Live by the Sun - Love by the Moon: Day 25, 26, 27 Nafplio

April 13, 14, 15 – Romantic Dinners + Walks by the Sea + Palmidi Castle + R & R = HEAVEN!

Bye Bye Constantine - thanks for the memories in Greece!

We bid good-bye to Constantine as he traveled on the bus to Athens with us. We'll never forget his smile even though he also talked of the turmoil and problems of the Greek economy. One of the problems was from Sicily. The Sicilian politicians had decided to increase income tax of any bank accounts over $100,000. This taxation would be between 50% and 75%. Constantine talked to us of so many problems, but remained hopeful and positive. We want to thank him for all the insight he gave us and we respect him always for his religious beliefs as a Greek Orthodox member.

One of the most beautiful towns in the area of the Argolis Gulf (in eastern Peloponnese) as well as one of the most romantic cities all over Greece, Nafplio was the first capital of the newly born Greek state between 1823 and 1834.

According to mythology, the town was founded by Náfplios, the son of god Poseidon and the daughter of Danaida. The town’s history traces back to the prehistoric era when soldiers from here participated in the Argonautic expedition and the Trojan War alike. The town declined during the Roman times and flourished again during the Byzantine times. Frankish, Venetian and Turkish conquerors left their mark in the town and strongly influenced its culture, architecture and traditions during the centuries. There are ancient walls, medieval castles, monuments and statues, Ottoman fountains and Venetian or neoclassical buildings wherever you look.

Palmidi Castle at night - a view close to our Pension

Athina was such an interesting young lady. Lucky for us, she was helping a friend by managing his pension while he was away.

We had our own room on the 3^rd floor right downtown in the Roman city of Nafplio, once the captial city of Greece. We had our own little kitchenette and bathroom and it had a great view!

Rich outside the entrance close to Rigas Pension

We had a wonderful time in our own room at the pension.

Our bed with the bathroom on the right. The fridge is behind the closet.

We walked around the town on the “Arvanitia Promenade”, the most popular walk in town (1 km in length) - it's dominated by the rocky landscape of Akronafplia.

This was Rich's idea - not mine! This one is for you Dave & Phil! HA!

I think I should buy this for my Mediterranean excursions - don't you? So cute!

A sign on one of the walls - mmmm?

Ioannis Kapodistrias, Greece's first govenor or president, was an aristocrat from a noble family in Corfu. He is considered one of the time’s greatest political talents. In April 1827, Kapodistrias was elected govenor, and Nafplio was officially Greece's capital city. One Sunday in 1831, he was on his way to mass in this church. (This is located just down the street from our pension).

Outside he met two of his opponents, the brothers Mavromichalis from Mani, the wild west of the Peloponnese peninsula and known for its war- loving inhabitants. The president and the brothers greeted each other, before the brothers picked up a gun and a knife and killed Kapodistrias. The bullet that allegedly shot him got stuck in the church wall. Both brothers were soon executed, but the incident led to upheavals and chaos in the newly created state of Greece. This is one of the reasons it was decided that a king surely would be able to calm tensions, and young Otto (1815 - 1867) was obtained from Bavaria to do the job in 1832.


Ioannis Kapodistrias and depiction of his assasination in the church.

I woke up the first morning early to the sunrise. This picture was take from our bedroom. It was spectacular! ....and the bird songs were so beautiful!

Pictures just don't do sunrises justice!

We enjoyed some quiet R & R in Nafplio doing laundry, taking hikes, and having romantic dinners by the seaside. We enjoyed a cute little Greek restaurant two evenings. It was wonderful! We could have stayed another week and Athina probably would have let us!

Yummy Greek bread, Greek salad, and the BEST spaghetti!

We had the same salad the next night - craisins, pita bread, ko koo nari, (nuts), tomatoes, mixed greens, parmesan cheese, and an orange yogurt sauce.

Oops...almost forgot the photo! Great spinach pie ( a favorite in Greece!)

Nestled on the crest of a 216-metre high hill, the Palmidi fortress was built by the Venetians during their second occupation of the area (1686–1715). The fortress was a very large and ambitious project, but was finished within a relatively short period from 1711 until 1714. It is a typical baroque fortress, but is huge and covers the whole mountainside. In 1715 it was captured by the Turks and remained under their control until 1822, when it was captured by the Greeks. There are 999 steps to the top! We REALLY enjoyed our day climbing, exploring, having lunch, and imagining all that took place on the tops of the mountain. There were very few tourists which made it even more enjoyable.

ENJOY the steps to Palmidi and only a very few of the dozens of pictures we took.

OK - LET US GO! Onward - forward- upward- together!

Looking up to what we will be climbing....getting closer.

999 steps to the TOP!

We are ALMOST there!

Please don`t push me backwards!

We made it to the TOP!! Gorgeous view of Nafplio!

Just when we thought we were at the top, there was another fortress on the next hill.

The water is the most amazing color of blue!

The last evening in Nafplio, Athina invited us to have dinner with her family in a village nearby. Her sister was also there. Her father came a little later as he was working in their big garden. What a nice meal and conversation we had with them. It was here that I left my sunglasses, so Athina took me back there early the next morning to retrieve them. Thank you Athina!