We took our bus to the top of the ruins of Mystras and hiked down. The site features the only palaces preserved from Byzantine period. We visited an all female monastery on the site, and Sister Agnes met us to give us treats. As we toured the churches, we learned that invaders would destroy the faces and especially the eyes. By doing so, they believed they were taking away the soul of the place. All the marble used in the reconstructions was repurposed from ancient Sparta. 

After our tour, we had lunch in Sparta and then headed to a winery for an explanation of the wine making process and a wine sampling. 

From there, we went to our destination of Nafplio. The town was really busy with the holiday weekend, and our driver skillfully navigated the busy streets to our hotel. Three of the four sons and their kids met us there to give us our room keys, carry our bags, and take us to our rooms. Our room was a really cool one with brick arches around the bed, a couch and lots of stone. It had lots of character.  Our guide, Iris, said it's Rick's favorite room at this destination.