Between Mini Mama/John & Sara/Chris's cameras there were more than 1,300 pictures to sort through! Amazingly enough we've managed to go through them all in just the past few days and we've narrowed it down to just under 500.
They are all up on Sara's Flickr. You can go through them quickly just for the beauty of it by viewing them as a slide show here, or you can look at them each with their title and notes here if you want all the fun details - it's your call.
We also put up some videos which you can view here on YouTube.
Now we're working on gathering some of the tips we learned and some of the more detailed stories. We plan to document them all here so that we will have them and that also means you can take a peak too! But for the most part, the fun piece of this blog is done and we're really glad you joined us.
Don't forget to keep up with Sara & Chris on their respective sites.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
Safe & Sound
Mini Mama and John have the worst like with flights! A couple of hours into our 10 hour flight their video screens and what not died! They still got good food though and their seats still worked so they got comfie and watched movies on our iPods.
Mini Mama and John had a tight connection in JFK - about an hour to make it from the International Terminal all the way to gate 20. We got through customs in the US with ease (though it was like a sauna!). We had a slight hold up at TSA when we didn't have tickets for our next flight, but we got lucky and had one of the few kind TSA agents who allowed us to saty at the front of the line while Chris ran and got us all tickets.
Once through security we all started booking it to their gate. About half way through our 1/2 mile hike we heard them on the intercom 'final boarding for flight XXX to Orlando...' we all literally started running - Home Alone style - through the airport. They made it in the knick of time and even got to sit together on the way home.
Chris and I had no trouble with our flight back to Cinci - we even got first class. We were all safe at home by 8pm. :)
We have already downloaded our pictures and there are nearly 1,000! Today we plan on sifting through them and getting the best ones posted. We will of course let you know when they are up.
Stay tuned -we're already planning our next big adventure, Norway, Italy, Spain - who knows where we'll end up next! ^_-
Mini Mama and John had a tight connection in JFK - about an hour to make it from the International Terminal all the way to gate 20. We got through customs in the US with ease (though it was like a sauna!). We had a slight hold up at TSA when we didn't have tickets for our next flight, but we got lucky and had one of the few kind TSA agents who allowed us to saty at the front of the line while Chris ran and got us all tickets.
Once through security we all started booking it to their gate. About half way through our 1/2 mile hike we heard them on the intercom 'final boarding for flight XXX to Orlando...' we all literally started running - Home Alone style - through the airport. They made it in the knick of time and even got to sit together on the way home.
Chris and I had no trouble with our flight back to Cinci - we even got first class. We were all safe at home by 8pm. :)
We have already downloaded our pictures and there are nearly 1,000! Today we plan on sifting through them and getting the best ones posted. We will of course let you know when they are up.
Stay tuned -we're already planning our next big adventure, Norway, Italy, Spain - who knows where we'll end up next! ^_-
Thursday, May 8, 2008
USA Bound
We got an early start and hopped on the blue line and got all the way
to the airport with little excitement.
We got to our gate with plenty of time to spare and are all settled
into 6 A, B, G & F. You can see Mini Mama & John all settled in. This
flight offers a full lunch and afternoon snack both of which have
steak options so Mini Mama and Chris are all happy.
Next stop NYC!
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Last Day
We rented a car today and finally drove to Delphi. Unfortunately it
was cold and overcast and crowded. Rather than be wet and freezing we
chose to drive on. As always it was an adventure.
was cold and overcast and crowded. Rather than be wet and freezing we
chose to drive on. As always it was an adventure.
We wound up in the coastal town of Itea where we had an amazing lunch
and met Anna, a local baker who was originally from NYC.
We drove to the Rion bridge which connects mainland Greece with the
Peleponese its an award winning suspension bridge. I'll post a pic of
the bridge next.
After the bridge we checked out what we thought was the small village
of Patras but it was really a big city. We wanted to see their winery
but after our previous experience with a distillery decided to cut our
losses. We circles around and crossed the Corinthian Canal and then
back into Athens.
After much trouble returning the rental car (we'll explain later) we
hit the Plaka for dinner, bought a few last souveniers and packed up.
Tomorrow we have 20 houts of travel to look fotwatd to. We leave at
7:30am local time and land in NYC at 2:45 EST. Then we split ip and
head to OH and FL. Hopefully we'll all be home by 10pm EST which is
6am Greek time ...
We hope you've enjoyed our daily updates. We sure had fun making them.
We'll do some massive updates soon with all the fun details, tips
we've learned and of course all 2,000 pictures :) so check back soon.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Barefoot Buddies
The sign reads "get heathy Carolina!"
This one is just for my barefoot buddy in Spain who just had
successful back surgery and now has the not so fun business of two
months of bed test and healing to attend to.
I'll havemore barefoot pictures for you after I get home.
Ancient Agora
seemingly in tact temple which we later visited. This pic shows a
great view of how massive Athens is (1/3 of the population of Greece
lives here) as well as a quarry in the distance.
