I believe it was our first date when Isaac wanted to play a game of questions, you know, "we need to get to know each other so we will ask each other questions." Well, you know Isaac, and his questions were things like, "If you could have any super power what would it be?" Well, I am not as creative as Isaac so I asked where in the world would you want to travel. And Isaac said Athens. He wanted to be where ancient philosophers like Aristotle walked and discussed life. Now it took many months for me to decide I wanted to marry this man, but as we discussed getting married, I thought it would be so great to go to Athens so he could visit the place in the world he wanted to go the most. We talked about going to Greece for a while and decided if we could go, the best time would be after he graduated. And this is how we came to visit Athens, and a few other lovely places in Greece. As an added bonus we invited our wonderful mothers, since they have done so much for us, and we were delighted they were both able to come.
Our adventures began by getting lost, of course. But getting lost is not always a bad thing, I was able to find a great place to photograph the sunrise the next morning.
Here we are lost.
Here is the sunrise from the next morning.
I loved all the wild flowers growing everywhere. Greece is beautiful in May.
Even though we rented a gps with the car, it was only somewhat helpful. Without it, we would not have found anything, but it still drove us crazy. It could take us to the city center, but not to an actual address. We arrived in Athens Saturday morning. We found our hotel, The Mare Nostrum, in Vravrona, about an hour outside of Athens.
Here are a few images of our hotel.
We decided we wanted to go to church on Sunday, because how cool is it to attend church in another country. So Saturday we tried to find the church so we would make it on time Sunday morning. We entered the address into the gps, and it could not find it. Mom Katie had printed directions to the church from the church website before she left home, so we tried to follow them. We had the hardest time finding street names on streets, so we drove for a while without ever finding the church. We ended up driving in Athens, which is crazy because there is so much traffic. And we were all so tired because we barely slept on the 10 hour flight over. It was all we could do to keep our eyes open, so thank you Mom Katie for driving us safely around and back to our hotel without incident. After we got back to the hotel we all fell asleep for a few hours. Our initial goal was to stay up until bed time and then go to bed so we would be on Greece time, which is 7 hours ahead of Virginia. Normally this is doable if you get more than an hour of sleep on the plane, but since none of us accomplished that, we took a nap around 3pm, got up at 8pm, ate a little dinner and then went back to sleep.
Sadly, we did not make it to church on Sunday. I was really excited to attend church in Greece. The church is true, even in Greece, and I thought it would be awesome to take the sacrament in Greece, even if I didn't completely understand the language, I would have understood the Spirit. And I love that the apostle Paul walked and taught here. We walked where Paul walked. I love that! Funny enough, later in the week when we were visiting Athens, we ran into the missionaries and they directed us to where to find the church. It was easy enough, you just need to know it is across the street from Hadrian's Arch. So now we know, and next time we go, we can attend church there.
After our first night we found there are a lot of mosquitoes and they like to eat you while you sleep. The moms left their sliding door open during the night to enjoy the cool night air. Well, the mosquitoes ate them for a midnight snack. Luckily we figured out that they do have screen doors, just not like we are used to. They are more of a door with slats in it that lets in air but also keeps out the sun. So we learned to use those the rest of our trip.
Poor moms...
We visited the Temple of Artemis, which was in Vravrona and close to our hotel. This temple is dedicated to Artemis, the goddess of childbirth and virginity.
Some photographs of our lovely mothers :) and the Temple of Artemis.
Monday we drove up to Marathon, about an hour drive north. The gps took us exactly to the city center, yes, right in the middle of a neighborhood. So we drove around a little more and then followed signs to Marathon Lake. The drive up the mountain was beautiful. We arrived at the lake and found a bridge that was very narrow. Notice the sign that has an explosion behind the car. So if you drive across this bridge, you will explode. Really, the bridge only allows one way traffic so you must obey the traffic lights so you do not cause an accident.
After our adventure across the bridge we decided to head down to Sounio at the bottom of Attica, the island Athens is located on. The drive through the little towns along the way was delightful. I wanted to photograph the Temple of Poseidon, located in Sounio, at sunset. We were a little early so we drive up to the little town of Lavrio. I loved this little town. I could be partial because we ate lunch at a little cafe and had the best gyros ever! I wish I had taken a picture of the gyro, but I was so excited to eat it I forgot.
Here is a photograph of where we ate at least.
