Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Test Blog
Monday, May 22, 2006
Greece - May 22nd
We are back in Athens, and finished with the tour. We went to Santorini with Kristine & Wolfgang's family. It was fun, but really touristy. There were a lot of Americans in Santorini, the most we've seen for the entire trip. We took the fast boat to the island at 7:30am - it took about 4.5 hours to get to there. I'm currently uploading more pictures to our website, so I will up the the blog later. We're also getting ready to go downtown to do some last minute shopping and visit Kristine at the shop.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Greece May 14th-16th
This will be a quick post. Muir actually isn't even using the computer today. Ron need to use the internet to email some clients, so we are only here for a short time and then off to eat lunch. We are currently in Nafplio.
Sunday, May 14th
We went to the island fortress of Monemvasia, and hiked to the top. There was a church on the way to the top, and Gene (a tour member) had to exchange his passport for a key to it. (he got the passport back of course). There was a small church (wee wee small) in a cave on the side of the rock that we also went into. You cannot drive to the island, but can take a small shuttle to beginning of it and then walk in. They use donkey to haul food in for the tavernas. After the hike, we went swimming in the ocean. There is a small platform with a ladder going into the sea. Once I spotted Colin & Joe swimming, I ditched Muir and headed down there and jumped in. It was the best part of the day, and felt great after hiking. Muir did make his way down to the ocean, but of course didn't go in. He's no longer the fish used to be when he was a child.
For dinner in Gythio, we went to the General Store & Wine Bar, which is owned by a chef that used to live in Gig Harbor, WA. He used Greek ingredients to do american type of dishes. The bus driver said that the food was good, but it was different because they are used to having everything served on different dishes, not one. (we had chicken with brie in it, and a side of potatoes and green beans. starters were the usual fare, but also sausage soaked in a citrus sauce). After dinner someone in our group started dancing, and then there was lots of dancing after that, even the bus driver joined in and taught as a few things....did I mention the alcohol may have helped with the joyous dancing? We had a couple of bottles of white wine and also another couple of bottles of red wine. Plus, we each had a shot glass of a greek alcohol called...uh...well i can't think of the name of it off hand right now. I'll get back to you with the name, since Muir will probably remember. btw, the proper way to drink ouzo is pour a little into a glass and mix it with water, which will turn white. Then you sip it, not shoot it.
After dinner we went to a couple of bars, with a few people who wanted to go dancing, but there was no one there because it was a Sunday night. Oh well - at least we tried.
Monday, May 15th
Today was church day! We have been seeing a lot of churches on our trip, but today we went to Mystras, an important Byzantine site in Greece, where there is 5 churches and a couple of monestaries. My Catholic upbringing came in handy when we were looking at all the frescos. It was nice to understand how they do things in the Greek Orthodox church. World history has also been handy on this trip, as they talk about the different historic periods and the split of the 2 churches. After our visit to Mystras, we had lunch in Sparta (yes, for those Michigan State fans - Go Spartans!), and then took the bus to Nafplio (not much to see in Sparta).
In Nafplio we are staying at a very pleasant hotel run by 3 brothers. We had a wine tasting as a group, and then walked around and had dinner.
oooppps...time is out they are waiting for me. I will write more in a few days.
-Jenny
Sunday, May 14th
We went to the island fortress of Monemvasia, and hiked to the top. There was a church on the way to the top, and Gene (a tour member) had to exchange his passport for a key to it. (he got the passport back of course). There was a small church (wee wee small) in a cave on the side of the rock that we also went into. You cannot drive to the island, but can take a small shuttle to beginning of it and then walk in. They use donkey to haul food in for the tavernas. After the hike, we went swimming in the ocean. There is a small platform with a ladder going into the sea. Once I spotted Colin & Joe swimming, I ditched Muir and headed down there and jumped in. It was the best part of the day, and felt great after hiking. Muir did make his way down to the ocean, but of course didn't go in. He's no longer the fish used to be when he was a child.
