Blowing in the Wind - Part 2

 The decision of which windmills to sketch last weekend was hard. There were really so many interesting ones that I wanted to include.

When I was in Amsterdam many of my sketching friends went to the Zaanse Schans which is a village with quite a few windmills. I missed the side trip because I arrived a day after they went. From the reference photos I'm really sorry I missed going.

Back in the early 70s I did a summer trip with my sister, Fran which included Greece. Among the places we traveled was Mykonos, Greece. I remember seeing the windmills there, but at the time I didn't do any sketching in public. There were so many good locations that I missed.

To be continued...

Meteora and Athens, Greece

Our next port was Volos, Greece. I signed up for an excursion to the Meteora Monasteries near Kalambaka. These monasteries date back to centuries ago when the monks set out to search for solitary and peaceful locations. The monasteries were build high atop eroded column-shaped formations.

Until not long ago, there were no roads in this area and the monks reached the monasteries by being wrapped up in a net and pulled up by their brothers by hand. Now luckily there are bridges and staircases (with many stairs) to reach the monasteries. Like most of the excursions there was no real time to spend doing a detailed sketch, but I snuck outside for a while when the guide was talking to sketch a bit...maybe I had about 15 minutes so I sketched in watercolor pencils and then added watercolors and ink.

I thought it was such an interesting area. The monastery that we visited was beautiful but you had to wait for the other tour groups to leave before you could really see anything. This is the courtyard at the first monastery, the Monastery of Valaam.

We visited a second location. This one had been occupied by nuns...notice the stairs.

I was able to paint a small painting of the sunrise in the morning. The colors were great.

Around 7 that morning we pulled into Athens. I decided not to take a tour. Instead I did a "hop-on-hop-off" bus ride from the port of Piraeous into Athens. I ended up only getting off at the Acropolis. I had visited it back in the 1970s and wanted to see it again. It is just amazing to think that the structures have lasted so long. Here are a few photos.

As I was entering a line of Greek soldiers were marching out.

Some areas have pieces that are so precariously balanced.

I did one page in my sketchbook with a combination of three sketches...part of the Porch of the Maidens, the Odium Theater, and one of the columns.

 

Here I am enjoying the sights.

Since the ship was in Athens for only part of day, I decided to head back to the ship because the traffic was so heavy and the lines for the bus were so long. I didn't want to get back too late and miss the ship.

Katakolon and Heraklion, Greece

Our first port of call was Katakolon, Greece. It was once a fishing village but now mostly caters to the  cruise ships that come into port. This is what it looked like when the ship came into port.

The entire main street (which runs about 4 blocks) is wall to wall shops with jewelry, clothing, souvineers, etc. I found Taverna Tzimhe, a colorful place along another road and sat on my painting stool to sketch it. The waitresses and the owner all came over to see what I was doing and to chat.

Of course when I finished I needed to go and sit in the shade and have a drink.

I sat right on that shady patio.

I also painted one of the typical white Greek houses in the town. I loved the strong shadows on the white building.

The following day we stopped at Heraklion, Greece. It was about a 20 minute walk into town. The most scenic area seemed to be along the water. 

The fishing boats were colorful.

I found a spot in the center of the city with a view of the roof of St. Titus the Apostle Church.

Tomorrow I will take you to Istanbul, so come back.

Time Away From Home - Part II

For the "Time Away From Home" theme I have been going through my photos from many of my trips. The top two were done from photos taken on the beach in Malibu, California in 1969. The figure on the blanket is supposed to be me (when I still would wear a bikini).

In 1973 I backpacked through Europe with my sister. One of the places we visited was Athens, Greece. This is a section of the "Porch of the Maidens" in the Acropolis.

I took a trip with friends to Florida in 1977 and we visited Disneyworld. 

This was done from a photo of the parade there. I hope they have better costumes for the Seven Dwarfs now...this one looks like his beard was plastic.

There will be more to come.