After we enjoyed lunch, we still had time before the sun was to set, so we drove around looking for a beach so we could sit and relax. We eventually decided to hike down to a little beautiful, secluded beach near the Temple of Poseidon. The water was absolutely gorgeous and refreshing.
And the hike back up...
At the top of the cliff where the Temple of Poseidon sat was beautiful. We enjoyed walking around while waiting for the sun to set. Eventually as the sun was setting it got a little cold, sorry moms, and we were not prepared for that, so we were a bit chilly in the breeze up there. But we managed to take a few fun photographs.
And eventually the sun set.
Tuesday we went to visit a few of the Saronic Islands. It was a beautiful day. We took a ferry with a French tour group. Why didn't I take more French. But one of the guides spoke English and was very friendly to us. And there were people on the boat who spoke Spanish, Portuguese, French, English and Japanese, oh, and of course Greek so we were not completely lost. They taught us how to Zorba dance. That was fun to watch.
The first island we visited was Poros. We didn't have very long on this island so while the moms shopped, we wandered the street and photographed. Mom Katie thought Isaac needed a hat so he didn't get sunburned. Thanks mom, he looked so handsome and didn't burn his head :)
And a few more images of what we saw.
The houses were built right into the side of the mountain. The walkways between the houses were very narrow. And the street along the water had cute shops and cafes. I love the boats and cars parked outside the homes. It was a fun island.
Then we went on to Ydra (pronounced eedra.) Ydra does not have any motor vehicles. They get around on donkeys. Yes, and momma Celeste and mom Katie enjoyed, well I'm not sure if enjoy is the correct word, but they took a ride around town on a couple of donkeys. Isaac and I just walked around photographing, of course, would you expect anything less :)
More images of the island.
The last island we visited was Aigina. This island is much larger and has lots of agricultural land. They grow lemons, olives, and pistachios, to name a few. We visited the Temple of Aphaea and a pistachio factory. The pistachios produced on this island are roasted with lemon juice and salt. They are delicious. We also came upon a fisherman mending his nets. Aigina was bustling with activity. An interesting fact about the Temple of Aphaea, the Temple of Poseidon (we visited the day before), and the Parthenon (which we visited the following day), is that they form a perfect equilateral triangle. Amazing! The ancient Greeks were phenomenal at math, science, and so many other things.
And a few fun photographs.
So after a long, fun day touring the islands, we did not get stranded and were not forced to live out 15 years on a deserted island, instead, we returned back to the hotel for some rest so we could enjoy more adventures the next day. Wednesday we planned to go into Athens, called Athina by the people of Greece. Thank you momma Celeste for finding out that day was International Museum Day and all museums were free. So we went to the Acropolis. The Acropolis includes the Parthenon, the Agora and the Acropolis Museum. We started at the museum and learned a lot about the history of the Parthenon. I am amazed at the development of the Acropolis over the centuries. I also loved the design on the Acropolis Museum. They built it on top of ruins and put glass walkways over it so as you walked you could look down and see the ruins. And the top level of the museum was a to scale replica of the Parthenon. You are able to walk around it just as you would be walking around the real Parthenon and look at the sculptures, called Friezes. Some of the sculptures were stolen by an Englishman in the 1800′s and now reside in a museum in England, but the Acropolis Museum was able to get replicas to display along with the originals. It is incredible! The Parthenon in currently undergoing restoration. It is amazing the technology we have to be able to restore such ancient ruins. And it is amazing many of these ruins have survived so many centuries. We could also view the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a theater built by the Romans, where they would host plays and other events. Today they are still open and host live theatrical performances and events.
A few more fun images of us at the Odeon, Parthenon, and the Theatre of Dionysus, an ancient Greek theater near the Odeon and below the Parthenon. Isaac and mom Katie practicing their photography skills. Everyone waiting out the little bit of rain we had after we came out of the museum. And of course us!
Next we went over to Mars Hill, or as the Greeks call it Areopagus. This is where the apostle Paul gave his famous sermon on the Unknown God. From here was a beautiful view of the Parthenon. It was very cool to stand where Paul stood.
