Thank goodness I kept a log of when and where we went on our trip. There is no way I would be able to remember all the fun things that we did!
On Saturday, June 6Th we left the house at 4:45 am to catch our flight to EWR. I had been up all night trying to get things ready, and washing some clothes at Kelly's till late into the night. Our washer decided to break the day before our trip! We were bumped off the 6am flight, but were able to catch the 8am flight to EWR, only coach available, but we got on!
We had a bit of a lay-over before our flight to Athens, so we walked around the EWR airport, checked out the shops, and had Gelato (ice cream). On our flight to Athens, we were lucky enough to get First Class; that was so awesome!
We arrived in Athens, Greece on Sunday morning, and found the city transportation to take us to Syntagma Square. This is the main square of Athens, located in front of the Greek Parliament. The bus ride took about 50 minutes, and it was pretty crowded. When we arrived at Syntagma square, Chuck looked at the map and said he could find our hotel; so we stared walking through the small back-streets of Athens. I don't know how he knew where he was going, because we were doing a lot of zigzagging and could barely make out the street signs. We each had our own packs, weighing about 40lbs, but it wasn't that bad. After about 30 minutes of trekking up and around the area, Chuck found our hotel! I should never of doubted...he has an uncanny sense of direction. We stayed at the Acropolis View Hotel. It is about 2 blocks from the Acropolis itself. It isn't that fancy of a hotel, but it had decent beds, and our own bathroom in our room! We had asked for a room with a view of the Acropolis, but they said that room was being worked on right now...so the view from our room was of the Mount Lycabettus...far away. After we were situated in the room, we bought some water from the bar downstairs, and then went to check out the view from the terrace on the roof.
And what a view it was! It definitely made the hotel worth it!
After taking a few pictures, we walked around the lower area of the Acropolis. It was already early afternoon, so we decided not to go up to the Pantheon now, but save that for another day.
The paths around the lower level of the Acropolis, as shown here, aren't that busy during the day, but at night there are lots of people waking down the streets, and pushing kids in their strollers.
After ascending up a few steps, you come upon the theater of Herod Atticus, still used today for plays and concerts. We headed to the rock of Arreopagos, to get a good view of the city.
Above are all views of the city.
A great view of Mount Lycabettos.
The rock of Areopagos is where Saint Paul spoke to the people of Athens in AD 51, and there is a tablet embedded in the stone, containing his words.
We walked past the Plaka and into the Monastiraki district, where there were tons of flea market stands along the streets, making it easy to pick out a souvenir. And there are a few gelato shops, so we had some more gelato (it's everywhere)!
Oh my goodness, look what they were promoting in one of the small parks around the Monastiraki...Coke Zero...my favorite...and free (pop usually cost 3E a can)!
We came across an old open trolley, for 6E pp, that will take you around by the Parliament Building, The National Gardens, and the Olympic site. It was nice just not to walk, and we got a good layout of the area.
Picture of the Zappion Building, on the edge of the National Gardens.
The entrance to Panathenaikos Stadium; the Olympic stadium is the site of the first modern Olympics in 1896 and is built entirely of white marble.
There are guard shacks stationed all around the Parliament Building.
It is amazing how many fig trees there are, and this was the biggest one yet! Chuck is showing us the 'Big Fig Newton' dance under the fig tree.
Churche shown above is Panaghia Kapnikarea, on Ermou Street, one of the oldest churches in Athens, built in the 11th century over an ancient Greek pagan temple.
There were also a lot of pomegranate trees growing between the rocks or in fields, and paths that were bare. Unfortunately they were only about the size of a walnut...they won't be ready to eat till Nov/Dec. We sat down at one of the outside cafe's to eat, and then slowly made our way back to the hotel
Monday, June 8.
Chuck got up early the next morning, and took this picture of the Acropolis when the sun was just coming up.
We had breakfast at the hotel and then walked down the street, to Hotel Herodion, to catch the bus for our tour of Delphi. (94e pp)
The bus ride was beautiful, we drove through the plain of Beotia, crossing the towns of Thebes...connected with the Greek Tragedy of King Oedipus (King and Queen of Thebes consult the oracle in Delphi, oracle prophesized that the King's son would grow up and kill him and that the son would marry his mother and produce offspring by her) great tragedy! We later made a short stop in Levadia, for drinks and a great meat/cheese sandwich! And we also stopped in Arachova, to pick up some souvenirs.
