Αρχαία Ολυμπία- Δάσος Φολόης

Ancient Olympia - Foloi Forest

I am more than convinced that Peloponnesus offers a wide variety of experiences and landscapes for the traveler. A place that is impossible to miss is Ancient Olympia. Olympic Games revived by the French Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1896. 114 years have passed since then but before that, they have been taken place in Ancient Greece every 4 years from 776 BC until 393 AD, an institution that lasted for 1169 years!

We started our trip from Athens taking the high way until Corinth and then direction to Patra. After 4 hours of easy driving, following the labels we arrived in Ancient Olympia in the region of Elia. Firstly, we went to the New Museum we liked it because it was not tiring to see everything and there were some of the most important ancient pieces of arts to admire. The most important is Hermes of Praxiteles, a magnificent statue of the god presenting him very natural. The statue is very well preserved thanks to its luck during the earthquakes and the technique of his sculptor, made by perfect polished Parian marble that depicts the ideal body of a god as it should be, according to the classical Greek art. This statue at night is transferred many levels down in order to be protected. All the exhibits in the museum are highly protected by special designed systems against each danger like theft, earthquake, fire etc. The museum is one of the richest, there you can see the Nike of Panionios a masterpiece of the 5th c. BC. It was dedicated to Zeus by the Naupaktians and Messenians for their victory over the Lacedaimonians (421BC) but it has not survived so perfect as Hermes. Moreover, there is the workshop of Pheidias with his personal mug and the inscription “ΦΕΙΔΙΟ ΕΙΜΙ” “I am Pheidias’s”, the helmet of Miltiades after the victory of Athens at the battle of Marathon (490BC). Unfortunately the most important of all, the statue of Zeus a masterpiece of Pheidias, one of the seven wonders of the ancient word, has been lost. It was 12 meters tall made from ivory and gold and used to be in the temple of Zeus until it was lost or destroyed. I can only imagine how it was and still be impressed! At least, we could admire the pediments from the temple of the lost statue depicting the contest between Pelops and Oinomaos and the battle between the Lapiths and Centaurs. Apart from that, the 12 metopes depict the labors of Herakles, my favorite in mythology!

The archaeological site is close to the museum and it is better to go there when it is not very warm, we were lucky about that. Although I had visited the site during the school days, now I had a totally different feeling. I was walking through the ancient remains and saw where the ceremony starts by lighting the fire outside the temple of Hera in every event of Olympic Games . I pictured the athletes coming from all over Greece to race for a crown made from the sacred olive tree. Of course their most important wish was to be remembered by the next generations (υστεροφημία). I saw children running in the stadium with their parents and I remembered two things that I had read: during the games the audience was watching them exposed in the sun (no shadow at all where they were watching) from the early morning until night. Secondly, women were not allowed to participate but there was one, Callipatira from Rodos that wanted absolutely to watch her son racing. Eventually, she dressed like a male trainer and she watched him winning. She was so happy that she revealed her female identity. However she was not punished because she was coming from a family of athletes participating in the Olympic games but since then, it was defined the athletes and the trainers to be nude so that no other woman would repeat that.

I could write even more details about Ancient Olympia but in any case it is worth a visit to realize them yourself. In general the trip was very nice for the landscape that we met. We stayed in a traditional lodge around 40 min away from Ancient Olympia. It is called Dryades and is situated between the village Lalas and Foloi Forest. The location is very beautiful, in the nature and the room was very clean and cute with a nice view. The locals who run this lodge can make your staying even more interesting because they can rent you bikes or horses to explore the area. This is a good reason for me to come back.

I was very impressed by the Foloi Forest। It is a forest of oak trees situated between Erymanthos and Pinios river, where according to the mythology, nymphs and centaurs live. While I was there I could actually believe it! It is protected by Natura 2000 network.

I will definitely go back to explore it!

Alcuni film che mi hanno colpito negli ultimi mesi sono i seguenti:



1. Desert Flower

TRATTO dal libro dipinge la vera autobiografia di una ragazza dalla Somalia , la quale e' riuscita a scappare dalla sua vita in Africa e diventare modella a Londra e poi in America . Una storia forte che rivela dettagli scioccanti della vita delle donne in Somalia ma include anche significati ottimistici.



2. Avatar

Il film piu’ pubblicizatto deLL' anno, il quale ha occupato 9 anni della vita di James Cameron per essere finito ma alla fine ne e' valsa la pena ! Secondo me, soprattuto per il significato di sostenere l’ambiente !



