Day 1: Departure USA
We depart the US this afternoon for our overnight flight to
Thessalonica. Sit back, relax and enjoy the service while in
flight.
Day 2: Arrival in Thessalonica
Upon our arrival in Thessalonica, we will be met by our Pilgrim
Tours tour escort/guide and enjoy an orientation tour of
Thessalonica. Thessalonica may be second to Athens in political
importance and population, but in popular songs, Thessalonica is
celebrated as "the mother of Macedonia," "the most blessed of
cities," "beautiful Thessalonica," and "the city whose praises
are sung." We will have some free time this afternoon for a
short run before we meet as a group for a special welcome dinner
which will includes traditional Greek entertainment.
Day 3: Thessalonica Touring
After breakfast we enjoy a full day tour of Thessalonica to
include a visit to the Museum of Byzantine Culture which is one
of Greece's preeminent Byzantine museums. When all the exhibits
here are in place, the museum will cover the 1,100-year
development of Byzantine culture from its early beginnings in
the Roman world through the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
Next we visit the Archaeological Museum and then the Modhiano
Market, Thessalonica’s atmospheric covered market is named after
the Jewish family that built it in 1922. Colorful stalls sell
meat, seafood and locally-grown fruit and vegetables. We
continue our tour of Thessalonica with a visit to the Osios
David (The Latomou Monastery) - glorious mosaic of the vision of
Ezekiel inside. The vision shows Christ surrounded by the
symbols of the four apostles (the angel, eagle, lion, and bull).
If there's a finer mosaic in the city, we can't imagine which it
could be. Next is the Rotunda, a massive brick-and-stone
structure as his modest mausoleum, while others think he
intended it to be a temple, perhaps of Zeus. Later in the 4th
century, the Byzantine emperor Theodosius the Great converted
the rotunda into an Ayios Yioryos (Church of St. George), and
began the ornamentation of its 6m-thick (20-ft.) walls with
mosaics. Lastly we stop at the White Tower Museum,
Thessalonica’s most famous landmark. Once a defensive
stronghold, it is now home to a museum displaying sculptures,
frescoes and other artifacts from between 300-1450AD. We will
have some free time today in Dikasterion Square for shopping for
locally produced crafts (coppersmiths & jewelers). Late this
afternoon we will practice at a local University that offers
adequate facilities and a weight room. We will enjoy dinner
together as a group.
Day 4: Vergina and Pella Touring
This morning we take an hour for an early run before breakfast.
After breakfast we enjoy a day trip to Vergina and Pella,
formerly the Macedonian capital and the birthplace of Philip of
Macedon and his son Alexander the Great. While in Vergina, we
will enjoy a guided tour of the tomb and museum, one of the most
outstanding finds in all of Greece. We return to Thessalonica
for our overnight.
Day 5: Meteora Touring
This morning we take an hour for an early run before breakfast.
We then depart Thessalonica this morning and travel south to
Larisa. Our visit to Larisa will include the Vale of Tempe, a
steep-sided 8km (5-mile) gorge between mounts Olympus and Ossa,
which has been famous since antiquity as a beauty spot.
According to legend, this is where Apollo caught a glimpse of
the lovely maiden Daphne bathing in the Peneios River. When
Apollo pursued Daphne, she cried out to the gods on nearby
Olympus to save her -- which they did, by turning her into a
laurel tree (daphne in Greek). Apollo, who didn't give up
easily, plucked a branch from the tree and planted it at his
shrine at Delphi. Thereafter, messengers from Delphi came to the
Vale of Tempe every 9 years to collect laurel for Apollo's
temple. This afternoon we visit the famous Meteora Monasteries.
