Hey everyone,
Kelly and I arrived back in Athens tonight after a 9 hour ferry ride! Whew. It was tedious but at least the ferry boats are really nice. We were a bit worried about being stuck here tomorrow since there is a general strike planned, however the airports are not suppossed to be affected. Its about 1 am here and we are doing some quick posts and then off to get some shut eye before our flight out tomorrow.
While we didn't get to share everything we experienced in the blog with you guys due to timing and internet access, we wanted to share some last thoughts with how much we enjoyed our trip. Driving back to our hotel tonight we saw another glimpse of the Parthenon. It's still as spectacular to me as the first time we saw it, and I can't imagine it would ever seem commonplace. Kelly and I have talked about it several times and we both agree that we have had some amazing experiences in seeing the Acropolis, walking in the same footsteps as those so long ago in Delphi, and even our "walking" trips that always seemed to turn into hiking through mountains or competing with crazy drivers of two lane windy mountain streets or staggering on the edge of a cliff. The bottom line is we have great stories that will last a lifetime. Thanks to everyone that followed the blog! We will be back in Chicago in less than 24 hours time . Woohoo! Hopefully we will post some pics to the blog so you all can see. Between Kelly and I am sure we took over 1000 ;)
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Red Beach
Hey everyone!
Its about 1 AM here in Greece and Erin and I just got to our Athens hotel. We took a 9 hr ferry ride from Santorini back to Athens today. Its funny the hotel receptionist must be more tired than us because he put us in a quad room. We have four twin beds and more than enough space. No complaints here!
Our last day in Santorini was nice. The weather finally improved. It was still a bit chilly but overall the wind was gone which was really nice. As usual, we woke up and ate a hearty breakfast (All our hotels include free breakfast so we stock up on the carbs and protein in the morning so we only have to buy dinner - so cheap that way :) ) WE then headed off to see the Red Beach. We hiked up a cliff of red rock to see this AMAZING view of the red beach. The cliff which surrounded the beach was made of large sheets of red rock. The beach itself was mostly red and black pebbles with some fine black and red sand. We then hiked through the red cliffs to get down to the beach. As per usual, we didn't think in advance about the possible hike and were wearing flip flops at the time. It was definitely not the best hiking gear day but after our narrow escape from the mountain on our trip to Oia nothing seems quite as bad. We enjoyed some R and R on the beach and read our books while trying to soak up some sun. The sea was way to menacing to try and go for a dip but we enjoyed its beauty.
We headed back to the hotel after a couple hours and got ready to reexplore the village of Oia (given our general lack of energy and/or enthusiasm on the last pass, we wanted to give it another go before leaving Santorini). WE ate dinner at this cafe that was, unfortunately, pretty bad. Erin had lamb in lemon sauce which served as no comparison to the same dish in Kamari. I had the seafood spaghetti which was generally lacking any flavor. It was kind of sad actually :( The worst part was that we stayed too long at dinner and got the edge of the village just to see the last part of the sun go down. We were pretty sad we missed the sunset but we still got some great pictures.
Well, thank you all for following our blog! We are excited to come home tomorrow :)
Kelly
Its about 1 AM here in Greece and Erin and I just got to our Athens hotel. We took a 9 hr ferry ride from Santorini back to Athens today. Its funny the hotel receptionist must be more tired than us because he put us in a quad room. We have four twin beds and more than enough space. No complaints here!
Our last day in Santorini was nice. The weather finally improved. It was still a bit chilly but overall the wind was gone which was really nice. As usual, we woke up and ate a hearty breakfast (All our hotels include free breakfast so we stock up on the carbs and protein in the morning so we only have to buy dinner - so cheap that way :) ) WE then headed off to see the Red Beach. We hiked up a cliff of red rock to see this AMAZING view of the red beach. The cliff which surrounded the beach was made of large sheets of red rock. The beach itself was mostly red and black pebbles with some fine black and red sand. We then hiked through the red cliffs to get down to the beach. As per usual, we didn't think in advance about the possible hike and were wearing flip flops at the time. It was definitely not the best hiking gear day but after our narrow escape from the mountain on our trip to Oia nothing seems quite as bad. We enjoyed some R and R on the beach and read our books while trying to soak up some sun. The sea was way to menacing to try and go for a dip but we enjoyed its beauty.
We headed back to the hotel after a couple hours and got ready to reexplore the village of Oia (given our general lack of energy and/or enthusiasm on the last pass, we wanted to give it another go before leaving Santorini). WE ate dinner at this cafe that was, unfortunately, pretty bad. Erin had lamb in lemon sauce which served as no comparison to the same dish in Kamari. I had the seafood spaghetti which was generally lacking any flavor. It was kind of sad actually :( The worst part was that we stayed too long at dinner and got the edge of the village just to see the last part of the sun go down. We were pretty sad we missed the sunset but we still got some great pictures.
