Greece - The Recap

Okay, okay, I know. I've been lagging big time on the Greece re-cap. I got hit with a killer cold upon my return and I've been trying to get caught up on work, blah blah blah....insert other useless excuses here.

It's hard to wrap up a vacation like this in one entry, but I'll give it my best. Between us, I think we took about 400 pictures, so narrowing down which shots to use and what stories to share will be tough. That said...

Day 1 - We hit LAX early Tuesday morning, fighting the rain as we unloaded our suitcases. I thought it never rained in southern California!? Anyway, 16 long hours later, we were picking up those same suitcases in sunny Athens on Wednesday morning.

After getting ripped off on the cab ride to the hotel (apparently a tourist must-do for Athens), we settled in and headed out on our first adventure. We wandered a bit and eventually found our way to the Plaka (the tourist hot spot in Athens). There we found tons of shopping and eating opportunities and a great view of the Acropolis. (If you look really close, you can see it in the very center of the photo below.)

We met our group that night at the hotel for dinner and a run-down of how the trip would flow. Our tour manager Kyle gave us a great packet of information on all the places we'd be visiting and that released me from any responsibility to read the 4 pound book of Greek history by location I brought along. Hooray!

(As the journey unfolded, we saw more and more how lucky we were to have Kyle as our tour manager. He has done this tour quite a few times over the past couple of years, so he knows everyone, everywhere. He always had a good tip of where to eat, where to shop and how long it was going to take to get where we were going. We had an awesome driver too! Pavlos always got us safely to our destination, which in Greece is no small task. I'd pay $100 right now just to hear him yell out the coach window at someone one more time.)

Anyway, we had 34? people in our group...I think. I can't remember the exact number. We were mostly in our late 20's, early 30's. I would say maybe a third of the group was American, there were quite a few Aussies, a strong Canadian contingent, plus a few other nations represented, including one fabulous German. He really kept up with all of the crazy English being throw around. I was impressed!

There were accents flying everywhere. In fact, my annoying habit of picking up other people's accents was in full force on this trip, and half the time I was speaking in a totally pathetic version of Aussie talk. There has to be some kind of drug that can help me with that problem. *sigh*

Anyway, after dinner, we headed to the roof to get to know the group a little better. I wish I had a picture to show you the view from up there. You could see the whole city, including the Acropolis. There was a pool and a bar there as well. Fun stuff!

Day 2 - An early start this morning took us to our most identifiable photo opportunity, the Acropolis/Parthenon. I have to say, nothing beats getting your photo snapped in front of something as ridiculously historical and recognizable as this (I know you've already seen this one, but it is one of my favorites)...

We had a great local guide who properly inundated us with dates and facts and funny little stories about sites all around the city of Athens. We were really lucky with all of our local guides. They were all very knowledgeable and actually shared the information with us in a way that we weren't too overwhelmed.

After we had the "biggie" site covered, we took a quick trip around the city to see the old Olympic stadium

and the Temple of Zeus

and then we were free for the day. The 3 of us chose to hit the Archeological museum...

Here we saw a ton of artifacts that really meant almost nothing to us because we hadn't visited the historical sites yet. After a few hours of looking at marble statues and tiny bronze objects, we were pretty much ready for a nap. So, back to the hotel we went.

After a proper sleep, we headed out for dinner at the Plaka, just us girls. We had a great Greek dinner of kebob and pita and then moved on to another spot for a dessert of Crepes. While eating our tasty chocolate crepes, we commented on how lucky we had been with the weather.

When we headed to the museum earlier, it started to rain, so we stopped to eat lunch, and it let up just in time for us to walk to the museum. Then it started up again, but let up in time for us to walk back to the hotel. Of course, it started back up again the minute we sat down for dinner under the protection of an awning, and then it let up just as we got up to walk to dessert.

Well, we should have known better than to talk about our luck, because the skies opened up and poured harder than we had seen yet. After a half hour of discussion, we decided to brave the elements, in our thin jackets, to find a cab back to the hotel.

Did we find a cab? No. We ran the entire mile and a half back to the hotel in the pouring rain. Here is the result...

Oh well...I guess it makes a good story. The hotel didn't have facilities to dry our clothes/shoes and the staff wasn't very helpful in finding a solution. So, we made the best of our hair dryers... and there may have been a covert operation to steal some towels...but you didn't hear that from me.

Day 3 - Another early start this morning got us on our way to Olympia, via Mycenae. We stopped briefly to see the Corinth Canal on our way. It was pretty neat because I haven't really seen anything like this...you could call it a baby brother to the Panama or Suez Canals. 4 miles long, it links the Gulf of Corinth with the Aegean.

Next up, Mycenae. You may have seen a reference to this in the movie Troy. I wouldn't know, because I didn't see it in the states and although they played it on the coach on the way there, I couldn't make it through without falling asleep. But I digress...

Here we had the chance to walk through a massive tomb and also around the old walled city. It kills me how you can just walk right up on and in these amazing places. You can simply feel the history in the air.

After a quick stop for lunch, we pushed on to Olympia where we visited the museum and the site of the first Olympic games held in 776 BC.

Our local guide was amazing and she went through the museum bit by bit and gave us the run down on what we were seeing, including this statue of Nike...oddly enough, I couldn't find an inscription saying "Just Do It" anywhere...it must have been on a part that is missing...Hmmm. ;)

It felt kind of bizarre exploring the grounds. I cannot stress enough how odd it is to be walking around these ruins. It almost feels like you are existing partially in ancient times.

In the picture below, we are headed out to the track where they held the running events. The empty platforms on the right side is where statues of champions once stood, the platforms on the left is where statues of the cheaters once stood! I wonder if steroids were as big of a problem back then as they are today... =P~

At this point, we heard the crack of thunder one too many times not to be worried. Like clockwork, 15 minutes after the first roll of thunder (exactly like the night before) the skies opened up and poured down on the whole group. Soaking wet, we headed to the hotel for some dinner and rest...and possibly a little partying. But that is a whole other blog entry.

Day 4 - Onward! Today we piled in the bus and headed for the place that made the deepest impression on me...Delphi. First though, we made a quick photo stop at the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world, just finished in 2004. It was pretty amazing to see up close!

After a fun lunch by the beach and another hour in the coach and we were in Delphi...even with the rain, it was a stunningly beautiful place. The ruins, the mountains and the stories told by our local guide just really made me stop and take it all in...

We finished up our day at the museum where we saw some of the most amazing artifacts yet, including a nearly complete life-size bronze statue that still had the delicate detail of the eyelashes in tact. Crazy!

Then it was on to the hotel for dinner and then out to a club for nearly the whole group. Seriously! We were missing a few, but there was a good chunk of us at the club, so we took the place over. Good times! And...there may have been some dancing on the bar by the 3 girls from the OC, but I wasn't able to get my hands on the photographic evidence, so you'll just have to use your imagination. Party on Wayne!

More to come....