Monemvasia Day 2

So, day two of Monemvasia we were totally on our own as to what we wanted to do. We had a MARVELOUS breakfast that the hotel prepared for us. I have never seen anything like it and everything was so super good. Even my pickiest eater ate breakfast there all three mornings! I regret that we did not take a picture of the spread or of the ladies who put their heart and souls into making us fabulous meals. After a very hearty breakfast we started exploring the castle, hiking all over the place (literally!!).  We took hundreds of pictures and I will mostly let the pictures do the talking, but I will not post ALL the pictures. Your welcome :)

One more note, ya'll ignore my hair!! IT was so incredibly windy most of the time we were there. Also, if you wish to see a bigger picture, you should be able to click the picture and it goes to a bigger size.

We are in front of the castle in the top two pictures.

 Quick History Lesson: The arches were not a part of the original plan, they were added later on to make more usable space.

 We of course had to see the water! This is the swimming area. Elijah seriously said "Oh man! I didn't bring my swim suit!" Never mind that it's winter, was 50 degrees and windy!

If you look closely at this picture (below) you can see the spiral staircase leading up to the upper city.

 Outside the city wall!

 Another quick history lesson: They literally had to "cut the corners" to get their carts through the areas. We think of it as a negative connotation, whereas it was a necessary fact of life, that made things easier for them.

A cave Church (below), quite a hike, but well worth it.

 Inside the cave Church...

 Interesting heart in the side of the rock wall.

Hiking back down from the cave Church (below).

 Look for the white spot in the side of the rock, that's the cave Church we hiked up to. It was easier going up than going back down!! (Just like life, easier to get in a mess than back out of it!)

The view from the Upper wall...we couldn't actually explore the Upper city, it's closed for renovations and excavations. 

 The other side of the Castle, we hiked from one side up, over and to the far end of the Castle. Multiple times off the beaten path. It was great fun, but super exhausting.

A lot of our hikes were up!! We really got our work out! The kids were total troopers, no complaining at all, they were super excited to be exploring. I can't begin to describe the incredible beauty we experienced at Monemvasia. The pictures just can't show it all. It was a really relaxing weekend. We are very thankful we had the opportunity to go. Elijah would love to go back during the summer months just to go swimming!