Day 16
We opted to to skip breakfast and go for a walk on the beach. Waves were still battering the shore but not as bad as when we arrived. We are missing our morning Paleochora swimmersize. For an early lunch, I made each of us an omelette with green peppers, tomato and Cretan cheese. The cheese here is delicious and chewy and melted nicely and the eggs are a deep orange and oh so tasty. Our goal today was to visit the archaeological museum. We thought we remembered where it was but we ending up walking where we started. Even asking for help three times didn’t help. Eventually we found it, steps away from where we had passed twice before. Along the way we passed the Rimondi Fountain.
“The fountain was reconstructed in 1626 over an even older one dating back to 1588, by a Venetian governor who was named Rimondi and it has been bearing his name ever since. Its purpose was to serve the public with fresh drinking water and it has actually been succeeding in doing so for centuries. Even nowadays, the water streams from three lion’s heads and falls into three distinct sinks. The overall structure is elegantly classical boasting four projections in the shape of acanthus leaves and two latin inscriptions – LIBERALITATIS and FONTES – (gift fountain). The Rimondi fountain is the only one built during the Venetian rule, while all others were constructed during the Turkish occupation. Once created to aid with the town’s water shortage, it nowadays constitutes an architectural gem.”
Next to the entrance of the museum is Porta Guora (big door), which is the remains of the entrance to the fortress that guards the old town. The museum is small but interesting to see what bits of historical artifacts survived dating back thousands of years BC. The ceiling of the museum is made of wood. Amazing. If you didn’t look up, you’d miss it.
The picture I took of the statue of Aphrodite shows her resting her foot on a goose. You can see the space between her big toe and the next is wide from wearing sandals. And her little toe is set back more than normal. Not sure why.
One of the best things about going here at this time of year are the figs. I so love figs. That is a lovely wooden ceiling. I hope you get to swim in the ocean.
ReplyDeleteWhy does Aphrodite have her foot on a goose?
ReplyDeleteThe goose was one of her sacred animals. I suppose it would not have posed for long if she did not have her foot on it. Also, it was more flattering to have one foot up.
Delete