Emmantina Glyfada

... in the 400s BC and as it changed hands over the years, it was even used as a Christian church, Catholic church and mosque. In 1687, Venetians fired shells at it and the gunpowder stored on the Acropolis blew off the temple's roof. Anyways, it was built as the Temple of Athena Parthenos and there are columns all around it. They did the whole optical illusion thing to make the columns swell in certain spots so they look straight. In the temple, in front of a ...

... Ah yes. The international language of electricians. I'm happy to report I actually got to fill my belly today. I went to the grocery store (I've got to get a picture of the olive-flavored cookies) and bought some Greek yogurt, spaghetti, and what I hope is spaghetti sauce and not ketchup. There were no bottles of salad dressing. I think when Greeks eat salad, it's dressed with olive oil or nothing. And you KNOW they're serious about their ...

The program doesn't schedule classes on Fridays. With students wanting to travel off in all directions on the weekends, they know it would be a losing battle. Some students left for the islands of Santorini and Mykonos today, and students Mary Lou and Wedding Belle thoughtfully invited me to come with them to the farmer's market and then to the beach. Every Friday, vendors line both sides of an entire street. They sell fruit, vegetables, fish, eggs, nuts, candy, napkins and paper ...

After recharging the batteries, we headed off down the Peloponnese and had a great time exploring Ancient Olympia (where the camera ran out of battery just as the kids were getting photos on the 214 mtr race track!), but it was very interesting and the kids loved it especially with the Olympics starting on the Friday. Tolo and Nafplio were fantastic and stinking hot, its official we are sweltering. Then off to Athens...the girls were very excited as Gordon and Bronnie were ...

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... ticket seller could arbitrarily decide not to sell us a ticket. She spoke good enough English, but it was my specific, and actually eminently polite, request (early on) for a customer service phone number or email that sent her ballistic (I had expressed surprise at the third round of surcharges which made this train journey the most expensive travel leg we have done, including flights). She then no longer spoke English, and demanded that I speak Greek or she ...

... i had a pita thing with chicken in it and fries. Then i mailed some postcards... which probably wont get there until after i get back... but its the thought that counts. And then, Erin and I went back to the hostel, and i really wanted to take a nap, but we had already checked out, so we had no beds. So, i improvised, and slept on a table in the lobby while Erin wrote in her journal. They play some pretty good music in our hostel as well. Classic Rock ...

... labeled as "dumps." I was also a bit disappointed that my research hadn't uncovered the fact that this hotel was on the verge of crumbling and should be avoided at all costs. Despite some horrible hotel experiences and a general feeling that most things are way overpriced (a can of Coke for $4.00 at one restaurant), we managed to have an amazing time in Rome. We spent 3 days initially in Rome and covered most of the big attractions...the ...

... Athens enjoyed during the Golden Age of Greece, over four hundred years before the birth of Christ. Some architects and a good number of historians claim that the Parthenon is one of the most impressive structures in the Western world and despite an unfortunate amount of scaffolding and general repair work we quickly understood why. Though the building was erected during the height of one of the city's most brutal wars, the Parthenon is a stunning example of mathematic ...

... at how little seating there was and how few people there were. There were many things that I thought were strange, but that shouldn't come as a surprise. There was a lot of sitting and standing going on, incense being sprinkled around, chanting, candles, kissing of pictures and the service was a come and go sort of thing. It was a new experience for me, as well as for most of the others. There were these ladies sitting behind Jess and I that started petting, I guess that ...