We left Nafplio on a Sunday morning heading to Corinth.
This cathedral is dedicated to Saint Paul.
After about an hour drive we pulled into the parking lot of Saint Paul’s Cathedral. We were planning to attend a service there although I was unable to find confirmation of a starting time on the internet.
A grand mosaic outside the cathedral of Saint Paul.
The church lot was empty, the doors were locked, and we were really disappointed. We questioned a man walking by who told us this church was closed but that there was one close by.
The Temple of Apollo in Ancient Corinth.
We drove in the direction he pointed and heard what turned out to be a church service in Greek on a loudspeaker. We parked the car near the ancient part of the city which has its own ruins (we could see the Temple of Apollo) and headed toward the church.
Men chanted throughout the entire service while we stood and sat on cue from other worshippers.
I’m not sure of the name of the church since everything was written in Greek (I think it is the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God) but we just went in and sat down. The service had obviously started but during the service people continued to arrive and walk around paying homage to various icons.
Charlie was given a piece of bread on the way out of church (we hadn’t taken communion).
After sitting through the whole service and taking it all in we were delighted to see the priest hand out extra communion bread at the side door as we left.
This very special cup, a Pythagoras Cup, totally empties if a greedy drinker fills it too full.
Right down the street we had coffee and a little snack. Then we walked around this slightly touristy area (although most people on Sunday morning were locals) and met a most charming man.
Our new friend proudly showed us a magazine article written about his pottery painting skill.
He was a pottery painter. It’s difficult to believe all the pottery is Greece, even for tourists, is painted by hand without a stencil or other guides.
Reluctantly I did not buy a piece of hand-painted pottery.
We had many pieces at home already but I was really drawn to the blue pottery with sea creatures.
The weather and the scenery were terrific but nothing interesting was happening.
After our morning in Ancient Corinth we drove to modern Corinth just to see what it was like. We can say that on Sunday morning there’s not much going on.
Our accomodation at Aggelou Apartments was basic but chosen for its proximity to Athens Airport.
From Corinth we drove back to Athens (a little over an hour drive) where we had an AirBnB not far from the airport.
There was an outside stove and garden over which we chose a local bakery. Imagine that.
Had we stayed more than one night we might have really enjoyed the outside terrace. The next morning we drove ourselves to the airport, dropped off the rental car, and flew back to the US.
Our trip had begun 2 weeks before in Istanbul.
It was a grand anniversary trip!
Jo
Let's Fake the Music 