I probably should have wrote this a lot sooner...but we did make it home safely from Greece. After 34 hours of travel we met Reg at the airport and headed straight to his house in Saskatoon to go to bed. Keith had a meeting in Saskatoon the next day, so I dropped him off in the morning and then I headed back to PA to unpack and do laundry. When Keith returned home, it was off to Meadow Lake for two days while Keith delivered some workshops to some clients. Greece to Meadow Lake....interesting addition to the itinerary! We then headed back to PA for a few days before heading to Melfort and Star City to visit family and pick up the Bichons.
Busy...busy...busy...
Thanks for following along everyone!
K and C Out
Monday, November 9, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Delphi
Pictures:
The Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens....should have posted this earlier but the internet was not cooperating....You can't have a blog about Greece without a photo of this.
View from our hotel balcont in Delphi.
Here are the remains of the offeratory to Zues at Olympia...this is the location where the Olympic Flame for the Vancouver Olympics was lit the day before we arrived.
This is the sancutuary of Athena in Delphi...looks like a postcard.
Here are some picutures from inside a Greek costume museum we saw in Delphi.
This is the Rio bridge. It was built to link the Pelloponese to the rest of mainland Greece. The pillars in the see have circluar bottoms that have diameters the size of a soccer stadium.
This is a chandelier inside the Church of St. Andrew.
This is a Greek Orthadox Church dedicated to St. Andrew. The church was built on the spot that St. Andrew was crucified on an x shaped cross for preaching Christianity.
Here we are standing in front the Temple of Zeus at Olympia archeological site. This loan pillar was put back into place. All the other pillars are lying on the group. The whole area was flattened and covered with dirt for many years before it was excavated.
Here you can see the length of the ancient Olympic stadium grounds. The first Olympics consisted only of races. The laps were not on a circular track...instead the athletes ran back and forth.
Christina at the offical starting line of the ancient Olympic stadium....192.something metre race...disqualified in the end for wearing clothes! Remain of bronze statue of a bull in museum of Delphi....likely created as an offering to the God Apollo
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Hello again.
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Hello again.
Today we were allowed to sleep in....only an 8:45 start!
We began the day in Delphi. We first visited the archeological site and then the museum. Unfortunately, some of the archeological site was closed down. The Hungarian ladies on our tour were disapplointed as they wanted to see the theatre and it was one of the closed off sections.
After Delphi we went for lunch....Greek salad and souvaki....I must say that the Greek food we have been enjoying has been awesome....too awesome over the past week and a half when we have been eating alot. We decided yesterday that the treadmill is really going to get a running when we get back....I am sure we have both gained weight!
Anyway....after lunch we said goodbye to three people from our tour which meant we were down to 8 people. However....that changed quite quickly when we picked up 30 other people who will join us for the remainder of the tour. The most interesting thing was that two of the new people sitting right behind us on the bus are from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. More interesting...the husband (Glenn Gillis??) knows mom. Does this name sound familiar, mom. I think he said that he works for SK water. His wife is from Tisdale and the other couple they are travelling with are from Nipawin. We have met very few Canadians during our time in Greece so this was very bizarre!
We then drove through the mountains, valleys, and olive groves to Kalambaka. There are impressive rock formations outside the small city (10 000 people). On the cliffs there are monastaries that we will visit tomorrow. Apparently there are strict dress codes in the monastaries. Woman must where long skirts or dresses. Since I have no skirt or dress in my backpack...I will be borrowing one from the monks! They apparently have skirts you can borrow.
We just finished having a great supper with an Australian couple we met on our bus tour. They are really great people and we have exchanged addresses so that we can look eachother up. who knows....maybe we will get to Australia some day. Wouldn't that be great!
Tomorrow evening we will arrive back in Athens. We plan on looking around a bit more...catching a later supper, and then catching the midnight metro to the airport. We will hang out there until our fight which will be at 6am. We then have 6 hours in Amsterdam which we will probably spend in the city. I think I will try to get Keith to conquer his fear of the Dutch Coquet....AKA Deep Fried Weirdness!
