It is a bit unnerving flying through a war zone, but we figured the airline would take all precautions to protect its clientele/profits. The flight via Doha was fine and cattle class is hard work, but we managed. Interesting fact:  Athens and Doha are three thousand miles apart, and during the European summer, they share the same time zone.

On arrival in Athens, we found our driver who took us to the hotel just outside the airport where we had a night before picking up the rental car the following day. We had to go to an ATM to get some cash, so a driver took us to Artemida, a seaside suburb of Athens, just a few minutes drive away. Well, that was interesting. We paid €6.99 to withdraw €200. We were tired and not thinking clearly. After recovering from our ATM blunder, we became fascinated with the scene around us. We were at an intersection of a sort with what initially looked like four restaurants but were in fact just one. Wait staff scrambled from the kitchen and bar across traffic delivering drinks and dishes to the hundred plus diners ensconced in the covered beach tavernas. It was amazing. There seem to be one rule…’don’t kill the person carrying trays, everyone else is fair game.’

I wasn’t impressed with OK Mobility, the car rental company but compared to other clients my issues were minor. The Danish family were complaining the shuttle bus was two hours late and the car provided was way too small for the family of five. Meanwhile when we wanted to get to the office two hours early it was not possible as our car wasn’t ready. Thing is there never was a car in that category.  ‘A glitch in the system,’ she explained. Yeah right!!! Then I checked the car. There was a damaged front fender and just to challenge us it was less than a quarter full. ‘Oh we have plenty of service stations,’ she said. I had booked it eons ago and it was so ridiculously cheap and by that time we were in a bit of a hurry so I was agreeable. We set off for Delphi. Not long after seven we had parked, checked in and found a wonderful place to have a fabulous meal.

 Later I wasn’t feeling that great. It had to happen. My immune system had been sending me signals for days – itchy eyes, runny nose, fatigue and I just ignored her, so she packed up and left me with a diabolical summer cold! I think everyone gets to a certain age and that’s where they stay. I think I’m 45! I’m so shocked when I discover I can’t keep up with my imaginary self! This cold began in my head and worked its way through the central sections then attacking and weakening the nether regions. My plumbing suffered! You have no comprehension of this sort of thing when you are just 45! Thank goodness for drugs.

We did try to get to the archeological site early but breakfast, for what it was worth, didn’t start until eight. It was a one-star hotel, still it was clean and had a great view.  We arrived at the museum to find hundreds of kids. Oh yeah, the Greeks are not on holidays yet. Despite this we found we were not overwhelmed and the museum was fabulous. The ticket entitled us to visit the museum and the site two hundred metres up the road. Fortunately, we were able to break up our visit just as long as we returned on the same day.

Great. Lunch. We head for Arachova, Greece’s premier mountain escape and ski resort and just minutes from Delphi. It’s a very cute village perched on the side of the mountain with all the normal touristy shops and great restaurants offering wonderful local dishes such as fried Formaella cheese with a lemon sauce- delicious! We wandered around then headed back to the hotel for a quick nap before tackling the historic home of the Oracle of Apollo and the Omphalos (the ancient ‘Centre of the World’). Sometimes we nail it. The site closes at 20:00. Tourist buses and school groups are gone by 16:00 so turning up at 17:00 was a masterstroke and just to add to the atmosphere a storm was brewing menacingly. We shared this amazing site with a handful of devotees.

The Oracle was a woman, over fifty of impeccable moral standing, usually a peasant, who sat on a tripod above a fissure exuding hallucinogenic gases, chewing laurel leaves and responding to questions the answers to which were interpreted by priests and conveyed in ambiguous verses. Ahhh mansplaining!!! History repeats!