Finally arriving at Delphi, the center of The Ancient World lies on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, in a landscape of amazing beauty.
The history of Delphi begins,in myths of the ancient Greeks. In the beginning the site was sacred to Mother Earth and was guarded by the terrible serpent Python, who was later killed by Apollo. Delphi is one of the most well-known spots in ancient Greece, made famous by the Delphic Oracle which was believed to have the power to tell the future (ex. Oedipus).
Delphi ruins of the Temple of Apollo.
The remains of an Ionic column.
Treasury of Athenians.
The Amphitheater of Apollo at Delphi.
I Love This Place!
These two pictures are a view of the stadium, located at the very top of the site.
After walking around the ruins for a few hours, ywe then went to the Delphi Archaeological museum, containing masterpieces of Ancient Greek sculptures as the famous athlete Aghias and other art works shown below.
Large Sphinx of Naxos sitting on an Ionic column about 10m tall. circa 560 B.C.
Kouros Statues of the Archaic Period. Early 6th c. B.C.
Known as Kleovis and Biton, the two boys who heroically pulled their mother on her chariot to the sanctuary where she was to worship. They pulled the chariot for 8km; they died the same night peacefully in their sleep.
We had lunch in the 'modern' village of Delphi.
At lunch we were seated with three aussies, Cindy Van der Velden, Sam Lukunic, and Mandy Roleski. They all worked for Child Protective Services in Sydney, Australia. They are on the last few weeks of their 8 week backpacking adventure over Europe. They were pretty funny, and they thought Cory was a lot older than 18! It was a great trip. We then got back on the bus and headed to Athens by the same route, stopping in Levadia for one last souvenir and drink! We arrived back at our hotel about 730pm, got cleaned up and rested for a bit. Chuck went up top the hotel and took this night shot of the Acropolis.
After our short rest, we walked around the Plaka and went to a restaurant recommended by someone at our hotel, VITRO; we had gyros, Greek pizza, Greek slad, and lamb kabobs. The food was pretty good, nothing to brag about. Then we headed back to the hotel.
Tuesday, June 9.
That morning we woke up pretty early and had some breakfast downstairs, consisting of toast and Greek yogert, with jam. Then we walked up to the Acropolis to see the Pantheon.
A backside view of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus Theatre, built in 161 AD. In the evenings you can hear the performances echoing as you walk the streets below. Our hotel is just over Cory's left shoulder!
The most famous part of Athens is the Acropolis, a raised, fortified area of the city, containing ancient structures. One of these, the Pantheon, built in the 5th century BC, was a temple of the Greek goddess Athena, then later a Christian church, then an Ottoman Mosque. It was partially destroyed in 1687 when it was used as a gunpowder storage facility during a war with the Venetians; it is currently undergoing reconstruction.
The small temple known as the Thission was built in 449 BC and is virtually intact.
Mount Lycabettos from the top of the the Acropolis.
From up here there is a great view of the Temple of Zeus.
View of the colums of Erechtheum.
The Erechtheum was constructed between c.421 BC and 405 BC to replace an earlier temple to Athena destroyed by the Persians. It is known for the 'Porch of Maidens' a set of six columns shaped as female figures. One of the best stories I've read, is that the Erectheum sits on the sacred site of the Acropolis where Poseidon and Athena had their contest over who would be the Patron of the city. Poseidon thrust his trident into the rock and a spring burst forth, while Athena touched the ground with a spear and an olive tree grew. Athena was declared the victor and the great city of Athens was named for her. It was a really hot day! We stopped at our hotel to cool off and Cory checked out the map to see where we were off to next. We had to check out by 2pm, so the front desk keep an eye on our bags for us.
Our destination was the Temple of Zeus, so we took off walking.
Remnants of the Temple of the Olympian Zeus, in Athens. The Temple of Zeus was built between 470 BC and 456 BC.
A view, looking back up at the Acropolis.
The Zappion building, located by the National gardens, is used as an exhibition hall and for official events. Pictures of the National gardens below.
The gardens had some beautiful ironwork and statues throughout it. They also have a lot of citrus trees.
