Cappadocia.....

I got a ride to the airport in Izmir from Nigel and John, two Brits that I had hooked up with in Selcuk.  They were flying back to Coventry and I was heading to the airport in Kayseri in the middle of Turkey.   Three of my friends, (Gino, Robert and Alan) had all strongly encouraged me to visit the Cappadocia area, and so I checked into one of the famous cave hotels in the town if Urgup.   Much of this area had been shaped by two volcanoes and the many inhabitants had carved their homes into the ancient lava formations.   Now, many of them have been renovated and turned into upscale hotel rooms.   The hotel where I am staying has a commanding view of this area and has about nine rooms available for the guests.   I had signed up for several tours and we were picked up at 9:30 on Wednesday morning to set off on a 3.5 mile hike through some of the most fantastic rock formations that I had ever seen.  The trail went through caves, hidden canyons and areas surrounded by sheer rock faces that jutted hundreds of feet in the air.  Many of them were carved by nature into unique shapes:  pyramids, pointed spears, mushrooms, etc.   The place looked like it could have been designed by a group of folks from Disney.  Absolutely unique and unforgettable.  After lunch, we visited one of the underground cities that had been used as a retreat for the local inhabitants whenever they had been attacked by their enemies.   The one that we explored went down about a hundred feet on seven levels.  Inside, there was room for over 5000 people.  It was a weird patchwork or tunnels, rooms, crawl spaces, and secret passages all interconnected.  It was SO easy to get disoriented in there because no two rooms were exactly alike.  Some were for storage, some were for making wine, some for sleeping, preparing food, waste products, etc.   It was an incredible maze of twisted tunnels, some so small you has to stoop over to squeeze on through.  It was certainly no place for anyone dealing with claustrophobia.  These underground cities had been added to for centuries and had been used, among others, by the early Christians to hide from their oppressors.  Really fascinating.  Tomorrow, I'm going on an early-morning balloon ride.

Hanging around Sirince and Kusadasi...

On Sunday, I checked out the Basillica of St. John, the Apostle.   Sure enough, in the center of what remains of the huge church is a marble slab with the inscription, "Tomb of St. John."    From there you can still see the one remaining pillar of the famous Temple of Artemis which is still listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.   The Basillica was almost as an imposing a structure as was the Temple.    Unfortunately both the museum as well as the fortress castle on the hill nearby we're closed for renovations.   In the Basillica, I met a friendly guy named Ed who hailed from Ft. Collins, Colorado, and so we set off together  to see what else the immediate area offered.   We walked around (and into) the Isabey Mosque which had also seen some better days.  From there, we headed back into town towards the bus terminal.  Along the way, you can still see the ruins of an old Roman aqueduct system that ran through the middle of town.   Several of the famous storks who migrate here every year have built huge nests on the top of a few of the remaining towers of the aqueduct as well as on many of the local telephone poles.  The good citizens of Selcuk have kindly erected special 6-foot wide circular platforms for the birds to use, and of course, they are protected from rascals who might do them harm.    As I am writing this, I'm listening to one of the wailing and mournful calls to prayer that are regularly piped over the loudspeakers at the mosque downtown.  Before they had audio technology, I understand that four men with strong voices would have to climb the minerets five times a day and sing in unison to the four directions.   Ed and I took a 20-minute ride in a minibus to a charming little mountain town called Sirince.  Once there, we wandered through the many narrow and cobbled streets of the town that twisted past hidden little bars and restaurants, lots of local folks promoting their wares and, of course, many bus loads of other tourists.  Every shop, it seemed sold the same blue and white ceramic circle that represented the infamous "Evil Eye" so often referred to in this part of the world.   The older women around here all dress pretty much the same:  flowery pantsuits, a knitted vest and a scarf tied over their head.   Ed was heading north to Istanbul on the overnight bus, so we bid farewell once we got back to Selcuk.   On Monday, I decided to to take a minibus over to the busy port city of Kusadasi where the cruise ships would disgorge their passengers who were bussing over to Ephesus.   Nothing too much to see here.   Lots of markets, restaurants, bars, and, if you're a shopper, some pretty good bargains to be made because of the lateness of the tourist season.  Off to Cappadocia tomorrow evening.

The ancient city of Ephesus....