Once we leave Amsterdam, we will head to Minneapolis and then home.. We should arrive in Saskatoon around 11 pm. We plan on staying at Reg;s for the night. Keith has a meeting in Saskatoon the next day so we will just stay in the city until that is over.
I can't believe that we have spent over three weeks in Greece. It has definately been a trip of a lifetime. We have really enjoyed the bus tour we have been on. It was great to be with a small group for so long and we really like our guide. She gives great information and she is always looking out for the interestes of the group. She is not afraid to tell other guides and their groups to quiet down. Of course....this is all done in Greek!
We will have internet at the airport in Athens so we will give an update of our day tomorrow. For now....enjoy the pictures!
Friday, October 23, 2009
1st day bus trip
Have to be short again as paying for internet -
Here is a short update of the past few days.
1. We made it to the Singing in the Rain concert. We scoped out the location in the morning since I had had a few nightmares about not finding it and being lost in Athens. The show was supposed to start at 9 but we forgot about allowing for "Greek Time." Needless to say the show started at 9:20 and would have went to almost midnight....we ended up leaving before it was officailly finished so that we would be able to take the metro....
2. I had the best crepe of my life....chocolate and banana...mmmm
3. We are now on the bus tour. We have a 50 passenger bus with 11 people plus one guide. I am surpised they didn't cancel this tour. Four people are Australians, 2 are Hungarians, 2 are Americans, and one is Lybian but living in America. We are getting to know eachother quite well.
4. The tour guide is very good. The bus driver is a good driver but on the grumpy side. I saw him bring a coffee to go on the bus and went to get one myself. He made we throw it out....NO coffee on the bus. Now sure how he was allowed coffee and not me seeing his didn't have a lid and mine did but oh well.
5. We have seen the following sights: Corinth Canal...a canal built to link the Agean to the Ionian sea....amazing, Theatre of Epidaurus....amazing acoustics, anciet palace of Mycenae, the bee hive shaped tome of Agamemnon, Olympia....sight of the ancient Olympic games....interestingly the flame for the Winter Olympics was lit at Olympia yesterday! The country side is very scenic as well.
6. Tomorrow we go to Delphi and then we head to Kalambaka to see the monastaries the day after that.
We are both enjoying the tour....can't belive our time in Greece is almost up!
Oh....we also each bought a pair of Greek sandals....we met the man who made them and everything. Mine were not fitting properly so he took them apart and cut the leather so that they would fit to my feet perfectly! What service!
Well...we better go....internet time is precious!
Here is a short update of the past few days.
1. We made it to the Singing in the Rain concert. We scoped out the location in the morning since I had had a few nightmares about not finding it and being lost in Athens. The show was supposed to start at 9 but we forgot about allowing for "Greek Time." Needless to say the show started at 9:20 and would have went to almost midnight....we ended up leaving before it was officailly finished so that we would be able to take the metro....
2. I had the best crepe of my life....chocolate and banana...mmmm
3. We are now on the bus tour. We have a 50 passenger bus with 11 people plus one guide. I am surpised they didn't cancel this tour. Four people are Australians, 2 are Hungarians, 2 are Americans, and one is Lybian but living in America. We are getting to know eachother quite well.
4. The tour guide is very good. The bus driver is a good driver but on the grumpy side. I saw him bring a coffee to go on the bus and went to get one myself. He made we throw it out....NO coffee on the bus. Now sure how he was allowed coffee and not me seeing his didn't have a lid and mine did but oh well.
5. We have seen the following sights: Corinth Canal...a canal built to link the Agean to the Ionian sea....amazing, Theatre of Epidaurus....amazing acoustics, anciet palace of Mycenae, the bee hive shaped tome of Agamemnon, Olympia....sight of the ancient Olympic games....interestingly the flame for the Winter Olympics was lit at Olympia yesterday! The country side is very scenic as well.
6. Tomorrow we go to Delphi and then we head to Kalambaka to see the monastaries the day after that.
We are both enjoying the tour....can't belive our time in Greece is almost up!
