Greek (or is Grecian?) Vacation

Friday, Dec 1 – Sunday, Dec 3: Athens

In the morning my family arrived at the Athens airport dehydrated and sleep-deprived after a really long night flight from Montreal. They all had huge grins on their faces despite their uncomfortable 11-hour journey across the pond. This European vacation was a first for most of them so their exhaustion didn’t get them down. Everyone was able to make it except for my future brother-in-law, Alex. Unfortunately, a business trip...so he says :)...kept him from joining us. Alex, we missed you!

Bill’s mom was still in town, so shortly after my family arrived we all had a great lunch together in Glyfada. The rest of the afternoon was spent getting settled in (which was easy for my sister Alisha since her luggage was still somewhere between Montreal and Athens). That evening John took us to a wonderful traditional taverna for more food and live music. This was where everyone realized why I had been talking so much about the food here, especially the cheese. We had huge plates of feta, great saganaki, and many cheese pies. It was natural that they would love all the cheeses but to my surprise they even ate all of the paithakia (grilled lamb ribs) and loved it.

As of Saturday morning, still no luggage for Alisha. Mom, Missy and I offered her our clothes but since Alisha is over 6 feet tall, she didn’t take us up on the offer. As a result, she was stuck in the outfit she wore for the flight over… you’ll notice in the pictures why she got the nickname “Pinky.”

Later that day the sightseeing began. Bill and I spent the day showing off Athens. We visited the Acropolis, the Parthenon, and the Plaka. It was a beautiful day and although Bill and I had been to these spots a few times before, it was nice to experience them with my family in the fall. It was hard to believe that just a few months earlier, Bill and I were visiting the Parthenon in shorts and flip flops.

Sunday, Dec 3 – Tuesday, Dec 5: Hydra

After lots of unsuccessful phone calls to the airline in search of Alisha’s luggage, we decided to leave Athens for the island of Hydra (and after four days of the same outfit, the nickname “Pinky” morphed into “Stinky”—just kidding, Alisha!). Instead of the direct ferry from Piraeus, we decided to take the scenic and more exciting route over the Corinth Canal and down the east coast of the Peloponnesus to the village of Galatas. From Galatas we hopped on a small water taxi that took us to the island of Poros in all of about 3 minutes. Poros is separated from the Peloponnesus by a very small passage of water (actually, the Greek word poros means passage…am I sounding like a Greek yet?). Poros seemed like another charming island worth visiting, but we only had time to sit in the harbor and sip Nescafe’s and hot chocolates while we waited for our boat to Hydra.

That evening we arrived on Hydra and to our surprise, we were all blown away by the island. Because of its close proximity to Athens, we were afraid the island would have been spoiled over the years by tourism. Fortunately, the island still seemed to be untouched. Hydra once was once a thriving port, even trading directly with North America. In its hey-day it was inhabited by 40,000 people and now only holds a mere 3,000. No cars are allowed on the island of Hydra so we were greeted by donkeys, as they are the main mode of transportation on the island. This was a far cry from the hustle and bustle of Athens. So for my family, it was an awesome first exposure to village life. Over the next two days we saw gorgeous sunsets and another huge full moon (our fifth, and sadly, final one here in Greece). We ate at fabulous tavernas and strolled through many of the harbor town’s cobblestone streets.

Monday morning we were all shocked to see Alisha’s luggage come off the ferry from Piraeus. The pink outfit was officially retired… possibly forever?

Tuesday, December 4 – Wednesday, December 5: Delphi

We reluctantly said our goodbyes to Hydra and headed back to the mainland. After many hours in the car we arrived in Delphi that evening. We had a very lively dinner at a local taverna that included many carafes of the house wine, most of which was consumed by my brother-in-law Nathan who seemed to particularly enjoy ordering wine by the kilo.

The next morning we set out to see what else, other than wine, Delphi had to offer. Bill and I had been through Delphi once before, but because we had never visited the ancient sites, this was another first for us. Delphi is amazing in so many ways. It lies on the southern slopes of the Parnassos Mountains, overlooking thousands of olive trees that fill the valley below. You can even see the Gulf of Corinth in the distance. And if the view alone isn’t enough, the ancient ruins are incredible. Delphi is over 3,000 years old and was once considered the center of the world by the Ancient Greeks, mainly because it was the site of the most sacred oracle of the time. We visited the remains of the Temple of Apollo, a large amphitheater, and a very well-preserved stadium. My family loved Delphi, and Bill and I would have been very disappointed if we hadn’t squeezed it in before leaving Greece.

Wednesday, Dec 6 – Thursday, Dec 7: Meteora

So, if you’ve been keeping up, you’ve already heard me talk about Meteora; I won’t bore you with the details. But I will say that it was equally impressive the third time around. We visited the monasteries of Agios Stephanos, Roussaneau, and Greater Meteora. Most of my family said this was now their favorite part of the trip, but then again I had heard that the day before. Actually, I think this was my Mom’s favorite part of the trip. She really enjoyed the monasteries and their spectacular views. I think she felt the same kind of rejuvenation that I experience every time I visit Meteora. It’s truly unlike any other place on earth.

Thursday, Dec 7 – Sunday, Dec 10: Thessaloniki and Vergina

Heading up to Thessaloniki we stopped for lunch in the restored traditional village of Pallio Panteleimonas, now one of our favorites. Thursday evening in Thessaloniki we had a little down time from all the traveling we had been doing. Friday was spent touring the sites of the city, which took all day with all the stops we were making along the way. You see, there are tons of stray cats and dogs in Greece and walking with two veterinarians meant stopping every few minutes to pet a stray.

On Saturday, Thia Eugenia had us all over for lunch. To our surprise most of Bill’s family was also there. Thia had made a humongous spread of food like she always does. It was a really special afternoon because it was the first time my family met many of Bill’s cousins here in Greece.

Sunday afternoon we snuck in one more side trip before my family piled into the rental car to head back to Athens. We visited Vergina, the tomb of King Phillip II of Macedonia. We had been here two times before, but it was so remarkable that it warranted another trip. My family was amazed with what has remained inside the burial site for so many years. In particular, my Dad looked shocked when he first saw the grand entrance of the King Phillip’s tomb, totally intact after 2,300 years.

Upon my family’s arrival in Athens, Iro prepared another fabulous meal for them, and on Monday, John shuffled them all off to the airport for their flight home. We just can’t thank John and Iro enough for all of their generosity over the past 5 months, not only to us, but to all of our family and friends that have visited us over here.

I was so glad that my family came to Greece. We all had so much fun together…it was definitely a trip of a lifetime!

Just a few days left in Greece for Bill and me…we’ll try to squeeze in one more goodbye post before we head home. Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season back home…we miss you all and look forward to seeing you soon!

Kala Christouyenna!

Amanda