June 17 - Ira, Epidarus, Mycenae, Corinth Canal, Athens

June 17 - Iria, Epidavrus, Mycenae, pottery demonstration, Corinth Canal, Athens.

Fresh fruit, honey and yogurt, cereal, and bread = our first amazing breakfast of the trip and it was eaten overlooking the beach. It ended as quickly as it started and we again piled all of our belongings into the bus and headed to Epidaurus (Επίδαυρος). Epidaurus is home to a 4^th century BC ancient amphitheater. This theatre is still used today, 3000 years later! It holds about 35,000 people and has naturally amazing acoustics. You can hear the sound of a pin drop from anywhere in the theatre so we had Sandra test it by singing. It takes a lot of pushing and prodding, but she always gives in and shares her amazing voice with us. Lou, from St. Louis, joined her and talked her into singing a duet, which was amazing until they forgot the words and laughed. The rest of us tested our dancing skills, “Do they dance here?!”. Steph started the moves to some guy’s ipod (he was testing the acoustics and we took advantage of the music). The others joined in, just like we practiced. FLASH MOB GREECE!

Peloponnese (Πελοπόννησος), I love saying it... Peloponnese, Peloponnese. The bus maneuvered through the Peloponnes to Mycenae. Our skin melted as we piled from the bus to visit the tomb of Agamemnon. A group of artists stopped to quickly sketch the large opening and triangular opening. Steph’s camera battery died in the blackness of the tomb, with no charger she was out of luck for the rest of the trip. Legs burning topping off the sun’s burning rays describes our next tour through, and by through I mean UP, to the ancient city of Mycenae 1200’s BC. Some recent finds point to graves as old as 1600 BC. Archeologists have discovered pieces of history about the Trojan war era.

The tomb. UTAH and the Lisinksi'sBurial site A?steph's FREEDOM pose. Greece has the best fresh squeezed orange juice!!

Usually we are on our own for lunches, but Rachel has provided only one option each day. Luckily, they are always delicious! Kolizeras, the fanciest restaurant EF has every introduced us to, had J amazing food and the prettiest bathroom in all of Europe. SAGANAKI!

just a bunch of posers!Sandra, Ali, and steph at lunch.

yogurt and honey - our favorite! stuffed tomato! Greek salad...mmmm

After lunch we went to a pottery demo. A charismatic, tall, dark and handsome man led us to the demonstration. Another guy created a vase in less than 2 minutes. Cool. Flirting with all of the ladies, the good looking man took us to the store where we spent more money than we should. Ali flirted right back and bought some souvenirs on the side. George was adorable as he flirted with Tanya, and we were all jealous. Watermelon satiated our overheated rest stop over the Corinth canal. Sheer cliffs on both sides of the canal made for an impressive view, the bright turquoise water made an equally magnificent view. Later, Tracy and steph had a seed spitting contest, steph won and only a few people were caught in the cross fire.

Onto Athens. Upon arrival to the Crystal City, our hotel, those on the right side of the bus witnessed some kind of mugging - nicely dressed men beating up an older nicely dressed man. It scared the kids. The Lizinski boys stood watch outside the bus in their Top Gun sunglasses. Pickpockets steal luggage from unsuspecting visitors, right outside (or just inside) their hotels. Thanks to our boys, we survived with no casualties. The rest of the evening was relaxing, low-key.

Dinner was on the Mezzanine floor and delicious. Ali made best friends with the other groups. Chelsea and steph tried unsuccessfully to access the free wi-fi while Matt tried to catch Amanda’s eye through Ali’s friendship. Matt successfully talked Amanda and Ali into a late night walk through Athens. Tanya and Sandra returned to a room soaked in the smell of Weed. We worried about the girls out past midnight, so when they returned Tanya scolded them for their inconsideration and stupidity - as the group leader she can do that - and everyone then slept safe and sound.