Well, thank you all for following our blog! We are excited to come home tomorrow :)
Kelly
Monday, May 17, 2010
Misadventures in Greece/Beautiful and Dangerous
Hey everyone,
Kelly and I are getting back from a very long day so it is going to be a brief post. WE hiked the tril from Fira to Oia yesterday and it was beautiful, except where we got lost. Somehere after 5 km we got off the path, had to traverse the side of a cliff (which I seriuously thought we would not get through alive), and then walk the windy two lane roads throught he mountains for 2 miles before we got to Oia. I can't even descirbe in words how crazy the experience was. Bottom line, we are alive, got into town 10 mins before the sunset, and left 30 mins later with a gyro in hand.
WE dod the Volcano tour and hot springs today. The boat dropped us off about 200 m from shore so Kel didn't feel comfortable swimming that far since we aren't the strongest swimmers. We got great pics of the hike today andpics of the people adventurous enough to win the length of to the hot springs. We did some shoppping and spent the rest of the night exploring Fira. Tomorrow is our last day in Sanotorini and, even though the weather hasn't been great, we are planning on going all out. We want to see the Red and White beaches, see Oia a bit more in depth, and return to Kamari for dinner....We'll see how much we get done.
Erin
Kelly and I are getting back from a very long day so it is going to be a brief post. WE hiked the tril from Fira to Oia yesterday and it was beautiful, except where we got lost. Somehere after 5 km we got off the path, had to traverse the side of a cliff (which I seriuously thought we would not get through alive), and then walk the windy two lane roads throught he mountains for 2 miles before we got to Oia. I can't even descirbe in words how crazy the experience was. Bottom line, we are alive, got into town 10 mins before the sunset, and left 30 mins later with a gyro in hand.
WE dod the Volcano tour and hot springs today. The boat dropped us off about 200 m from shore so Kel didn't feel comfortable swimming that far since we aren't the strongest swimmers. We got great pics of the hike today andpics of the people adventurous enough to win the length of to the hot springs. We did some shoppping and spent the rest of the night exploring Fira. Tomorrow is our last day in Sanotorini and, even though the weather hasn't been great, we are planning on going all out. We want to see the Red and White beaches, see Oia a bit more in depth, and return to Kamari for dinner....We'll see how much we get done.
Erin
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Santorini
Hey everyone,
Kelly and I arrived in Santorini yesterday afternoon. It is getting more expensive for us to get internet cards so we havent been updating frequently. We took the ferry into the island and coming in was a beautiful view right into the caldera. Our hotel is sloped downward and has an amazing view of the volcano (granted the VIP villas have a much better view, we just walk a few feet and peer over the ledge :)) We went into Kamari yesterday and saw the Black beach. It was by far one of the best experiences for us both since it was so unique and like nothing we had ever seen before. After that we alked around for a bit and stumbled upon a cute local restaurant. We sat down and realized it was all local Greeks and we were the only tourists there. WE figure that was a good sign that it was a great local place. Surely enough, as time went by the place was crowded and more tourists came so we felt less obnoxious about not knowing how to order in Greek. We had the best white wine in adorable carafs and a meal that was so authentic. Kelly had the lamb in lemon sauce and I had to try the pork souvlaki before we left Greece. WE finished our meal with some baklava and ice cream. I couldn't help but laugh the whole meal b/c our waitor looked like the RA on Saved by the Bell the College Years except Greek, you know the big muscly guy. It was hysterical (maybe only to me). Today, we woke up to find out that our volcano tour and swin in hte hot springs was canceled b/c of the weather (Its CRAZY windy here) We couldn't even enjoy the amazing pools b/c its just too windy and cold. Sooooooooooooooo we decided to hit the wineries :) We walked to a place call SAnto wines and had twelve, yes count them twelve, flights of wine with some cheese and bread. Little did we know their version of flights are much different than ours at home. The glasses were half full, and we enjoyed every bit of it. The reds were not so great in our opinion but the whites were out of this world. We also tried their dessert wine called Vinsanto, which was interesting. Both Kel and I are not fans of dessert wines since they are so sweet, but these were definitely pretty good. We are planning to do a 6 mile hike from Fira (where our hotel is located) to Oia to see the sunset. We're going to pack a little picnic as well and hang out in the town for a bit. (FYI Oia is where they filmed Sisterhood of the traveling pants) We'll update soon! Back home Thursday and we AREN'T ready at all:(
Erin and Kelly
