It's All Greek To Us!

It was 11 pm at night, and I thought that the kids had already provided about as much entertainment as they possibly could. But always the over-achiever, Brody can entertain us...even in his sleep. From climbing invisible stairs to our bathroom (it was on the same level of the rest of the room) to taking a tour of our armoire closet (which you could not really walk in), we learned a whole new side of Brody as his slept walked through Greece. And let's not forget the night he woke me up to tell me there was a snake in his bed, and it turned out to be the lining of his blanket. That time he wasn't even asleep.

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BRODY COMMENTARY: And let it be noted that in Dad's past he, while sleep walking, once peed on the washer and dryer in the middle of the night.

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As with most of our trips, it started with a bleary eyed drive to the airport at about 5am. Luckily we had our friendly taxi driver, Janusz, to get us there safely. We flew Krakow to Athens via Munich, with only a 30 minute layover. Because our plane was a few minutes late (that's another story), we got a special pick up in a van that took us directly to our connecting flight, and our luggage even made it. Ariana said she felt like a star in her own private limo going to our private jet. Imagination is a great thing. Now back to the "other story." We realized our plane was going to depart Krakow late as we sat in the bus next to the plane for about a half hour while a sniffing Golden Retriever checked out the plane for anything illegal or explosive. Apparently, the plane had not been appropriately secured over night, and this was the procedure. What fun. At least the dog got a treat for trying.

In the picture to the right and above...note that it looks like Ariana is holding a "Brody Doll!" Check it out by clicking on it.

We arrived at our hotel, a nice Marriott--in a somewhat seedy area--near the center of Athens, with a distant view of the Acropolis from our balcony. After the usual conversation of "What do you want to do?" "I don't know. What do you want to do?" we decided to go for a swim on the rooftop swimming pool. Our polar bear, Ariana, was not phased by the freezing water, and did timed races across the pool. Corey enjoyed the hot tub, while Chris and Brody read on the lounge chairs.

Then the real Greece began with a trip the National Archealogical Museum where we saw a wonderful selection of sculptures from 2000-3000 years ago. It's the little things that make museums fun for kids. As we departed, we spent countless minutes on a makeshift marble slide on the side of the stairs leaving the museum. Fortunately, they had their fleece jackets to speed their descent AND to clean the marble! The night ended with our usual quest for gyros and hummus, which we

seemed to find in great abundance.

The next morning we took an amazing walking tour of Athens. Our guide showed us an archaeological section that has been preserved in the metro station while explaining the history of the area from pre-historic times to present day. (All in about 10 minutes, very impressive). We have come to enjoy these walking tours as the guides always have interesting stories that can make the history come alive for adults and kids.

The highlight of course was the Acropolis, home to the Parthenon, an amphitheater, and several other structures from the 5th century BC. This brought back fond memories for Corey of his to scale model of the Parthenon that he built in about 6th grade at St. Mark's. The real thing looked just like the model! Ariana showed a really high interest in the Parthenon, and filmed 2 videos to show her classmates. That afternoon, we strolled through other parts of the old ruins of Athens.

Our final full day in Athens was quite nice with a hike up to the top of the Filopappos Hill, across from the Acropolis. As we discovered, it is the place from which all great photos of the Parthenon are taken. And, of course, we had to hit the local battleships just to appease Brody. Another day, another battleship!

Santorini would be our next stop, but a 7 hour ferry ride at 7:30am stood in the way. So, with Corey loaded up on Dramamine and Brody and Ariana loaded up with books and gum, we hit the open seas.

As you arrive in Santorini from the north, one immediately sees the intrigue of this island.

It is formed from a volcano, still active but dormant since the 1950's. The city is situated on top of the cliffs that overlook the Mediterranean. We stayed in a great hotel with a view over the cliffs, and a nice Polish guy running the joint. We had 2 and 1/2 days of fun ahead of us.

Our activities ranged from hiking on the crater of the volcano to swimming from our pirate style tour boat, about 50 meters to a hot springs in a cove nearby. The water is crystal clear, as you can see the bottom which is probably at least 50-75 feet down. Here's how it went at the springs. Ariana psyched to get in the water gets in line first and touches the water with her foot and realizes it is colder than expected. So, of course, Dad has to get in first...and yes it is darn cold shall we say. the other 3 cautiously follow while I try to keep a smile on my face pretending I am not cold. As we start to swim away from the boat, Ariana informs me between labored breaths that "I can't make it and I am getting salt in my mouth." I was glad she told me then rather than further from the boat. We returned Ariana to the boat, a little scared, but no worse for the wear after a drink and some chips. Brody and Chris made it to the hot springs and rubbed mud on their bodies that of course have some unknown medicinal qualities. They just looked dirty to me. Brody was very proud to have swum such a long distant in cold sea water. That day was very active and full of adventure.

We should also mention that we had a fun 30 minute walk down the road from the top of the cliffs to the boat. Ariana's quote was that "it was a poopy minefield." People have a choice of ascending / descending from the cliffs on foot or by donkey. And Ariana was exactly right. The walk down was a cautious walk around donkey excrement and dozens of donkeys too! Oh the memories. They say that smell is one of the things that renders the most vivid memories. If that is the case, we will remember that walk forever.

Our last full day in Santorini was also full of adventure facilitated by a full day car rental. This time, rather than hiking, we drove up a treacherous road to the city of Ancient Thira ruins (1215 feet up) from the 4th century BC. It was a white knuckle drive, but worth it, as we enjoyed the ruins and had a picnic lunch at the top. That day we also visited the quaint town of Oia.

And probably the highlights for the kids were visits to two black sand beaches, one called Red Beach which required a short hike to a magnificent beach that was deserted. There were only 5 or 6 other people there during the 2+ hours we spent there.

We watched the sun set on our wonderful vacation from a black sand beach,

with orange red cliffs behind us, all overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in

the Greek Islands. Sometimes I just can't believe I am writing these words. Cheers!