Mother....Greece.... Glimpses

I want to reminisce some of the great moments of traveling with my Mother.  In 2001 suddenly we planned for a Mom and daughter vacation.  First, we headed to Switzerland, spent some days in Zurich and then went to Athens. My Mother couldn't wait to go to Greece.  She prepared more for this tour by getting books from the library and brushed her knowledge about the history of Greece.  During the entire trip I never needed a tour guide as my Mom was the walking encyclopedia, guide and a historian.

We landed in Athens around 7.00pm. On our way to the hotel we could see the Acropolis veiled in florescent lights.  We stayed at the Hilton Athens and I think the Manager must have read the excitement on my Mom's face and he gave us the room with the Acropolis view. Both of us stood in the balcony gazing the Acropolis and my Mom said, "Today, the temple of the Goddess Athena was just a reminder of the past but the vibration still brings numerous modern day pilgrims - the tourists".

Next day we started exploring the classic side of Greece. Our first stop was the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion. It is a beautiful seaside and we felt sad for the ruins. We also saw Lord Byron's graffiti in one of the pillars. It was a great day trip and we enjoyed every minute of it.

 Much awaited Acropolis! I was humming the music of Yanni whereas Mom was telling about the Elgin collections in the British Museum that were taken from the Acropolis. Her unique sari always collects fans for her. I remember this guy from Bulgaria was so interested in taking a picture with Mom!

When she saw the Olive tree supposedly an offspring from the sacred tree that belonged to the Temple in its heydays, my Mom was happy to go around the tree in clockwise as in Indian tradition and prayed. I could still remember the gleam in her eyes filled with serene peace and joy.  After a nice dinner at the Placa (a bazaar near Acropolis), we returned to the hotel. The moon was bright and the Acropolis looked beautiful silently witnessing the passing of civilizations, cities, wars, opulence and people - with the knowledge that everything on this earth will pass....

My Mom started telling me the history of Mycenae our next location.

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