For dinner in Gythio, we went to the General Store & Wine Bar, which is owned by a chef that used to live in Gig Harbor, WA. He used Greek ingredients to do american type of dishes. The bus driver said that the food was good, but it was different because they are used to having everything served on different dishes, not one. (we had chicken with brie in it, and a side of potatoes and green beans. starters were the usual fare, but also sausage soaked in a citrus sauce). After dinner someone in our group started dancing, and then there was lots of dancing after that, even the bus driver joined in and taught as a few things....did I mention the alcohol may have helped with the joyous dancing? We had a couple of bottles of white wine and also another couple of bottles of red wine. Plus, we each had a shot glass of a greek alcohol called...uh...well i can't think of the name of it off hand right now. I'll get back to you with the name, since Muir will probably remember. btw, the proper way to drink ouzo is pour a little into a glass and mix it with water, which will turn white. Then you sip it, not shoot it.
After dinner we went to a couple of bars, with a few people who wanted to go dancing, but there was no one there because it was a Sunday night. Oh well - at least we tried.
Monday, May 15th
Today was church day! We have been seeing a lot of churches on our trip, but today we went to Mystras, an important Byzantine site in Greece, where there is 5 churches and a couple of monestaries. My Catholic upbringing came in handy when we were looking at all the frescos. It was nice to understand how they do things in the Greek Orthodox church. World history has also been handy on this trip, as they talk about the different historic periods and the split of the 2 churches. After our visit to Mystras, we had lunch in Sparta (yes, for those Michigan State fans - Go Spartans!), and then took the bus to Nafplio (not much to see in Sparta).
In Nafplio we are staying at a very pleasant hotel run by 3 brothers. We had a wine tasting as a group, and then walked around and had dinner.
oooppps...time is out they are waiting for me. I will write more in a few days.
-Jenny
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Greece, May 10-13th
It's been another few, but exciting and unexciting days. I was sick on my birthday, and spent the whole day sleeping.
Weds, May 10th
We left Delphi at 8:15, but took the bus because their was a workers' strike so the train was not running. We drove by the Gulf of Corinth and a large valley with a ton of olive trees. Colin said that there is an estimated 3 million olive trees in Greece. We stopped in Nafpaktos, a town by the sea (2 hr drive from Athens through Attica road) for a coffee break. There is a statue of Miguel Cervantes (wrote Don Quixote) next to the port because he fought in the navel battle of Nafpaktos and lost his hand (or arm?) when he was 23 years old.
After our break we crosesed the new Rio-Antirnos Bridge (built in 2004 for the Olympics), which is by Petras, the 3rd largest city in Greece. On the bus Colin gave us a review of the timeline of ancient history (the different periods - i.e. Classical, etc). He also talked about the local area and gave us background on modern greek politics and history. There is a high voter turn out for Greece, and the Greeks are strongly against the war in Iraq. Greece has elections every 2 years, and there are 300 members of parliment.
For lunch we went to very small village called Plantero where there are natural springs. We ate outdoors under a covered patio over a small creek. We had 2 fresh grilled fish each, greek salad, bitter greens, fried cheese, and a custard dessert that was covered with filo dough and honey. Some people were grossed out by the fact that the fish had the heads on them when they served it to us, but I said, "hey, my family fights over the fish heads" :) and others complained about having to pick out bones. But, when in Greece, do as the Greeks do. I thought it was quite tasty, just needed some rice, but there was bread instead. Even Muir ate some fish, but not a lot. There were a few heards of goats and sheep that went throught the village as we ate lunch.
After lunch we had another stop in Kalavrita, a skiing town. There is a monument dedicated to the villagers who were masscared in the town by the Nazis. They killed males over the age of 15. We spent the night in Ditmansana, which is a town in the mountains. We also went to the Water Power Museum after we got into town. I took a nap while Muir and his mom watched the Greek National Championship for soccer in our room. Every taverna had the game on. We had dinner at a local taverna which had yummy grilled chicken. Our room at the Hotel Dimitsana had a great balcony and view, and comfy sheets, but I didn't think the bed was that great. My back hurt the next day. Also, there were no other tourists in town. The roads are very narrow, and the bus driver Thenasses (spelling?) had to back up a couple of times to get a down a road.
