What I Love Best About Greece – IBC

It’s time for another edition of International Bloggers Club.  If you are new here, we…

It’s time for another edition of International Bloggers Club.  If you are new here, we are a group of friends from all over the world who get together every month to share our projects, compare notes and see how we do things in our corner of the world.  Last month we shared our crafts with baskets, and before that crafts using household items.  

This month we are going to do something totally different. Katrin of KreativK is always experimenting with the look of her projects and she suggested we try a flat lay photo shoot. Of course it would not be complete unless we added our very own favorite things that we love from our countries. 


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Sunglasses on a book, What I Love Best about Greece www.theboondocksblog.com
Greece is all about the blue and white.  These are the colors of our flag and also the prevalent colors that I see every time I look out the window.

The sunglasses are a must because when we talk about the famed bright light of Greece well, there is no way you can go out there and not have to squint. Everything looks sharper and more vibrant because of this bright light. And the sky is blue, always blue, that beautiful blue!

​To be honest, I am not such a fan of the sun because it is too harsh for me but I do love the way it makes everything look so bright. And there is much less depression in our country from all that vitamin D. Plus everyone looks cool wearing sunglasses!
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Greece is also famous for its olive oil and olives.  This is a huge part of my life.  We go olive picking every year around Christmas time and then harvest the olives to get fresh olive oil.  It goes without saying that most of my cooking includes olive oil. 

The olive branch also has a deeper meaning.  It was made into a wreath and worn by the winners of the Ancient Olympic games. This was their prize. And it represented virtue and honor for the winners. 

And the driftwood?  We are lucky to live near the shore, as many Greeks do who live on the islands.  We don’t live on an island but the beach and the bay are a part of our lives. 

olive branches and driftwood, What I Love Best about Greece www.theboondocksblog.com
Greece is also famous for her ancient ruins.  That is a photo of the oracle of Apollo at Delphi I had snapped many years ago.  Of course it still looks the same.  The ruins don’t change much.  And they are everywhere.  It is not unusual to hear of someone wanting to build a house and in the process of excavating the earth they find ancient ruins and so the construction has to be halted. Ruins and ancient artifacts are everywhere. 

The ruins are Delphi are located in the middle of a mountain range up there in the clouds.  My love for the mountains of Greece is well known.  I think it has to do with the fact that I come from a town that is situated in a valley surrounded by mountains.

Now back to Delphi, it was known as the navel of the world back in the BC years because according to mythology Zeus threw a stone and it landed there to signify the center of the world. Our lives here are surrounded by Mythology and the Greek gods, and although we no longer worship them, we do have plenty of opportunities to talk about them, as if they are still around and poke fun at them. 
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Photograph of Delphi an ancient ruin, What I Love Best about Greece www.theboondocksblog.com
Pottery is also a very important part of our lives.  I was born in a small town that had many little pottery shops and I remember as a young girl visiting and buying little pottery cups.  Many of the plates were hand painted.  

Years later I came to realize that all of the crafts and artistic leanings I have came from that small town.  We are very big on the arts here in Greece and not just the handmade type.  We also have a love of theater that dates back to the ancient times, and each town has its own theatrical group. 
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pottery, What I Love Best about Greece www.theboondocksblog.com
This next one needs no explanation.  My love of the beach and sea. The Corinthian Bay has sparkling clean waters that invite you to dive in.

​The best time of the day for a swim in early in the morning around 9 am to be exact, it is nice and warm but not so hot that you will turn into a lobster.  And there aren’t many people about which makes lying on the beach and listening to the waves the perfect activity. And shell collecting never hurts either. 

sea shells, What I Love Best about Greece www.theboondocksblog.com
This next one of the miniature wooden boat represents my husband’s love for the sea and of fishing which is his all time favorite activity. If only there were more fish in the sea he would be in fishing heaven.  It is also a great way for him to get away from it all and just unwind.  There is nothing better than being in a boat in the middle of the bay – in the morning or when the sun is going down. 

And that little marble owl?  That was a souvenir I bought at the airport as I was leaving from Mytilene a lifetime ago after a vacation. I was still young and living in the States, but wanted to take a piece of Greece with me. The owl is the symbol for the Goddess Athena (or Minerva)  who was the personification of knowledge and wisdom. 

wooden boat and marble owl, What I Love Best about Greece www.theboondocksblog.com
The book you see is all about Greece and captures the beauty of this incredible country which leaves everyone breathless when they visit. And it is opened to a page with the Parthenon in the background. The Parthenon which is the temple of Athena is the epitome of classical architecture, with its perfectly formed columns and proportions. 
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Book with photo of the Parthenon, What I Love Best about Greece www.theboondocksblog.com
Disclosure: The items below are affiliate links and link to Amazon.com. If you purchase any of these products through the links, I receive a small commission, that way I can continue to provide you with lovely content.  There is no extra charge to you for purchasing through my affiliate links.

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What I Love Best about Greece www.theboondocksblog.com
There is so much more that I love about this country but it would take a whole other post to tell you all. 
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olive branches, driftwood and book about Greece, What I Love Best about Greece www.theboondocksblog.com
pottery, seashells and photo of Delphi, What I Love Best about Greece www.theboondocksblog.com
I hope you have enjoyed this edition of the International Bloggers Club Challenge.  It was very different from what we normally do but it certainly was eye opening for me because I had never sat down to examine what it was that I loved best about Greece.  So thank you Katrin for coming up with this fantastic idea. 

And now hop on over to visit my friends who are also sharing their flat lay projects.  Simply click on the images below my name.  If you’d like to see more past challenges click here.

A photo essay about the things I love best about Greece, #Greece #photography #photoessay #flatlayphotography #Travel #Ancient ruins #mythology #sun #sea #olives #driftwood #seashells #Parthenon What I love best about Greece, www.theboondocksblog.com

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78 Comments

  1. Oooh, Mary!
    I really like this month’s Int. Club Challenge! You’ve shared a really lovely collection of things particular to Greece… I’m going to take you up on that offer one of these days! 🙂 It would be lovely to come over… I could just rest on the beach all day and swim like I did when I was a kid on Oahu back in the 70’s. Sigh! Then, of course, I’d have to go tour all the famous architectural sites and see statues {and go crazy taking 1000’s of photos!}. I will stop by and visit the others’ pages later on. Heading out with inlaws soon for their last day in Texas. <3
    Thank you for a beautiful tour of your home country,
    Barb 🙂

    1. Thank you Barbara for your lovely comment. It is very clear to me that you would enjoy it very much.

    1. Fiona I can’t disagree with you. Cromwell must be pretty amazing too with all that greenery!

  2. I just love blue and white and I really hope to make it there one day in person to see it! By the way your flat lay came out great!

  3. Hello, your photos of Greece are beautiful. It is a lovely country, it is on my bucket list of places to visit. Happy Thursday, enjoy your day! Have a happy weekend ahead.

    1. Thanks so much Eileen. I hope you get there soon. It is definitely one place you will never forget.

    1. The most striking thing about Greece is the bright light that is all around especially during the summertime. It infuses everything around it.

  4. Gorgeous photos of Greece. I just wrote a post about wanting to travel to Mykonos and Santorini. Thanks for the information about visiting Greece. I think we will visit in spring 2020.

    1. I know you will have a great time and going at the perfect time too. Summer is too crowded and too hot.

  5. …blue seems to be the color of Greece, how can you go wrong! Thanks for stopping by.

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