Day LAST: at The Athens Airport...24 hours...then HOME!!!

WOW....as you can see to the left, we have had over 1000 page views from you, our loyal readers(along with 44 beloved comments:  Steve's 27 and Jim's 13 make up 90% of them). Now that you will not have our blog to keep you awake each night with the riveting descriptions and mouth watering photos...perhaps I can recommend Ambien...since it should achieve the same "result" just as quickly:)))  Enough self deprecating humor....

Making it through 3 hot days in Athens, with a Hillary Clinton visit on Sunday and a taxi strike Monday and Tuesday, it seems we've hurdled the toughest challenges with ease....now we are at the Athens airport, receiving 1 hour of free wifi...what a joy not to pay 5 euros every time you sign on...like at the hotel...Met folks from Roseville and some that were on the same Tobin James Cruise here at the airport...had our last sweetened coffee and are chilling before our Air Canada flight to Toronto..a 90 minute layover and then our final segment to SFO, and then being picked up by Dan after our beverages, make it through unbroken....

Waiting outside the hotel for our 8am shuttle...since no taxis are available...it's hard to imagine a more excited traveler:))))

We spent 24 hours door to door...which isn't bad as many folks who do trans-atlantic trips can testify.  All bags arrived on time with us, and Dan was at the airport perfectly set to bless us with water and nutrition bars.  A great and thoughtful move..of course he's the best 4th child we could possibly have!!!

We made some lists on the flight home of Must Dos, Urgent Actions, People to See etc...but mostly we enjoyed reminiscing about the best rooms, best meals, best bites, best beverages, best views, best hikes, best new friends, best witnessing and the best way to lose the 5 pounds we each gained.

Praise the Lord for a blessed vacation in every way...and for preparing us to better serve Him as we continue through the year.  May you each know His love and goodness today and forever...To God be the Glory!!!  til the next blog (if there's a next blog???)

Gary and Peggy saying au revoir, ciao and antio (greek goodbye...)...Reunion Tour 2011 is officially OVER!

Day 41 or 42...I can't count that high...our penultimate nonetheless...

Athens is a great city to have visited...once...with the architectural and historical treasures and all...yet, we feel no urgency to return...based on cleanliness issues, dogs and cats all over the place...paid for by the local governments we think, areas of the city that we walked through that were a bit seedy, and all around confusion and intense city living going on...and we prefer oceans or mountains...

Today was a relaxed walking day to the main parts of the old city, and this kicked off with walking (due to a taxi strike) to a breakfast spot that we were introduced to yesterday during our walking tour...Greek Yoghurt...frozen shaked and regular with fruit topping...yummmm

 The yoghurt guy sent us to a classic souvlaki/gyros place in the Athens flea market area...and he was right...the food was inexpensive and excellent...

 Walking back towards the hotel we repassed the Acropolis...and the ancient Agora

 a bit like the Forum in Rome...on a much tinier scale...

 for some reason this showed up on our walk..and it had to be photographed:)))  obviously the greatest paints in the world are making a Greek impression as well... right Ben...???

 swimming, relaxing, reading and talking to some folks from Chicago..and you have a great afternoon....which lead to a relaxed dinner on our 8th story panorama hotel restaurant....with 2 beauties in view....

 a meat fest...mixed grill for 1 included 2 steaks, 2 chicken pieces, 2 lamb chops, 2 pork chunks, pita greek salad, grilled vegetables, baked potato...where's the man vs. food video team???

A surprise and great video skype experience with Jim J when we got back to our room...he was in Gettysburg...last blog of our trip (except I will close it off officially tomorrow when we return so don't weep yet...), and prayer for a solid night of sleep and no logistic issues getting to the airport or checking in our now much heavier baggage.  Blessings to each of you and see you stateside soon!

Day 39: Acropolis, Mars Hill and Gyros...again...

Excellent Walking Tour of Athens...we spent 4 hours wandering through Zeus' Temple, Hadrian's Arch, The Hill called the Acropolis...which has the famous Parthenon...and got to see the Areopagus where Paul preached...but it all started with the changing of the Greek Guards:  I'm not sure Peggy was very impressed?

 These guys did have their act together nonetheless...

 It's amazing to most Americans that the Greeks let you walk around and get pretty close to many of their national treasures....it was a treat here at the Temple of Zeus

 This fallen column hit the dirt in the late 1800s or so...and has remained "in situe"...

 Our tour guide, Markos, was pretty funny for his 31 years of age....but he did a nice job with our photo op...

 As we climbed up the Acropolis, we passed by a nice view of Mars Hill (the Areopagus)..now just a mound with a plaque...

 A view down towards the ancient marketplace called the Agora...

 Arriving at the Parthenon..everyone goes nuts for photos...to get one with no other folks in the middle of this crowd was masterful...thank you very much!

 different views...