Next we headed over to the Agora, or shops. We came across a group of boys who got into a fight. We just stopped and watched as they yelled at each other. Eventually an older boy got them to stop long enough for the crowd which had gathered to pass. And then we walked thought the streets toward the Agora. There was graffiti everywhere. It is so unfortunate that such a beautiful place is covered in such degradation. We wanted to go in the ancient Agora, but when we arrived at the place to enter, we found out it closed at 3pm, and we were sad to have arrived too late. We discovered many of the historical sites close at 3pm due to the economy and the government having to lay off all of the part time employees. We continued walking the streets of the modern agora and found a few shops and fruit stands. It was fun to watch the vendors calling out to the crowd to come buy there delicious fruit. We also came across a few street performers.
We made our way over to the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian's Arch. This is when we ran into the missionaries. They were very friendly and very helpful. We also visited the Olympic Stadium. In 2004 the Olympic Marathon finish occurred here. This is a pretty cool stadium, a little differently shaped than the tracks I've competed on in my life.
Finally we walked back to the metro and took a bus back to the hotel. We did a lot of walking in Athens and we were tuckered.
Oh husband...
Thursday we drove to Delphi. It is a couple hour drive northwest of Athens. It was a rainy day but everything was vibrant and beautiful.
Momma Celeste with her "rain gear," a beach towel. None of us had an umbrella. Crazy us, traveling without rain gear.
We double checked the closing time for the Oracle at Delphi so we didn't run into the same problems with the site being closed before we got there. And we were driving so far we definitely didn't want to get there after it closed. We looked up closing times on their website and found they closed at 7:30pm. So we drove and arrived around 2pm. When we bought our tickets the lady said they closed at 3pm so if we wanted to see the site and the museum we'd better hurry. We were very upset that we could not find this information anywhere even though we did our research, we did not have much time to view the site. So we hurried through the Oracle. Citizens used to come to the Oracle to ask questions and receive prophecy. There was a stadium at the top that was very over grown, but it was neat to see where the starting line was and the seating. So we made it through the site and got out just before it closed. Luckily, the other sites, the Sanctuary of Athena Nike and the Gymnasium were not surrounded by a gate so we were still able to see those. It turned out to be a splendid day. The rain stopped just as we started climbing the mountain to the Oracle and was just lovely.
We drove down the road to a cute little town and walked around and found lunch. We also had a little photo shoot, because you know that is just how I am :)
Yes, it's true, I married that crazy man. He does have a few normal photographs from this session, but as you know, that is Isaac :)
I do love this one!
Friday we enjoyed a relaxing day by the pool and went swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. It was wonderful. I would advise the use of sunscreen. The Mediterranean sun is quite intense.
And later in the day we went out to find another gyro. We loved the one we had earlier in the week and had to have another before leaving. The place we found was very friendly and they didn't mind us taking a few photographs either. Again, I forgot to take one of the gyro. I really need to learn better.
And I thought I'd add a few more of my favorite images.
And then we had to fly back to the states.
We had the best time, I really couldn't have asked for a better adventure in Greece.
Our adventures began by getting lost, of course. But getting lost is not always a bad thing, I was able to find a great place to photograph the sunrise the next morning.
Here we are lost.
Here is the sunrise from the next morning.
I loved all the wild flowers growing everywhere. Greece is beautiful in May.
Even though we rented a gps with the car, it was only somewhat helpful. Without it, we would not have found anything, but it still drove us crazy. It could take us to the city center, but not to an actual address. We arrived in Athens Saturday morning. We found our hotel, The Mare Nostrum, in Vravrona, about an hour outside of Athens.
Here are a few images of our hotel.
We decided we wanted to go to church on Sunday, because how cool is it to attend church in another country. So Saturday we tried to find the church so we would make it on time Sunday morning. We entered the address into the gps, and it could not find it. Mom Katie had printed directions to the church from the church website before she left home, so we tried to follow them. We had the hardest time finding street names on streets, so we drove for a while without ever finding the church. We ended up driving in Athens, which is crazy because there is so much traffic. And we were all so tired because we barely slept on the 10 hour flight over. It was all we could do to keep our eyes open, so thank you Mom Katie for driving us safely around and back to our hotel without incident. After we got back to the hotel we all fell asleep for a few hours. Our initial goal was to stay up until bed time and then go to bed so we would be on Greece time, which is 7 hours ahead of Virginia. Normally this is doable if you get more than an hour of sleep on the plane, but since none of us accomplished that, we took a nap around 3pm, got up at 8pm, ate a little dinner and then went back to sleep.