Ephesus was actually mentioned in the book of Revelations by the apostle, St. John who lived here and is reputed to be buried at a local church.   He had moved here with the still-Virgin Mary in her later years.   Also walking the streets of Ephesus were Alexander the Great, Heraclitus and St. Paul who tried his best to win over these folks before finally leaving them to try his luck at convincing the Corinthians to give up their sinful ways.   At one time, this amazing city was home to over 250,000 inhabitants and was the site of the famous Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the  ancient World.  There's also a huge amphitheater in town that can seat 25,000 people for plays, debates, and athletic events.   Although they've been excavating these ruins for 150 years, it is generally agreed that they've only discovered about 15% of what's actually buried here.    There are still many many layers to be uncovered, so who knows what lies beneath?    You can see the locations of their shops, some of the homes for the wealthy, fountain and bathing areas, an aqueduct system, even an outdoor line of side-by-side toilets for the male inhabitants to use.   The guide said that slaves were ordered to sit and wait all day with their naked butts on the cold marble toilets so that the rich folks wouldn't have to endure the cold of the marble when they wanted to use the toilet. The library of Celsus here with its still  intact facade was considered to be the 3rd most important library in the ancient world.  (The famous library in Alexandra, Egypt, was the first, of course.).  After visiting the ruins and taking a lot of pictures, I got a ride back into Selcuk and spent a while going thought their huge open-air market that magically materializes ever Saturday and spreads out over several main streets and side streets.   As with other markets that I've seen in Greece, this one offers an incredible array of fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, and fish for sale.  The cabbages here are enormous....sometimes bigger than a large beach ball.   In other areas of the market, they have clothes, shoes, household items and just about anything else that you'd find at a local department store.   No special plans for tomorrow, so we'll just have to see what serendipity will bring.

Entering Turkey at Marmaris....

I took the one-hour catamaran from Rhodes to Marmaris yesterday afternoon and paid the 15 Euro required by the Turkish government to get a Visa for a US citizen.   They make the Aussies pay 45 Euro for the very same Visa.  I'm staying at the Hotel Dost which is about  a 10 minute walk from the beachfront.   Today, I bought a bus ticket up to Selcuk and reserved a room in a hotel up that there had been recommended by a fellow traveler.   Marmaris is a very picturesque seaside town whose open bay is surrounded by tall mountains.  There's a very long quay wall which is used as a dock by dozens of huge private yachts as well as by over a hundred large boats offering fishing, diving and sight-seeing expeditions to the tourists.   Most of them offer pretty much the same stuff and they all have their best English-speaking employees out in front to encourage the visitors to sign up for a one day (or shorter) cruise to the nearby islands.    On the other side of the walkway by the boats is an equally long stretch of bars and restaurants....all with very comfortable open seating....offering traditional and not-so-traditional food and libation.  Behind them, of course, are the stores and shops on the many streets and alleyways of Marmaris that sell everything imaginable.  The entire area along the waterfront here is exciting, alive and full of energy.  Very clean, uncluttered and welcoming.   I signed up for a 3-hour cruise over to a few coves around one of the islands and hooked up with several groups of Americans who were off of  one of the visiting cruise ships.   Very cool and, when the boat anchored, most of us jumped in the cool waters of the sapphire-colored Aegean.   Several observations:   Along the waterfront, there are more than a few kiosks that sell waffles, ice cream and, surprisingly, baked potatoes!    Most dishes both here and in Greece are often served with French fried potatoes. An interesting grouping of food.   Like they do in Greece, all of the rooftops have lots of the familiar stainless-steel cylinders of water along with, of course, the requisite solar panels used to heat the water.   There are very few trash barrels available, and, unfortunately, they charge you $$ to use any public rest room.   The toilets are often equipped with a dual mechanism that controls the amount of water being flushed.  Obviously, #2 gets more water than #1.   Off to see Ephesus tomorrow morning....

Visiting the acropolis at Lindos...