Thurs, May 11th
We left Ditmansana at 8am, and headed towards Olympia the ancient site of the Olympics. We met our tour guide Nicki and went through the museum and the ancient site. We had lunch at a village right outside of Olympia at Taverna Bacchus, where we had veggie appetizers (egglant salad, black eyed peas, bread, tazaiki, spinach, cheese fries) and free wine. We also got some gelato for one euro. There is not much in the town of Olympia - it only exists to service the tourists and support the museum and ancient site.
After lunch we proceed to Kardamyli, a small town 22 miles SE of Kalamata (yes, as in Kalamata olives), which is next to the Messinian Gulf. The water here is very blue! The group was split into 2 hotels because the hotels wanted to have some free rooms for other tourists / hikers. The area is known for its hiking trails. We stayed at Hotel Vardia (for 2 nights), which is a bit of a uphill hike. But, it was quite worth it because the view from the room balcony was terrific - it overlooked the town and the sea. I was a bit queasy and really cold on the bus, and thought it would go away....
Friday, May 12th
This day was our free day on our tour. My flu / virus thingy got worse - I had the chills and hot flashes all day and have diarreah. I slept most of the day. Not a fun way to spend my 27th birthday. Luckily our room had a kitchenette and Muir went to the store (3 times!) and bought food to make me meals. He was also sneaky, and ordered me a yummy chocolate cake in town. He also discovered that the store owner also owned the hotel we stayed in. We had cake and my tour mates at the hotel sang happy birthday to me in the late afternoon. Colin gave me a small bottle of alcohol that is 42% alcohol by volume....pretty intense stuff! Haven't tried it yet, but it will be a fun time when I do drink it :)
Saturday, May 13th
We are now in Gythio, where we will stay for 2 nights. Today we did a tour of Mesa Mani. We stopped at the Church of St. Nicholas, and were able to go inside of it to see amazing 10th century frescos. This was a first for a Rick Steves tour because it is usually locked up. Colin discovered who had the keys to the gate for the church, and he was quite excited. The caretaker was very gracious, and let us take some pictures of the frescos with flash (most museums don't let you do this).
We then headed to Aeropoli where we stopped for coffee, and Colin gave us background on the Greek Independence War. We visited a small church called St. John's there. Since it was Saturday, there were vendors selling misc. things (clothing, food, etc) at the town square. When we got coffee, we struck up a conversation with an English couple. They are on a driving holiday through Greece, and love coming to Greece because it is laid back. They also asked us about President Bush, who of course, they don't like either. The man's sister lives in Florida.
After Aeropoli, we headed to Gerolimenas a small fishing village, where we had lunch next to the water. Lunch consisted of calimari and grilled anchovies. Yum...but of course my stomach was not up to eating that much. If I had an appetite, I would have eaten the whole plate. The water was a wee bit cold for me when I stuck my toes in.
After lunch we went to Vathia, where there are old abandoned towers along the rocky seaside. We walked around the towers, and there is also a great view of the sea at the top. The tourist complex was closed a few years ago, and there is only an elderly caretaker and her dogs there. I think she was the one yelling at us "No Photos, No Photos!"
From Vathia, we drove to Gythio, which is a small town with busy sea port. It was the port of ancient Sparta. The town is also known as the meeting place of Helen and Paris (Troy), which started the Trojan wars. Our hotel has a great balcony with a view of the sea port, but the hotel itself isn't as great as Hotel Vardia.
Well, that's it for now. We'll post again in a few days. We are heading to the fortified town of Monemvasia tomorrow, and then we will spend 2 nights in Nafplio. After Nafplio, we are taking a ferry to Spetses, an island, where we will spend 2 more nights. We'll be back in Athens after Spetses, but will be going to Santorini with Kristine & Wolfgang's family right after we get back into Athens.
Weds, May 10th
We left Delphi at 8:15, but took the bus because their was a workers' strike so the train was not running. We drove by the Gulf of Corinth and a large valley with a ton of olive trees. Colin said that there is an estimated 3 million olive trees in Greece. We stopped in Nafpaktos, a town by the sea (2 hr drive from Athens through Attica road) for a coffee break. There is a statue of Miguel Cervantes (wrote Don Quixote) next to the port because he fought in the navel battle of Nafpaktos and lost his hand (or arm?) when he was 23 years old.
