May 16, 2005
Greece, part one
Brooke was very cute in her blue and white outfit the day before Israeli Independence Day. Our friends from the church, the Hansens, gave us a flag to hang in our window. Tyler's teachers gave Brooke a little flag to wave.
Independence dayScott had a couple days off for Israeli Independence Day, so we used the time to go to Greece with our friends the van Ormans. We started our trip on Wednesday, May 11. We had to leave home at 2 AM to catch our flight at 7 AM which was no fun. Fortunately, parking, security and checking in went very smoothly. We bumped into the van Ormans at the airport even though we were on different flights. Their flight left about the same time, but stopped in Cyprus. Unfortunately, their luggage stayed behind in Cyprus, so they didn't get it until later. We were lucky enough to get a nonstop flight, so our flight was only two hours long.
When we arrived at the Athens airport, we discovered that there was a city wide strike. Fortunately we had no problems debarking from the plane, getting our luggage or getting through passport control. However, we did have to take a taxi to our hotel, instead of the metro as we had planned. It turned out well because we don't think we would have enjoyed carrying our luggage up and down stairs and on the metro and to the hotel with two small children. In the taxi, Tyler said, "hello," to the taxi driver about a million times. Fortunately the driver was very nice and didn't mind. Our hotel was a Novotel, which is a French chain, so Scott had fun hearing lots of people speaking French and seeing so much writing in French.
We made the mistake of telling Tyler that our hotel had a swimming pool, so every five minutes in the car, in the plane and on the way to the hotel he asked if we could go swimming. After we checked in, we changed into our swimsuits and swam in the unheated swimming pool on the roof of the hotel. The pool wasn't too cold and the weather was nice, but it was the only time we swam on the trip. The pool had a beautiful view of the Acropolis.
Acropolis from our hotel roofAfter we went swimming, we met our friends in the hotel. We walked down the street and found a marvelous gyros restaurant. It was amazing; we even got Tyler and Brooke to eat some. After lunch we went shopping and bought some fun groceries that we can't get in Israel. We saw 5 liter cans of olive oil! We can't imagine going through that much olive oil. We wandered around downtown Athens and then took a nap at the hotel. For dinner we had KFC, which was fun. After dinner we did some more shopping, including buying Golden Grahams and a toothbrush with a Lego figure in the handle for Tyler. We had ice cream and then went back to the hotel and planned our sightseeing for the rest of the trip.
On Thursday, we slept in. We had bought yogurt for the kids (even the same kind that they love to eat in Israel) and milk for Brooke. Brooke couldn't open the fridge in the hotel room, so she put her milk in the closet and pretended it was a fridge.
We bought donuts for breakfast and Brooke and Scott helped the shopkeeper chase out a pigeon that walked into the store. We had bought a backpack carrier in Israel, so we put Brooke in it. She loves it, she can see everything and she doesn't have to walk. We then took the metro to the Acropolis. We first saw the theaters that are to the side of the Acropolis, including the theater of Herod Atticus.
Theater of Herod AtticusOf course the most important thing we wanted to see was the Parthenon. It was a long hike to the top, but we had fun. Once at the top we went to the museum, admired the sights and saw the other monuments. The most exciting part of the Acropolis for Tyler was the crane being used for restoring parts of the Parthenon. We had to watch it for fifteen minutes.
ParthenonHere is a link to a satellite map of the Acropolis:
Satellite map of the Acropolis
When we were done, we hiked back down. Below is a picture of ancient Agora, which used to be the center of ancient Athens. We walked past Mars hill, where Paul preached, and through a pedestrian zone with lots of shops. Our friends' boys wanted McDonalds, so we got gyros from a nearby stand and ate them inside while Tyler ate a McToast (a grilled ham and cheese sandwich on an inverted bun). Maybe they have them in the States, but they certainly don't have them in Israel.
Ancient AgoraOur next stop was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We were lucky enough to catch the changing of the guard. The honor guards wear traditional uniforms and are called Evzones. Tyler asked for his picture with one of the guards, so of course we couldn't refuse.
Tyler and an Evzone honor guard
Here is a video of the honor guards, changing at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Changing of the Guard (video)We then walked to the National Gardens. There is a zoo inside where the kids had lots of fun feeding leaves to an ostrich. Both Tyler and Brooke had fun running around. We took the metro to the temple of Olympian Zeus, but it was closed, so we wandered around and shopped. We ate panini sandwiches for dinner.
On Friday, we took a day cruise. Tyler was thrilled because a purple bus picked us up from the hotel to take us to the ship. It was a fairly large ship with a couple of hundred passengers. The four youngest people on the ship were Brooke, Tyler and the van Orman's boys, Daniel and Skyler. In fact, we were the only two families with children. Brooke was a hit with everyone. The ship's lounge was a great place to relax and let the kids run around and play.
In the lounge of the shipWe were fortunate that it was a beautiful day, not too hot but lots of sun.
Tyler on the shipOur first stop was Poros. It is just like the postcards you see of Greece, with white houses and blue doors and trim.
Painted house on PorosWe ate ice cream (Carte d'Or, one of our favorite brands from France), bought post cards and climbed to the lighthouse to see the view.
From the lighthouse on PorosAfter we boarded the ship, Brooke and Scott went to the upper deck to take pictures of Poros as we left. They got to see a family almost miss the ship. The family came running up as the ship was pulling away and started yelling at the ship. The crew saw them and then backed the ship up and had the family jump aboard.
Island of PorosWhile we were on board the ship we watched traditional Greek dancing and the kids played. Our next stop was Hydra, which was a little different from Poros. There weren't as many painted houses and it was nestled on steep hillsides around a bay. We ate chocolate croissants and bought a few souvenirs.
Island of HydraDuring the next segment of our trip we ate lunch on board. Neither Brooke nor Tyler ate very well, but it was fun to eat some traditional Greek food. Our next stop was the island of Aegina. There was an "optional trip" which is another way of saying that it cost extra. We did it anyway and toured Aegina on a bus. We stopped at ruins of a temple for the goddess Athena, saw a Greek Orthodox basilica, and ate pistachio ice cream. Aegina is where a significant portion of Greece's pistachios are grown. Both Tyler and Brooke were able to nap a little on the bus.
Athena ruins on AeginaThe ship then returned to Athens. When we got off the ship, several people told us how brave we were for traveling with children. We returned to the hotel about 8 pm, ate gyros, gave Brooke and Tyler baths and then went to bed. It was a long day, but relaxing too because of the time on the ship.
Stay tuned for the rest of our trip.
Tyler-isms:
"Do we clap now?" - When the plane landed, Tyler wanted to clap. No one else clapped because it was a pretty rough landing.
"I'm almost 5" - What Tyler told anyone who asked how old he was. Remember his 4th birthday was the week before the trip.
"Don't use all my energy" - Tyler accused us of stealing his energy while climbing to the Acropolis, which is funny, because we think he steals ours.
"An alligator eating a dolphin" - Cheez Whiz drawing Tyler requested on a Ritz cracker.
"Why does the boat not have seatbelts?" - We are glad he is so safety conscious.
Brooke-isms:
"Kay" - Brooke says this instead of nodding her head for yes.