By Fars: George and Tanya, breakfast! Lunch! And Dinner! Awesome food today, breakfast on the beach, the theater, Flash mob!, duet with Lou, pottery demo, fancy bathroom at lunch, Saganaki (fried cheese w/ lemon), Mycenae, new jewels, flirting salesman, shower doors, new hotel, watermelon on the road, Lou hitting the spider off Angie, Ali/Amanda garbage man check

Rome to Athens June 16, 2011

June 16 - Ferry to Olympia to Iria

Worst breakfast ever! A hard boiled egg with a stale piece of bread and orange flavored water. We met up with others from our group ordering second breakfast at the coffee counter. Delicious hot chocolate and a pain au chocolat – YUM! We invited others to join us for our flashmob dance practice on the deck. A group of ladies with a few token male participants joined us for the fun; people passing by though steph was leading an aerobics class of misfits. The Ionian Queen docked in Patra and we happily exited ferry. WELCOME TO GREECE! Speaking Italian came more easily now that it was useless to the Greeks.

Me mellow on the deck - soaking in the sun!

From ferry to bus, another long commute to Olympia, arriving around 3 pm. Rachel has more connections in Greece, so we had lunch at her friend’s restaurant where Chelsea and Sandra got to go down into the kitchen and see what was cooking. Our first Greek meal was a success. Sandra had suggestions (after her kitchen visit) and our table ordered family style. The food tasted divine and every morsel was devoured. Souvlaki, Mousakka (“moose caka?!”), Briam, stuffed tomatoes, yogurt doused in honey, some kind of lemon cake, spaghetti, and French fries, and 2 Greek salads. Rain came in through the windows as we paid our bill, and continued to pour for the next hour or so. The restaurant exit led us to a souvenir shop where we easily spent money on Greek paraphernalia while waiting for the sun to show. Our favorite guide, soaked from her previous tour, changed into a shirt from Rachel and happily shared her knowledge about Olympia. Water did not hinder us, the things we did to stay warm and/or dry made for unflattering photos.

Our guide, Marguerita, was so explicit in her information that it was not difficult to imagine the Olympians preparing for the games right before our eyes. We saw the temple of Zeus (like he really had anything to do with anything), Marguerita explained that we are said to be created in God’s image whereas the gods at that time were created in the image of man – hence the weaknesses and problems of the gods (who would want to worship human gods, blech?!). Standing under trees when possible, we kept as dry as we could while she showed us the exfoliation process (oiled bodies covered in sand – Amanda tried it later and was a fan), the original eternal Olympic flame remnants and the original stadium. Statues of the cheaters and winners lined the entrance to the grassy stadium. Amanda and steph took off running in the mud, others followed soon after. How cool to say you ran in the original Olympic Stadium?! Neat though dangerous in the slick mud.we were so fast, we are now tiny and far away...

Olympia - wet I found out my vegan, yoga mat flip-flops... sud when wet.

Another 4 hours in the bus to get to our hotel in Iria on the beach. We arrived around 10:15pm, exhausted and hungry. Luckily our meal surpassed our breakfast a hundred fold! We drew our roommate sticks and found our big rooms with bunk beds at the Iria Mare hotel/resort. It was our shortest stay and the one with the best views and breakfasts. honey and yogurt! YUM

Rome to Athens days 3-4

June 14 - Rome

Visited the Colloseum, the Roman Forum, the Vatican, and the Pantheon.

Carmine drove us on a simple tour before our actual venture through Rome by foot. We were able to see many sights from the comforts of the air-conditioned bus, Rachel talking non-stop, sharing her wealth of information with us… mocking Italian laws all the while. The bus emptied onto the sidewalk adjacent to the Colloseum and the adventure begins Whispers plugged into our ears and Rachel’s voice in our heads. Every view is picturesque and we took as many as we could before moving forward. The group gathered at the designated spot and eventually left Mississippi who willingly waited in a long line for an Italian bathroom. Our guide was full of information but lacked enthusiasm or personality, we left her and did our own thing… which was taking more pictures. Ali’s camera fascinated us with its panoramic capabilities.in the ColloseumThe Forum

