GREECE

After all these years of teaching you about Ancient Greece... :) .

The Temple of Athena,perched on top of the Acropolis,dominates the skyline of Athens.It was everything I thought it would be... a must see city... .

I am road weary and may end this part of my traveling here... I'm really missing the familiar,family-Canada-the english language...hockey... .My next post may come from Nova Scotia !

Mac,congrats on making the v'ball team(I'm not surprised).

The Temple of Athena from the backside.

From a distance.

The Acropolis from a distance.

One of the amphitheatres... view from the Parthenon.

The Temple of Zeus

...what's left of it...15 pillars.Top view from the Parthenon.

Through the Pillars

The Acropolis, through the pillars.

Brindisi,Italy to Patras,Greece

I took the overnight ferry from Brindisi and was greeted to this...Petras,Greece.

ROME

I came to Rome with two thoughts...the Colosseum and Michelangelo's work,but left with 2 words...two weeks-the time needed to do this great city and culture justice.I'll be back.

The Flavin Amphitheater, or The Colosseum(from the word colossus)as we know it, was built on the site where previously Nero had installed a private artificial lake for his royal palace.It was begun by Vespasian and financed by the booty from the Roman victory of the war in Judaea. Construction began in 80 AD.It held 40-60 thousand,depending on the event.The Colosseum stands almost 50 metres tall.

All staff at schools should know and pay homage(my home-boy) to Emperor Vespasian for it was he who was the first emperor to establish an annual salary for teachers.

Colosseum

St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica is the largest church in the Christian world... .It is impressive from the outside,but the interior is 'magnificent'... what a work of art.It is awe inspiring and must be the greatest work of architecture for it's time. Michelangelo's marble sculpture,Pieta,is housed there.It was overwhelming... .I didn't think I'd be saying this,but Rome is a must see city.