Getting Home

The trip home included one last night in Athens, where we stayed at Hostel Zeus, quite possible the seediest place in Athens. We picked it because it was the cheapest place available and we only had one night to spend there. In the morning before our flight left we checked out the Achaelogical Museum to see the mask of Agamemnon, many sculptures, the Vaphio cups, and much more.

With that, we headed back to Zeus to collect our luggage, took the metro to the airport and boarded an Olympic airways flight back to London.

Do to our layover, we spent the night sleeping on a bench in Heathrow airport. This is what I’m talking about when I say I lead a glamorous lifestyle:

Refreshed from our very comfortable accommodations, we boarded an American Airlines flight at 7:00am and watched eight hours worth of movies to kill time until we arrived back in Chicago.

Unfortunately, our adventures weren’t quite over. I noticed a security dog sniffing around the passengers at the luggage corral. I didn’t think anything of it until he got quite excited when he got close to me and jumped up with his paws on my back! I was clearly a threat to national security! Turns out, he was actually an agriculture dog and he was only interested in the two apples I had in my backpack that Eva and I bought in Athens for a snack. I willingly gave up the apples but not before the entire airport had stopped and watched the scene go down. I got a special mark on my customs form that meant Eva and I had to get our bags x-rayed for more illegal produce before we left the airport.

Now we’re safely back in Wisconsin and happy to enjoy our own beds, hot showers, and toilets that you can flush the toilet paper in (ah the miracles of modern plumbing). According to many of the Greeks we talked to, in our three weeks in Greece we managed to more than most of the natives!

Now it’s back to the reality of school, work and responsibility. *Sigh.* It’s a good thing we’re already planning our next adventure, so stay tuned!

Road Trip, Part III

On the way back to Athens from Thessaloníki, we stopped at the famous Mount Olympus to do a bit of exploring. As we saw it in the distance, it's easy to understand why the ancient Greeks thought that it was the home of the Gods and the throne of Zeus. Not wishing to hire a guide and spend an entire day climbing, we instead drove up the mountain as far as the road would take us. Our trusty Hyundai sounded like it was going to kick it as we neared the end but she luckily held out for us as we ended at the Monastery of Agios Dionysios.




As we walked around the monastery, which was in the process of being restored, we were stopped by a Chicagoan lovely couple, Tom and Mary, who were on holiday in Greece visiting family. Tom has family in Litohoro and his brother is a priest who is living at the monastery this summer. Even though they were initially skeptical of our attire of flipflops and sundresses (we had sneakers, but they were left in the car), they invited us on a hike to the holy cave, about a half hour hike from the monastery.


We made it the the cave and admired the altar that had been built there, tucked away under a rock. We also got to drink some holy water, which was cool and refreshing and bubbling right out between the rocks in the cave. Shortly thereafter we saw a frog swimming in the same water, but since it was downstream we figured the blessing still held.


At the end of the trip, Tom and Mary offered us their nephew to take home with us, but we had to decline as our suitcases are already stuffed and we've got 10 days on the islands ahead of us!


Amazingly enough, we arrived back in Athens without a single scratch. We can't believe we put over 1600 kilometers on the car in six days and lived to tell the tale! Looking back on the whole experience we really know we made the right decision renting a car because it gave us the opportunity to see so much more than we would have been able to otherwise. It's interesting to watch the locals' reactions when we tell them how many places we were able to visit without being part of a tour group. It's definitely a mixture of disbelief tinged with jealously followed by them questioning our mental health.

In order to put our journey into perspective for you, we've photoshopped this map to highlight our drive. The thunderbolts indicate places that we've talked about in this blog. Click on the map to look at it at a more legible size:

Athens, Part I

Eva and I woke up bright and early this morning to start our official first day of touring Greece. We headed to the Acropolis, one Greece's most recognizable sights. Our first stop was the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Originally made with 104 columns, only 16 now remain but the sight is still stunning:

We felt like tiny ants below the massive structures. It is the biggest temple in Greece.

Next we checked out the Hadrian's Arch. On one side of the arch, it reads, "This is Athens, the city of Theseus." However, the immodest Hadrian added, "This is the city of Hadrian, not Theseus," on the other side.

The actual enclosure of the Acropolis is situated high on a hill in the middle of the city. Near the Acropolis we saw Odeion of Herodeus Atticus, which is a theater built in 161 AD that is still in use today. Inside was the Propylaea (the grand entrance), the famous Parthenon, the Temple of Athena Nike, and the Erechtheion, which was built where Athena planted the first olive tree in Athens, thus claiming the city as her namesake.

The Proylaea, the Erechteion, and the Parthenon:

After the Acropolis, we used our student discount-purchased multi pass ticket (only 6 euros for 6 sights!) to also get into the Ancient Agora to see the ruins of the public center for life in ancient Athens.

We had lunch at the Rough Guide recommended Skholiarhio. We chose the special which involved picking our choice of mezedes (appetizers) from a long tray (we chose cucumber/tomato/feta salad and a fava bean hummus-like paste) and was accompanied by bread, choice of beverage (we tried Mythos, a Greek beer) and dessert (Halvas - a sweetmeat of sesame). We really enjoyed our meal and the waiters took a liking to us, even bringing a second helping of Halvas (which we ate even though we were too full and didn't particularly enjoy it the first time).

After lunch we trekked to the Archaeological Museum only to find it was still observing "winter" hours and had actually close at 2:45pm. Bummer. Good thing we're coming back to Greece for one more day on our way home.

Instead of learning about ancient Greek archaeology, we spent the afternoon getting sunburned, purchasing a $20US bottle of sunscreen (!), and price-shopping for our rental car for our road trip tomorrow. We finally settled on a 2007 Hyundai Accent from Axon Car and Van Rental that cost us a reasonable (at least we think, compared to the 600+ quotes other places gave us) 253 euro for six days and unlimited mileage, plus the added bonus of getting picked up and dropped off and a waiver of the 600 euro deductible. We think we did our research and picked the right company, but I guess we really won't know until we're on the road.

We're off to Nafplio and Olympia tomorrow!

Getting there is half the fun!

As Eva and I were sitting in the Chicago O'Hare airport, I pondered aloud, "I wonder if there will be any celebrities on our flight today." Eva laughed and brushed me off, but as we boarded the plane a few minutes later we noticed a commotion in the first class compartment. A flamboyantly dressed black male layered with chains and tons of bling was struggling to get his luggage in the overhead bins. We noticed a huge clock hanging from his neck and realized we had our first celebrity sighting of the trip - Flava Flav!!! Mom and Dad, you probably haven't heard of him but he is a member of the 80's rap group public enemy and is currently starring on a reality dating show on VH1, Flava of Love. He graciously agreed to pose for a photo with us:

Today, we had a long layover in London so we checked our suitcases and ventured into the city for a few hours to explore. We did a whirlwind tour and caught Tower Bridge, London Bridge, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, The Houses of Parliment, Buckingham Palace, and Harrod's Department Store.

We just got into Athens late tonight and we're staying with Sophia in her cute little flat close to the center of the city. That's all for now, tomorrow we're headed to the Acropolis and the Archaeological Museum.