After our break we crosesed the new Rio-Antirnos Bridge (built in 2004 for the Olympics), which is by Petras, the 3rd largest city in Greece. On the bus Colin gave us a review of the timeline of ancient history (the different periods - i.e. Classical, etc). He also talked about the local area and gave us background on modern greek politics and history. There is a high voter turn out for Greece, and the Greeks are strongly against the war in Iraq. Greece has elections every 2 years, and there are 300 members of parliment.
For lunch we went to very small village called Plantero where there are natural springs. We ate outdoors under a covered patio over a small creek. We had 2 fresh grilled fish each, greek salad, bitter greens, fried cheese, and a custard dessert that was covered with filo dough and honey. Some people were grossed out by the fact that the fish had the heads on them when they served it to us, but I said, "hey, my family fights over the fish heads" :) and others complained about having to pick out bones. But, when in Greece, do as the Greeks do. I thought it was quite tasty, just needed some rice, but there was bread instead. Even Muir ate some fish, but not a lot. There were a few heards of goats and sheep that went throught the village as we ate lunch.
After lunch we had another stop in Kalavrita, a skiing town. There is a monument dedicated to the villagers who were masscared in the town by the Nazis. They killed males over the age of 15. We spent the night in Ditmansana, which is a town in the mountains. We also went to the Water Power Museum after we got into town. I took a nap while Muir and his mom watched the Greek National Championship for soccer in our room. Every taverna had the game on. We had dinner at a local taverna which had yummy grilled chicken. Our room at the Hotel Dimitsana had a great balcony and view, and comfy sheets, but I didn't think the bed was that great. My back hurt the next day. Also, there were no other tourists in town. The roads are very narrow, and the bus driver Thenasses (spelling?) had to back up a couple of times to get a down a road.
Thurs, May 11th
We left Ditmansana at 8am, and headed towards Olympia the ancient site of the Olympics. We met our tour guide Nicki and went through the museum and the ancient site. We had lunch at a village right outside of Olympia at Taverna Bacchus, where we had veggie appetizers (egglant salad, black eyed peas, bread, tazaiki, spinach, cheese fries) and free wine. We also got some gelato for one euro. There is not much in the town of Olympia - it only exists to service the tourists and support the museum and ancient site.
After lunch we proceed to Kardamyli, a small town 22 miles SE of Kalamata (yes, as in Kalamata olives), which is next to the Messinian Gulf. The water here is very blue! The group was split into 2 hotels because the hotels wanted to have some free rooms for other tourists / hikers. The area is known for its hiking trails. We stayed at Hotel Vardia (for 2 nights), which is a bit of a uphill hike. But, it was quite worth it because the view from the room balcony was terrific - it overlooked the town and the sea. I was a bit queasy and really cold on the bus, and thought it would go away....
Friday, May 12th
This day was our free day on our tour. My flu / virus thingy got worse - I had the chills and hot flashes all day and have diarreah. I slept most of the day. Not a fun way to spend my 27th birthday. Luckily our room had a kitchenette and Muir went to the store (3 times!) and bought food to make me meals. He was also sneaky, and ordered me a yummy chocolate cake in town. He also discovered that the store owner also owned the hotel we stayed in. We had cake and my tour mates at the hotel sang happy birthday to me in the late afternoon. Colin gave me a small bottle of alcohol that is 42% alcohol by volume....pretty intense stuff! Haven't tried it yet, but it will be a fun time when I do drink it :)
Saturday, May 13th
We are now in Gythio, where we will stay for 2 nights. Today we did a tour of Mesa Mani. We stopped at the Church of St. Nicholas, and were able to go inside of it to see amazing 10th century frescos. This was a first for a Rick Steves tour because it is usually locked up. Colin discovered who had the keys to the gate for the church, and he was quite excited. The caretaker was very gracious, and let us take some pictures of the frescos with flash (most museums don't let you do this).
We then headed to Aeropoli where we stopped for coffee, and Colin gave us background on the Greek Independence War. We visited a small church called St. John's there. Since it was Saturday, there were vendors selling misc. things (clothing, food, etc) at the town square. When we got coffee, we struck up a conversation with an English couple. They are on a driving holiday through Greece, and love coming to Greece because it is laid back. They also asked us about President Bush, who of course, they don't like either. The man's sister lives in Florida.
