Delphi, Apollo, and Ray Bradbury

I assume it’s some bastardisation of bourgeois, but ‘bougie’ is how the young people describe something that’s unnecessarily posh or luxurious. I think it probably applies to taking a holiday within a holiday.

Today, we set off for Delphi, which is on the far side of the Gulf. It looks as though ferries used to be available for this trip but perhaps Covid put paid to that. Anyway, we drove out to Rio, where there is a fantastic bridge to the other side, and although some of the grandeur is lost as you cross it, it’s still pretty impressive.

After that we took a scenic route, firstly along the coast, where we stopped for lunch in Itea, and then up into the mountains to Delphi. The Minx had booked us a hotel with a stunning view over the Gorge, although my favoured view was down to the coast (first Extra).

Once it had cooled down, we went down to visit the Delphic Panhellenic Sanctuary, firstly taking a look around the museum, and then wandering through the ruins. Perhaps it was the eldritch quality of the gloaming, but as we looked around, imagining the temples and buildings as they might have been two thousand years ago, I was reminded of the chapter in Ray Bradbury’s ‘The Martian Chronicles’, where two people meet on a mountainside and are looking down on a city: one sees it as it is/was, full of people, with boats on the canal, and lively parties taking place, and the other as it is/will be: a deserted ruin.

We made our way all the way up to the amphitheatre, which must have been an ideal place to watch any entertainment; if the show was no good, the stunning view along the gorge was right behind the stage.

And in the evening, we ate at a restaurant on one of the sloping streets. It was too dark to enjoy the view, but in the balmy evening, full of people out eating and drinking, I was once again reminded of Bradbury’s city, as it was.