Syndagma Square is the political and urban heart of Athens and all of Greece for that matter. The Parliament Building sits on one side of the square. At the base of the Parliament Building, is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It is guarded by two Greek soldiers in traditional Greek uniforms. These soldiers are the Evzones, and there uniforms are a symbol of Greece, woolen leggings, kilts and tasseled caps. I was hot, so I know that they were! They are the elite of the Greek army. An interesting fact about these funny dressed men; they where at onetime recruited from the hardy mountain villagers who had fought against the Turks and later, the Germans for Greek independence. You have to be 6 feet high to join this particular unit, which is a rarity amongst Greek men.
Gyros for lunch. These were awesome!
Next was a stop at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. The brand new Acropolis Museum won't open until the following Sunday (we were a week to early).
Zeus of Artemision, bronze.
Boy Jockey and Horse, bronze.
Myrtle wreath with berries, gold.
Statue of Poseidon, missing his trident. It is argued (and was) that this could also be Zeus, missing his lightening rod.
After we were done at the museum, we had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, Athens.
Then we walked back to our hotel, had to get one last shot of the Acropolis.
We then waited for our taxi to arrive to take us to Port Pierius, so we could catch our overnight ferry to the island of Crete.
The ferry was suppose to depart at 10pm, and I was sitting on the top deck trying not to worry. But, the name on the side of the ferry was different then the one on our ticket. Prior to boarding, we asked to make sure this boat was going to Heraklion on the Island of Crete. Yes, Yes, Yes was the reply. But now that the boat was 1hr late I was starting to worry even more. Chuck even started to worry, so he also got confirmation, that yes, we were on the right boat. After we left the port I went back to the room to take a shower and I managed to read a little before I fell asleep, praying that I would wake up in Heraklion in the morning! We had pretty budget tickets, hence the continuous noise of a dryer running. I now know what it feels like to sleep on top of a running drier all night!
Wednesday, June 10.
Heraklion is the major city and capital of the largest Greek Island, Crete. The ferry arrived in port at 4;45 am. I had read in someone else's blog, that if you ask the concierge when you check in, you can stay on the boat a little longer in the morning. So we were able to sleep in, and we departed the ferry at 8am. Our hotel was suppose to be pretty close to the port, but I wasn't sure which way to go, so we hired at taxi for 5e to take us to our hotel (which was about a 10 minute walk up hill) from the port.
Here is a photo of our hotel from the fortress down below.
Since we were so early, we were unable to check in yet, but the lady at the counter was wonderful and and they held our bags for us while we walked around the town and got some breakfast.
Breakfast was wonderful! We had meat & cheese crepes, and of course a chocolate crepe made with Nutella (14E for the 3 crepes).
After we ate, we walked around the market area.We passed a meat vender, and had to take this picture for Lindsie...whole skinned rabbits for sale!
I love to go into grocery stores whenever we travel somewhere new, so I'm hoping to find one! The fruit stands were awesome! We still had plenty of time to look around, so we followed the coble streets down to the waterfront.
The church of Agios Titos in Heraklion.
The Fortress of Koules in Heraklion Crete: The Venetian Castle of Heraklion is called Koules, which means “fortress” in Turkish. It is an impressive fortress that surrounds the harbor of Heraklion, Crete.
We paid 5E for the 3 of us to take a self- guided tour around the fortress.
The Koules Fortress of Heraklion is a Venetian structure built in the early 13th century right next to the port, in order to protect the town from pirates and enemies.
There were only a few items, like this pottery throughout the castle.
I loved the massive wooden doors.
When we opened the door to this room, all that was inside were cannonballs.
The castle had a few huge rooms in it.
It was windy by the sea, and it was amazing how you could feel the ventilation system (holes in the walls and ceiling)as you walked about the rooms.
The roof was a great place to see everything around you.
A view of some nearby Islands.
Heraklion port, where we entered Crete on our cruise ship.
The end of the fortress wall,that protects the harbor. Here we watched the old men fish. I know no Greek, and was unable to ask what they were fishing for and what kind of bait they were using, so we just watched them for awhile!
I found this great aerial view of the city!Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel. Right next door to the hotel, was a small grocery store, so we checked it out and got some great snacks and drinks to try!
Our room had a great view of the fortress.