3. Departures

Un film giapponese strano pero’ molto bello. Una storia diversa, parla di un mestiere che si occupa dei morti.



4. St trinian’s

Una bella commedia, ben fatta con Rupert Everett e Colin Firth che ti fa ridere facilmente.

3η φορά στο Μουσείο της Ακρόπολης

Μόνο στο μουσείο της Ακρόπολης θα μπορούσα να έχω πάει τρεις φορές και να σκέφτομαι ότι είναι πολύ πιθανό να ξαναπάω. Ο λόγος δεν είναι η καφετέρια με θέα την ακρόπολη, αν και αξίζει να πάει κάποιος και γι’ αυτό! Αυτό το μουσείο αν και έχει πολλά να σου δείξει, σου προσφέρει ένα ξεκούραστο και βολικό τρόπο να τα δεις καθώς το ενδιαφέρον σου διατηρείται όχι μόνο από τα εκθέματα αλλά και από το πώς κινείσαι στο χώρο του.

Η αρχιτεκτονική του νέου μουσείου της Ακρόπολης ανατέθηκε στον Μιχάλη Φωτιάδη και Bernard Tsumi που κατά τη γνώμη μου κατάφεραν να εντυπωσιάσουν και να ανανεώσουν κάπως την Αθήνα μας συνδυάζοντας την ανάδειξη του κλασικού μας πολιτισμού με μια μοντέρνα διάσταση.

Η πρώτη εντύπωση για το γυάλινο εξωτερικό του όπου αντανακλάται ο Παρθενώνας δεν ήταν ενθουσιώδης αλλά όταν πλησίασα μου άρεσε που φαίνονται οι ανασκαφές και τα ευρήματα κάτω από το μουσείο, καθώς επίσης και η ιδέα της ανηφορικής κλίσης στον πρώτο εκθεσιακό χώρο που παραπέμπει στην ανάβαση στην Ακρόπολη. Γενικά, το μουσείο προσφέρει διάφορες εκπλήξεις στον επισκέπτη και σε κάνει περήφανο να βρίσκεται στην πόλη σου που κατά τα άλλα έχει χιλιάδες στραβά και προβλήματα. Για παράδειγμα, στις αίθουσες παραθέτονται τα αγάλματα ελεύθερα στο χώρο χωρίς να ακουμπούν σε κάποιο τοίχο και μπορείς να δεις πόσο τέλεια είναι από όλες τους τις πλευρές, όπως τα έβλεπαν τότε οι Αθηναίοι όταν έκαναν βόλτα στην αρχαία αγορά. Η κλασική ελληνική τέχνη προστάζει τα αγάλματα να παρουσιάζουν το ιδεατό σώμα, την απόλυτη ομορφιά. Ακόμα περισσότερο όταν αναπαριστούσαν τους θεούς, έπρεπε να είναι από κάθε άποψη τέλεια.

Πριν φτάσεις στις περίφημες Καρυάτιδες, όταν βρίσκεσαι ήδη σε άλλο επίπεδο και κοιτάξεις πάνω, μπορείς να τις δεις χωρίς να το περιμένεις. Βρίσκονται εκεί οι 5 αυθεντικές και το κενό της μίας που βρίσκεται στο Βρετανικό Μουσείο όπως και πολλά άλλα. Οι Καρυάτιδες πήραν το όνομά τους από ένα τελετουργικό, που γινόταν στις Καρυές της Πελοποννήσου και στηρίζουν το ναό του Ερεχθείου. Μου έκανε εντύπωση μια πληροφορία που μας έδωσε η ξεναγός του μουσείου στην τρίτη επίσκεψη: επειδή το πιο λεπτό σημείο του σώματός τους είναι ο λαιμός, για να στηρίξουν αποτελεσματικά το ναό, τους έφτιαξαν αυτές τις περίτεχνες πλεξούδες, ώστε να επιμεριστεί το βάρος.