Up Close & Personal
We finally made to the top of the Acropolis today after seeing the MU
off to the airport. She made it to NYC in first class.
We had plannwd to drive to Delphi but realized just before we left
that it closes around 3pm and by the time we got there we'd have
little time to explore. So we decided to wait snd hit the Acropolis.
The walk up to the top wasn't as bad as we expected though there were
some slick rocks. The view was spectacular. We were disappointed with
how much scafolding was up on the Parthenon bit it was still impressive.
Monday, May 5, 2008
To Jerry
Got your request and immediately thought of the Starbucks on the Plaka
in Athens. When I saw it last week I thought of the first time we met...
The sign reads 'where is Jerry?' ;-) the 2nd line says 'hi'.
Happy Birthday!
found a distillery here in Greece and celebrated remotely. Live of up
without us!
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Naxos Island
Today we rented a small Hyndai that the five of us could cram into. Chris used his new International Driver's License to be our chaufer.
We used the tourist map and the suggestions from our amazing hotel hostess to hit some of the major sites on Naxos. Because it is Sunday a lot of things were closed but we still had adventures and fun exploring.
As promised, we are using the free Wi-Fi here at Hotel Grotta to post our pictures from today - the Hotel even has free loaner laptops!
Our first stop was to see a fallen "Kouros". We followed a lot of small obscure signs and eventually found it. Below is during our hike up.
Mini Mama sunbathing on a marble slab.
Hanging out at the Kouros below.
After the Kouros we drove the crazy hair pin turns and switch backed roads around the mountains. We found a small church who's parking lot we could use to get a view of both sides of the island at the same time. We could also hear the animals being hearded.We got some video of it which we hope came out because it was a very cool sound especially with the echo. Below are some of the goats.
My arch nemisis followed us to Greece! See?
We found out about two days into the trip that you aren't supposed to put anything in the toilet. At first we thought they meant odd things, or large things, but no - even toilet paper can cause a clog. This picture illustrates very nicely.
After the Kouros and the view we stopped for some food and had another picinic lunch along the side of the road, using the hood of the rental car as our table. Then we started hunting for an illusive distillery which we eventually found to be closed. From there it was on to the Temple of Demitrius - see below.
We had some trouble with the rental but after sorting that out we had a nice dinner at Apostilios where John had a lamb stew he couldn't stop raving about. Then it was to the Waffle House for desert.
Tomorrow we are off to the ferry and it's back to Pireius and Athens. We hope to see the Acropollis before we hit the sack so the MU can get an early start on Tuesday to head back to Seattle.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
General Update
We are in Hotel Grotta in Naxos Town and it's another slam dunk! Our rooms are right next door to each other and they both have porches that are mere feet from the edge of the cliff that goes right to the sea. It's amazing!
I (Sara) had my typical over seas tummy issues today and had to take it easy. That wasn't hard to do with such a great hotel.
Afterward we wandered through "Olde Towne" which is this maze of crazy streets with a cave like feeling. The guide book says it was designed to deter pirates - it must have worked because we got turned around more than once.
The hotel had recommended a restaurant named Labrynth and the MU had unknowingly stumbled across it earlier. We followed the signs and bread crumbs and got back to it and enjoyed the cheapest meal yet! We all had really tasty pasta dishes and shared a liter of white wine. They brought us all a shot of Kitro (lemon flavored liquore). Mini Mama is always easy to laugh but after the wine and the lemon liquore she was especially giggly. We all really enjoyed picking on her because she has had an unexpectedly difficult time adjusting to the terrain of Europe. She keeps tripping over the sidewalk or un-noticed steps. She fell twice in Athens and again getting off the ferry in Naxos. So tonight after dinner we were all holding her hand and warning of every little step. It was quite the sight.
We have actually been quite the mottly crew. John hurt his arm right before we left the US and has had to keep it covered (it seems to be healing nicely though). Chris cut his pinky finger before we left and has had all sorts of issues fighting a nasty infection (we even made a trip to a Greek hospital - boy do we have stories!). Sara has a bum knee and has been having trouble with her ankels and tummy. Mini Mama keeps tripping. As of right now the MU is the only healthy one and even she has been using her reading glasses case as a change holder and as a result has had difficulty keeping both change and her glasses on hand.
We found a nice older lady who is going to wash our clothes tommorrow. We asked if we wash or if she does and she said "Mama will wash!" and pointed to herself and then explained that she will hang to dry. We just drop the clothes off and pick up a few hours later! Hopefully we can all successfully make it to the port to rent a car in the morning. We plan to drive all over the island and do some exploring. We'll try to get lots of pictures on the iPhone and send them your way.
PS - we're trying to upload some of the picutres from Mini Mama's camera to Flickr. You can check www.flickr.com/photos/butterflysunshine to see how successful we were.
I (Sara) had my typical over seas tummy issues today and had to take it easy. That wasn't hard to do with such a great hotel.
Afterward we wandered through "Olde Towne" which is this maze of crazy streets with a cave like feeling. The guide book says it was designed to deter pirates - it must have worked because we got turned around more than once.
