At night Araxova takes on a whole new persona. There is really something magical when you walk around the streets through the village. All the shop fronts are lit wonderfully and the town is truly one of the cleanest and well taken care of that we have seen on our travels around the country. There is a definite community pride in Araxova.

Shopping times in Araxova and Delphi, only a few km beyond, seem wholly dependent on when the bus tours pass through town. It took us awhile to find a supermarket or bakery. Local shops are well tucked away from tourists eyes. The main street had many shops all along the length of it, but unfortunately, these shops wait for the tourism before they open their doors. Araxova village is spectacularly set on the slope of Parnassos with amazing views all around. Parnassos behind, still snow capped, had another snow fall on our first night there. We woke to a bitter chill. Ithaca never got that cold. We took a little drive to Delphi before the buses blocked the road, but Delphi village is even more dependent on bus tour traffic than Araxova, and thus had little luck finding a shop that had what we needed, so we quickly headed back to Araxova.. Finally, a little old lady pointed us in the direction of THE supermarket. Yay! Left, right, up, left, down, up, right, what? Oh, there it is. I see a shopping trolly. That's a supermarket? Oh yeah, the sign says Supermarket. The sun was shining, albeit chilly, so we walked up and down the back streets. Great excercise. Only the main road is on level ground. All the streets on either side have steep ascents and descents. Araxova is very scenic village. It's main tourist trade is during the winter months, when skiiers come to Parnassos for their winter holidays. Spring is a great time to see this area. It's lush and colourful and the roads aren't snowed over. A beautiful time of year.

The sunny side of the street and the village square were bathed in warm sunshine through the morning, but as the day continued, more and clouds hovered over the peak of Parnassos, threatening the rain that had been forecast for that afternoon. The rain happily never eventuated, instead, the sky returned to its morning blue.

After some aerial spraying, the clouds began to resemble ghosts in the sky. Below Left - The main street of Araxova, stretches the entire width of the village. East heads toward Athens and West toward Patras, with many beautiful places inbetween, no matter which way you head. Spring is a good time to head this way. You'll be assured of accommodation which ranges from budget to 5 star. Something for everyone. The accommodations are very wood heavy in colour and feel. It's a Chalet thing. Many of the accommodations are propped up on slope edges to take full advantage of the amazing views. It doesn't take much imagination to see Apollo looking down on his Greece. This area does get you much closer to the heavens.