After the fact

Well it was a good attempt to try a blog while traveling but given we were on a clipper ship their internet access was unreliable. Additionally, the schedule we kept became a choice of do I spend time trying to find an internet cafe or go paint. I chose the latter. That having said, I decided better later than never:) So even though I am already back home, I will walk you through my travels.

Athens was a treat for me in several ways. I realized how much impact this small country of Greece really has had on our society throughout history. As a person of the Christian faith, how integral Greece was to the beginning of the early church. I often wondered why the Apostle Paul traveled to Greece. I believe I have a better understanding. Greece was the hub of western thought and culture. People came and went from Greece. It was an international destination to the rest of the Mediterranean. But more importantly, they honored education, religious disciplines of worshiping their gods and incorporated art into their lifestyle and culture. Because of their history of being overtaken by so many other empires (Babylonians, Persians, Romans, and Turks), they were in many ways a broken people.

Our first journey was to the Acropolis, the high hill that was the heart of Athens and site of infamous Parthenon. More importantly for me was Mars Hill where the Athenian philosophers and city leaders would gather above the Agora (the city markets). The Apostle Paul stood on Mars Hill and gave an apologetic for the gospel to the Athenian leaders. Mars Hill overlooks the Agora which was heart of the ancient Athens where merchants and temples resided. I wanted to paint what Paul would have seen looking out over the city. I chose the site that faced the temple of Zeus (which has been rebuilt).

Our next stop was the Plaka which was an area developed during the 18th and 19th century and currently home to lots of retail shops and restaurants. It is near the Agora and just below the Acropolis. My artist friend, Connie Renner, had joined me on the trip to paint, so we headed off to walk the streets for another scene to paint. We came across a street mall and at the end, several blocks down, was a beautiful, old Greek Orthodox church. We could not resist!

So you have some sort of understanding of how I was traveling, my mom has asked me to go with a group from a large church in Dallas. We would spend a few days in Athens then travel to the Port of Pireaus to travel on a clipper ship (see photo above). It was a treat. I will tell you I can never go on another cruise after having been on this ship.

Tomorrow I will tell you about Mykynos where I met the little deaf and blind dog on the beach.