I took the 9:30 AM bus to Lindos, a small, picturesque coastal town about 80 minutes SW of the city of Rhodes. From the bus stop, you have to walk down a long hill to enter the areas for the shops and restaurants.  The buildings are generally grouped around the base of the acropolis and offer the choice of several steep pathways up to where the fortifications begin.  Lindos was in its golden age during the Archaic period during the 6th and 7th century BC.  The pillars of the Temple of Athena are still remarkably well preserved on top as are many of the original fortifications.  It's a long climb to the summit and visitors are encouraged to take advantage of the donkeys-for-rent that transport the tourists....for a price, of course....both up and down the steep incline of the acropolis.   At the end, you'll still have to climb another few hundred steps since the donkey ride stops at the base of the fortifications   At the top, though, there's a commanding view of both the town and of the sapphire-blue Aegean.  The town itself is a confusing maze of narrow streets (some so small, you can touch both sides of the street at the same time) and winding passageways offering the typical touristic items for sale, some pretty high-end.   Of course, there are many unique little restaurants and bars, each offering impressive views of the local beaches that lie at the base of the acropolis.   I'm always a bit surprised by how many of the stores here in Greece offer only ice creams and yogurts and all see to be doing quite well.   When I got back to Old Town in Rhodes, I had a great dinner overlooking the Main Square near the fountain.    I was supposed to take the 10:30 AM catamaran tomorrow to Turkey, but the boat company just sent me an email saying that they had cancelled the trip (not enough people) and we're rescheduling it for 5PM instead.    The extra time here will give me a chance to visit the famous museum just a few blocks away from my hotel.    More later....hopefully from Turkey.

On the road to Rhodes....

I got up early and caught a 9:30 AM flight to the island of Rhodes.   I had already booked a room for a few nights in Old Town, a special section of this Medevial city with Byzantine, French and Spanish influences stretching back to the Crusades.   The Old Town area is surrounded by a still-intact 10-foot thick stone wall complete with turrets, lookout towers and even a castle.   It is brimming with vitality and energy.   Lots of shops, winding pathways, hidden restaurants, ice cream parlours, bars, and hotels that cater to tourists who come from the air as well as those who are regularly discharged daily from the huge cruise ships that pull in here.   In the harbor today was the impressive Queen Elizabeth II of the Cunard Line.   Many of the restaurants an bars are protected from the sun by heavily-leafed wild fig trees that seem to be everywhere.  It's coming up on the end of the tourist season for these shop keepers, and so they're usually standing at the entrance to their stores to encourage anyone passing by to check out their wares.   Rhodes is similar to the shopping areas on Santorini only with wider streets.   The Medevial castle stone works are an added delight and their architecture intrudes into the landscape in unexpected ways.  You can only walk or ride motorbikes in Old Town.   If you're staying at a hotel, you'll have to drag your luggage down the street.   Taking the bus to Lindos tomorrow morning.   There's an acropolis there that's actually older than the one in Athens.  Took some pictures of the entrance to the harbor where the famous 100-foot high Colossus of Rhodes once planted his feet.   It was said that ships had to sail into the harbor between his gigantic legs.  More later....

The Athens planetarium....

I had read about the Athens Planetarium in the Lonely Planet book on Greece, and I wanted to check it out.   Very cool, indeed.   According to the boo, they boast that they have the largest and most technologically advanced digital planetarium in the world.    Well, it's big all right, and pretty damned impressive.   They show about eight different and rotating 45-minute shows on the stars, planet earth, nature and the seas.   All of these films are very well crafted and professionally presented with all of the latest special effects to add to the impact.    If you go, be sure to ask them for some earbuds so that you can enjoy the English translation.  Really cool stuff that I hadn't seen anywhere else.   In the same building, there are three levels of  fascinating hands-on experiments and exhibits for you to experience science and its relevance to your life.   It's geared for everyone from 9 to 90, and it's in English as well as in Greek.    Other impressions of Greece:  1) there are very very few obese people here.   I guess that their Mediterranean diet must be working. 2). Many of the houses have large water tanks with a solar panel attached.  Works quite efficiently to heat the water.    I've noticed that even in very expensive houses or hotels, there's a noticeable lack of electrical outlets that are available.   Probably at least half of what we have in the States.  BTW, I found that Greece to be somewhat  more expensive than what I had thought.     For example, at a hotel, you often pay extra to use the gym or the swimming pool and, of course, everything on every menu is usually ala carte. The people, though, are very friendly and helpful of you get lost or need help.   Smiling always helps.    Off to Rhodes onMonday...

Off to Meteora...

