nonsense a la mode

THE COAST OF GREECE.....
.....is phenomenal.

There is crystal clear deep blue water with pebbly beaches and loads of private coves to swim in. Jeanne, Missy and I took a bus up the coast to Sounion, where the temple of Posiden stands.

One thing is for certain, God is not small. It is an impossible thing not to realize standing on rocky cliffs hundreds of feet above the Aegean Sea looking out over miles of mountains and sea framing a magnificent sunset.

GREEK MEN.....

.......Ahhh, where does one start.
a) They dress extremely well, always have nice clothes on and look very, very nice.
2) They are very, very friendly, LOVE women and aren't afraid to let you know it.
3) We found out that Greek men have a lot of trouble accepting the word No. Once presented with it our conversations frequently went something like this:
"Probleem? Probleem? Oh yu have probleem? I have no probleem, yu have problem? I have no probleem. We meet here at 10 tommorow, why yu have probleem?
4) If you're not careful you may find yourself agreeing to marry them and go bungie-jumping off the Eiffel Tower for your honeymoon.

We also noticed Greek men really like to wear fanny packs. Yup, you read that right. They also always have bluetooth headsets on. So they should look like incredible dorky loony bins, yet somehow they pull it off.

I tried to catch this guy wearing his fanny pack and his ear piece on the ferry...I wasn't stealth enough though, I think he spotted me.

GREEK FOOD.....

....is like none other. It is fresh and flavorful and unique. I couldn't get enough of it.

Greek salads, and Gyro's and Slovakis, calimari, it was all delicious.

Our wonderful host Phyllis took us out to lunch one day and we stuffed ourselves on salad and fried cheese, tzaziki, and calimari. I tried to eat as much Greek food as I possibly could while I was there. One thing is for certain, I will never get a Gyro from Dave's ever again, there is just no comparison, they shouldn't even call it a Gyro.

I even tried Orzo, which seems to be an acquired taste.

For their fruit and vegetable shopping the Greeks have Laikis.

They are open air markets held on certain days of the week with what seems like miles of fruits and vegetables for sale. A little bit like a farmers market/flea market but a lot larger.

Everything was fresh and beautiful and many things you would think should be refrigerated, like eggs and fish, were not.

Some of the foods were the same as in the US, but some things, like weird little pears, were very different.

GREEK COFFEE....

.....I could live on it.

Jeanne introduced me to the most wonderful Greek coffee drink in the world. It is drink of the gods. We could not figure out for the life of us how they make it. It has 3 layers, the bottom one is warm coffee, then a layer of cool ice, and then a creamy milk foam on top. Sweetened or unsweetened, it's amazing. I'm pretty sure I had one at least once a day, and usually more.

ATHENS....

.....is hot, dry, busy and full of marble, both ancient and modern.

Ruins are everywhere, even in the metro station. Its a surprisingly safe city as well. Jeanne and her friend Phyllis were wonderful hosts and Phyllis's apartment was beautiful with an amazing view.

Phyllis's cat Epidavros provided loads of entertainment. He used to be a street cat which she found at the Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus, an ancient theatre. There are hundreds of stray animals wandering Athens. Apparently the Athenians don't fix their animals and abandon them to the streets when they go on vacation.

While it was blistering hot when we went, they views from the theatre are incredible. The most amazing thing is the accoustics are so perfect that they still use the theatre for live shows since there is no need for sounds systems.

ANCIENT RUINS....

....were everywhere. Unlike the US where there might be a couple civil war battlefields here and there, in Athens ancient ruins are like Mcdonalds, they're on every corner.

Theatre of Dionysis, Temple of Zeus, the Acropolis....

Seeing ancient Greek history right in front of my eyes after studying it over and over in school was surreal.

Its one thing to read about something or see something on television but when you get to see it for yourself; I would imagine its like being blind and experiencing color for the first time .

In high school Humanities class I had to build a scale model of the Parthenon (thanks Mrs. Graham). I think I used paper mache, lets just say there is no comparison to the real thing.

ATHENS.....

....stays up late. We hung out at Moussiki, Sigtagma Square, and just hopped on the metro home (except when we found out it closed before midnight!). People eat, sit, drink, make-out and people watch. Its beautiful weather at night too, cool and breezy.

The last night I was there we stayed up until my flight left at 4am and tried to find some dance clubs. The Greeks aren't much for dance parties but we got the party started.

One night we went to see The Hangover in an outdoor theatre (english with Greek subtitles). It was crazy watching an America movie in another country. It was interesting to see what people laughed at and what they didn't. Its interesting to think about how people in other countries view us as Americans if all they know of us is the movies we produce.

It was the most amazing setting to watch a movie in, the sun was setting and Athens was in the background. It can't get much better than that.

GREEK ISLANDS.....

.....make me want to live on one and raise goats all day.

I hopped a ferry early one morning from Pireas to the island of Aegina. Pulling out of Pireas, the water got clearer and clearer the farther we got from Athens. Soon the water was as brilliant blue as the blue on the Greek flag.

Aegina had cute litte shops and restaurants and beautiful pebbly beaches. I walked everywhere, mainly looking for a freakin public restroom. I found the ancient temple of Artemis, which was closed, but I swam at a secluded beach right below the ruins.

I came across cute stray kittens and little Greek men mending their fishing nets.

It was the most beautiful day and at sunset I hopped the ferry back to the mainland.

THE END.....

Travel changes your perspective on yourself and on life in general. It is really disconcerting to step into another country in which you look like a foreigner, sound like a foreigner and everyone knows it. Its an interesting mix of imprisonment and freedom all at once. Its also a giant leap out of your comfort zone. Realizing that you are going to have to look and sound like an idiot whether you like it or not can take you down a notch. It's funny and frustrating and an experience like none other.

Switzerland, is full of bikes and Alps and cathedrals, at least Zurich was. Since I was bumped to an earlier flight (and got a free plane ticket and to sit next to a very fat man who had lived in Athens many years ago) I ended up having over 8 hours in Zurich.

I caught a train out of the airport which took me straight to the city. I walked tentatively out of the train station since I thought I might be in the middle of nowhere, but I was right in the heart of Zurich!

A beautiful river runs through the middle of the city and there are cobblestone street running everywhere else.

Bikes are free for residents of Switzerland to use and they are everywhere. Non-citizens can also rent one for free, but they have to put a down payment first. The weather was rather crisp, I suppose because of the proxmity to the Alps.

I wandered in and out of a few cathedrals, including Fraumünster Cathedral with stained glass windows by Chagall. I was so exhausted, it being about 3:00 am my time, that I fell asleep in Grossmünster Cathedral. I felt pretty safe taking a nap since it was a church after all.

I ate lunch on a bridge overlooking the river and a little old Italian man took a photo for me.

After wandering up the cobblestone streets I found a park overlooking the city. There were a bunch of men playing a giant game of chess! Some of the streets seemed to go straight up, and almost all of the buildings had flower boxes outside of their windows.