 A bit of an overcast day as we leave Meteora  We are continuing our southbound route through mainland Greece. Today is a commuting day for us as we relocate ourselves in Greece. Our planned route takes us alongside the Pindus Mountain range, the same mountains that extend down from Southern Albania. Our ride is interrupted by a few sprinkles. Every time it rains, I think, "Uh oh. Is this it? Is our incredible string of good weather finally over"  We pull into a restaurant in a tiny village along the way  Ate a very expensive meal of pasta while waiting for the rain to stop, which it did... Yay! Food in Greece is so expensive. We keep promising ourselves that we'll do grocery shopping, but we're so used to cheap restaurant food while traveling through Eastern Europe.  The sunny weather continues for us, and 250kms later we pull into our next Greek town: Delphi. One thing we are good at (well, Neda is good at it) is finding affordable accommodations. Despite Greece being so much more expensive than its neighbouring countries, we're averaging about €25 a night. Not bad.  The guy who runs this hotel was so nice to us. I think we were his only guests.  And the view from the room... OMG!  We have a little balcony where we hang out for meals The reason we eat out here is not just because the views and the weather are awesome. It's because we've taken a liking to Greek filo pastry, like spanokopita, filled with spinaches, cheeses and meats. Can't get enough of it! However, the filo crust is so flaky that we leave crumbs everywhere when we eat them. So the balcony is really the most practical place to eat our filo snacks. Gaahhh... so good, yet so messy!  One of the aforementioned filo pastries The weather is getting so much hotter the further south we go. Since it's such a beautiful day, we go out for a little walk around our neighbourhood.  Greek motorcycle police officer. Let's follow him and see where he goes  "...so as I was chasing the suspect in his car, I took out my gun and shot the gas tank... and then KA-BOOM!" I am loving the laid back atmosphere of all these small Greek towns. People just hang out in cafes or congregate on the street corners and talk to their neighbours. The slow pace of life here is really resonating with our own meandering travels, riding from village to village through Eastern Europe.  Had a chat with this very nice storekeeper, so we bought some Greek olives from him. More balcony food...  The town of Delphi is set on the slope of Mount Parnassus The whole region is very mountainous which means there are a lot of twisty roads in the area. But also... there's supposed to be Ancient Greek ruins somewhere around here! We'll have to go out to explore tomorrow.  Delphi at night Oh yeah...  Happy Road Anniversary! We're celebrating another year on the road! It's not often that we reminisce about the beginning of our trip. These days, we're usually looking ahead - scheming and plotting like fiendish, mad scientists... These days, no plan seems too outlandish! However, it's times like this when it's fun to talk about where we've gone and what we've done. "Do you remember what you felt that first day we left Toronto?", I asked Neda. "Excitement, of course. But also pride. I was proud that we actually did it. We had talked for so long about doing this trip and I was afraid that it would always just be that: talk. So when we finally rode away, I felt very proud of us." For me, I definitely remember what I felt when we first set off. It was such an extreme sense of freedom! I felt like a dog whose leash had just snapped and then we were running, running, running.... out past the gates of the front yard that it seemed like we've been confined in all our lives. Out into a world that seemed so very big, yet inviting at the same time! I remember that insane rush of liberation and then thinking, "Oh, the places we'll go, and the things we'll see! I want it all now!" And we ran and ran for those first few months, as if there would be an imminent end to this endless vacation. We rode so many miles, like the very next Monday morning we'd have to begrudgingly return to the office. It would take such a long time before we learned how to slow down. I remember us during those very first days of our travels. We were tireless. Like dogs. We were crazy back then. Hm. I think we're still a little bit crazy even now. Happy Anniversary to us!
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