Oh....we also each bought a pair of Greek sandals....we met the man who made them and everything. Mine were not fitting properly so he took them apart and cut the leather so that they would fit to my feet perfectly! What service!
Well...we better go....internet time is precious!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Leaving Athens
Good Morning all.
Just a quick note that we are leaving Athens for a four day bus tour of inland Greece. The bus should be here in the next ten minutes. I am not sure what our internet situation will be but we will definately have internet at the airport on Sunday night.....we fly Monday morning.
More later
Just a quick note that we are leaving Athens for a four day bus tour of inland Greece. The bus should be here in the next ten minutes. I am not sure what our internet situation will be but we will definately have internet at the airport on Sunday night.....we fly Monday morning.
More later
Athens day 2
Quick post - Went on the trip to the three islands just out of Athens - long day, islands very pretty, not much to do, a little too touristy, but okay. Got back just in time to go to supper with a friend/co-worker from the Estevan office and his dad.
Monday in Athens
First full day Athens
Well, we’re here and we didn’t get lost (or very lost)…After the 3.5 hour ferry ride to Athens, we asked a couple of people about the metro and made it on there. We had been warned that the first section of the metro was highly dangerous for pick-pockets, so we were extra careful on the ride. It turned out to be very easy to use the metro. Once we got off at our station, we exited the building to a square full of people and street performers, as it was a Sunday night and the locals were out enjoying themselves. It was very busy compared to where we had been. As well, all the shops were locked up and there was street graffiti everywhere - not as picturesque as were used to. Therefore, we were a bit nervous about where we were staying. After finding our hotel and checking in (nice room), we went up to the roof top bar and had a milk shake. The view from the roof was spectacular - to the right was the Acropolis and Parthenon all lit up in bright white, and to the left was Lycabettus Hill all lit up in a multitude of colors. Very nice way to finish the travel day.
During our traveling, we became aware of a broadway style musical opening this week. Therefore, the free internet got lots of use as we researched when and where. We decided not to get tickets on line and to go to the ticket office in the morning. We eventually found the ticket office and are now booked to go to Singin’ in the Rain on Wednesday night. It will be interesting to see how we get home, as the show is scheduled to finish just prior to the last metro for the night. Crossing our fingers that it all works out!!!
When we got up this morning, we went looking for breakfast, as we didn’t get it included in our hotel. On our way to the ‘super market’, we got sidetracked by the smell of souvlaki and stopped for a gyros pita (again…fourth in four days). After finishing off the pita, we made our way to the ‘super market’…not what we were expecting. On the right, there was a block of small market style booths selling mostly fruit or nuts on one side and convenience type stuff on the other. On the left, there was a block long booths of fresh meat (little did we know that was one of three or four rows!!! - including everything from fresh lamb with head still on, full chickens, and rabbits with tail still on…). We got some fruit and drinks for later and headed off for some exploring.
The lonely planet book had a walking tour of Athens, so we worked our way through that. After numerous wrong turns and seeing some very interesting stuff, we finished the one hour walk in three hours… J
When we were done, we were trying to decide if we should go on a one day tour of three islands just south of Athens tomorrow when we walked right by the travel agency Christina had been communicating with from Canada. We couldn’t resist going in to ask about the tour (which we had done three times already) and when we said if we paid cash she would give us a 20% discount, that put the price into our range and we signed up. So tomorrow we embark on tour where we have to be ready to go at 6:45 in the morning and return at 7:30 tomorrow evening (not sure why we keep doing this to our selves…).
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped and viewed the marble stadium that was the site of the first modern day Olympic Games in 1896 and used again in 2004 for archery and the end of the marathon. It was a pretty cool place, with seating for 70,000, all made out of marble. Amazing.
After realizing we wouldn’t get any breakfast or gyros pitas before going on our trip, we once again visited the market (which was mostly closed) and got some supplies for breakfast. After more research on google maps to find our musical, we went for supper on a trendy little area behind the hotel and it was pretty good. Finally, we went to a little café and got a dessert and brought it back to the hotel. Christina just opened it, so I better go. We will provide pictures and tomorrows story later.