Unfortunately the a/c didn't work in our room, so we were moved to another...little smaller, but same great view. In Europe, there are no compensations for being inconvenienced and moved, they just smile and say sorry! So we all layed down and took a little nap. After our nap, we got a map and headed to the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. The museum houses the most important finds from Minoan civilisation and excavations across the island of Crete. The museaum was being renovated, so we only saw about a 1/3 of it, but we did get to see the two famous pieces of art shown below.
The Snake Goddess was discovered in 1903, by the British archaeologist Arthur Evans, on the site of the "Palace" of Knossos, It is presumed to be a fertility deity.
The famous Bull-Leaping Fresco. This is the famous Minoan ritual sport, during which the athlete did dangerous acrobatic leaps over the back of a bull. The white figures are female and the reddish one male.
After the museum, we headed to the town square where there in the center is the Morosini fountain, which has a cirlce of lions around the base of it.
Along the way we found a guitar shop that Cory had to check out, and then we went to check out the grocery store I spotted. Here we purchased some olive oil for friends and family.
Then we found two places right next to each other, selling Gyros! I honestly can't tell you how many gyros we had on this trip...I do know that we had MORE Greek salad too! We bought a few souvenirs, and then got some more drinks at the store next to our hotel.
Thursday, June 11.
In the morning we woke up and had breakfast downstairs in the hotel.
Once again, Cory was able to enjoy the 3% milk!
After breakfast, we went to the bus station, located about halfway between the ferry port and our hotel, and purchased bus tickets to Knossos, to see the Palace of Knossos.
Knossos is the site of the most important and best known Minoan Palace complex in Crete.
According to Greek mythology, the palace was designed by famed architect Dedalos with such complexity, that no one placed in it, could ever find its exit. King Minos, who commissioned the palace, then kept the architect prisoner, to ensure that he would not reveal the palace plan to anyone. Dedalos, who was also a great inventor, built two sets of wings so he and his son, Ikaros ,could fly off the Island, and so they did. On their way out, Dedalos warned his son not to fly too close to the sun, because the wax that held the wings together would melt. In a tragic turn of events, during their escape, Ikaros, young and impulsive as he was, flew higher and higher until the sun rays dismantled his wings and the young boy fell to his death in the Aegean Sea.
Restoration of the palace can be seen all throughout the mass complex.
Another amazing fig tree!
The Palace is also connected with further legends, such as the myth of the Labyrinth and the Minotaur
There was bouganvilla all over the arched entrance, it was beautiful.
As we were leaving the site, we were able to see this male peacock strutting his stuff around the grounds. We then caught the bus back to our hotel, where we then changed into our swim suites, and headed for the beach, near Kokkini.
Looking down the beach.
Mom and Cory enjoying the beach.
It was so beautiful looking out into the blue sea.
Funny story about our trip here: We thought that we were doing so well at getting to where we wanted to go. And while we were on the bus I was trying really hard to read all the signs we passed so that I would know when to get off. I never did see a sign that said Kokkini...but I did notice a big sign that had the name Kokkini on it with a line through it. By the time my brain registered that we were now leaving Kokkini, we figured we would just get off at the next stop. But, it was another 5 miles before someone got off; and we walked up to the bus driver and told him the name of the place we wanted to get off, and he just shook his head. He tells us to go to the bus stop across the street, and take that bus back. Thanks goodness the bus driver heading back to the beach, accepted our original tickets and dropped us off "near" Kokkini. We saw a sign that said beach, and had an arrow pointing the way, we felt blessed and followed it. We walked in a vacant field down to the beach, passing a beautiful vegetable garden along the way.
There was a sea wall at the beach, and we found some steps to go down. This is where Cory got his first sight of some Europeans nude sunbathing. Unfortunately, for Cory they were about 35 and 65! I dropped my things on a nearby chair and went straight into the water. It was wonderful! It was the perfect temperature and the beach was made of small rocks, and as you waded into the water it got sandy. Cory laid out on the chairs provided, to work on his tan, and Dad came into the water shortly after.
We had a wonderful lunch with Greek salad (of course) and some really good pizza!
This is our waitress, she was a cutie and spoke pretty good English. At 6pm we caught the 'right' bus back to the station, and walked to our hotel. We all showered and watched some World Wide News that evening.
Friday, June 12.
