Delphi 2010

Clearly, I'm becoming a wee bit baby-obsessed! But I don't want to forget our lovely trip to Europe... in part because, with Mike's new job, I've been kissing him goodbye in the morning (during our 7 minutes of quality time) and often not seeing him again until the NEXT morning.

In comparison, the Europe trip was an embarrassment of riches. We had so much time to chat and sight-see. It was really just about the two of us. And as we move forward with the hectic pace of our current schedule, I don't want to forget that. I don't want to forget how important it is to make "just the two of us" time.

So.

I'm going to put up one more post for each of the places we visited. In Greece, we've still got to cover Delphi, Crete, and Naflpio.

Delphi is a definite contender for my favorite spot on the trip. We were only there for one day and night... but every moment was memorable. The Temple of Apollo was amazing... and much less crowded than all the Athens sights. The guidebook really built a picture of how these breathtaking ruins used to function.

The Treasury of the Athenians

Temple of Apollo


Theater (4th century B.C.)

Stadium for the Pythian Games

Next to the ruins was a perfect little museum--not too small, not too big, with a variety of pieces (small finds interspersed with statues and building ornamentation, dishes and jewelry placed next to huge blocks of marble).

After our investigation of the sanctuary and museum, we headed back through the modern town of Delphi. The alleys and streets were gorgeous, with plants growing on balconies and windowsills, then hanging down the warm stone walls. We had beautiful views on our whole walk back to the hotel, where we showered and rested before an awesome dinner.

Everywhere we looked inspired awe.

(Note to future Delphi travelers: the Acropoli Hotel might be a bit expensive, but it's worth it! It was our only Greek room that consistently had both air conditioning and hot water. And did I mention the views from the balcony? Gorgeous, as you'll see below.)

Dinner at the Taverna Vakchos: some of the best food on our trip. The salads consisted primarily of incredible olives. For an appetizer, we had fried local cheese with lime juice. And Mike is still dreaming of his entree--rooster with wine sauce on a bed of bucatini pasta. Our appetites were primed from all the hill-hiking, and the view was, again, truly awesome. We ate on a covered patio, surrounded by clean air and grapevines. Who could ask for a prettier dining experience?

Driving to Delphi

It took us five hours to get to Delphi--two and a half hours longer than advertised. If you're asking why, you've clearly never been driving in Greece.

The good news is that we survived this ordeal and, surprisingly, so did our marriage. And now that it's over, we can look back and laugh.

Several factors contributed to the long drive.

1. In Europe, they don't fill the rental car gas tanks... you have to do that. Our pit stop for petrol turned into a forty-minute odyssey--first trying to find the gas station, then trying to get back on the freeway after wards.
2. It was hard to match the map to actual driving conditions; some towns (and many roads) didn't appear on the map at all. Others were spelled multiple ways in English--on the map, on various road signs, and it made us nervous. (Lavidia, Livadia, Leveida... same town? You be the judge!) This made for several painful detours and mis-turns.
   
3. Our fear of getting lost had us driving through rather than around several towns.

Things got better once we (a) obtained huge bottles of water and (b) figured out how to turn on the air-conditioning. Still, Mike had to contend with a pretty crazy driving culture. Everyone in Greece goes fast, nobody uses turn signals, and the painted lines for lanes seem to be negotiable guidelines more than anything else. People love to pass slow (re: speed limit abiding) vehicles. It doesn't seem to matter whether the road is curved or straight, in the flat lands or the mountains. Cars were pulling all kinds of death-defying stunts.

Mike did what he could to assimilate, but our little tin can of a car was not made for aggressive driving. (Aggressive parking? Definitely.) The engine struggled every time we passed someone, turned a sharp corner, or went uphill. I could hear it humming frantically even as Mike would chant, "you can do it! You can do it!"

One thing's for sure: we will never forget our adventures in that orange Fiat Panda.

Athens: Other Sites

Other sites we visited in Athens included the Roman Forum, also known as the Agora. It was built by the Romans after they conquered Greece. While the ruins were very tumble-down (and the plaques were few and far between, we got an excellent view of some mosaic floors.




The Library of Hadrian was built in 2nd century A.D. and once contained a library, lecture halls, garden, and art gallery.


It may not be a typical tourist activity to attend the open-air markets, but this was one of our favorite things to do in Greece! The market in Athens did not disappoint. We enjoyed the shiny mounds of olives, as well as the butcher stations full of recognizable animals (as opposed to ambiguous meat blobs).


We toured several flea markets and plakas, but didn't really take any pictures. Then it was off to the Temple of Olympian Zeus (started in 6th century B.C., finished by Hadrian 7 centuries later) and Arch of Hadrian (2nd century A.D.)


The Temple of Zeus was truly impressive; it's the largest temple in ancient Greece and originally stood 360 feet by 145 feet.