Οι αρχιτέκτονες, νομίζω, ότι όντως πέτυχαν το να κάνουν το μουσείο να μιλάει με την Ακρόπολη καθώς ακόμα και που υπάρχουν τα 2 διατηρητέα κτίρια στο ενδιάμεσο, σου δίνει να καταλάβεις πολλά που ίσως να μην είχες νιώσει, αν το είχες παραλείψει και έχεις επισκεφτεί πρώτα τον ιερό βράχο. Κάθε φορά που κοιτάς ένα έκθεμα, ένα κομμάτι της ζωοφόρου για παράδειγμα, γυρνάς αυθόρμητα και κοιτάς που θα έπρεπε να είναι πάνω στον Παρθενώνα και μπορείς να το φανταστείς έτσι όπως ήταν τότε. Πιστεύω επίσης, ότι είναι ένα μουσείο φιλόξενο, που κάθε φορά που το επισκέπτεσαι τόσο πιο πολύ σε κερδίζει. Αν δε, είσαι ανοικτός στο να γνωρίσεις και να μάθεις περισσότερα για εκείνον το χρυσό αιώνα που σημάδεψε την ιστορία μας, σου προσφέρει με το παραπάνω αυτή την ευκαιρία.

Το βίντεο του Κώστα Γαβρά που προβάλλεται είναι πολύ διαφωτιστικό και ενδιαφέρον. Παρουσιάζει τον Παρθενώνα όπως ήταν όταν ολοκληρώθηκε τον 5ο αιώνα του Περικλή υπό την εποπτεία του Ικτίνου και του Καλλικράτη και τα θαυμαστά δημιουργήματα του Φειδία. Το μουσείο έχει κατασκευαστεί με τέτοιο τρόπο ώστε να απεικονίζει τις πραγματικές διαστάσεις του Παρθενώνα και των συνθετικών μερών του. Δυστυχώς, ιδιαίτερα στα αετώματα λείπουν πάρα πολλά κομμάτια και αυτά που έχουν απομείνει δε σου δίνουν μια καλή εικόνα για το πώς ήταν οι αναπαραστάσεις της γέννησης της Αθηνάς και η διαμάχη μεταξύ Ποσειδώνα και Αθηνάς για την ονομασία της πόλης. Το βίντεο όμως καλύπτει τα κενά καθώς δίνει μια καλή εικόνα των μορφών, εξιστορεί επίσης παραστατικά όλα τα δεινά του Παρθενώνα που προκλήθηκαν από ανθρώπινη ασέβεια, είτε αυτοί ήταν οι χριστιανοί, είτε οι ενετοί κατακτητές είτε ο λόρδος Έλγιν, που πραγματικά σε αγγίζει. Όλα τα εκθέματα στο μουσείο είναι τα αυθεντικά, δεν υπάρχουν ομοιώματα εκτός από εκείνα που συμπληρώνουν το αρχαίο μάρμαρο για να δείξουν τη μορφή όσων βρίσκονται στο Βρετανικό μουσείο παρά τη θέληση τους.

Μετά το μουσείο, θα πρότεινα μια βόλτα στο μνημείο του Φιλοπάππου που βρίσκεται στον ομώνυμο λόφο ή αλλιώς λόφο των Μουσών, και συγκεκριμένα στο υψηλότερο σημείου του. Από εκεί η θέα του ιερού Βράχου της Ακρόπολης είναι εκπληκτική καθώς οι δύο λόφοι φαίνονται να είναι στο ίδιο ύψος. Γύρω σου απλώνεται η αχανής Αττική που νιώθεις να σε πνίγει και δε μπορείς να θαυμάσεις κάτι όμορφο, έτσι όπως την έχουμε καταντήσει. Ευτυχώς όμως, έχεις θέα και στον Λυκαβηττό αλλά και μέχρι τη θάλασσα στον Πειραιά. Αν και είναι από τα ωραιότερα σημεία του ιστορικού κέντρου, όσες φορές έχω πάει εκεί, δεν έχω δει Έλληνες παρά μόνο κάποιους καλά ενημερωμένους ξένους που πολλές φορές έχω διαπιστώσει, ότι ξέρουν περισσότερα όμορφα σημεία στη χώρα μας από τους ντόπιους.

Είναι κάποιος που θέλει να έρθει μαζί μου στο μουσείο για τέταρτη φορά και μετά να κάνουμε βόλτα στις γειτονιές εκεί;

Langhe and our romantic street

Last April we went to visit the famous and extremely beautiful Tuscany…This April we chose to spend one weekend in the less touristic but also very beautiful area of Langhe.

Langhe is the plural of Langha and means in the local dialect, the narrow ridge of a chain of hills. It is situated in the south of Piedmont (Piemonte) but our trip was mainly in the area of Cuneo that is situated in Langhe. Since we like a lot the countryside we chose to visit the little villages there that are very close to each other and spend a weekend in the Italian way.

