Miles has had the interesting experience over the last week of coming home to a place that was only recently home-like. The group’s trip to Lesbos ended and they flew back home to Athens, into a neighborhood and apartments that only recently had seemed very unfamiliar! The weekend Miles arrived back in Athens, he went to a festival and saw these murals along the way. We’re picking up on Mona Lisa and Last Supper iconography, but not sure of the full story either are telling.
Last week, the group went on their last trip, to Delphi and Meteora north of Athens. Miles really loved that trip and said that it was his favorite so far. We’re looking forward to seeing that region too! The photos below are from the area, the last one showing the naval of the earth, according to ancient Greeks. Miles – please feel free to correct and/or elaborate in the comments!
On the new home front, exciting developments in Nana and Grandpa’s move from KC to Naperville – their house was listed for sale and sold on the first day! The realtor’s listing was really sweet – sharing some screenshots below. I thought the property description was very touching. Kudos for keeping the house in such great shape and preparing it so well for sale, Mom and Dad! Readers may be very interested to know that the last two photos below were my room, more recently converted to an office 🙂
Not so on theme, but will finish off with Happy Halloween wishes! Here’s a very well decorated house around the corner from us
And my costume at work on Friday. I’m still working from home, which means that a costume is screen based and involves also choosing a background! In case it’s not clear, I’m an Alley Cat, which has the added meaning of addressing the fact that there are already 2 people named Allie on our team 🙂
Thank you Cindy..delighted ti hear that Miles is having a few highlights in Greece. A real experience for him. You’re KC home did so well to sell on Day 1 Amazing..it looked great. Loving the Spooky House and your Allie Cat costume …Happy Halloween !!!
Thanks, Phyllis! I just added some of Miles’s photos from his trip that didn’t get uploaded the first time.
Interesting murals! I wonder what message the images convey? Maybe something political? Beautiful photos of Delphi. I have heard mention of the Oracle of Delphi, but that’s about the extent of my knowledge. I bet Miles knows a lot about that! Looks like the Navel of the Earth is an “outie.” (Good to know.) The photographer played a part in making our house look especially nice. We’re glad to have found a buyer for the house. I’ll be glad when the move is all a “done deal.” Great costume, Cindy!
Congratulations on the house sale Nana and Grandpa! Excited to see you when I’m back in Chicago! Some food for thought/ unanswered questions of mine on the naval of the earth: 1) the spot was thought of by the Greeks as the center of the world, but Delphi is in the far north of Greece, and Greece itself was most connected to/in contact with civilizations to its south, the Egyptians and Persians. You would think the center of their known world would be somewhere in Turkey or the Middle East. So did the Greeks know how much farther north Europe went, and just didn’t go up there? 2) How literal is the “naval” of the earth? The term suggests the Earth as a living body, which the Greeks personified in Gaia, “Mother Earth”. But a naval implies the former existence, and severing of, an umbilical cord, which then suggests a “mother” of “Mother Earth.” So who was Grandmother Earth, and when was the umbilical cord cut? I haven’t been able to find any myth regarding these questions. If anyone’s interested and has some time to kill with research you might want to look into these and I’d love to hear!
Interesting thoughts, Miles! Travel to the south of Athens by sea must have been much easier than a trek through those mountains. Maybe that makes the mountainous region mysterious? And maybe from a high altitude one can look down on the land to the south, much as a mother looks down toward her child?
Great post Cindy!
Miles’ course just seems like the way history should be studied… in context!
And how great to have that original brochure for your house… congrats on the sale Mary and Herb!
What a fantastic experience and interesting trip for you Miles. Well done Herb and Mary on sale of your house so quick.