Kelly and I arrived in Santorini yesterday afternoon. It is getting more expensive for us to get internet cards so we havent been updating frequently. We took the ferry into the island and coming in was a beautiful view right into the caldera. Our hotel is sloped downward and has an amazing view of the volcano (granted the VIP villas have a much better view, we just walk a few feet and peer over the ledge :)) We went into Kamari yesterday and saw the Black beach. It was by far one of the best experiences for us both since it was so unique and like nothing we had ever seen before. After that we alked around for a bit and stumbled upon a cute local restaurant. We sat down and realized it was all local Greeks and we were the only tourists there. WE figure that was a good sign that it was a great local place. Surely enough, as time went by the place was crowded and more tourists came so we felt less obnoxious about not knowing how to order in Greek. We had the best white wine in adorable carafs and a meal that was so authentic. Kelly had the lamb in lemon sauce and I had to try the pork souvlaki before we left Greece. WE finished our meal with some baklava and ice cream. I couldn't help but laugh the whole meal b/c our waitor looked like the RA on Saved by the Bell the College Years except Greek, you know the big muscly guy. It was hysterical (maybe only to me). Today, we woke up to find out that our volcano tour and swin in hte hot springs was canceled b/c of the weather (Its CRAZY windy here) We couldn't even enjoy the amazing pools b/c its just too windy and cold. Sooooooooooooooo we decided to hit the wineries :) We walked to a place call SAnto wines and had twelve, yes count them twelve, flights of wine with some cheese and bread. Little did we know their version of flights are much different than ours at home. The glasses were half full, and we enjoyed every bit of it. The reds were not so great in our opinion but the whites were out of this world. We also tried their dessert wine called Vinsanto, which was interesting. Both Kel and I are not fans of dessert wines since they are so sweet, but these were definitely pretty good. We are planning to do a 6 mile hike from Fira (where our hotel is located) to Oia to see the sunset. We're going to pack a little picnic as well and hang out in the town for a bit. (FYI Oia is where they filmed Sisterhood of the traveling pants) We'll update soon! Back home Thursday and we AREN'T ready at all:(
Erin and Kelly
Friday, May 14, 2010
Paros
Hey everyone,
We are safely in Paros. We took a high speed ferry over yesterday afternoon. When we arrived, we immediately went to check in to our hotel. Definitely not our favorite of the trip so far, but the owner is a cute old man so that makes it a little more bearable. We took a bus to Naoussa, a small fishing village, yesterday and saw on old Ventian fortress there. We met some New Zealand friends who were traveling as well and talked to them for a bit. After that we had dinner at a restaurant called Barberossa's. My lobster and shrimp ravioli was my favorite dish so far! Kelly had the grilled calamari with cheese and basil, which I thought was good as well but she wasn't a huge fan. The restaurant was ery nice, and we have now decided to scale down the dinners and go for large breakfast and late lunches to save on the dinner prices here! We just ate some gyros this afternoon while walking the streets of Parikia and they were fantasitic and so cheap! (well if 3 US dollars is cheap :)) We went to Andiparos this morning and saw the caves, which were spectacular. Truly there is no way to describe it, they are beautiful. We have one more night here in Paros so we are going to take the bus to Lefkas this afternoon, which was their original capital and we're told has a very historic feel. Tomorrow morning we head to Santorini. I'm super excited since everyone keeps saying it is amazing there!
Erin and Kelly
We are safely in Paros. We took a high speed ferry over yesterday afternoon. When we arrived, we immediately went to check in to our hotel. Definitely not our favorite of the trip so far, but the owner is a cute old man so that makes it a little more bearable. We took a bus to Naoussa, a small fishing village, yesterday and saw on old Ventian fortress there. We met some New Zealand friends who were traveling as well and talked to them for a bit. After that we had dinner at a restaurant called Barberossa's. My lobster and shrimp ravioli was my favorite dish so far! Kelly had the grilled calamari with cheese and basil, which I thought was good as well but she wasn't a huge fan. The restaurant was ery nice, and we have now decided to scale down the dinners and go for large breakfast and late lunches to save on the dinner prices here! We just ate some gyros this afternoon while walking the streets of Parikia and they were fantasitic and so cheap! (well if 3 US dollars is cheap :)) We went to Andiparos this morning and saw the caves, which were spectacular. Truly there is no way to describe it, they are beautiful. We have one more night here in Paros so we are going to take the bus to Lefkas this afternoon, which was their original capital and we're told has a very historic feel. Tomorrow morning we head to Santorini. I'm super excited since everyone keeps saying it is amazing there!