Having traipsed about for a good portion of the day, I entered my "fatigued and obnoxious" phase of the tour. Poor Mike--it's a wonder he didn't pitch me over the wall into some unlabeled archeological dig. We cut through the National Gardens to get a respite from the heat. Hurray for shade!

I wasn't fully recovered, however. My attention wandered a bit at the Byzantine and Christian Museum... tragic, really, as it had a huge collection of art and artifacts pertaining to my favorite era of history. (By the time we got to the awesome display on the fall of Constantinople, I was like, "hey, look. More religious icons. Whatever." So sad!)

Athens: Acropolis

Any sightseeing tour to Athens must include the Acropolis. This ancient "city on a hill" is quite awesome, in the true sense of the word. It still dominates Athens--you can see the ruins from everywhere else in the city.


As my travel journal will attest, words cannot adequately convey the grandeur of the ruins. There's no way to fully describe the experience of walking through ancient Greek ruins... of finally seeing the things you've read about for so long, of absorbing artifacts and staring at plaques that make history come alive. My original attempts to write about it involved such salient phrases as "this was cool" and "wow." Rather than bore you with such inadequate phrases, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

On our second day in Athens, we arrived at the Acropolis as soon as it opened. We worked our way slowly uphill, with many pauses for water breaks. (Athens may have few public bathrooms, but they've very wisely placed drinking fountains at all of the major sites... we were grateful for every opportunity to refill our water bottles!)

Some of our first sights included the Theater of Dionysus and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. Later--at the top of the hill--we viewed both ruins from a breathtaking distance.

The Odeon, a music hall built in A.D. 161, still hosts performances during the annual Athens Festival. We attended a concert at night, but had to leave at intermission--I'd fallen asleep twice, and Mike was afraid I'd take a fatal tumble down the steep stone seating. (Oh, jet lag...)

The Theater of Dionysus: Reason for my grin? This is where Sophocles watched his plays performed during the Golden Age! These photos capture me thinking of of Oedipus and Antigone... having a literature/history geek moment of truly epic proportions.

The Acropolis contains some truly marvelous examples of "shock and awe" engineering. Everything was designed to overwhelm original visitors to the city... and it still works for tourists today! Here we are at the Propylaea, grand entrance to the Acropolis.

Our two favorite buildings up top were the Parthenon and the Erechtheion. It was hard to get good pictures, as the sun was merciless and the entire Acropolis swarmed with tourists. We did our best, though!

Parthenon:


Erechtheion:


Of course, the up side of having so many fellow tourists around was that people were always willing to take pictures for us.


Many of the original sculptures, as well as artifacts found during excavation and renovation, are now housed at the New Acropolis Museum. We had a lovely ramble through the museum at the start of our third (and final) day in Athens. Unfortunately, there were no photos allowed.

Perhaps one of the best things about the Acropolis was the view of other ruins. We got a sneak peek at the attractions we'd be visiting later.

the Temple of Hephaistos in the Ancient Agora (marketplace):


the Temple of Olympian Zeus:

Athens: Fabulous Food

Apologies for the delay in blogging. Leaving the country for a month means that you have LOTS of house/yard work to catch up on once you're home. (Of course, it's totally worth it!) Then there's that whole pesky day job thing...

Of course, it's kind of nice to take a pause in the midst of my hectic to-do list and remember our lovely vacation.

At the moment, I'm having "taste memory" of some of the delicacies we tried in Athens. Unfortunately, our jet lag meant we slept through several opportunities to eat (a misfortune that was NOT repeated on the rest of the trip).

Generally speaking, we'd have two meals a day: breakfast, and late dinner (though often with a snack in between). This was easy to do... the heat made us crave water, not food! Dinner was always a spectacularly filling affair and often took several hours to consume. (The wait staff in Europe isn't quite so concerned with hurrying you through your meal... you can sit for hours at a cafe table with only a lemon soda, and they'll just let you be.)

Our best meal in Athens was definitely Xenios Zeus on the Mnisikleous Steps. To get to this taverna near the base of the Acropolis, we had to walk up several winding alleyways. The view was gorgeous: grapevines and rooftops.


We had an insanely tasty feast, prepared simply with fresh ingredients. The salad was one of the best I've ever tasted, though it was just lettuce, salad greens, and lemon juice. We mixed it with a taramasalata (fish roe dip). There was also super garlicky bread as well as an olive tray. And this was just the first course!


Next came fried eggplant.


When the calamari came out, we thought (a) "We didn't order onion rings!" and (b) "This must be the main course."

We were wrong. There was also fish, still on the bone and absolutely delicious... crunchy skin, tender flesh, and lots of lemon.


This was also the meal in which Mike and I discovered that we are not the biggest fans of ouzo. Bummer! Still, it was nice to try the local libation and get another (literal) taste of the culture.


