Home Sweet Home

I have made it back into the states, and

I am almost home. This is the home of

the famous Minoan king whose palace

was compared to a labyrinth (thus the

story of the Minotaur, etc). We toured this

location on the island of Crete during our

cruise. I really wanted to see the famous

frescoes (wall paintings) that are here, and

that I had studied in art history. The ones

that are on display in the ruins are copies,

but they still looked great to me! The actual

ones are on display in the museum. Even

though these are thousands of years old, they

actually look very contemporary; they could

be for sale in an art gallery today.
I especially liked the dolphin fresco. It decorated

the wall of the queen's bedroom...I wouldn't mind

waking up to those every day.

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Travel time

I am going to be leaving in the morning
to return to the States. So, this will be
my last post from Greece. I will post
some of my artwork, etc when I get
home and get organized, and unpacked!

It has been a pleasure to share Greece with
all of you as it unfolded to me. I hope you
have enjoyed the journey as well.

"not all who wander are lost"

Garden Delights

I posted a page from the sketchbook the

other day with small paintings of some

fruits and veggies. These are the photos

I had taken of the plants. Most of these

were just a short walk down from the hotel

where we stayed in Naphlio. Some I am

familiar with, and others, I haven't a clue.

Maybe some of you know. Such variety.

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Down by the Seashore

Who doesn't love the ocean...the sound of the

waves, the cool breezes, the sites and sounds of

boats and sea birds. We have spent a lot of time

near the water on this trip, and I have taken lots

of photos. Most of these are from Patra and

Corfu. Most of the beaches are not very sandy,

more rocky, with smooth round stones mixed

with the sand. I always enjoy seeing the sun

set (or rise a couple of mornings) over the ocean.

Enjoy!

In the "paint the window" project, the one with

the blooming bouganvilla is in the lead. I will

be home on Wed of this week, and I will paint

one to be given away to a follower. Thanks for

voting!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Bazaar Turkey

After we left the ruins, we spent some time

in the shopping area, or what we could call

the Turkish bazaar. There were lots of hand

made rugs, jewelry, those belly dancing outfits!,

and of course you could have your picture

taken on the camel. I spent way too much on

some jewelry to re-sell in my shop, but it was

beautiful. The shopkeepers here were very

aggresive, and wanted you to buy their goods.

I did my best!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Wow...Ephesus

Our next stop on the cruise was Turkey,

and we stopped at the port of Kudashi.

This is the location of the ancient city of

Ephesus. It was thrilling to think we

were walking where the apostle Paul

walked. These are some of the best preserved

ruins in this part of the world. The largest

building was the library, and it looks like

something from a movie set...awesome.

There were a couple of the mosaic floors

still intact, too. Our guide was very proud

of her heritage and enjoyed sharing her

knowledge with us. She encouraged us to

tell others about this archealogical site and

urge them to come and visit. We did sense

a real need everywhere for tourism dollars...

I did my part to boost the economy!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Mykonos...my favorite

Our first stop on the cruise was the island of

Mykonos. We arrived late in the afternoon,

and the light was just great. We did a walking

tour of the town, and there was a charming

photo op on every corner. I would love to get

to come back here someday and stay awhile.

It is best known for the windmills that were

used to grind grain. They are no longer operating,

but they are a big tourist draw.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Cruisin...

We are on the cruise ship now, making stops at

a few of the islands. We stopped at Mykonos yesterday

evening, and it has been one of my favorite places so far.

White-washed buildings with blue shutters and roofs..

charming. We did a walking tour of the town, and took

lots of photos. I spent some time sketching before we

had to get back on the boat.

This is the island that has the old windmills on it that

were used for grinding grain. I already did a couple of

paintings of them and the boats in the harbor with all

the pretty little white buildings. There were also lots

of beautiful people on this island...it is kind of a hang-out

for the young and rich. Onassis is said to have stayed

here alot on his yacht, and many celebrities come here.

I think I could stay here and paint for about a month!!

Go to the website www.greeka.com and you

can see some photos of Mykonos

or just google it, and there are some good ones.

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Sketchbook Pages

I haven't been posting much of my art..so

here are a couple of pages from the sketchbook

that I keep during the trip.

The little pen and ink sketch was the view as

we were eating one night. We stopped at the

little fruit stand, and that is the string of garlic

that was there. Those are the columns from

Olympia, and the top page is fruits and flowers

that I saw while in the town of Nauphlio. (my

spelling, not theirs!)

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Rocks and Lions

More rocks...these are from ancient Mycenae,

the home of the mythological Agamemnon

and his kingdom. That is the famous Lion

Gate, that I studied so much in art history.

Our guide did tell us the heads of the lions

would have been decorated with stones and

gold, and so they were stolen long ago. The

location of this fortress is high atop a formidable

hill, as you can see by the views down into the

valley. Early explorers that found these structures

thought they had been built by the legendary

"Cyclops" because they found baby elephant

skulls that had a large hole where the trunk would

have been, and used their imagination!

That is the gold Agamemnon's burial mask (that

is actually a copy, we say the real one in Athens

today). And then that is the theatre at Epidovros,

the best preserved Greek theatre. They still use it

for theatre festivals every year, and it is said to

have perfect acoustics when it is filled to capacity.

And we think we are so smart...

sheltongail@hotmail.com

Dessert Intermission

I thought I would break up photos of lots

of rocks, etc, with some yummy pics of

dessert...my favorite! There is lots of gelato

here, brownies with ice cream, and baked

goodies like baklava. ummm

sheltongail@hotmail.com