Erin and Kelly
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Crazy Cats
Hey Everyone,
Kelly and I had a great day at Delos. We went on a 30+ min ferry ride over to the island. Its completely uninhabited and the old community of Delos is surprisingly quite intact. We spent an hour and a half touring just the highlights. WE could have easily spent two or more days just seeing everything but considering there is no shade on the island (it was Apollo's birthplace and he is the God of light, hence no shade) it was too hot to stay for very long. This is saying a lot because Kelly and I are pretty much troopers when it comes to weather when we are determined to see things. We went back to the town of Mykonos in the early afternoon, and spent the rest of the day by the pool (it wasn't working the past two days, so we finally got to lounge around by it!). Tonight we went back to dinner at the same place we went last night. We had such a great experience that we decided to go there again. Tonight, I had the swordfish and kelly had the Mousaka?? not sure if that is right. We also had some cheese called hamil recommended to us by the owner. It was very interesting (tasted like salty chicken). Anyway, this Mousaka looked like the Greek version of Lasagna minus the pasta with zucchini and potatoes instead. I made the mistake of mentioning this to the owner when he stopped by to see how we liked everything he recommended to us. He took a step back like I punched him after I mentioned the "Greek version of lasagna". Oops, I think I really offended him by that comment. We ended up complimenting him more later so I think all was forgiven. WE ended the dinner by getting some complimentary glasses of a cinnamon tasted alcohol called Tentura. It was so good we went to the market after dinner and got a bottle each to take home :)
Erin
PS - We had to get a picture with the owner b/c we had such great times there, and he proceeded to come over with his cell phone and get his own picture as well. It was quite funny. All in all, good times! Headed to Paros tomorrow :)
Kelly and I had a great day at Delos. We went on a 30+ min ferry ride over to the island. Its completely uninhabited and the old community of Delos is surprisingly quite intact. We spent an hour and a half touring just the highlights. WE could have easily spent two or more days just seeing everything but considering there is no shade on the island (it was Apollo's birthplace and he is the God of light, hence no shade) it was too hot to stay for very long. This is saying a lot because Kelly and I are pretty much troopers when it comes to weather when we are determined to see things. We went back to the town of Mykonos in the early afternoon, and spent the rest of the day by the pool (it wasn't working the past two days, so we finally got to lounge around by it!). Tonight we went back to dinner at the same place we went last night. We had such a great experience that we decided to go there again. Tonight, I had the swordfish and kelly had the Mousaka?? not sure if that is right. We also had some cheese called hamil recommended to us by the owner. It was very interesting (tasted like salty chicken). Anyway, this Mousaka looked like the Greek version of Lasagna minus the pasta with zucchini and potatoes instead. I made the mistake of mentioning this to the owner when he stopped by to see how we liked everything he recommended to us. He took a step back like I punched him after I mentioned the "Greek version of lasagna". Oops, I think I really offended him by that comment. We ended up complimenting him more later so I think all was forgiven. WE ended the dinner by getting some complimentary glasses of a cinnamon tasted alcohol called Tentura. It was so good we went to the market after dinner and got a bottle each to take home :)
Erin
PS - We had to get a picture with the owner b/c we had such great times there, and he proceeded to come over with his cell phone and get his own picture as well. It was quite funny. All in all, good times! Headed to Paros tomorrow :)
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Delos
Hello All,
Kelly and I had a wonderful dinner last night at a restaurant that we do not know the name of! WE walked down the street by our hotel and found a cute little taverna overlooking the beach. We split the seafood salad plate and the fish of the day (which the owner literally took me over to see the fish before he cooked it) It was excellent and we finished off the meal with a chocolate souffle and a shot of ouzo. Then we headed back to the hotel, played some cards and got some sleep. We just ate breakfast (Kelly had a croissant with nutella and bananas) and now we are headed to do a guided tour of the island of Delos (Apollo's sanctuary)!!
Erin
Kelly and I had a wonderful dinner last night at a restaurant that we do not know the name of! WE walked down the street by our hotel and found a cute little taverna overlooking the beach. We split the seafood salad plate and the fish of the day (which the owner literally took me over to see the fish before he cooked it) It was excellent and we finished off the meal with a chocolate souffle and a shot of ouzo. Then we headed back to the hotel, played some cards and got some sleep. We just ate breakfast (Kelly had a croissant with nutella and bananas) and now we are headed to do a guided tour of the island of Delos (Apollo's sanctuary)!!
Erin
Paradise Beach
Hey all!
So Erin and I slept in til 8:30 this morning! Normally we are very good sleepers but we cant seem to sleep in past 9 on this trip. So we got a nice bright and early start to the day. We had breakfast at our hotel. I personally am a huge fan of the croissant with chocolate dipping sauce - sooo good (but maybe not the healthiest start to the day). After breakfast, we took a bus over to Paradise Beach. It was nice but scorching hot! We lasted for about three hours before heading back to the village to do a bit of shopping. Now we are going to hang out by the pool, drink some beverages and then get ready for a nice dinner at the hotel. Oh speaking of dinner, Erin and I got all dressed up last night and went to Little Venice for dinner. We ate at Aqua Taverna which had a beautiful view of the sunset and the famous windmills. Erin had the cod which was amazing and I had the caprese salad which was also good but paled in comparison to Erin's seafood. Anyway, it was a great night!
Kelly and Erin
So Erin and I slept in til 8:30 this morning! Normally we are very good sleepers but we cant seem to sleep in past 9 on this trip. So we got a nice bright and early start to the day. We had breakfast at our hotel. I personally am a huge fan of the croissant with chocolate dipping sauce - sooo good (but maybe not the healthiest start to the day). After breakfast, we took a bus over to Paradise Beach. It was nice but scorching hot! We lasted for about three hours before heading back to the village to do a bit of shopping. Now we are going to hang out by the pool, drink some beverages and then get ready for a nice dinner at the hotel. Oh speaking of dinner, Erin and I got all dressed up last night and went to Little Venice for dinner. We ate at Aqua Taverna which had a beautiful view of the sunset and the famous windmills. Erin had the cod which was amazing and I had the caprese salad which was also good but paled in comparison to Erin's seafood. Anyway, it was a great night!