Next up: some actual sightseeing photos!

Athens Impressions

Athens hotel: Marble House Pension

• Lovely owner who gave us maps and sightseeing recommendations
• Inexpensive and within walking distance of major sights
• Thin walls... experienced when the inebriated Australians on our floor locked themselves out, chatted merrily at the top of their lungs, and then vomited copiously.

Acclimating to Europe

This was my first encounter with a European shower: a tiny square of porcelain, water nozzle on a hose, and two drains... one in the tiled bathroom floor, one in the "stall" itself. Want some walls, or a shower curtain? No way. And hot water? Well... maybe if you're lucky.

Another common sight in Europe: the scooter. Scooters zipped between the multiple lanes of street traffic, often jumping up to the sidewalk to circumvent slow spots and scatter pedestrians. We saw lots of crazy scooter driving in both Greece and Italy. What we didn't see were helmets!

Athens itself

Our first day in Athens fell casualty to monster jet lag. On our second day, we woke up long before anything was open and strolled down the Dionysiou Areopagitou and Apostolou Pavlou. These streets, which border the Acropolis, were redone for the 2004 Olympics. Flowering bushes and trees lined the wide cobblestone avenues, perfuming the air with the scents of sage and sugar. We had the ruins mostly to ourselves--and we certainly didn't mind sharing with that tortoise.

Outside of this area, Athens was an exhausting blend of the ancient and modern. There were many Greek Orthodox churches and squares--not landmarks, just a beautiful part of the city.

Athens was HUGE! The city seemed to spread forever, a mix of bustling thoroughfares and narrow back-alleys. Even from the vantage point of the Acropolis, we couldn't see an end to the buildings.

It seemed that everyone in Athens smoked. There was an ashtray on every cafe table, and the smell lingered in the air--mixing with the oppressively sweet odor of rotting garbage. Also prevalent in Athens: feral cats. The stray felines were everywhere... in the streets, on porches, or hanging out at the ruins. The only exception was the Acropolis; apparently, only tourists feel compelled to climb that high in the heat!

The 2010 Photo?

We are back from our amazing vacation in Greece and Italy!

I imagine it will take me a few days to organize the many photos we took... and even longer to clean them up, then post the generally interesting ones. (I sincerely doubt you all want to see pictures of every hotel room.)

In the mean time, however, I've decided to copy Tara's brilliance. On her blog sidebar, she's posted a family picture from each autumn (going back to 2006). I am going to do the same, and our 2010 photo will definitely come from the trip. So... which of the following do you like best?

1. Athens (in front of the Parthenon)

2. Crete (Captain Nick the Greek's boat)

3. Florence (Ponte Vecchio)


4. Montepulciano (Tuscan Hills)

Sun Lakes Camping Extravaganza

To revisit my twin themes of (a) belated picture posting and (b) my families getting along... the Sun Lakes camping trip from Mother's Day weekend!

My sister-in-law (D) meets her family for an annual camping trip in Sun Lakes. Last year, D expanded the trip to include her in-laws (Mike and me, the eldest brother's family, and the grandparents). In 2010, the trip got even bigger! My parents joined, as did one of D's close friends. There were kids running around everywhere, food being cooked at all hours of the day, and some pretty cutthroat games of hand and foot.

Mike and I won every round, in case you're curious.

My father was happy to take Mike and James (Mike's middle brother) out for two days of fishing on Banks Lake. I spent a lot of time napping and snacking, though there was a poorly played game of miniature golf...

Super Special Travel Plans!

When I was an undergrad, I completed a Group Independent Study Project (GISP) on children's literature. What does this mean?

(a) I got college credit for reading Harry Potter
(b) I wrote literary analysis on Mary Anne Spier and Logan Bruno
(c) At age 20, I had a sleepover party and played the Sweet Valley High board game
(d) I made some excellent lifelong friends
(e) All of the above, and then some!

It was one of my best college experiences, mostly because I've stayed in touch with the other women in the GISP. After graduation, we continued to have semi-regular reunions. But then people started moving away from the Providence area. Now, we are spread throughout Boston, New York, Washington, and Alaska. So when we want to get together, we have to have a Super Special.

Those of you who read the Baby-sitter's Club books know the term "Super Special." They were the thick white books chronicling the club's group vacations. The GISP had our first Super Special last year, when everyone flew out for my wedding.

Starting tomorrow, we're on our next Super Special: GISP Alaskan Adventure! I can't wait. Everyone's been joking that, if our vacation runs true to the BSC model, we will care for adorable toddlers (and meet equally adorable men with accents) on our trip.

I am more than happy to do without both kinds of adorable. I am just excited to hang out with my friends and see Alaska!

