Plaza Resort Anavyssos

Godiva pointed out that although we have known each other for fourteen years and I have been teaching college for twelve, she has never seen me in a classroom. So today she sat in on my persuasion and rhetorical criticism classes. I didn't have the sexiest lesson plans to show off to her because it's the end of the semester and mostly we talked in class about the upcoming big Symposium where the ...

... out in front of the TV and doze for the rest of the evening. Right now I'm watching the Greek equivalent of the Home Shopping Network. The jewelry they're selling looks a little gaudy for American tastes, and there's a heavy emphasis on gold to the exclusion of silver, but I'm not saying I wouldn't buy it. The production value is also a little more homey than the beloved QVC -- it's great fun to hear the director shouting off camera and phones ringing in the background ...

... havet for ikke saa mange aar siden og lod os roere ved den, hvorefter han med stor begejstring fortalte, at vi nu havde roert noget som var 2010 aar gammelt !!! Bagefter tog vi hen til parlamentet og spiste i selskab med duerne, hvorefter vi saa vagtskifte . Dette var til stor underholdning ! De har en meget saer gangart og en meget saer dragt (specielt skoene med de kaempe ponponer) . Efter en del grinen tog vi hen til det olympiske stadion som blev ...

... Fun fact number two: I actually do know how to curse in Ancient Greek. You say "go to the crows." I told the legend of the weeping marble Caryatid sculptures to a group of students while we were at the Acropolis last week. Over the weekend, my student Scout traveled to London for a job interview. She visited the British Museum and sought out the abducted Caryatid. "It gave me shivers," Scout said. "She wasn't screaming anymore, she was just furious."

Hey everybody!!! Thought I'd try this out especially since it includes a nifty map! Well I'm still in Athens staying with Lefteris at his brother's apartment. I've had a great time with Lefteris and his family which is very big and loud, lots of yelling and eating ;) last night we ate dinner with his parents, aunt and uncle, brother, and cousin at a very fancy restaurant that looks ...

... was very interesting. We new better from our experiences in Egypt that people standing outside tourist sites offering to be a guide aren't qualified to give such a tour and the things they are saying are mostly made up. Never fear, Rick Steves was to the rescue. Apparently the Acropolis was used a gunpowder storage and was accidentally blown up twice, once by lightning. We ended up staying at the ...

... you guys are in for a nightmare once you cross that border". I note now that although he was showing us a list of supplements (despite our ticket being theoretically for the whole distance) he did communicate that supplements would be applied randomly and repeatedly, and there was no way of knowing in advance. Some of you will be aware that I like to consider myself something of an avid student of government, and part of the intrigue of visiting Greece was to ...

... a last time. I'm not taking much, I like traveling as light as possible, so this won't take long. One last check to see if everything in the house is okay to leave for a couple of weeks without returning to a mess. All is fine so after a shower and a last cup of coffee I'm off to the airport.

... any amplification. Our next stop in the car was the small village town on the sea called Nafplio. This was a highlight for us...a quaint town with lots of nice restaurants and shops and a picturesque setting overlooking the sea. Unfortunately with only one night in town we didn't have enough time to hike up to the Venetian Fort Palamidi, a huge hilltop castle overlooking the town, but we got a good taste of the local atmosphere and ...

... was directly in the center of Syntagma Square, across from the Parliament and walking distance to the Acropolis (and everything else we wanted to see - from the balcony). We quickly put down our stuff and showered, exhausted but so excited that our vacation had finally begun. Soon Alli and Chad (yes he was wearing his Guinness shirt) called from the McDonald's across the street, making sure we were there in case security wouldn't let them in the hotel  (which they did), and ...