Destination: Early Civilization

Hello all. We're here again to write about our latest adventures. After leaving a rather chilly Romania, we took our train from Bucharest to Thessaloniki, Greece and then down to Athens. Needless to say the 26 hour train ride was less than relaxing. Aside from being woken up four times at border crossings and choking on cigarette smoke, when you sleep in a sleeper car on a train you are constantly awoken by screeching brakes and the fear of rolling off the top bunk when you make a sudden stop. But, we knew it would all be worth it when we took the eight hour train ride from Thessaloniki to Athens, riding through the mountains and countryside of Greece; it was amazing. The landscape is very similar to California's rolling hills and deserty climate. It made me rather homesick. We eventually arrived in Athens, found a hostel and got settled in. I think it is safe to say that I could probably go a couple years without ever riding a train, and wouldn't be any worse for it.
Our first day was spent walking around the city trying to get our bearings. We knew right off that Athens would be a city we really enjoyed. The people here are really friendly and family oriented and their culture is so rich and steeped in history. Just down the street from our hostel is the Temple of the Olympian Zeus which is a great temple with its pillars still standing. Luckily for us the annual Athens Marathon happened the very next day after our arrival. It supposedly traces the path that the very first marathon took. It was absolutely amazing, and really lucky. The first places went to a man from Kenya and a woman from Ethiopia.
The following day was spent at the Acropolis and the markets. The Acropolis, including the Parthenon, sits atop a hill overlooking the entire city. You can go up and climb all over and ancient part of Greece (while that doesn't seem the best thing for conservation purposes). It was so amazing seeing these structures built thousands of years ago that were built with such ingenuity...and are still standing. We spent a few hours there climbing hills and exploring these ancient ruins, then went down the hill to the outdoor markets. They sell fruits and vegetables as well as clothes, jewelry and lots touristy items. Undoubtedly we were spent after that day.
Other days included as trip to the national archaeological museum (which I found extremely boring and looooooooong). One day we decided to take a trip to one of the islands so we and three of our new friends joined in, Paul from Canada, Mike from Florida, and Gemma from Britain. We took the ferry in the mornign to the island of Aegina and got some fruit at a local boat market thing. We later rented scooters and zoomed around the island which were tons of fun. Amanda was the coolest looking with her little red scooter named "Chappy" and her matching oversized red helmet (the safest of the bunch offered). Rick we now know why you love riding your bike so much. It was a blast. They were not too fast only got up to about 60 k for us Americans that's about 37 mph, but they were super fun. We traversed all over the island visited the beach and saw an amazing temple at the top of the island. It was very well preserved and was marvelous to see. See the pictures below. Then we caught the last ferry home. To say it was a really great day. Especially with the great new friends we now have.
Well, tomorrow we get up bright and early to catch a morning train to Meteora. It is a city right in the middle of Greece where monasteries are built right into the sides of mountains. Seth is really looking forward to seeing them and getting back into camping would be really nice right about now. See ya later!

P.S. You must try the souvlaki in Greece its to die for. Its the best fast food anything I have had. If you don't know what it is look at the picture and then look it up on google.

P.P.S. We are thinking of an October 2006 wedding so save the month for us.

Now the pictures (long overdue):

Acropolis/ and other ruins Pictures:













Market Place:



Me and the birds:



The Marathon:



The original Olympic Stadium:



Souvlaki:



National Gallery:







Our trip to Aegina:

Amanda and our ferry:



Boat fruit stand:



Like father like daughter:



The cool safe helmet:



A local church on the island:



Cool dudes on my hog:



The whole crew:





Mis:

Gemma, Mike, Paul, Amanda and I on the tallest hill in Athens



Paul giving me one of his $50 dollar cuts for free:



View from the top of our hostel:



Thats our ferry behind us.



Sunset picture for my father:



Room one gang (left to right; Gemma, Me, Amanda, Hannah, Barrel, and Carly) :