By our hotel, the Klyemeni Traditional Homes, there was a small orange orchard. The manager told us the oranges were not yet ripe but that we could help ourselves. I told the kids to only pick one orange each, but after we tasted the oranges a day later, we realized that they should have picked a bushel. They were the best oranges all of us had ever had! They were slightly tart, but the complexity was incredibly refreshing. The pretty streets of Nafplion where we shopped and ate breakfast.
At breakfast, Clarissa loved her orange juice and tried to lick every last drop!More bougainvillea and a pretty street.
The central square was alive with activity, including children playingAfter breakfast and shopping we rode a choo choo tram around and sort of listened to the (very soft) narration that described the landmarks of Nafplion.We were a little distracted by this kind of cuteness.
Monemvasia
These are Ammon’s and Clarissa’s bed in a tiny nook above the room where Abe and I slept in the old castle. It was adorable and even had a hobbit like door leading to it.They love their room.Our hotel rooms were right across from an old church.Stairs leading from our bedroom to the bathroom and Ammon’s and Clarissa’s room.After checking in and eating dinner (including the most delicious sea bream fish I have ever had), we walked the old steps up to the top of the town. We turned around before reaching the upper town because it was getting dark and I was afraid someone (certainly me, but probably Ammon too) would trip on the slick rocks combing down in the dark.Coming down I got accidentally separated from everyone else and took these paths down alone. I don’t know if Abe or I took this, but it reminds me of that solitary feeling in the old castle. I thought a lot about the life of women and how they would have felt living here. I have no idea what their lives were like but they could not have been easy. It was kind of like Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston is so pretty, but the past is so imposing it feels almost physically present. At the same time, I hope the beauty of their geographical location and their pretty city offered consolation and joy.
Also, Lydia and Mary made the most adorable dance, which you can see in this video.