This morning after breakfast, we planned to take the bus to the west-end of Crete, to the region of Chania. The bus ride was about 20E each, but Chuck check with the car rental across the street from the hotel, and found out that is would only cost 46E to rent the car for a day. So I said my prayers (and a few extra) and we drove through the city, which was crazy, and then got on the main freeway that ran along the coast, that was much calmer. It's about 90 miles to Chania.
Here is a great picture of 'Mario Andretti' I don't think I've ever seen Chuck happier than when he was behind the wheel, swerving in and out of traffic with the local Cretans!
The skull of a sheep or goat.
We stopped along the way for a swim and some lunch.
We found this wonderful beach, it is located somewhere near Kalives.
Again, I immediately went into the warm water, Cory once again worked on his tan, and then came in for a dip also. And Chuck came in for a swim too!
This small river flowed into Souda Bay, I think it came from the Lefka Mountains range above us, becasue the water was FREEZING. It was so cold, my feet were numb.
Lunch was great, and I don't remember what we ate, except for Greek salad!
More views of our adventure to some mystery temple in the middle of 'know where'.
Why did we come up here in the first place?
The only request Chuck had about this post, was to make sure to include this picture of me. It was a long a bumpy ride to the middle of 'know where' with no restroom in sight. So I went behind the car to..., and I rested my head on the bumper, and low and behold, the mark!
The only flowers up here, were these huge Dragon Arum. They are a beautiful dark purple, but they smell like rotting flesh!
We did have one jeep pass us (the couple told us to turn around because the road gets worse) but other than that, just some goats here and there.
This is as far as we could go...the rocks were getting bigger, and we felt it was time to stop...beautiful view...not worth the trouble!
On the way back, we were at a higher elevation, and the trees were beautiful!
Back down to sea level.
I really enjoyed seeing the countryside while we were driving. In this photo above, you can see the highway lined with oleanders. Obviously, we did get back to the hotel safely, and with no accidents. But, Chuck did almost run over a Cretan on his motorcycle...they are the craziest drivers of them all!. After returning our rent a car , we got our packs from the hotel so that we could catch our return ferry to Athens that evening at 8pm. Cory went back up into town and got us all a Gyro to take on the boat; So Chuck and I loaded up on snacks and drinks at our favorite grocery store, by the hotel. We just walked down to the port this time, since we knew where we were going.
The girl at the dest at La Boutigue was a cutie, and she was so nice and helpful.
A picture of our ferry coming in. The ferry was late, and the port was kaotic. People trying to get themselves, cars, and crates off the ferry, and then lines of people, trucks, and cargo waiting to get on the ferry. We ended up eating our gyros while we waited in line.
Going up the escalator to the main lobby so we can check in.
Picture of the hotel from the deck of the ferry.
The fortress wall all lite up.
Picture of Heraklion at night.
Me up-top, watching the city lights disappear, as we head out on the Cretan Sea, back to Athens.
Check-in desk.
A picture of the main lobby of the cruise ship.
The ferry was pretty nice. The cabins were pretty small, but enough room for 4, with an attached bathroom.
Saturday, June 13.
Again, we were able to stay on the ferry till 8am. Then we took a taxi to central Athens, to the Ledra Marriott Hotel.
Very nice hotel, Chuck used his points for us to stay here for 2 nights.
Flea markets all along the side of the roads in town.
Beautiful buildings through the town. We arrived at the hotel about 9am, but they were able to get us in a room in about 30 minutes. Today we were going to try and get a taxi tour over to the city of Corinth, and back. The bus tours were pretty expensive and involved a lot of time, so I had a number for 'George's Taxi' service (rated one of the best in Athens) and we were able to get a driver to come pick us up at 10am to take us to the canal and then to Corinth and back to the hotel. It was about a half day trip.
The famous Corinth Canal, which separates the Peloponese from mainland Greece, connects the Gulf of Corinth (above) with the Saronic Gulf (below).
Corinth Canal shortens the voyage from the Adriatic to Piraeus by 200 miles. Work
begun in 1882 and when it was completed, measured 1893.6,939 yards long, 75.6 feet wide, and the water is 26.3 feet deep.
Great aerial view that I found on the internet!
After we checked out the canal, we stopped for 'the worlds best' Slyvokie (1.30e) It was really awesome! Fresh pork cubes, grilled on a kabob,and then you drizzle it with a fresh wedge of lemon...so good!
