The People of Greece

When surveyed, most people will say the

subject matter they enjoy looking at most,

is other people. I don't usually take a lot of

pics of people; I feel intrusive or rude sticking

my camera in their face. But if I can get

one from a distance or discreetly, I will. So

here are a few of the "people pics" from the

last few days.

The shepherd was along the highway, and our

sweet bus driver stopped so we could get a photo.

It is one of my favorites so far. The two old men

were right down the bench from me (see top photo)

while I was painting, so I snapped them unaware.

The street musicians were in Corfu serenading an

adjacent table. The Greek man in his embroidered

vest was outside a shop in Metsovo. The buggy

driver was very bored I think; tourism is down, and

I don't think he had many takers of the buggy ride.

And the charming young dancers performed for us

at a tavern in Corfu. And that is me painting in the

village of Metsovo. I have many of the other travelers

offering to take my photo somewhere, but I don't

often want in the picture. But I do like a record of me

actually working once in awhile, so there I am! I

really did some painting in Greece, and I have the

picture to prove it!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

go back a few posts and let me know your favorite

window photo...i will be giving a painting away,

check it out.

Meteora day 4

I am up at 6:30 am blogging...most of you know

I am not a morning person. Something about the

time difference, or maybe my excitement about

the day's sites to see.

These pics are from our day in Meteora. The kitten

was napping on my stroll through the town of

Kalambaka, which is where we stayed. It was

a charming town, and I enjoyed walking all through

it.

Then there are the photos of the holy Meteora region.

It is so hard to describe. There are these huge rocks,

results of erosion, that loom over the landscape, and

look other worldly. And miraculously, perched on top

of these bizarre rock formations, are these ancient

buildings: monasteries built by the monks in the

17th century or so. There are six altogether, and we

toured 2, currently run as convents by Greek Orthodox

nuns. fascinating. You must climb a number of

steps to get there, and all of the supplies, building

materials, etc were brought up by ropes, pullies,

baskets. unbelievable

The chapels are decorated with frescoes or paintings

of the life of Christ. The nuns rise at 4:30 to the

sound of someone tapping on the long wooden board

that is supposed to imitate the sounds aboard the

Ark. The Ark is a symbol of refuge and salvation,

and they feel that is their life as well. They pray for

four hours, then do the work of the convent for the

rest of the day until the afternoon prayers, again for

four hours. amazing devotion, so humbling to me

I am resizing the photos so they can load faster. I

know they look small...hopefully you can click on

them to enlarge some. We are off to do a walking

tour of Corfu this morning, and I will post some

pics tonight of this beautiful city.

sheltongail@hotmail.com