 The new Acroplis Museum, with an exactly sized and paralleled top floor as they wait for the British Museum to return all of the best remnants and artifacts that have been "taken" by them...it could be a long wait from what we've been told....

 the requisite photo with my smiling face....

 some beautiful statues holding the door to the sacred temple...with Peggy easily doing the job for one of the removed beauties...

 Putting a cap on the temple of Zeus from above...

 To no one except ourselves, this is a photo of our Hotel with the yellow canopies...that enables us to see the Parthenon from the 8th floor swimming pool...

 A Roman Theater still used nearly nightly for performances...

 Here's the plaque on Mars Hill if you can read it...

 And here's the biblical reference to Paul.... and his ministry here...

 Peggy on the top of Mars Hill....like Paul, except he didn't have the blue hat I'm thinking....

 This was a beautiful visit and a tour worth taking if ever in Athens...

As we walked back to our hotel, through the Plaka (or old town), we stumbled across this Gyro place that was excellent...

 and here's how we knew it was great:)))))  It's fun to stumble upon these jewels....

Relaxing in the 100+ heat later today, watching the Tour de France again, swimming and then watching the US Women hopefully win the World Cup tonight against Japan....  and tomorrow is our last day before departure...let's see what it holds...blessings, Gary

Day 38: Athens...and Terra Firma!!!

The cruise was an amazing experience, and so is sleeping on land for a change...the day, Saturday, was simple....get from the cruise ship at 8:15 into Athens by the provided transfer...get a cab from the transfer location to our hotel...The Marriott Ledra, wonderfully providing Friend and Family Rates due only to Stu and Lauren Benkendorf...(we love you guys)....then get some non-wine (aka beer) and a Gyro...relax all afternoon by watching the Tour de France and then have an early (9pm) dinner, returning to our hotel by 10 to see the lit up Parthenon on the Acropolis....Result: Nailed It!!!

 Our 8th floor hotel restaurant and swimming pool had this great, unobstructed view:

 When the Gyro came, we were glad we had heard that they serve BIG portions...this is an order for 1!

 A short walk to dinner, through some pretty dirty streets...and we had eggplant, ground beef and potatoes:

 and 1 huge Greek Salad...both for 1 person....and both excellent...especially the Feta covered in herbs and olive oil

 An after dinner view from the 8th floor and our day was complete.

Tomorrow, a walking tour of the Acropolis and some time in La Plaka.....but that's for another day...right now a nice night of sleep on terra firma...PTL!!!!

Day 37: Santorini.....

As we departed Monemvasia, you could get a great shot of the little town that served as the main visit spot and hike launching spot...we did neither:))))

 One of, if not the loveliest islands in Greece is Santorini....before we arrived in the morning, we had another Cooking and tasting demo from Rick Moonen...on Gazpacho...some techniques included the adding of ice to the Cuisinart so the vegetables didn't heat up and lose their crispness while being mushed, and putting a bit of ketchup in the blend to add color and acid/sweetness...go figure...ketchup from a top chef master???? Are you surprised that Peggy had a premier seat?

 The other great couple we met...Ron and Kathleen from Bakersfield, enjoyed dinner with us a few different nights.  We're hoping to meet them in Athens for a drive to Corinth on Monday...great folks, and Stu, he loves the Raiders...

 The other specialty restaurant was Degrees, known more for their meat menu....They set up BBQs on the back deck, and we ate some excellent filet and rib eye...on the same plate:)

 Finally arriving in Santorini, you can see our yacht in the background...

 Most of the other villages just looked like snow covered mountain tops, when in reality they were white washed towns with white marble everywhere...

 The town of Lira(?) had its share of white beauty...

 The Wind Surf was a beautiful Yacht...at 190 meters long, 5 sails and the largest sailing vessel in the world....I think they said....

 I loved taking this photo since the ship on the left was a Celebrity Cruise...exactly the line we took when last here about 7 years ago...

 In case you missed the historical symmetry of it all....we've now been on both!

 And to be more clear which exact ships we're talking about....

 Nick....another wood fire brick oven from the 30s....by the way, a lot of people and restaurants had the name Nick in them:)))

 Cable car, walk or donkeys (pronounced like "monkeys")....we 4 euro cable car-ed up and 0 euro walked besides these boys on the way down...5 euro for the privilege of riding them...smelling them was free whether you rode or walked...

 A glamour shot of our yacht...or not....

 Ron attempting the ride down...he said he would NOT ever do that again...

 The sun set and the full moon rose...at the same time...Peggy making sure you see the moon....

 Being the last night, we had the Captain's Dessert event....too much...too late...but pretty good looking...as we said goodbyes to our friends. not knowing who we would see at 7:30 in the am...

 The cruise was one for the ages, as we enjoyed the yacht, the food, the beverages, the ports of call, the weather, and mostly the people.

 This is both Jim and Linda Luke...met them the first night in Rome, and greatly enjoyed their company throughout the week....and hopefully into the long term future!!!!

Now we enter Athens...3 days and our return flight home....let's see how photogenic this city is!!!!   blessings,