After Aeropoli, we headed to Gerolimenas a small fishing village, where we had lunch next to the water. Lunch consisted of calimari and grilled anchovies. Yum...but of course my stomach was not up to eating that much. If I had an appetite, I would have eaten the whole plate. The water was a wee bit cold for me when I stuck my toes in.
After lunch we went to Vathia, where there are old abandoned towers along the rocky seaside. We walked around the towers, and there is also a great view of the sea at the top. The tourist complex was closed a few years ago, and there is only an elderly caretaker and her dogs there. I think she was the one yelling at us "No Photos, No Photos!"
From Vathia, we drove to Gythio, which is a small town with busy sea port. It was the port of ancient Sparta. The town is also known as the meeting place of Helen and Paris (Troy), which started the Trojan wars. Our hotel has a great balcony with a view of the sea port, but the hotel itself isn't as great as Hotel Vardia.
Well, that's it for now. We'll post again in a few days. We are heading to the fortified town of Monemvasia tomorrow, and then we will spend 2 nights in Nafplio. After Nafplio, we are taking a ferry to Spetses, an island, where we will spend 2 more nights. We'll be back in Athens after Spetses, but will be going to Santorini with Kristine & Wolfgang's family right after we get back into Athens.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Greece - May 7-9
It's been a few days, so there's a lot to catch up on. We are currently in Delphi. We aren't able to post any pictures because the computers are locked in such a way that we can't install the drivers for the camera. So far we've taken about 250 pictures since the beginning of the trip.
Sunday, May 7th
On May 7th, we met up with our Rick Steves tour group at the Acropolis Select hotel which is a few blocks from the Acropolis. There's 23 people in our group, and our tour guide is Colin. Colin's originally from Scotland, but lives in Alexandria, Egypt. He works for a small publishing firm but used to lead Rick Steves' tours in France. He helped start the tours in Greece.
After our orientation at the hotel we went to dinner a couple blocks from the hotel at a restaurant called God's Restaurant. Tasty food. Muir had chicken kabobs, and I had mossauka (sp?). Christie had perch fish and Ron had some more stuffed peppers. We still think that Kristine's cooking is better :) We walked next to the Acropolis after dinner and attempted to take pictures of it. (there are lights that illuminate it every night).
Monday, May 8th
On May 8th we got up early and met at 8am. Our group took the Metro (Athens subway) to Sygtagma (Constitution) Square to get oriented with city. After a short orientation with Colin we picked up a sim card for our cell phone and then hit up the following sights: the Parliment building to watch the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. From there we walked through the National Gardens, and then down Ermou street where all the shops are. At the bottom of Ermou street was a small Byzantine church called the Church of Kapnikarea. We were luckily that the church was open - we heard that it is usually closed. The church had beautiful frescos on the ceiling and walls. Good thing we didn't wear shorts since that's not allowed in the church.
From Ermou street we headed to the Plaka and Monastiraki Square, which is a shopping/market area at the bottom of the Acropolis. Of course, we went to visit Kristine at the Aphrodite jewelry shop where she helps out. (www.aphrodit.gr) and then cruised the rest of the Plaka and other sites in the area like Hadriean's library, the Roman Agora, and the Tower of the Winds.
Our meeting place for the group was at the Athens Cathedral, which is right next to a Starbucks /bookstore. We stopped into the bookstore for a bit before heading to lunch at a local cafe. Muir and I both had gyros - chicken and beef. Muir had the chicken of course.
After lunch we met up with our group and went to the Acropolis. Our tour guide was Vickie who is also an archaeologist. She gave us a lot of background on the history of Athens and the Partheonon. We also went to the museum at the Acropolis. After that we walked by Aries Rock, down to the Agora. The Agora was the ancient market in Athens.
We had free time after the Agora and walked to the Arch of Hadrian, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, and over to the first Olympic stadium. We walked back to the hotel and had dinner at Ambrosia, which had very inexpensive food. The beer here is cheap too! We like the Greek beer Mythos.
Tuesday, May 9th
This morning we went to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Our bus was a bit late, but we picked up sometime when we drove to Delphi. The museum was amazing because I was able to see a lot of statues and relics that were in my art history book. Our tour guide was Faye, who has a PhD in archeology and also teaches the root of words. She had a dry sense of humor and and gave us a great tour with lots of information about the historic periods and how the creation of the art and relics evolved.
