A couple of years ago, right before I decided to take a chance and make a go of my photography full time, I bought a ticket to Europe and wandered around for 6 weeks. In a series of posts I’m going to show you some of where I went and what I saw… and tell you why you should too! 😉

There are a few places on our planet that I think everyone should see… and this is at the top of the list. To stand at a place that is all but considered the birthplace of civilization… what remains of these temples have stood for over 2,000 years. Which means, if you happen to be a Christian, your boy Jesus could have vacationed there as well. Now that’s a powerful thought to me.The fact that the Ancient Greeks could build and create on a scale that we still would consider “grand” today, is breathtaking. That they did it without “modern” machinery and tools, is engineering at its finest. And that they did it and still considered BEAUTY and ART in their design…makes them a people that I respect and admire.

I feel that so much of what we’ve seen created in the last 100 years, has brought shame to these great people. How is it, that with all of the modern marvels, machinery, experience, knowledge, we’ve used art less and less to tend towards straight functionality and economics? (Yes, there’s a whole other diatribe about quality of construction to be had here too!) When’s the last time you drove by a building in “middle America” and thought “Oh my God that’s beautiful!” And if you have…when was it built? I’m not saying this applies 100%, but the ratio is heavily weighted on the side of “how quick can we throw something up, so we can start turning a profit, even if it will be crumbling in a decade”.

So, stop one : Athens. A perfect climate, a variety of old and new, and glorious sparkling waters less than 30 minutes away. Enjoy!

I was just in love with the pop of color and fun of selling balloons on a street corner!

Talk about a boy in uniform! Now that’s craftsmanship!

This temple on the right was for Hephaestus… god of craftsman…I’d say he was watching over the work, because it’s in the best condition of all of them!