June 19, 2011 Delphi

June 19 - Delphi & Athens

Up and early, we were rejuvenated with a tasty breakfast – just in time for our speedy 3-hour bus ride to Delphi with Ogden and Mississippi. Rachel talked non-stop for the entire 3 hours, while we tried to listen to a special reading of “The Golden Goose” by Julio. Along the way we stopped at a war memorial. The two soldiers on the end are hollow to represent the missing soldiers of war.

We stopped for a photo stop in the Greek Park city, Arachova - individual shots as well as group shots. Delphi was melt your brain hot but also fascinatingly wonderful.

steph, Ali, Amy, Tanya, Amanda, Sandra, Mandy, and Chelsea

Our guide Angelica was smart and funny. Delphi was the place of ancient spiritual pilgrimage where the people came to talk to The Oracle and learn the path of their life.

"The Oracle" The "bellybutton" of Delphi!?

The walls were like newspapers of ancient times with Greek writing covering every inch of the stones. Angelica showed us how ancient Greek is similar to today’s Greek, so she could read us a few words here and there.

photographer steph.

Our group split up after photo shooting the gas hole many call the Oracle. Some continued up to see the amphitheatre while the others went back down for fresh water. Without taking pictures of people, we were allowed to visit the museum and saw the famous bronze Charioteer statue and the Sphinx.

The Charioteer.

Temple remnants.

The Sphinx.

We ate lunch at another fabulous restaurant and then slept while Cosmos sped back to Athens - making it in record time, played speed scrabble in the hotel hallway with our friends and then had dinner in the hotel buffet. Sandra, Tanya, Amanda and Mandy went with Cheryl and Matt to see the Acropolis at night perched atop Mars hill.

By Fars: Fried cheese and zucchini balls, Acropolis at night, sitting on Mars hill, street musicians at night, scrabble in the hallway, stadium @ Delphi, charioteer statue with eyes, the Golden Goose, Internet!, reading, super clean metro, Athena’s temple, fresh squeezed OJ, woman or man?, late night chat in hotel café.

June 18 - Athens

June 18 - Athens

Protestors litter the grounds of Parliament in Athens. Rioting on the news made our friends and family fear for our safety, but we didn’t see anything. We took group photos and a stray dog joined in. The changing of the guard drew us in. These guards did some amazing legs kicks, accentuated by the pompoms on their shoes. It is hard to take these guards seriously. Rachel ushered us back into the bus for a short bus tour around Athens. Since we are in Greece, it only seems appropriate we stop at the Olympic stadium, which was built completely of marble for the 1896 Olympics and where the archery event was held in the 2004 Olympics. Ali picked up a new headdress of olive leaves that she wore the rest of the day. The olive leaf crown made for a fun photo shoot in front of the stadium.

Onto The Acropolis of Athens. Because it is so famous, it can be simply titled, The Acropolis without any qualification. Under an olive tree, our guide Maria explained what fake idols meant to the Greeks. The Acropolis consists of 7 buildings that took 30 years to build total. (The Parthenon took 9 years to complete). Parthenon -Old Temple of Athena -Erechtheum -Statue of Athena Promachos - Propylaea - Temple of Athena Nike - Eleusinion - Sanctuary of Artemis - Brauronia or Brauroneion - Chalkotheke - Pandroseion - Arrephorion - Altar of Athena - Sanctuary of Zeus Polieus - Sanctuary of Pandion.

Like most of Europe, it is in it’s 9^th restoration right now so there is scaffolding all around. The original marble was carried in from over 16KM away and hauled up the hill. AMAZING, Sandra and Mandy love HISTORY! With umbrellas in hand, we clambered over the rock mountain and viewed these amazing remnants of millennial old buildings and air. 300+ pictures later, we left The Acropolis and wandered down through the busy streets of the plaka. Utah joined some of our new friends for our first true Greek lunch - at a street café - Gyros with fries inside for 2 Euros!

Each of us had individual needs, so we split our ways with destinations in mind. Tanya had her eye on the H&M store, steph needed a camera charger, and Amanda just came for the walk. Ali, Sandra, Chelsea, Mandy, Tracy, Amy, Cheryl, and grandpa went looking for souvenirs. Amy and Tracy found cute carry-on luggage. Tanya bought some cute pants, but steph didn’t find any camera stores. Andy sent steph to a Best Buy, just above the Starbucks. Best Buy turned out to be a strange kind of flea market, bummer. After a scare of a missing Ali, she met our EF group and we left for a walking “tour”.

Amanda was kind enough to go with steph for one last-ditch effort in finding a camera store to buy a battery charger. Sandra equipped steph with her map and directions to meet up with the group, or meet back at the hotel if necessary. The first half of the tour led us through quaint pretty spots of Athens while the 2^nd half of the tour wasn’t really part of a tour but a walk through the ghetto to our hotel. Amanda and steph went to several places recommended by people, but found nothing. By chance (actually a real blessing) they happened upon a small store that had everything camera. Steph bought a charger, prayed thanks to a loving Heavenly Father, and the two of them sprinted through the town to find the others. Amanda and steph took some funky turns, but ran into the group as they turned a corner. Another blessing. Leaving behind the charming part of downtown, our ragged group trudged through the ghetto of Athens to make it back to our hotel (instead of of taking the metro?!). Many of us arrived with heat rashes and sunburns. We took a break in Sandra and Tanya’s room watching eclectic Greek music videos and eating all of our American treats... and sleeping. We took Benedryl and lotioned our legs, steph changed into swim trunks even. Tracy joined us for a game of speed scrabble on the roof while our friends went to Greek evening. The night ended with an unexpected gathering around a group stuck in our elevator - Lou, John, and Tammy.

By Fars: Lunch (cheap and delicious gyros), top of the acropolis, steph’s new camera charger, steph and Amanda using the map, spending time with our group friends, Mandy’s 1.70 $ coke and candy bar, Matt’s impersonation of Lou, free time!, Amy’s new bag, Matt coming to hangout in our rooms, champion crown, Athena Ali, the H&M and pantalones, Utah Jazz guy, music videos and the shark!, missionary experiences, naps, bus tour, parliament with pom pom shoes, pretty Greece, sitting in the square of the placa.

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