“Screw you guys, I’m going home” Cartman

Roughly 30 hours after we left Athens, we were safely home to a hysterical dachshund who may need separation anxiety therapy and a gloriously clean home (we love our housesitters!!!!). Goobers missed his buddies Ginger and Bailey so much that Jessica had to bring them over for a play date the next weekend. It took us two weeks to get over the jet lag, as Andy and I kept falling asleep at 7 pm and waking up at 4: 30 am, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Weird. And annoying.

The suitcases are finally aired out, the laundry has been washed and rewashed, and we have settled back into home life. Thanks for sharing our adventure with us!

Athens II

We disembarked the ship with the last group (we didn’t have a plane to catch, so we were assigned last) and the ship was eerily empty. The cruise bus took us to the airport, where we stayed at a hotel that was literally across the street from the airport. Miraculously, we couldn’t hear the planes, and now that we were no longer rocking, I immediately took a nap that was the best sleep I had had in two weeks. Andy and I both caught ourselves gently rocking back and forth whenever we stood still!

We repacked, enjoyed the gigantic bath tub, and even walked to the airport for lunch! We had an early flight, so it was also good to navigate the airport in advance. Dinner at the hotel was nice, and we fell asleep glad that here we were, five weeks later, in one piece and still loving each other.

Touring Athens

We had Greek breakfast at the hotel (interesting… the coffee is STRONG, and the yogurt and honey wasn’t too bad) and then headed out on a short walk to the Acropolis. Andy wisely got us not only a nice hotel, but one near the sights we wanted to see. Once again, we were grateful for sunblock, as the sun was already blazing early in the day. We hiked the big hill through Agora up to the entrance to the Parthenon, where we proceeded to slowly climb the slippery hill with hoards of other slow moving people. We were surprised that such a popular destination had no signs, arrows, ropes, or other guidance, just two very angry staff members who yelled at people for doing stuff they had no idea that was wrong. It was annoying.

Anyway, we finally reached the top, and moved like cattle with everyone else to see the Parthenon, Dionysus’ Theater, Temple of Athena, and Temple of Poisedon. It was pretty hot and the crowds were frustrating, so we took our pictures and high-tailed it out of there. On our way back down, we noticed that no one was being allowed up, so something apparently happened as a result of the yelling staff members.

We saw Mars Hill (where Paul preached), and rest of Agora (the old marketplace and city center of ancient Greece). On our way out, we saw a turtle mosying along.

As usual, we stayed in and showered up during the hottest part of the day, and then had a late lunch in a Greek street cafe. Andy had Gyros and I had lamb. We wandered through some of the nearby markets and then worked our way to a metro stop for the long journey out to the Mall Athens, to once again try to find a dress or two for me. We went way out into the suburbs, so it was fun to see where the Athenians actually live, and we also passes the Olympic Stadium.

The Mall was so much like the U.S. that it was both comforting and a little silly. We kept finding Greek equivalents to American mall stores and restaurants which was highly amusing. We at last found a couple of dresses that were reasonably priced  and cute, so we bought them and then decided to be truly American and eat at Ruby Tuesdays! The grease was glorious! Our stomachs appreciated familiar food.

Back at the hotel, I tried ouzo, the infamous Greek liquor that tastes like black licorice. It was really good, and even better when they told me it was on the house!

Flying to Athens

Today is our anniversary! Yay us! While today itself wasn’t terribly romantic, we have a five week trip to count as our anniversary celebration.

We flew from Rome to Athens today, and while flying in the U.S. is a total pain these days, we both agreed that we miss how well-signed, efficient, and logical airports and general travel are in the U.S.

The Metro in Athens is fantastic–clean, fast, easy to follow, etc. It was put in for the 2000 Olympic, and we appreciated how clean and efficient the city is becoming. While I haven’t been here before, I have read about what it used to be like, and Andy has been here before, so we had an idea of how much things have improved. Yay for toilets that let you flush toilet paper!

We are staying in a boutique hotel called the Brown and Ochre, which is very swanky with lots of terrible new agey musak playing all the time. It’s fun. We had a quiet evening. I napped, Andy killed orcs, we had dinner in the hotel, and then we watched James Bond. Sorry there are no pictures from today, but not much happened!