But let me start from the beginning….

On Friday afternoon a surprise was waiting for me at the Malpensa Airport of Milano. Instead of the familiar Fiat Punto, a Camper was waiting for me, in other words a house in a car. This time we would combine transportation and accommodation which was a new experience for me and I was very enthusiastic about it. In fact, it was very cute inside and much more comfortable than a car to travel. Although I could not have expected it was quite fast too.

Our first stop was the village Monforte d’Alba where we dined in a very nice restaurant “Le case della Saracca”. It is not only a restaurant but they also offer rooms. The particular thing about it was its architecture and its structure. They had made the restaurant in a way that there were floors connected with stairs made of glass so you could have a broader view of the place wherever you were sitting. In its floor there were one or two tables made of wood and steel that seem secluded and romantic. There were bottles of wine everywhere and they had highlighted the medieval atmosphere of the place. The food was tasty but the portions were small. The prices were not so expensive for a place like that for sure it is worth visiting. We had a variety of 4 cheese and salami and a first dish of pasta with a sauce of deer meat. There was a wide variety of wines and we had “nebbiolo”, a red typical one of the region. After leaving the restaurant we had a walk in the village to see how it looks under the street lights and we were happy to realize that it was worth going there.

We spent the first night in a camping in “Vergne di Barolo” where we were only us and another camper but it was fine. The most important was that the bathrooms were clean and warm.

On Saturday morning we were lucky to meet a very nice weather. First we visited “La Morra” a medieval hilltop village that it should offer a fine view. Unfortunately the atmosphere was not perfect clear for that. I have to admit that the touristic office there was very well organized. There was rich material about places to eat and sleep, sights and information about activities in the area (guided walking tours, winery tours, hot-air balloon flights e.t.c.).I wanted to find a colorful church that I saw in a picture there. It was a little bit outside “la Morra” but the street is not so normal for a camper to reach it. The good thing was that you could have a nice view of the village from there. To give you a picture of the landscape, there were hills like in Tuscany but the difference was they were full of vineyards, perfectly in order, covering every spot. Wherever we were in the camper or in a village we fell in love with that landscape. There was harmony and absolute beauty. Maybe the locals are used to see everyday this beauty but fortunately they don’t forget to respect it and take care of it.

About the wine, the most important product of the area, Barolo and La Morra are made from Nebbiolo grapes. The robust reds produced around Barolo are described by critics as “velvety truffle-scented with orange reflections and the king of wine”.

The next village was “Castiglione Faletto” where there was a castle. Basically in most of these villages there were castles that are supposed to be some of the nicest in Italy but in my opinion the ones in Valle d’Aosta or other ones in Piedmont are by far better than them. We had lunch in “Bar la Terrazza” an incredible place because we could taste very nice local dishes in very reasonable prices. The tables were outside where you could admire the landscape and the view was once more amazing. This time we chose a white wine also typical called “Arneis”. At that time I thought: this is the perfect to relax and escape from the daily routine, to be in the countryside, eat nice food and drink good wine with a good company.

Then we passed from Serralunga d’Alba to have a coffee. It is a hilltop town where there is another castle “Castello Falletti di Barolo”.

In Langhe there are 7 villages that are supposed to consist the “Romantic Street” (Strada Romantica delle Langhe e del Roero). We visited 2 of them, Benevello and Neive but especially the first one did not meet our expecations at all. In Neive it was better because on the way to go there the landscape had changed a little bit. There were more trees especially Hazelnut to accompany the wineyards. When we arrived there we went to a cantine to taste wine. We tasted Barbaresco and Barbera that are red wines. While Barolo is said to be the “king” of wine, Barbaresco is softer, more delicate red and is known to be the “queen of wine”.

The last short stop of our trip was the town of Alba that is famous because the factory of Ferrero is situated there. So it means that nutella was born there, therefore it is a very important place…Nevertheless it is also renowned for its white truffles and its wines. We had a walk in the city, we found it cute. There was medieval architecture, towers and tower houses. There is the 12^th century Cattedrale di San Lorenzo in Piazza Duomo. It was quite pleasant to walk in the cobbled streets full of nice shops bars and restaurants.

We spent the last night in camping Alba Village that it was very organized too, even better than the previous one। The location was very nice because it was situated in the nature and there was also a park next to it. The next morning we went back home thinking how wonderful idea was this short but full of nice and romantic images trip!