Then we got back in the taxi and headed to the city of Corinth.
Before you reach Ancient Corinth, you see this huge rock of Acrocorinth, which towers at 1600 feet above Ancient Corinth, with it's Byzantine fortress on top.
As you enter Corinth, you walk by the ruins of a temple.
Artifacts they have in the museum.
Cory and Chuck got in lots of trouble from the women patrolling the museum...you are not allowed to portray yourself as part of the statues!
As you walk around the museum ,there is a courtyard between two entrances, and inside the courtyard, there stood a very old, gnarley, lemon tree, with lemons on it! One had fallen on the ground (I did nothing) and the museum lady said I could have it. I ate it that night; it was delicious.
The whole site was mostly rubble, with a few cobblestone roads to follow.
Chuck and Cory were especially excited to see where the apostle Paul taught and lived. You can read the account of Paul's stay in Corinth, in Acts 18:1-18. We were able to see the foundation of the famous "Bema" where Paul spoke to the Corinthians in AD 52.
One of the highlights of the ancient site is the Temple of Apollo, which has seven of it's original 38 Doric columns intact. The temple dates back from the 6th century BC.
An old bath house, and it shows how the water was carried by canals, into the pool.
A picture of us, with the great city of Corinth behind us. After we were done touring the site, we went through some of the shops to find some souvenirs for the girls. This is where I offended some poor Greek woman in her shop. I went to purchase some jewelry, and they used the old paper credit cards slips, and whenever I use those, I write the amount out on the slip. Well, the old Greek woman did not appreciate that, and said that I don't trust the Greeks! I tried to explain that I travel all over and always do this. I thought she asked me if I 'write Greek'...I said no...and then she went off...if I don't 'like' Greeks, why did I come here. Chuck was just standing off to the side, laughing, because this little old lady was getting all excited and mad at me. I apologized again and again, and we left. Then our taxi driver, Takis, took us back to Athens. Our taxi driver was a very nice man, and spoke very good English..he talked all the way to Corinth and back...good thing Chuck was in the front seat!
Takis works in Athens for part of the year as a taxi driver; and then he goes to his home by the sea and harvests olives on a villa he owns with his family. He invited us to come back again and help him pick olives...I would love to do that!
After we got back to the hotel, Cory took a nap, I went to the pool, and Chuck set off for his own adventure!
Here are some pictures he took on his 'strole'.
A few hours later, after everyone was showered and dressed, we went to a big cinema/restaurant complex just down the street from the hotel.
The food wasn't that great, but the movie was good. The movie we saw was 'The Ghost of Girlfriends Past' in English, with Greek subtitles. After the show, we went back to the hotel and watched TV in our beds for a bit...best part of being in a hotel.
Sunday, 14 June:
The next morning was Sunday, and we were all excited to attend a Greek ward. Church was at 10am, so we took a shuttle bus from the hotel, into Syntagma Square, and walked to the church building. It turns out that the building they meet in, is right across the street from the Temple of Zeus! We realized that we walked right by it the previous Sunday and didn't even know it.
Address plaque, letting you know this is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Hallway leading to the meeting room.
Here is a photo of the meeting hall and congregation. There were about eight missionaries, one was going home, so his family had flown in to pick him up. Then there was the Bishopric and about twenty members. There were also a couple of German investigators, it was pretty fun to hear all the languages being spoken. Chuck and Cory talked a bit with the German couple and tried to help the Missionary's out. We were given headsets for the meeting, and a missionary in the back of the room translated the Greek to English for us...that was interesting!
After church we walked back up to the Plaka, by the Acropolis, and had Gyros for lunch, then caught the shuttle back to the Marriott.
Back at the hotel, we signed up for a tour that afternoon to the Temple of Poseidon. I wasn't sure if it would fit in our budget prior to getting here, but Chuck was pretty interested in seeing it too, so he let me go over the budget a bit. Thanks Dad! Since we had a little time to rest up before the tour bus left, I headed to the pool for a bit.
This is a view of the acropolis from the pool. It is behind me in the picture, but hard to make out (this is a closer view of it.)
The bus ride to the Temple of Poseidon was beautiful, the main highway ran right along the coast. There were lots of private beach clubs along the coast, and a few public beaches tucked in between each of those.