The heat increased exponentially as we walked to The Forum. Those of us that took this tour in 2009 found new information with the informed questions and responses of others. Out came the umbrellas (parasols), providing shade for our hot, sticky selves, while others rolled their skirts up enough to show us their skivvies, yikes. Amanda enjoyed the fresh water fountains when available.

steph

Our group has yet to gel, though we had begun our own investigations and name memorizations. The bus transported us to lunch and the Vatican. Utah girls split for the first time. Some picked up food at an out of the way sit down restaurant that allowed take-away while the rest resisted killing each other and made it to a pizza place that lacked American style order. In the chaos, Mandy finally made it to a place of ordering food among the pushing and shoving Italians. Tanya, Chelsea, and steph ended up with what we thought was pineapple pizza - turned out to be potato pizza. Interesting, but delicious to our starving selves.

Another purchase of water for all of us and onto the Vatican. Tanya, remembering the hot security guys from last time, pulled out her makeup and primped a bit before entering to the enjoyment of the rest of us. We melted for longer than we expected and finally made it inside with only slight delays. Our guide spoke with magic, we loved her. Vatican City buzzed with people, but significantly less than I remember, we were able to stay with our umbrellaed leader and learn all there was to learn along the corridors and statues. The Sistine Chapel is being restored and looks amazingly colorful. Steph took an illegal photo of the ceiling while we asked questions and learned about the individual stories painted by Michelangelo above us.

St. Peter’s Basilica amazed us as the rays of sunshine cast a romantic ambiance through the cathedral. As the guide explained one painting, in particular, as a mosaic she immediately recognized Mandy as a non-believer and called her on it – “Doubting Thomas” go see for yourself – it was truly a mosaic, wow. The clouds came quickly, threatening rain, but allowed time for pictures of the Pope’s window, the Piazza, and the basilica. As the rain came down, we tourists purchased Nativities in the shops meant to be religious souvenirs to be blessed by the Pope later. The bus finally arrived to pick up our tired, wet group. We thought the night was over, but no, more walking. We traipsed through the quaint Italian streets as the sun diminished. We arrived at a closed Pantheon, but enjoyed live accordion music and romantic ambiance only Italian sunsets can provide. We retraced our walk under Italian street lamplight and called it an evening upon entering the bus yet again!

The Pantheon

June 15 - Pompeii to the Ferry to Greece

Mandatory early departure with bagged breakfast – consisting of chocolate filled sad-excuse-for-a-croissant, nutella we stole from the breakfast room, and a juice box. Fernando, our new bus driver, safely drove us 4 hours to Pompeii. Rachel spent the morning on the phone, rectifying our tardiness and the theft of Tanya and steph’s iPods the previous night. Rachel assured us a wonderful lunch with her friend, an Italian mobster if we chose to… it was unanimous. All 46 of us sat among friends in the fanciest restaurant we’d yet experienced. Lunch satisfied our hungry stomachs – fries especially. Fernando and Rachel called me pee-pee (for pippi longstocking), but it didn't sound like pippi...

Roberto, our Pompeii guide, used sarcasm and humor to keep our attention before we even departed for the entrance. This older gentleman kept us laughing as we hiked through the ruins of Pompeii. The rock and chariot driven streets led us to the center of commerce, the bakeries and their modern brick ovens, mansions, bath houses, and the like. The time came to see the ash preserved part of the city. We stood in awe as Roberto explained the petrified artifacts and petrified living creatures – a dog, a pregnant woman protecting the unborn child, small children, and grown ups – all preserved in their final living states of horror.

Tents of souvenir shops drew us Americans in. Tanya searched for a jersey, the salesman gathered random men to find the perfect fit for Tanya’s dad, “is he this size? How about him…” while Sandra used our new friend, Tracy from St. Louis, to help her haggle the price of a necklace down to 10 Euros – “Her husband won’t give her the credit card”. Back to the bus. 5 more hours. The race to beat the other EF group to the Ferry in Brindisi begins. We win.