In the afternoon we took the bus to Delphi. We stopped at a truck stop for lunch, and Colin gave us a greek language lesson after lunch on the bus. In Delphi we went to visit the Temple of Apollo and the museum there. We ate dinner at a local restaurant. I had lamb, Muir had a rooster stew, Ron had veggies again, and Christie had the chicken. Still think that Kristine's tzatziki is the best.
Tomorrow we are taking a bus to Dimitsana, a small town. Our group was originally supposed to take a train, but there is a strike tomorrow, so we are taking the bus instead. It's a 6 hour drive and we will be going through to the Peloponnese. The greek bus driver had never been there before, and Colin is excited to take him there :) Dimitsana is has a very small community, and there are usually no tourists there, which will be a great experience. We will be going to Ancient Olympia while we are there.
I will post another update in a few days.
-Jenny & Muir
Sunday, May 7th
On May 7th, we met up with our Rick Steves tour group at the Acropolis Select hotel which is a few blocks from the Acropolis. There's 23 people in our group, and our tour guide is Colin. Colin's originally from Scotland, but lives in Alexandria, Egypt. He works for a small publishing firm but used to lead Rick Steves' tours in France. He helped start the tours in Greece.
After our orientation at the hotel we went to dinner a couple blocks from the hotel at a restaurant called God's Restaurant. Tasty food. Muir had chicken kabobs, and I had mossauka (sp?). Christie had perch fish and Ron had some more stuffed peppers. We still think that Kristine's cooking is better :) We walked next to the Acropolis after dinner and attempted to take pictures of it. (there are lights that illuminate it every night).
Monday, May 8th
On May 8th we got up early and met at 8am. Our group took the Metro (Athens subway) to Sygtagma (Constitution) Square to get oriented with city. After a short orientation with Colin we picked up a sim card for our cell phone and then hit up the following sights: the Parliment building to watch the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. From there we walked through the National Gardens, and then down Ermou street where all the shops are. At the bottom of Ermou street was a small Byzantine church called the Church of Kapnikarea. We were luckily that the church was open - we heard that it is usually closed. The church had beautiful frescos on the ceiling and walls. Good thing we didn't wear shorts since that's not allowed in the church.
From Ermou street we headed to the Plaka and Monastiraki Square, which is a shopping/market area at the bottom of the Acropolis. Of course, we went to visit Kristine at the Aphrodite jewelry shop where she helps out. (www.aphrodit.gr) and then cruised the rest of the Plaka and other sites in the area like Hadriean's library, the Roman Agora, and the Tower of the Winds.
Our meeting place for the group was at the Athens Cathedral, which is right next to a Starbucks /bookstore. We stopped into the bookstore for a bit before heading to lunch at a local cafe. Muir and I both had gyros - chicken and beef. Muir had the chicken of course.
After lunch we met up with our group and went to the Acropolis. Our tour guide was Vickie who is also an archaeologist. She gave us a lot of background on the history of Athens and the Partheonon. We also went to the museum at the Acropolis. After that we walked by Aries Rock, down to the Agora. The Agora was the ancient market in Athens.
We had free time after the Agora and walked to the Arch of Hadrian, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, and over to the first Olympic stadium. We walked back to the hotel and had dinner at Ambrosia, which had very inexpensive food. The beer here is cheap too! We like the Greek beer Mythos.
Tuesday, May 9th
This morning we went to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Our bus was a bit late, but we picked up sometime when we drove to Delphi. The museum was amazing because I was able to see a lot of statues and relics that were in my art history book. Our tour guide was Faye, who has a PhD in archeology and also teaches the root of words. She had a dry sense of humor and and gave us a great tour with lots of information about the historic periods and how the creation of the art and relics evolved.
In the afternoon we took the bus to Delphi. We stopped at a truck stop for lunch, and Colin gave us a greek language lesson after lunch on the bus. In Delphi we went to visit the Temple of Apollo and the museum there. We ate dinner at a local restaurant. I had lamb, Muir had a rooster stew, Ron had veggies again, and Christie had the chicken. Still think that Kristine's tzatziki is the best.