In Greece, the beaches are packed every Saturday and Sunday...they work all week so they can play at the beach on the weekends!
We still had about a 15 minute bus ride to the site, but it was beautiful to see the temple on the cliff, across the water.
The Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion.
Above, I am taking a picture of this female partridge and her babies.
The bus parked by the bathrooms and gift shop, so you had to walk up a gravel trail to get to the temple site.
The edge of the cliff goes straight down to the BLUE (it really is that blue) Aegean Sea.
Construction on the Temple of Poseidon began around 500 BC but was never completed, they were destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC. The Temple of Poseidon that now stands at Soúnio was built in 444 BC atop the older temple ruins.
When we reached the temple site, it was perched up on a cliff, and it was very windy. We could look up over to the mountains and see the flames of a wild fire burning, miles away. After our tour, we had to take a different route back to Athens, because of all the fire engines, and the smoke blowing across the highway.
Along the way we passed lots of olive trees and pistachio trees.
The tour bus was kind enough to drop us off in Syntagma square, so we could get some dinner. We tried some meatballs and then some Slyvoki...they were both pretty bad! We then found some gelato for dessert, and Chuck found our way back to the hotel...down a very scary and stinkey tunnel. This side of town wasn't quite as pleasant as the Plaka. That night Cory and Chuck watched a movie playing on TV...I had a migraine and tried to go to sleep.
Monday, June 15:
Our flight didn't leave until noon so we actually got to sleep in till 630am. We took a taxi from the Marriott to Syntagma square, and then took the city bus back to the airport 10E.
Chuck and I had to check our bags, we had all that olive oil and were not able to carry-on our packs. Cory kept his bag with him, we didn't want it to get lost. Everything went pretty smoothly, until the ticketing agent told us we could not travel in first with jeans on...the old rule was no jeans in first class. But the rules just changed last month. So we told her that the rules had recently changed, to please check the computer. So she did, and eventually we got seats in first!
As we were walking around the airport in Athens, we came across a Lego store. Tthis Yoda is made of Lego's, so we took a picture for Austin.
A picture from the airplane as we departed Athens.
Hot fudge sundae's anyone?
Absolutely!
Everything went great with the flights, except when we were getting ready to land in EWR. There was a bad weather, so our plane was diverted to Boston.
We had to sit on the plane for 2 hours...thank goodness for 1st class! Now the plan was for Chuck and Cory to catch the 530pm from EWR to IAH and then Cory would catch the 9pm from IAH to SLC. Then I was going to take the 8pm flight from EWR to TYS, to Tami's house. But with all the crazy delays in EWR, we had to get our bags in EWR and recheck them for all of us to go to TYS...luckily it was delayed to 9pm and we were able to make it! Tami picked us up at midnight and we crashed for a few hours.
It was so good to see Austin, I gave him a big hug and lots of kisses...he didn't even wake up! Austin was fast asleep, and Chuck shared the bed with him.
We had to catch the 6am flight to Houston, so Cory could get to SLC as soon as possible, for the ward High Adventure. I know that Austin was happy to see us...he is never this happy and silly at 6am! We made the 6am flight, arrived in terminal B, Cory took the (Halo) train to terminal C to catch his flight. Chuck went to pick up the car, and came back to get Austin and I. Meanwhile, Cory called and said he forgot his wallet in the car, so we drove to C to give it to him. When he came out he said that the Continental agent, standing by the security line, would not let him take his pack through to the gate. So I went back inside the terminal with Cory, and I talked to the agent, explaining to her that he needed to gate check his bag if necessary, and that it will fit through the security screen. The agent stated that they were not letting any large bags through security, that didn't fit in the carry-on case located by the check-in line (that's her job.) We were in a hurry, so I managed to jam the whole pack into that small square, in 30 seconds! I hope Cory didn't have anyting breakable in there. Thank goodness he made the flight. Brother Aitken picked Cory up at SLC, and took him to meet the group at the lake, to go sailing. Chuck, Austin, and I went home and unpacked. Oh...Austin's bag didn't make it from TYS to IAH, but CO FedEx's his bag to us here at the house. So, even though the end was a bit bumpy, it was a great trip! Now Austin and I have a few days to rest, before we go up to Utah and get Cory settled into College!