Kelly and Erin
Monday, May 10, 2010
Lazy Day
Kelly and I started the day with breakfast on the deck of our otel. We started enjoying our meal when we were approached by two cats. Stray animals are everywhere in Athens and it appears to extend into the islands as well. Normallym we are not big cat fans anyway and with our last experience eating around the birds we decided to take precautions and move inside. The staff looked at us like we were strange but had they known we apparently have a vulnerability to animals eating our food I think they would have understood. After breakfast, we headed to the closest beach to our Hotel, Ag Stefano. We stayed there until the afternoon and came back to the hotel midafternoon. You know how exausting laying in the sun can be! WE are headed out now to get some dinner and browse the town again. Mykonos is the party island, so we might go see what that is all about tonight!! ;)
Erin
Erin
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Mykonos
Hey Everyone,
Kelly and I arrived in Mykonos by ferry yesterday. The ride was beautiful and we arrived midday. Our hotel is picturesque Cyclades. White with blue shutters and a cute little balcony overlooking the Sea. We went into the town and checked out the local scenery. Surprisngly, we ate our first gyro yesterday and lived up to oru expectations! WE then hit the beach for a little while.
WE just ate breakfast at our hotel and are headed back to the beach to get some sun, hopefully! Its a little chilly here!
Erin and Kelly
Kelly and I arrived in Mykonos by ferry yesterday. The ride was beautiful and we arrived midday. Our hotel is picturesque Cyclades. White with blue shutters and a cute little balcony overlooking the Sea. We went into the town and checked out the local scenery. Surprisngly, we ate our first gyro yesterday and lived up to oru expectations! WE then hit the beach for a little while.
WE just ate breakfast at our hotel and are headed back to the beach to get some sun, hopefully! Its a little chilly here!
Erin and Kelly
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Delphi
Hey everyone!
Erin and I had a great day in Delphi today. We woke up bright and early (again! - shocking, I know). Our bus picked us up and we quickly realized it was going to be a small group. There were about 12 of us total. We stopped at two villages along the way - Levadia and Arachova. Levadia was a cute little town with houses built along the mountain side. As our tour guide explained, all houses are built up the hill so as not to skew the view from anyone else's house. How polite . . . :)
We stopped at a little cafe where Erin and I split and a pastry. It was almost like a fried dough bathed in honey and sesame seeds. I thought it was pretty good. I also found my first souvenir of the trip - the Hippocratic Oath handpainted in Greek on original papyrous paper. We then hopped back on the bus and the next stop was a very small village call Arachova. It was breathtaking. The city was built in the same fashion with rows of houses built next to each other and up so as not to skew the view. The crazy part was the steepness of the hill on which it was built. Imagine that worse black diamond on the ski mountain, the one you are too terrified to go on but if you are feeling adventurous you may give it a shot. This was a similar vertical drop down the mountainside. It made for a spectacular view and we got lots of pictures. The town specializes in making wool products. We thought about bringing one of those wool hats with the tail coming off it back for Tim but couldn't actually do it :) The wool rugs were actually quite nice, though. We then continued on to Delphi. When we arrived our tour guide took us throught the beginning part of the old town and showed us tha Agora and the old treasury house. We then headed out on our own to see the Temple of Apollo, the theater, and the stadium. I think the stadium blew me away the most. It was pretty cool. Apparently, on the Olympics off years, they would hold another set of games called the Pythian Games. These were also held every four years and offered a chance for athletes to compete. The stadium was breathtaking especially if you sat for awhile and tried to imagine how long ago athletes competed in this arena. I wanted to take a lap around the middle but unfortunately it was closed after an earthquake due to instability. After our free time, we had a short trek through the museum and were then off for lunch. Lunch was okay. The best part was probably the baklava at the end. The appetizer was cheese pie and main entree was lamb with gravy and french fries. After lunch, we headed back to Athens.
We will probably try to get some gyros for dinner and enjoy the rooftop garden deck on the hotel (wine glasses for 2 Euro - best price in the city!).
Tomorrow we will be up by 6 AM for our ferry to Mykonos! Stay tuned . . .