I'm sure I'll have all kinds of pictures and stories when I return. For now, I leave you with an image from the first GISP Super Special:

Our Honeymoon

I know this is ridiculously out of order, and that Mike and I have now been married for over six months... so it seemed like the perfect time to tell you about our honeymoon! (Does that mean that the wedding posts are over? Oh, no! That would be too logical!)

Mike and I did something lovely for our honeymoon: we took a whole week off, and we spent part of it at home. We got married on a Saturday, hosted a brunch on a Sunday, and didn't leave for Cannon Beach (Oregon) until Wednesday.

You don't need the details of our mushiness. Suffice to say that we had an excellent time. We spent a lot of it lazing around and just enjoying one another's company. There were also long walks on the beach and some truly excellent food. We took a trip to Astoria in search of Goonies memorabilia and ended up discovering the Lunar Boy Gallery. Artwork for our home--what a great souvenir! (Real paintings, not just poster prints sold in the college quad! It's like I'm a real grown up at last...)

Last but not least, what coastal trip would be complete without a stop in Raymond (Washington) to mock the rusty two-dimensional statues?

Auld Lang Syne

During my adolescence I thought it quite profound to discuss the question, "If you found out that you were going to die, who would you call? What would you say? And why are you waiting?" At the time, my answers (not surprisingly) always involved confronting the object of my latest heartbreak and/or secret crush. He would, of course, be moved to tears by my eminent demise and tragic love scenes would ensue.

Then I moved out on my own, and I was a bit too busy paying for electricity to worry myself with such matters. But now I have a husband, a house, and (gasp) steady access to health care. This is all wonderful. But I've discovered that with great security comes great complacency.

Don't get me wrong. I love my life. I love my husband. And I'm no longer gaining perverse satisfaction from imagining dire deathbed scenes. But it recently occurred to me that we've put off having kids specifically so that we can experience certain things and accomplish certain goals before we put our energy into parenthood. Sounds smart, right? And maybe it would be, if we didn't spend so much of our time (a) engrossed in the banality of everyday tasks or (b) whining about our lack of energy and lazing about the house.

So this year, I'm not making a virtuous new year's resolution. I'm not going to try to exercise more, or lose weight, or (heaven forfend) quit whining about things that annoy me. Instead, my resolution is to quit waiting. Quit waiting for the perfect circumstances. Quit plodding away at the daily to-do list and instead start crossing off things on a list I actually care about. Here are the top five things I'll quit waiting to do:

(1) Travel more. Mike and I want to take interesting vacations, but he keeps saying that we don't have the time or the money. To break us out of that mindset, I'm determined to orchestrate four mini-breaks to local destinations (one mini-break per season). In winter 2009, we will take the train to Portland, OR for two nights at the Benson Hotel. I've already made reservations!

(2) Spend more time with family. My grandmothers are getting older and my nephews and nieces are growing fast! Why guilt-trip over our lack of contact when I could reinvest that time in actual visits?

(3) Take classes. As a Christmas gift, Mike signed me up for an online writing class with Patricia Kay. I'm so excited! I'd also love to study some non-writing things. At some point (I don't know if it will be 2009), I would like to take Latin again.

(4) Finish Revising Mr. Right and submit it to at least four agents. This one's self-explanatory!

(5) Read five non-romance novels. (Aside from Water for Elephants, which many people have recommended to me, these are all books that I've started before and long to finish.)

• Dracula (Bram Stoker)
• Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
• Water for Elephants (Sara Gruen)
  
• Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945 (David Kennedy)
  
• King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa (Adam Hochschild)
  

Whew! This turned out to be quite a long post (to say nothing for a long list). I'll wrap up with that most interesting of questions: what is your new year's resolution? Best wishes to you in 2009!

Tammy's Wedding

This holiday weekend, I was at my friend Tammy's wedding in South Carolina. I just got back from the longest airplane adventure of my life, and I'm exhausted. But I couldn't resist putting up a few photos. Aren't these great?

Tammy and Ahmad were married in an intimate ceremony on Kiawah Island, their favorite vacation spot. Tammy, as you can see, was quite gorgeous--and terrifyingly organized! There's no way I'm going to pull off this kind of elegant, seamless affair.

The flip-flops in our welcome bags came in handy as we explored the island. In addition to the wedding, we all went to the resort's Fourth of July buffet and saw some truly spectacular fireworks. Other fun memories from the trip:

• Ahmad and Tammy took us to one of their favorite restaurants, where we had buckets of shrimp and oysters. Yum!
• Maren and I indulged in an ocean dip, despite the fact that we'd forgotten our bathing suits. I love swimming in the Atlantic--it's so warm!
  
• Tammy wanted a traditional girl-gathering before she got married at 6:30pm. So we met for an early lunch consisting of kimche, Ramen, and gossip!
  

The best, by far, was watching Tammy and Ahmad staring at each other in that gooey newlywed fashion. Their ceremony was truly moving, and they have my congratulations and best wishes!