I was aiming for Meteora today – which is an area of funny geological hills / mountains where monks and nuns had built monasteries and convents – when planning the day in the morning I read that there was a St Stephen’s Monestary. The sad Moz Apostle in me thought, shame it’s spelt wrong, and then I thought of my blog title for the day… I had a line in my head from a Morrissey song where a backing singer sings ‘Steven, Steeeeveeerrrrn!’ At the end of a line, but I couldn’t place the song. Ouija Board, Ouija Board made sense… But no. I could hum the ditty… Was it November Sawned a Monster? No. Interesting Drug? possibly, but no. 

Still, I set off for the day, trying to think. About 50 miles in I got it! Not Morissey, but Billy Bragg. Not ‘Steven’ but ‘Sweden’ in ‘Sexuality’. Still! At least it was a Morrissey backing singer – Kirsty Maccoll. Phew, I can get on with my day now…

My sat nav said it was 4 and a half hours to Meteora. But my sat nav doesn’t understand Albanian roads, where some roads can only be driven at 10 mph, and some roads can only be ridden by off road vehicles. So, 6 and a half hours after setting off (having stopped a few times for photos and to scratch my head a few times) I made it. All I really knew of Meteora was that Roger Moore climbed one of the rocks in For Your Eyes Only. 

  
Anyway, over 6 hours of riding, you are bound to see some interesting stuff on the road, like this war memorial that reminded me of a certain 1980’s indie pop beat combo…

  
 
Once inside the Greek border , of all things to find on a hill, a jet plane 

There’s always someone, somewhere, with a big nose, who knows…  
 Anyway, I finally got to Meteora, and what a place. Unearthly.     

There are five monasteries in this shot. 

For the record, I think this is St Stephen’s. It’s a nunnery rather than a Monestary.

Finally, not a selfie, but a shot taken by a German couple (I’d like to think the shot I took of them was better).