Meteora means ‘suspended in air’ which came to encompass the
entire rock community of 24 monasteries. There were no steps and
the main access to the monasteries was by means of a net that
was hitched over a hook and hoisted up by rope and a hand
cranked windlass to winch towers overhanging the chasm. Monks
descended in the nets or on retractable wooden ladders up to 40m
long to the fertile valleys below to grow grapes, corn and
potatoes. Today, only six monasteries survive as museums. They
are sparsely occupied by a few monks and nuns but they offer a
rare glimpse of Orthodox monastic life. To the west, above the
Pinios Valley and the town of Kalambaka, just as the Pindus
Range begins to form, stand the incredible cliff-top monasteries
of the Meteora. Perched upon bizarre vertical rock formations of
up to 300m (984ft) high, a total of 24 monasteries, some with
beautiful Byzantine frescoes, were founded here during the
15th-century. Several are open to the public (accessed by a
series of steep steps carved into the rocks), notably Megalo
Meteoro and Varlaam Monastery. We will enjoy our dinner and
overnight in Kalambaka this evening.
Day 6: Delphi Touring and Travel to
Olympia
This morning we visit Delphi, the center of the Ancient world
and the ancient sanctuary of Apollo. Here along the slopes of
Mt. Parnassus we will visit the ruins of the Temple of Apollo
and take a guided tour of the Museum which house the
archaeological treasures, the unique bronze Charioteer, and then
the sacred way to the Athenian treasury and Castalia Spring. We
depart early this afternoon and take an extensive journey to
Olympia.
Day 7: Olympia Touring
Olympia, the original site of the Olympic Games, which begun in
776 BC, and the site where the Olympic Flame is still lit today,
can be reached by train or by the mountain road from Kalavrita,
or along the coast, via Patras and Pyrgos. The site is a mass of
marble inscriptions, restored temples and civic buildings,
including the Temple of Zeus, which once housed the colossal
gold and ivory statue of Zeus, one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World’ (later taken to Constantinople and destroyed in a
fire). There is also a good Archaeological Museum on the site,
and a Museum of the Olympic Games located in the modern town of
Olympia. Southeast of Olympia at Bassae (Vasses) is the
well-preserved monumental Temple of Apollo Epicurius, dating
back to the fourth century BC. We return to Olympia in time for
a late afternoon practice. Here we can enjoy training in the
Ancient Olympic Stadium or in the Village of Olympia itself.
for our dinner and overnight this evening.
Day 8: Corinth Touring
We take part in an early morning training session in Olympia
before breakfast. After breakfast we depart Olympia this
morning and travel to ancient Corinth. North of Mycenae lies
Corinth. The modern city, despite its beautiful location, is
unremarkable, having been destroyed by an earthquake in 1858,
rebuilt but destroyed again in 1928. However, 8km (5 miles)
away, on the northern slopes of Akrokorinthos Hill, are the
ruins of Ancient Corinth (Arhea Korinthos), where the remains of
the Temple of Apollo are still to be seen. On the hilltop stands
Acrocorinth (Akrokorinthos), with a medieval fortress built upon
an ancient site. From the highest point, once the Temple of
Afrodite, one can enjoy a magnificent panorama. We will travel
to Athens for our dinner and overnight this evening.
Day 9: Full Day Aegean Cruise
This morning we transfer to the Athens port and enjoy a full day
Aegean Cruise to include the islands of Hydra, Poros and Aegina.
Our cruise will include a pleasant lunch on board. We return to
Athens this afternoon and enjoy an extended practice at a local
university that offers Track and Field facilities and a weight
room.
Day 10: Athens and Marathon Touring
We begin this morning with a brief visit to Marathon.
Afterwards return to Athens for touring to include Athens
Stadium, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian’s Arch and the
Theater of Dionyssos. You will also have the opportunity to
visit the Ancient Agora that was the hub of the city from the
6th century BC. After lunch (on own) you will walk through the
ancient district of Plaka, one of the most picturesque parts of
the city, before arriving at the complex of monuments that most
symbolize Athens - the Acropolis. The highlight of your tour to
the Acropolis will be the Parthenon, one of the most important
ancient monuments in the Western world that was dedicated to the
Goddess Athena and conceived in 447BC. Your tour will end today
at the Acropolis Museum. Late this afternoon we enjoy time for
practice or free time to enjoy shopping in Plaka on our own.
This evening we will enjoy a special Plaka Taverna Folklore
dinner and show as we celebrate our farewell dinner in Greece.
Day 11: Return to USA
We depart Athens this morning for our return flights to USA