Tomorrow we are taking a bus to Dimitsana, a small town. Our group was originally supposed to take a train, but there is a strike tomorrow, so we are taking the bus instead. It's a 6 hour drive and we will be going through to the Peloponnese. The greek bus driver had never been there before, and Colin is excited to take him there :) Dimitsana is has a very small community, and there are usually no tourists there, which will be a great experience. We will be going to Ancient Olympia while we are there.
I will post another update in a few days.
-Jenny & Muir
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Greece - May 5 & 6
Friday, May 5th
We are staying with Muir's cousin Kristine, and her family, and they live in Kifisia, a suburb of Athens. We couldn't sleep in, and woke up at 4:45am Athens time. We ate yogurt and fruit for breakfast, but the Greek yogurt is much thicker and creamer (sort of like sour cream) than the American type of yogurt. After breakfast, Kristine took us to Eleusis (or Eleusina), an industrial town that has a historic site and small museum. We watched a History Channel Greek history DVD about Eleusis before we left. In ancient Greece, the citizens of Eleusis worshipped the godess Demeter. The great Eleusinian Mysteries had there starting point in Eleusis. We posted pictures on our website.
After visiting Eleusis, we returned to Kristine & Wolfgang's house, had lunch, watched more of the History Channel Greek history DVDs, but we all fell asleep on the couch. Oh well. Muir made bibingka, and we had that as an appetizer. Oh, we also went to a grocery store - that was interesting. Some packages had english, but most were in greek - it was interesting trying to find rice flour at the store. There was a HUGE cheese section in the store and fresh bread. Wolfgang made beer battered eggplant slices and onion rings. Mmm...more good food.
After dinner Muir attempted to reformat one of the computers for his cousin (it has too many partitions), but the Windows OS was in German. He's waiting until he gets the english Windows XP. We watched the Big Fat Greek Wedding too.
Saturday, May 6th
For breakfast (yes, the way to Jenny's heart is food) we had pancakes and bacon, and crepes (Muir made the crepes).
We headed to downtown Athens to explore the Plaka, a neighborhood by the Acropolis. It wasn't busy because there was an anarchist protest in Athens (they were protesting capitalism) , so we were either crazy or just lucky as Wolfgang put it. We walked around and visited a few shops, including George's jewelry shop (friend of Kristine & Wolfgang). We also ate at Eden, a vegetarian restaurant, and at good crepe place for dessert and coffee.
Back at the house we had stir fry, cucumber salad, and peach cobbler. (Yes, I love food, but so what?!) Kristine got out voted (even though she was able to get Olivia and Nicholas to vote her way :) ) and we watched Mr. & Mrs. Smith instead of Wedding Date.
Our tour starts tomorrow, when we meet our tour group in the evening at the hotel in the Plaka. We will write more, but it depends on our internet access during the tour. Hopefully we'll be able to post pics to the website during our tour too. Oh yeah, sorry if there are lots of typos or grammar mistakes - I have a tendency to type fast and sometimes forget to correct stuff!
We are staying with Muir's cousin Kristine, and her family, and they live in Kifisia, a suburb of Athens. We couldn't sleep in, and woke up at 4:45am Athens time. We ate yogurt and fruit for breakfast, but the Greek yogurt is much thicker and creamer (sort of like sour cream) than the American type of yogurt. After breakfast, Kristine took us to Eleusis (or Eleusina), an industrial town that has a historic site and small museum. We watched a History Channel Greek history DVD about Eleusis before we left. In ancient Greece, the citizens of Eleusis worshipped the godess Demeter. The great Eleusinian Mysteries had there starting point in Eleusis. We posted pictures on our website.
After visiting Eleusis, we returned to Kristine & Wolfgang's house, had lunch, watched more of the History Channel Greek history DVDs, but we all fell asleep on the couch. Oh well. Muir made bibingka, and we had that as an appetizer. Oh, we also went to a grocery store - that was interesting. Some packages had english, but most were in greek - it was interesting trying to find rice flour at the store. There was a HUGE cheese section in the store and fresh bread. Wolfgang made beer battered eggplant slices and onion rings. Mmm...more good food.
