Our final port

On Friday (June 22nd) we visited the port of Katakolon, Greece. It's the only stop on the mainland of Greece (the others being islands). We took a tour into the little town of Olympia where we explored the ruins of the original Olympics. As you'll learn from the article I linked, the ancient Olympic Games were primarily a part of a religious festival in honor of Zeus. Our guide was very knowledgeable and we learned a lot that we never knew. She (the guide) stressed the religious purpose as well as the training and military background of the games, and stressed the importance that was placed on all men to develop themselves not only physically but academically as well. As an example of the ideal Greek male, she referenced Plato who, in addition to his renown as a great philosopher, also won double gold medals in the Olympic games of his time. Here are a few pictures:

After we left the ruins we went to one of the two museums on the grounds. This one held many of the artifacts that have been unearthed since the discovery of the ruins. This great carving depicts Apollo (the tall guy in the middle) during a battle. It was part of the west pediment of the Temple of Zeus. 

This is for the Griffin clan:

And this is for Our Boyz:

It was very hot and tiring (I pooped out pretty quickly) so when we got back to the port, we had a drink and a little rest before we did some mild shopping. As Mr. Gates said, now *that's* a beer!

Some parting shots from our last night:

Our final towel creation, and, 

a view of the Centrum which went from the 4th - 11th floors.

So now we're in a passenger lounge in the Roma airport, killing time before our flight. We arrived at the airport at about 10:00 this morning and our flight to Manchester, England (via Brussels) doesn't leave until 5:30 this afternoon. We'll spend the night there in a hotel near the airport and travel to York tomorrow by BritRail.

Until later then, Ciao Roma! 💕