We head to the Ferry (the Ionian Queen) with our luggage in tow. The security boys (literally young boys) did less than just wave us through, a very thorough security check. Ha. Semi-trucks were being easily backed onto the Ferry like sports cars and we were finally guided up the same ramp as the trucks into a doorway and up two escalators to a line of waiting EFers and lounging truckers – many ABFs and SBFs were being called out! Our rooms were nice enough and we immediately turned the coolers on… to no avail.

The air kicked on once the boat moved. We took our cameras an explored this ferry. We ended up doing the wave with some others from our bus and made friends with the 70s man and his three boys, who were older than we thought. We were exhausted. Dinner was at 9pm, nothing to write home about. Ali and Tanya somehow talked us into a nightlife even after we had showered and were in our jammies. Mandy and Amy were smart enough to go to bed.

quotes by steph, by fars by sandra, silliness by Ali and Tanya...

Tour group bonding begins. Sitting on the top deck overlooking the sea off the back of the boat, we met our new friends from St. Louis. Sandra and steph said goodnight and others joined them in retiring around midnight, but they were sidetracked with music coming from the discotech. We gathered the others and we danced our little hearts out until Tracy introduced the idea of a flashmob. We learned the quick little dance and couldn’t wait to teach others. Finally we went to bed, exhausted. Our AC worked far better than expected and most of us froze through the night. We woke up in Greece!

Rome to Athens 2011

June 12 - Airport:

Salt Lake to Dallas to Amsterdam

Our 7-man crew flew from Salt Lake to Dallas/Fort Worth and had a 4-hour layover in a pentagonal paradise of chairs – our fortress for the day. Sandra introduced Mandy to speed scrabble and she LOVES to spell, while others slept, charged iPods at the special stations, and some were not “of” the game. We left DFW for Amsterdam and had a great flight over except aliens possessed Sandra’s headphones and screeching children awoke us on more than one occasion. Ali sat by herself on both flights because she is a loner J with a different itinerary, thanks to her stay in Germany. When we got to Amsterdam we encountered the slickest customs and security process ever! Compared to years past, this was an uneventful travel experience.

(steph is 1st class)

By Fars: upgraded to 1^st class (Tanya, Steph and Amy), the 9 inch curtain, sitting around our cove in the DFW airport, what do I do with the hot towel?, Chelsea falling exiting the plane, banana cake, Fuddrucker’s, speed scrabble, charging at a non-working outlet for hours, steph the alcoholic, Ali by herself, Sandra’s alien headset, fastest ever passport and security in Amsterdam, Ali’s pilot - Violet.

June 13 - Amsterdam to Rome

Flew from Amsterdam to Rome on a miniture plane with more space than the transatlantic flight we just exited, we were joined on the flight by the Australian Beach Volleyball team headed to a tourney in Rome (Sandra made quick friends with them by laughing uncontrollably at their Spanish). We gathered our baggage, quick as easy (I’ll keep this joke to myself), and met up with Amanda, who flew on her own dime. We waited a short time and met up with a random lady that let us know Rachel, our guide, would be back shortly with the rest of the EF tour of Americans. Last is best of all the game, so I suppose Mississippi is best, they were the only group to arrive after us – after 3 transatlantic flights YIKES.

We joined a small group from Ogden, a larger group from St Louis, Mississippi and a group from “fake” St Louis (Illinois) on the bus. First tourist stop, the Trevi Fountain - we had about an hour free time to visit the fountain do some site seeing in the area, plus grab some grub. This is where we had our first Italian pizza of the trip and also our first gelato. We paid for this delectable pizza by weight. After our quick jaunt, we met back as a group and visited the Spanish steps. By this time Mississippi had made it to the airport, where the women took a potty break, a water break, and then we all headed to the Hotel Presidente, just outside of Rome. It was an average hotel, probably a motel by US standards. We had our first pasta and mystery meat dinner in the hotel restaurant, feeling the exhaustion taking over we then retired to our rooms on the third floor – Yay for elevators!