After dinner Muir attempted to reformat one of the computers for his cousin (it has too many partitions), but the Windows OS was in German. He's waiting until he gets the english Windows XP. We watched the Big Fat Greek Wedding too.
Saturday, May 6th
For breakfast (yes, the way to Jenny's heart is food) we had pancakes and bacon, and crepes (Muir made the crepes).
We headed to downtown Athens to explore the Plaka, a neighborhood by the Acropolis. It wasn't busy because there was an anarchist protest in Athens (they were protesting capitalism) , so we were either crazy or just lucky as Wolfgang put it. We walked around and visited a few shops, including George's jewelry shop (friend of Kristine & Wolfgang). We also ate at Eden, a vegetarian restaurant, and at good crepe place for dessert and coffee.
Back at the house we had stir fry, cucumber salad, and peach cobbler. (Yes, I love food, but so what?!) Kristine got out voted (even though she was able to get Olivia and Nicholas to vote her way :) ) and we watched Mr. & Mrs. Smith instead of Wedding Date.
Our tour starts tomorrow, when we meet our tour group in the evening at the hotel in the Plaka. We will write more, but it depends on our internet access during the tour. Hopefully we'll be able to post pics to the website during our tour too. Oh yeah, sorry if there are lots of typos or grammar mistakes - I have a tendency to type fast and sometimes forget to correct stuff!
Greece, May 3-4
We left Portland and took the MAX to the airport. Geez, what a long ride - it took us an hour and a half, but at least we don't have to worry about parking a car. We decided to check in our 22" carry on bags since all the European airlines are strict about carry ons. You can only have one carry on in economy, and it has to be less than 13 pounds - ours were 11 pounds empty!
We flew this route: PDX > Chicago > Zurich > Athens. The United flight to Chicago was uneventful except for the landing when the whole plane swerved on the landing strip. Quite weird, but at least it ended safe. From Chicago to Zurich, we were on Swiss Air, and it made the domestic US flights look really awful. The European airlines are a much nicer experience. The service was great, and we got lots of food and drinks (yea for free cocktails on international flights!), and each person got their own personal tv screen that had movies, music, video games, etc. The flight was not full, so Muir and I moved to our own seats (we were originally sitting in the middle of the plane (4 seats across) with his parents). The flight attendant thought Muir was Swiss or German and spoke German to him at first. They also thought we weren't travelling together either...oh well.
The second flight to Athens was crowded and hot. We went to the restroom (aka the WC = water closet) in the Zurich airport, and there were ash trays in the stalls. The snack on the flight was a hot mozerella and tomato calzone. Yum. More drinks again too. One of the flight attendants spoke German, French, and English. Good thing we checked our bags. One gate attendant was making passengers check their larger bags, including guitars!
We arrived in Athens in the late afternoon, and Wolfgang picked us up. Good thing our bags made it - he said that a lot of bags don't make it. We ate dinner (stuffed peppers and chicken patties -yum!) and then crashed.
We flew this route: PDX > Chicago > Zurich > Athens. The United flight to Chicago was uneventful except for the landing when the whole plane swerved on the landing strip. Quite weird, but at least it ended safe. From Chicago to Zurich, we were on Swiss Air, and it made the domestic US flights look really awful. The European airlines are a much nicer experience. The service was great, and we got lots of food and drinks (yea for free cocktails on international flights!), and each person got their own personal tv screen that had movies, music, video games, etc. The flight was not full, so Muir and I moved to our own seats (we were originally sitting in the middle of the plane (4 seats across) with his parents). The flight attendant thought Muir was Swiss or German and spoke German to him at first. They also thought we weren't travelling together either...oh well.
The second flight to Athens was crowded and hot. We went to the restroom (aka the WC = water closet) in the Zurich airport, and there were ash trays in the stalls. The snack on the flight was a hot mozerella and tomato calzone. Yum. More drinks again too. One of the flight attendants spoke German, French, and English. Good thing we checked our bags. One gate attendant was making passengers check their larger bags, including guitars!
We arrived in Athens in the late afternoon, and Wolfgang picked us up. Good thing our bags made it - he said that a lot of bags don't make it. We ate dinner (stuffed peppers and chicken patties -yum!) and then crashed.