Kelly and Erin
Erin and I had a great day in Delphi today. We woke up bright and early (again! - shocking, I know). Our bus picked us up and we quickly realized it was going to be a small group. There were about 12 of us total. We stopped at two villages along the way - Levadia and Arachova. Levadia was a cute little town with houses built along the mountain side. As our tour guide explained, all houses are built up the hill so as not to skew the view from anyone else's house. How polite . . . :)
We stopped at a little cafe where Erin and I split and a pastry. It was almost like a fried dough bathed in honey and sesame seeds. I thought it was pretty good. I also found my first souvenir of the trip - the Hippocratic Oath handpainted in Greek on original papyrous paper. We then hopped back on the bus and the next stop was a very small village call Arachova. It was breathtaking. The city was built in the same fashion with rows of houses built next to each other and up so as not to skew the view. The crazy part was the steepness of the hill on which it was built. Imagine that worse black diamond on the ski mountain, the one you are too terrified to go on but if you are feeling adventurous you may give it a shot. This was a similar vertical drop down the mountainside. It made for a spectacular view and we got lots of pictures. The town specializes in making wool products. We thought about bringing one of those wool hats with the tail coming off it back for Tim but couldn't actually do it :) The wool rugs were actually quite nice, though. We then continued on to Delphi. When we arrived our tour guide took us throught the beginning part of the old town and showed us tha Agora and the old treasury house. We then headed out on our own to see the Temple of Apollo, the theater, and the stadium. I think the stadium blew me away the most. It was pretty cool. Apparently, on the Olympics off years, they would hold another set of games called the Pythian Games. These were also held every four years and offered a chance for athletes to compete. The stadium was breathtaking especially if you sat for awhile and tried to imagine how long ago athletes competed in this arena. I wanted to take a lap around the middle but unfortunately it was closed after an earthquake due to instability. After our free time, we had a short trek through the museum and were then off for lunch. Lunch was okay. The best part was probably the baklava at the end. The appetizer was cheese pie and main entree was lamb with gravy and french fries. After lunch, we headed back to Athens.
We will probably try to get some gyros for dinner and enjoy the rooftop garden deck on the hotel (wine glasses for 2 Euro - best price in the city!).
Tomorrow we will be up by 6 AM for our ferry to Mykonos! Stay tuned . . .
Kelly and Erin
Friday, May 7, 2010
Concerning the title
Ok I completely forgot to mention why I titled the last article "So Birds like Nuts in Greece"....but dont worry Kelly is telling the story on this coming post. And yes they were scary, and yes a nice British guy saved us.
A Night in Athens
Erin is SOOO diligently typing away about our amazing day here in Athens but I don't want her to get carpel tunnel so I thought I would help out. Here is an overview of our night here in the beautiful city of Athens.
We took a long hike to Mount Likavitos to see the sunset as this is apparently "the place" to watch sunsets in Athens. Our hike was amazing(ly hard). We took a very steep route up the hill and clocked our HRs in the 120s. About 45 minutes later when we had finally reached the top (and were -2L of water), we saw a beatufiful chapel called St. George's that stands perched atop this mountain. Inside it was incredibly ornate with beautiful paintings on the walls and old remnants from when services were conducted. Outside of the chapel was a very small area lined with stone walls and benches (not park benches the kind of benches that are just carved outpouchings of the wall itself). One look out at the city of Athens is enough to amaze anyone! It was gorgeous. You could see the vast expanse of Athens: houses lining the streets, mountains that surround the city, the Aegean sea hugging the eastern border, and the Acropolis perched out among its surroundings. After we took in this beautiful view, we realized we were about three hours early for sunset and decided to grab a drink at the cafe slightly down the mountain. We had a couple of drinks and the waitress brought out soom nuts to accompany our beverages. As we sat talking about how enjoyable our vacation has been thusfar we began to realize that we were being watched. Concerning?! Yes and you will never guess the perpetrators . . . two birds. One of the birds, a chubby guy, decided to inch closer and closer to us. They gave us a look like "I want those nuts and you better watch out cuz I can take you". Erin noted this odd behavior and I brushed it off because I thought "Really, how are birds going to hurt us?". I was wrong!! This bird and his partner would get in really close to our table when our waitress was away and then once she came scoot away as if not to get caught. Finally, the chubby bird decided to make his move and jumped on our table! And then he began pecking at and eating our nuts (inches away from us!). Erin and I freaked out started screaming and Erin started making some weird hand movements in an effort to scare the bird away. Then the bird just looked at her like "You foolish little girl. I am not afraid of you." Then his partner and crime came onto our table and started eating the nuts. Now we were completely freaking out! Thank goodness for the UK cuz some nice British guy came and scared them away. Well, for a second anyway . . . They came back with a vengeance so our hero came to the rescue and we got the nuts to another nearby table. The birds then attacked the nuts like nothing I have ever seen before. One bird even got mad at the other bird for taking the last piece and they started fighting! It was crazy! All we could think was at least we didn't order dinner.
After this ridiculousness was over, we made it back to the top of the mountain for the sunset. It was as beautiful as everyone said and we got lots of pictures and video.
Another day, another adventure . . . tomorrow we will head for Delphi and hope that all meals from here on are lacking aggressive animals of any kind :)
Thanks for reading!