The hotel had recommended a restaurant named Labrynth and the MU had unknowingly stumbled across it earlier. We followed the signs and bread crumbs and got back to it and enjoyed the cheapest meal yet! We all had really tasty pasta dishes and shared a liter of white wine. They brought us all a shot of Kitro (lemon flavored liquore). Mini Mama is always easy to laugh but after the wine and the lemon liquore she was especially giggly. We all really enjoyed picking on her because she has had an unexpectedly difficult time adjusting to the terrain of Europe. She keeps tripping over the sidewalk or un-noticed steps. She fell twice in Athens and again getting off the ferry in Naxos. So tonight after dinner we were all holding her hand and warning of every little step. It was quite the sight.
We have actually been quite the mottly crew. John hurt his arm right before we left the US and has had to keep it covered (it seems to be healing nicely though). Chris cut his pinky finger before we left and has had all sorts of issues fighting a nasty infection (we even made a trip to a Greek hospital - boy do we have stories!). Sara has a bum knee and has been having trouble with her ankels and tummy. Mini Mama keeps tripping. As of right now the MU is the only healthy one and even she has been using her reading glasses case as a change holder and as a result has had difficulty keeping both change and her glasses on hand.
We found a nice older lady who is going to wash our clothes tommorrow. We asked if we wash or if she does and she said "Mama will wash!" and pointed to herself and then explained that she will hang to dry. We just drop the clothes off and pick up a few hours later! Hopefully we can all successfully make it to the port to rent a car in the morning. We plan to drive all over the island and do some exploring. We'll try to get lots of pictures on the iPhone and send them your way.
PS - we're trying to upload some of the picutres from Mini Mama's camera to Flickr. You can check www.flickr.com/photos/butterflysunshine to see how successful we were.
Contact Info
Please comment, because it will be really fun to see when we get home.
For now, e-mail Chris if you want us or have any requests and we'll get it pretty quickly and reply if we can.
For now, e-mail Chris if you want us or have any requests and we'll get it pretty quickly and reply if we can.
Apollo's Gate
This most popular thing on Naxos is Apollo's Gate. We already made the
short walk out to see it.
Here is the MU sunbathing in front of the arch. You can see John and
Mini Mama in the background if you look carefully.
Wild & Crazy Time
On the way to Naxos we had almost the whole ferry to ourselves. We
found a room with card tables and set up shop. Burt and Billie got a
little too crazy, as you can see, but we had fun playing a hot game of
peanut.
The hotel in Naxos (Hotel Grotto) has free Wi Fi so we'll try to send
lots of pics.
Friday, May 2, 2008
The whole story on the Birthday
The sunset at Oia was pretty, but honestly, we didn't see what all of the fuss was about.
To escape the crowd leaving I ducked into a few shops and asked some locals where to find good lamb chop (or as they say 'lamp chop'). They all sent us to Thomas's Grill. The food was really tasty and the service amazing. We told them it was Chris's "ikio ke eksi yenaythlia" (26th birthday) and they got excited for us. They gave us free fried cheese and Chris a double shot of 0uzo.
I snuck away and was going to ask them to stick the candle I had brought into a piece of bread do I could use the icing I had to decorate it like a cake. They said "no, no. We go to store for cake and we make music and big party!"
After we were done and expecting "to loghariazmos" (the bill) they brought us all a round of ouzo - OPA! Then we thought they were trying to close because the music went off and then the lights went out. Next thing we know the CD starts singing "happy birthday to you..." and they come out with a whole marble cake with whipped cream and a lit candle and everything.
It was so awesome! Talk about memorable! They didn't charge us for the ouzo or cake either!
Its early here and now we're off to Naxos for another adventure!
Birthday Fun
We had his birthday dinner at Thomas's Grille. It was amazing! They
sang and had cake with a candle.
Sunset in Oia
The MU and Chris perched on the wall over the castle watching the
sunset... 15 more minutes!
The Big Hike
We all found ourselves in Pyrgos today searching for an elusive
monastery located at the highest point on Santorini. After a fake out
(a construction site) we got about 2/3 of the way up (about a 45 min
walk/hike) and most of us felt content to stop. Not our Moms though!
They were real troopers and went all the way up -another 40 min round
trip! This pic is of them catching their breath before we all went
back together.
We had another picinic feast for lunch today. It is 5:30pm here and we
are resting before heading to Oia to watch the sunset from a castle
and then off to a "yenaythlia" (birthday) dinner for Chris.
More to come later.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Greek Feast
We hit a local grocer and made our own feast of fresh feta and olives
as well as local wine among other things. It was a varitable
smorgasbord of delectible goodies.
Fresh Fruit!
Sara on the beach enjoying a fresh tomato bought from the truck behind
her. It was juicy and sunwarmed and perfectly ripe.
Photo Disclaimer
Just wanted you to know that we have tons of great pictures to share when we get home, but the only ones we can post are the ones taken with Chris' iphone. So we will do the best we can.
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