Sadly, we did not make it to church on Sunday. I was really excited to attend church in Greece. The church is true, even in Greece, and I thought it would be awesome to take the sacrament in Greece, even if I didn't completely understand the language, I would have understood the Spirit. And I love that the apostle Paul walked and taught here. We walked where Paul walked. I love that! Funny enough, later in the week when we were visiting Athens, we ran into the missionaries and they directed us to where to find the church. It was easy enough, you just need to know it is across the street from Hadrian's Arch. So now we know, and next time we go, we can attend church there.
After our first night we found there are a lot of mosquitoes and they like to eat you while you sleep. The moms left their sliding door open during the night to enjoy the cool night air. Well, the mosquitoes ate them for a midnight snack. Luckily we figured out that they do have screen doors, just not like we are used to. They are more of a door with slats in it that lets in air but also keeps out the sun. So we learned to use those the rest of our trip.
Poor moms...
We visited the Temple of Artemis, which was in Vravrona and close to our hotel. This temple is dedicated to Artemis, the goddess of childbirth and virginity.
Some photographs of our lovely mothers :) and the Temple of Artemis.
Monday we drove up to Marathon, about an hour drive north. The gps took us exactly to the city center, yes, right in the middle of a neighborhood. So we drove around a little more and then followed signs to Marathon Lake. The drive up the mountain was beautiful. We arrived at the lake and found a bridge that was very narrow. Notice the sign that has an explosion behind the car. So if you drive across this bridge, you will explode. Really, the bridge only allows one way traffic so you must obey the traffic lights so you do not cause an accident.
After our adventure across the bridge we decided to head down to Sounio at the bottom of Attica, the island Athens is located on. The drive through the little towns along the way was delightful. I wanted to photograph the Temple of Poseidon, located in Sounio, at sunset. We were a little early so we drive up to the little town of Lavrio. I loved this little town. I could be partial because we ate lunch at a little cafe and had the best gyros ever! I wish I had taken a picture of the gyro, but I was so excited to eat it I forgot.
Here is a photograph of where we ate at least.
After we enjoyed lunch, we still had time before the sun was to set, so we drove around looking for a beach so we could sit and relax. We eventually decided to hike down to a little beautiful, secluded beach near the Temple of Poseidon. The water was absolutely gorgeous and refreshing.
And the hike back up...
At the top of the cliff where the Temple of Poseidon sat was beautiful. We enjoyed walking around while waiting for the sun to set. Eventually as the sun was setting it got a little cold, sorry moms, and we were not prepared for that, so we were a bit chilly in the breeze up there. But we managed to take a few fun photographs.
And eventually the sun set.
Tuesday we went to visit a few of the Saronic Islands. It was a beautiful day. We took a ferry with a French tour group. Why didn't I take more French. But one of the guides spoke English and was very friendly to us. And there were people on the boat who spoke Spanish, Portuguese, French, English and Japanese, oh, and of course Greek so we were not completely lost. They taught us how to Zorba dance. That was fun to watch.
The first island we visited was Poros. We didn't have very long on this island so while the moms shopped, we wandered the street and photographed. Mom Katie thought Isaac needed a hat so he didn't get sunburned. Thanks mom, he looked so handsome and didn't burn his head :)
And a few more images of what we saw.
The houses were built right into the side of the mountain. The walkways between the houses were very narrow. And the street along the water had cute shops and cafes. I love the boats and cars parked outside the homes. It was a fun island.
Then we went on to Ydra (pronounced eedra.) Ydra does not have any motor vehicles. They get around on donkeys. Yes, and momma Celeste and mom Katie enjoyed, well I'm not sure if enjoy is the correct word, but they took a ride around town on a couple of donkeys. Isaac and I just walked around photographing, of course, would you expect anything less :)
More images of the island.
The last island we visited was Aigina. This island is much larger and has lots of agricultural land. They grow lemons, olives, and pistachios, to name a few. We visited the Temple of Aphaea and a pistachio factory. The pistachios produced on this island are roasted with lemon juice and salt. They are delicious. We also came upon a fisherman mending his nets. Aigina was bustling with activity. An interesting fact about the Temple of Aphaea, the Temple of Poseidon (we visited the day before), and the Parthenon (which we visited the following day), is that they form a perfect equilateral triangle. Amazing! The ancient Greeks were phenomenal at math, science, and so many other things.
And a few fun photographs.