Kelly
We took a long hike to Mount Likavitos to see the sunset as this is apparently "the place" to watch sunsets in Athens. Our hike was amazing(ly hard). We took a very steep route up the hill and clocked our HRs in the 120s. About 45 minutes later when we had finally reached the top (and were -2L of water), we saw a beatufiful chapel called St. George's that stands perched atop this mountain. Inside it was incredibly ornate with beautiful paintings on the walls and old remnants from when services were conducted. Outside of the chapel was a very small area lined with stone walls and benches (not park benches the kind of benches that are just carved outpouchings of the wall itself). One look out at the city of Athens is enough to amaze anyone! It was gorgeous. You could see the vast expanse of Athens: houses lining the streets, mountains that surround the city, the Aegean sea hugging the eastern border, and the Acropolis perched out among its surroundings. After we took in this beautiful view, we realized we were about three hours early for sunset and decided to grab a drink at the cafe slightly down the mountain. We had a couple of drinks and the waitress brought out soom nuts to accompany our beverages. As we sat talking about how enjoyable our vacation has been thusfar we began to realize that we were being watched. Concerning?! Yes and you will never guess the perpetrators . . . two birds. One of the birds, a chubby guy, decided to inch closer and closer to us. They gave us a look like "I want those nuts and you better watch out cuz I can take you". Erin noted this odd behavior and I brushed it off because I thought "Really, how are birds going to hurt us?". I was wrong!! This bird and his partner would get in really close to our table when our waitress was away and then once she came scoot away as if not to get caught. Finally, the chubby bird decided to make his move and jumped on our table! And then he began pecking at and eating our nuts (inches away from us!). Erin and I freaked out started screaming and Erin started making some weird hand movements in an effort to scare the bird away. Then the bird just looked at her like "You foolish little girl. I am not afraid of you." Then his partner and crime came onto our table and started eating the nuts. Now we were completely freaking out! Thank goodness for the UK cuz some nice British guy came and scared them away. Well, for a second anyway . . . They came back with a vengeance so our hero came to the rescue and we got the nuts to another nearby table. The birds then attacked the nuts like nothing I have ever seen before. One bird even got mad at the other bird for taking the last piece and they started fighting! It was crazy! All we could think was at least we didn't order dinner.
After this ridiculousness was over, we made it back to the top of the mountain for the sunset. It was as beautiful as everyone said and we got lots of pictures and video.
Another day, another adventure . . . tomorrow we will head for Delphi and hope that all meals from here on are lacking aggressive animals of any kind :)
Thanks for reading!
Kelly
So Birds like Nuts in Greece....
Hey Everyone!
Kelly and I are just getting back from a very long day of sightseeing and wanted to give a quick update. Whem we got to the hotel last night, we were given some complimentary ouzo to try. We took it up to the rooftop garden that had an AMAZING view of the Parthenon and watched it light up. (Marisa, fyi the ouzo even tasted worse than our beverage consumption in Italy if you remember what I'm talking about) I don't know what the proof is on that stuff, but Kelly and I each took a sip and were literally knocked off our feet. We ended up having some red wine and prosecco and had nice long talks on the rooftop. After 36 hours awake, with some naps here and there, we managed to stay up til a whopping 10! I didn't even think I was going to make it that long, but somehow managed :)
This morning, we headed for the Acropolis bright and early. After getting lost ina mix of houses, and stairs, and trees all looking like they were heading to the Parthenon, we quickly realized we were not even remotely on the right path. We ended up having to climb back down, walk around, and make the hike again. We eventually made it up, and what a sight it was. We have soooo many pictures, and cant wait to show you all. Speaking of which, Kelly grabbed her camera without the memory card so we had to make a little purchase in the Plaka for her. Needless to say we now have 1500 pictures to take!! After a nice walk through the Plaka, we made an attempt to see the National Gardens and the Parliament Buildings. By made an attempt I mean failed miserably. We saw the parliament buildings, but walked around for 2 hours at least trying to find an entrance to the National Gardens (the National Gardens literally surround the Parliament building so its pretty much impossible not to find them). We did think it was kind of funny that there were a bunch of police gaurds surronding the gates that appeared to be closed to the gardens. Sure enough after circling the entire place twice, we realized ALL the entrances were closed. We decided to nix the idea, head for some lunch and take in the Ancient Agora.
A nice cafe was sitting around the National Gardens, and we decided after a long day we needed to sit down and have something to eat. (On a side note, our hotel breakfest was soooo good! yogurt and honey, meats and cheeses, olives, hard boiled eggs, you get the picture) At lunch, we had some Greek pizza with feta cheese, tomatoes, peppers, and of course olives! After lunch, we spent some time at the Roman and Ancient Agora. The Roman forum brought Kelly and I back to our days in Rome with Marisa, and it was a nice memory for us to both think about while walking through and still seeing the Partenon in the skyline. By the time we arrived at the Ancient Agora, we were both pretty tired from all the walking. We strolled through to see the major highlights (Temple of Hephaestus, arcade of Attalos, and a beautiful Christian church in the middle of it all).
We headed back to the hotel around 4, got a quick run down from the UK CNN (which I now love), and headed back out for Mount Likavatos, which Kelly is updating you on now!!!