By Fars: Laughing at the Australians trying to say 20 in Spanish - “bang me”, Trevi fountain, 1^st gelato, PIZZA!, Chelsea locked in the bathroom and Tanya’s tool kit, rooms close together, the great 8!, zoning out during dinner, sister missionaries on the Spanish steps, knowledgeable Rachel, ethnic Rachel, Ali as a horrible pick pocket, Rachel’s introduction to the 2 new “secret pockets” for women.

apparently I threw the coin with a hint of "the West Side" (last time's coin was to return to Rome, this one is for a LOVER)

Ali, Amanda, Chelsea, Amy, steph (me), Sandra, and Tanya

We found MISSIONARIES :)

Rome to Athens 2011

June 12 - Airport:

Salt Lake to Dallas to Amsterdam

Our 7-man crew flew from Salt Lake to Dallas/Fort Worth and had a 4-hour layover in a pentagonal paradise of chairs – our fortress for the day. Sandra introduced Mandy to speed scrabble and she LOVES to spell, while others slept, charged iPods at the special stations, and some were not “of” the game. We left DFW for Amsterdam and had a great flight over except aliens possessed Sandra’s headphones and screeching children awoke us on more than one occasion. Ali sat by herself on both flights because she is a loner J with a different itinerary, thanks to her stay in Germany. When we got to Amsterdam we encountered the slickest customs and security process ever! Compared to years past, this was an uneventful travel experience.

By Fars: upgraded to 1^st class (Tanya, Steph and Amy), the 9 inch curtain, sitting around our cove in the DFW airport, what do I do with the hot towel?, Chelsea falling exiting the plane, banana cake, Fuddrucker’s, speed scrabble, charging at a non-working outlet for hours, steph the alcoholic, Ali by herself, Sandra’s alien headset, fastest ever passport and security in Amsterdam, Ali’s pilot - Violet.

June 13 - Amsterdam to Rome

Flew from Amsterdam to Rome on a miniture plane with more space than the transatlantic flight we just exited, we were joined on the flight by the Australian Beach Volleyball team headed to a tourney in Rome (Sandra made quick friends with them by laughing uncontrollably at their Spanish). We gathered our baggage, quick as easy (I’ll keep this joke to myself), and met up with Amanda, who flew on her own dime. We waited a short time and met up with a random lady that let us know Rachel, our guide, would be back shortly with the rest of the EF tour of Americans. Last is best of all the game, so I suppose Mississippi is best, they were the only group to arrive after us – after 3 transatlantic flights YIKES.

We joined a small group from Ogden, a larger group from St Louis, Mississippi and a group from “fake” St Louis (Illinois) on the bus. First tourist stop, the Trevi Fountain - we had about an hour free time to visit the fountain do some site seeing in the area, plus grab some grub. This is where we had our first Italian pizza of the trip and also our first gelato. We paid for this delectable pizza by weight. After our quick jaunt, we met back as a group and visited the Spanish steps. By this time Mississippi had made it to the airport, where the women took a potty break, a water break, and then we all headed to the Hotel Presidente, just outside of Rome. It was an average hotel, probably a motel by US standards. We had our first pasta and mystery meat dinner in the hotel restaurant, feeling the exhaustion taking over we then retired to our rooms on the third floor – Yay for elevators!

By Fars: Laughing at the Australians trying to say 20 in Spanish - “bang me”, Trevi fountain, 1^st gelato, PIZZA!, Chelsea locked in the bathroom and Tanya’s tool kit, rooms close together, the great 8!, zoning out during dinner, sister missionaries on the Spanish steps, knowledgeable Rachel, ethnic Rachel, Ali as a horrible pick pocket, Rachel’s introduction to the 2 new “secret pockets” for women.

Ali, Amanda, Chelsea, Amy, steph (me), Sandra, and Tanya

We found MISSIONARIES :)