Night.
(tried posting pictures, but not working...)
Well, we’re here and we didn’t get lost (or very lost)…After the 3.5 hour ferry ride to Athens, we asked a couple of people about the metro and made it on there. We had been warned that the first section of the metro was highly dangerous for pick-pockets, so we were extra careful on the ride. It turned out to be very easy to use the metro. Once we got off at our station, we exited the building to a square full of people and street performers, as it was a Sunday night and the locals were out enjoying themselves. It was very busy compared to where we had been. As well, all the shops were locked up and there was street graffiti everywhere - not as picturesque as were used to. Therefore, we were a bit nervous about where we were staying. After finding our hotel and checking in (nice room), we went up to the roof top bar and had a milk shake. The view from the roof was spectacular - to the right was the Acropolis and Parthenon all lit up in bright white, and to the left was Lycabettus Hill all lit up in a multitude of colors. Very nice way to finish the travel day.
During our traveling, we became aware of a broadway style musical opening this week. Therefore, the free internet got lots of use as we researched when and where. We decided not to get tickets on line and to go to the ticket office in the morning. We eventually found the ticket office and are now booked to go to Singin’ in the Rain on Wednesday night. It will be interesting to see how we get home, as the show is scheduled to finish just prior to the last metro for the night. Crossing our fingers that it all works out!!!
When we got up this morning, we went looking for breakfast, as we didn’t get it included in our hotel. On our way to the ‘super market’, we got sidetracked by the smell of souvlaki and stopped for a gyros pita (again…fourth in four days). After finishing off the pita, we made our way to the ‘super market’…not what we were expecting. On the right, there was a block of small market style booths selling mostly fruit or nuts on one side and convenience type stuff on the other. On the left, there was a block long booths of fresh meat (little did we know that was one of three or four rows!!! - including everything from fresh lamb with head still on, full chickens, and rabbits with tail still on…). We got some fruit and drinks for later and headed off for some exploring.
The lonely planet book had a walking tour of Athens, so we worked our way through that. After numerous wrong turns and seeing some very interesting stuff, we finished the one hour walk in three hours… J
When we were done, we were trying to decide if we should go on a one day tour of three islands just south of Athens tomorrow when we walked right by the travel agency Christina had been communicating with from Canada. We couldn’t resist going in to ask about the tour (which we had done three times already) and when we said if we paid cash she would give us a 20% discount, that put the price into our range and we signed up. So tomorrow we embark on tour where we have to be ready to go at 6:45 in the morning and return at 7:30 tomorrow evening (not sure why we keep doing this to our selves…).
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped and viewed the marble stadium that was the site of the first modern day Olympic Games in 1896 and used again in 2004 for archery and the end of the marathon. It was a pretty cool place, with seating for 70,000, all made out of marble. Amazing.
After realizing we wouldn’t get any breakfast or gyros pitas before going on our trip, we once again visited the market (which was mostly closed) and got some supplies for breakfast. After more research on google maps to find our musical, we went for supper on a trendy little area behind the hotel and it was pretty good. Finally, we went to a little café and got a dessert and brought it back to the hotel. Christina just opened it, so I better go. We will provide pictures and tomorrows story later.
Night.
(tried posting pictures, but not working...)
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Mykonos Full Day 2 and 3
As mentioned before, full day 2 was a beach day. The weather was still a little overcast but we still took a bus to Paradise Beach....one of the packed party beaches during the summer. There definately was no partying and it was by no means packed but the crowd was on the younger side for the most part.
This evening we went for supper at a Mexican restaurant....we just wanted a change from the Greek cuisine. It was one of our best meals yet!
Today we checked out of our room and wandered around Mykonos Town a little more to take more pictures. We enjoyed a gyros pita....and now we are waiting to be transfered to the port for our 3.5 hour trip to Athens. There we will try to figure out how to take the subway to the hotel. It should be interesting.
Hope everyone is well.
C
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