Erin
Kelly and I are just getting back from a very long day of sightseeing and wanted to give a quick update. Whem we got to the hotel last night, we were given some complimentary ouzo to try. We took it up to the rooftop garden that had an AMAZING view of the Parthenon and watched it light up. (Marisa, fyi the ouzo even tasted worse than our beverage consumption in Italy if you remember what I'm talking about) I don't know what the proof is on that stuff, but Kelly and I each took a sip and were literally knocked off our feet. We ended up having some red wine and prosecco and had nice long talks on the rooftop. After 36 hours awake, with some naps here and there, we managed to stay up til a whopping 10! I didn't even think I was going to make it that long, but somehow managed :)
This morning, we headed for the Acropolis bright and early. After getting lost ina mix of houses, and stairs, and trees all looking like they were heading to the Parthenon, we quickly realized we were not even remotely on the right path. We ended up having to climb back down, walk around, and make the hike again. We eventually made it up, and what a sight it was. We have soooo many pictures, and cant wait to show you all. Speaking of which, Kelly grabbed her camera without the memory card so we had to make a little purchase in the Plaka for her. Needless to say we now have 1500 pictures to take!! After a nice walk through the Plaka, we made an attempt to see the National Gardens and the Parliament Buildings. By made an attempt I mean failed miserably. We saw the parliament buildings, but walked around for 2 hours at least trying to find an entrance to the National Gardens (the National Gardens literally surround the Parliament building so its pretty much impossible not to find them). We did think it was kind of funny that there were a bunch of police gaurds surronding the gates that appeared to be closed to the gardens. Sure enough after circling the entire place twice, we realized ALL the entrances were closed. We decided to nix the idea, head for some lunch and take in the Ancient Agora.
A nice cafe was sitting around the National Gardens, and we decided after a long day we needed to sit down and have something to eat. (On a side note, our hotel breakfest was soooo good! yogurt and honey, meats and cheeses, olives, hard boiled eggs, you get the picture) At lunch, we had some Greek pizza with feta cheese, tomatoes, peppers, and of course olives! After lunch, we spent some time at the Roman and Ancient Agora. The Roman forum brought Kelly and I back to our days in Rome with Marisa, and it was a nice memory for us to both think about while walking through and still seeing the Partenon in the skyline. By the time we arrived at the Ancient Agora, we were both pretty tired from all the walking. We strolled through to see the major highlights (Temple of Hephaestus, arcade of Attalos, and a beautiful Christian church in the middle of it all).
We headed back to the hotel around 4, got a quick run down from the UK CNN (which I now love), and headed back out for Mount Likavatos, which Kelly is updating you on now!!!
Erin
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Yassas
We are in Athens safe and sound! Kelly and I are exhausted from our 24 hours of flight and the previous 12 hours worrying that we weren't going to get here. We arrived at about 5 pm Athens time, so we decided to take a stroll to Syntagma Square while things seemed peaceful. There were protestors so we didn't get too close, but everything seemed under control. The Greek police are everywhere throughout the city. It is strange to see the pictures from CNN translated to real life. That all being said we are excited to be here and can't wait for this experience.
We got a brief view of the Parthenon on our walk tonight and are planning on waking up bright and early to conquer it! We are headed now to get something to eat, enjoy our complimentary ouzo, and check out the view of the city from our hotel's rooftop deck. We will not be showing any pictures of our hotel as too many people would be making fun of us. (Its literally two twin beds pushed together :) made us laugh) Will be posting more blogs soon!
We got a brief view of the Parthenon on our walk tonight and are planning on waking up bright and early to conquer it! We are headed now to get something to eat, enjoy our complimentary ouzo, and check out the view of the city from our hotel's rooftop deck. We will not be showing any pictures of our hotel as too many people would be making fun of us. (Its literally two twin beds pushed together :) made us laugh) Will be posting more blogs soon!
Belgium
Alright,
Kelly and I were up all night before our flight thinking we might be SOL on getting to Athens. Currently, Greece is voting on a bailout from the EU and there was a 48 hour strike in both the public and private sector. The airport was shutdown, as well as everything else. We just landed in Brussels and our flight to Athens is a GO! We are using the internet cafe in the airport and having some serious issues with this keyboard, so this may be a short post.
Our flight into Brussels was gorgeous. From the air, the landscape is beautiful, but their airport looks like a huge hanger with bright neon signs everywhere. Classy.
Well we are off to get some waffles....and chocolate.....and of course some belgian beer. ;) kelly wants me to delete this b/c she actually thinks people will think we r eating all this! Ill show her....
Kelly and Erin
Kelly and I were up all night before our flight thinking we might be SOL on getting to Athens. Currently, Greece is voting on a bailout from the EU and there was a 48 hour strike in both the public and private sector. The airport was shutdown, as well as everything else. We just landed in Brussels and our flight to Athens is a GO! We are using the internet cafe in the airport and having some serious issues with this keyboard, so this may be a short post.
Our flight into Brussels was gorgeous. From the air, the landscape is beautiful, but their airport looks like a huge hanger with bright neon signs everywhere. Classy.
Well we are off to get some waffles....and chocolate.....and of course some belgian beer. ;) kelly wants me to delete this b/c she actually thinks people will think we r eating all this! Ill show her....
Kelly and Erin
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