It seems to have become a routine now, that of making an illustrated holiday diary. After the one of Corsica, which you can see here if you missed it, I did a very simple one of the days I spent in Greece, between Christmas and New Year 2023.
I decided to do it in a little notebook that I always carry with me, so that I have a constant reminder of my holidays. In the future I will add the others, all together.
Despite the fact that the drawings are not full of detail, but rather bare and simple, they gather many more emotions and memories than one of the hundreds of photographs we take with the simplicity of a click. The fact of drawing, thinking about the subject, the scene, the composition... this 'thinking time' adds memories to a drawing that is perhaps, technically speaking, simplistic.
I leave you with the pictures of my illustrated diary of Greece, strongly recommending that next time you go on holiday, you too take the time to make one.
I always keep little notebooks with me, where I take notes or jot down ideas. I decided that one of these would become the little notebook for Holiday Diaries.
The first thing I notice when I arrive in Greece is the language, incomprehensible to me, and the writing, just as incomprehensible as the sounds. Yet the writing in other alphabets has always fascinated me. So, as a first activity, I decided to 'learn to read Greek characters', despite the fact that it is almost useless because then the sound of the word does not correspond to any meaning for me. But it is fun! Luckily, the road signs are all in two alphabets: both Greek and Latin.
Prima tappa del viaggio è il Canale di Corinto, scavato nella terra e nella roccia dividendo così la penisola del Peloponneso al resto della terraferma. Sembra impossibile che ci passino veramente delle barche e delle navi (delle navi enormi!!!) in questo canale così stretto, e dalle pareti così alte.... è davvero impressionante!
With the rental car, a fantastic Suzuki Jimney (called 'Zip Zimmy' after the rental guy), we then drove far north to reach a truly surreal place in the mountains: the Meteora Monasteries. These monasteries are built on very high rock pinnacles, making them fascinating. It reminded me of the fantasy world of Avatar, with those flying spurs of rock attached together by lianas.
Ci siamo poi spostati di nuovo, passando per le Termopili (sì, proprio quelle del film 300!) siamo andati a Itea per passare la notte. Quindi abbiamo attraversato quella distesa pressoché infinita di ulivi per raggiungere Delfi, l'ombelico del mondo.
Il tempio di Apollo, e il tempio di Atena Pronaia, e tutte le altre magnificenze che ci sono rimaste da altri tempi, fanno riflettere. Chissà come sarà il mondo fra 2500 anni... cosa diranno, cosa penseranno... cosa sarà rimasto di noi.
Back in Athens, and impressed by the city traffic, I went to visit the Acropolis and its museum.
I find it personally annoying to think that over the years, these temples have been destroyed and looted. Pieces of the temple of Athena can be found in London - why? What is the point? All the pieces of this acropolis should, in my opinion, be collected in one place so that we can really reconstruct the experience that was once there.
But whatever... this is being human: nice this half-bust of Zeus from the Temple of Athena, I'll take it home and display it in my museum miles away (sarcasm).
Finally, I could not miss the changing of the guard at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The ceremony performed by the Euzoni is amusing. I admit that at first glance it makes one laugh a bit... but when I then enquired about the history of that uniform, with the famous pompoms on the shoes, then I changed my mind. Every detail has a meaning, starting with the 400 folds of the skirt that recall the 400 years of oppression of Greece by Turkey. And then to think that one of those shoes weighs 3 kilos... how athletic do you have to be to make those movements?!?
Beautiful holiday of a few days, beautiful memories, encapsulated in a simple illustrated diary.
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