have missed those bit! We drove in, and found a one-way system in total chaos, with people blocking streets with their cars and parking in intersections (hiding the "one way only" signs! After 20 mins of stress, we shook the dust from our feet, metaphorically speaking, and drove on. By this stage, we kind of realize that we have run out of many options for lunch - luckily, a few kilometers further on, we found a bakery and bought a few filo pastry things (and the lovely baker gave us all melomakarona biscuits - http://www.mygreekdish.com/recipe/melomakarona-greek-christmas-honey-cookies/)

We quickly joined the motorway and found ourselves in Peania (one suburb away from the airport) before 3pm - and I'd told our B&B host that we would probably not arrive before 6pm. When we found that no one was home at the B&B, we found a cafe for 30 mins. Then a quiet afternoon before dinner at the next door taberna. A great night and a great farewell to Greece.

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