So after a long, fun day touring the islands, we did not get stranded and were not forced to live out 15 years on a deserted island, instead, we returned back to the hotel for some rest so we could enjoy more adventures the next day. Wednesday we planned to go into Athens, called Athina by the people of Greece. Thank you momma Celeste for finding out that day was International Museum Day and all museums were free. So we went to the Acropolis. The Acropolis includes the Parthenon, the Agora and the Acropolis Museum. We started at the museum and learned a lot about the history of the Parthenon. I am amazed at the development of the Acropolis over the centuries. I also loved the design on the Acropolis Museum. They built it on top of ruins and put glass walkways over it so as you walked you could look down and see the ruins. And the top level of the museum was a to scale replica of the Parthenon. You are able to walk around it just as you would be walking around the real Parthenon and look at the sculptures, called Friezes. Some of the sculptures were stolen by an Englishman in the 1800′s and now reside in a museum in England, but the Acropolis Museum was able to get replicas to display along with the originals. It is incredible! The Parthenon in currently undergoing restoration. It is amazing the technology we have to be able to restore such ancient ruins. And it is amazing many of these ruins have survived so many centuries. We could also view the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a theater built by the Romans, where they would host plays and other events. Today they are still open and host live theatrical performances and events.
A few more fun images of us at the Odeon, Parthenon, and the Theatre of Dionysus, an ancient Greek theater near the Odeon and below the Parthenon. Isaac and mom Katie practicing their photography skills. Everyone waiting out the little bit of rain we had after we came out of the museum. And of course us!
Next we went over to Mars Hill, or as the Greeks call it Areopagus. This is where the apostle Paul gave his famous sermon on the Unknown God. From here was a beautiful view of the Parthenon. It was very cool to stand where Paul stood.
Next we headed over to the Agora, or shops. We came across a group of boys who got into a fight. We just stopped and watched as they yelled at each other. Eventually an older boy got them to stop long enough for the crowd which had gathered to pass. And then we walked thought the streets toward the Agora. There was graffiti everywhere. It is so unfortunate that such a beautiful place is covered in such degradation. We wanted to go in the ancient Agora, but when we arrived at the place to enter, we found out it closed at 3pm, and we were sad to have arrived too late. We discovered many of the historical sites close at 3pm due to the economy and the government having to lay off all of the part time employees. We continued walking the streets of the modern agora and found a few shops and fruit stands. It was fun to watch the vendors calling out to the crowd to come buy there delicious fruit. We also came across a few street performers.
Finally we walked back to the metro and took a bus back to the hotel. We did a lot of walking in Athens and we were tuckered.
Oh husband...
Thursday we drove to Delphi. It is a couple hour drive northwest of Athens. It was a rainy day but everything was vibrant and beautiful.
Momma Celeste with her "rain gear," a beach towel. None of us had an umbrella. Crazy us, traveling without rain gear.
We double checked the closing time for the Oracle at Delphi so we didn't run into the same problems with the site being closed before we got there. And we were driving so far we definitely didn't want to get there after it closed. We looked up closing times on their website and found they closed at 7:30pm. So we drove and arrived around 2pm. When we bought our tickets the lady said they closed at 3pm so if we wanted to see the site and the museum we'd better hurry. We were very upset that we could not find this information anywhere even though we did our research, we did not have much time to view the site. So we hurried through the Oracle. Citizens used to come to the Oracle to ask questions and receive prophecy. There was a stadium at the top that was very over grown, but it was neat to see where the starting line was and the seating. So we made it through the site and got out just before it closed. Luckily, the other sites, the Sanctuary of Athena Nike and the Gymnasium were not surrounded by a gate so we were still able to see those. It turned out to be a splendid day. The rain stopped just as we started climbing the mountain to the Oracle and was just lovely.
We drove down the road to a cute little town and walked around and found lunch. We also had a little photo shoot, because you know that is just how I am :)
Yes, it's true, I married that crazy man. He does have a few normal photographs from this session, but as you know, that is Isaac :)
I do love this one!
Friday we enjoyed a relaxing day by the pool and went swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. It was wonderful. I would advise the use of sunscreen. The Mediterranean sun is quite intense.
And later in the day we went out to find another gyro. We loved the one we had earlier in the week and had to have another before leaving. The place we found was very friendly and they didn't mind us taking a few photographs either. Again, I forgot to take one of the gyro. I really need to learn better.
And I thought I'd add a few more of my favorite images.
And then we had to fly back to the states.
We had the best time, I really couldn't have asked for a better adventure in Greece.
