This is Sparta

On Wednesday I was up early and went for an hours drive to Sparta. My first stop was the archeological site of ancient Sparta. I wandered around checking out the site and got chatting to a couple who recognised me from the previous day. They were at the ancient Messene site too and saw me sit on one side of the stadium, then move to the other side and sit in another seat, and then walk to the end to look at something else. I did do all of these things they recalled so yes, they had the right pink haired person. They were from Brisbane and we were bumping into each other at the bottom of the horseshoe. Our two days of being in the same place was at our crossover point as they were heading in the direction I had just come from and vice versa. It was nice to stop and chat to some other travellers about what they had been up to and still had planned.

After checking out the site I headed into town and went to the museum to see some of the artefacts that have been found on the site. The museums near these sites are always great to visit, really interesting to see the pieces that were unearthed and that sometimes have helped with identifying the pile of rocks on the ground. I went and grabbed a bit to eat after the museum and while I was sitting down I worked out what else I wanted to do in Sparta while I was here.

I went for a walk after lunch to go find Leonidas’ tomb. It felt ridiculous if I came all this way not to go see it. It’s pretty funny as it’s in an enclosed area in the middle of a park/square. I then walked around to the Leonidas statue which was actually near where my car was parked and took the obligatory picture of it before getting in the car and heading back to Kalamata for my last night there.

Once I got back I went for a walk to have a look at Kalamata Castle and check out the views. Before a last wander around the city centre before heading back to my apartment for the evening.