About 50 miles directly north of Delphi is the memorial to the famous battle of Thermopyles where, in 480 BC, 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians fought the million-man Persian army of Xerxes.  On the way down from Delphi, however, we first passed the intersection where King Oedipus met...and accidentally killed...his own father in an act of prideful arrogance.  Sophocles immortalised it all in his play Oedipus Rex.  The ride over to Meteora was long and mountainous, but we finally smoothed out and entered a wide and flat plain that stretched on for many miles.  Finally we arrived in Kalabaka, checked into one of the hotels for the night and crashed early.  In the morning, we drove into the nearby mountainous area where the 24 monasteries had been built hundreds of years ago and where they still perched precariously on the edge of these rocky cliffs.   In the old days, the only way in or out of most of these monasteries was by a basket lowered by a long rope attached to a pulley.   There are about six that are still occupied by monks and several of those are only for the nuns.   We visited two of these amazing places that are open to the public.  Lots of colorful religious icons, detailed paintings on the walls and ceiling depicting the deaths of the martyrs and the resplendent glories of the saints .....and all under the watchful eyes of a serious-looking Jesus painted on the dome forty feet overhead.  There were also small rooms full of bleached skulls and bones.... all stacked up like firewood ....that had been owned by the earlier residents of the monasteries.    After spending the morning trudging up and down these ancient staircases and taking lots of pictures, we finally headed south back to Athens.  More later....

Going to visit the Oracle....

Early on Tuesday morning, I got picked up by a tour bus at the now-familiar Athinais Hotel in Athens and headed off NW of the city to start the tour.   We drove by what was left of the city of Thebes and continued on to Delphi and the Temple of Apollo where the Oracle had answered questions from the famous and the not-so-famous for over 500 years.   We first went to the nearby Delphi Museum and got a tour of  some of the amazing art works that had been discovered at the actual site which was a few hundred yards away.   Then we all walked to the ruins itself and slowly climbed up towards the temple of Apollo and to the well-preserved theatre just above it.   Ancient Delphi is built on a mountainside with imposing granite cliffs at his back and a sweeping view of the countryside below.  The Oracle would be perched on a tripod-like chair in the center of Apollo's Temple and be, apparently, in some kind of trance that had been generated by some fumes seeping up from the ground below.  She would say something cryptic and then the priests would interpret her answer for the questioner.   This entire area was really quite a size able complex, and it even had its own treasury house to store the constant stream of gold and other gifts that had to be offered to Apollo before his Oracle could be approached.    Really quite an amazing place.    Afterwards, the bus dropped me off to stay at a hotel in the nearby "modern" city of Delphi few hundred yards away from the archeological dig.   This city focuses on catering to the many tourists which, during the high season, make their way up the mountains to visit this very extraordinary area.   Since this city is, quite literally, perched on a cliff , one edge of it boasts an overlook that drops several thousand feet almost straight down.   I haven't seen that great of a precipitous drop since first visiting Glacier Point in Yosemite.   Naturally, the locals take advantage of this awesome view and have built many hotels, restaurants and bars along the closest street to the edge.   Incredible views of the valley below and of the Sea of Corinth in the distance.   I'll stay here for the night and get picked up by another bus for the trip up to the valley of monasteries....Meteora.  More later....

After the 3-island boat tour on Friday, I decided to kick back for a day at the house.   When the kids had to go to different birthday parties, I took the opportunity to explore the large forested park just to the south of the house.  Since there were no clearly marked paths, you could just wander through the vegetation and undergrowth without purpose or design.   I found a quiet place to meditate and stayed for more than an hour.   On Sunday, Craig and I headed over to see the famous Corinth Canal which joins the Aegean and the Ionian Seas.  It was first attempted in 7th century BC and had been worked on by such historical luminaries as Alexander the Great, Caligula and Nero.   It was finally finished in 1893.   What took so long?   Well, it cuts through solid rock for about 19,600 feet (about 3.7 miles).    It's 70 feet across and the verticle walls rise almost 275 feet.   They actually do bungee jumps off of one of the several bridges that cross the chasm.   Afterwards, Craig and. I went to the ruins of the ancient city of Corinth for lunch at a restaurant that overlooks the old market place where St. Paul preached to the less-than-enthusiastic Corinthians.   As you might know, many of the Christian gospels still repeat Paul's moralistic admonitions in his "Letters to the Corinthians."  After lunch, we drove the car up the limestone cliff behind ancient Corinth to one of the finest natural fortifications in Ancient Greece: Acrocornith.  It offers very impressive and commanding views of the surrounding area and has been used through the years by Romans, Byzantines, Frankish, Venetian and Turkish invaders.  On the highest summit, you'll find what remains of the Temple of Aphrodite.
On Tuesday, I'm heading northwest to check out Delphi and Meteora.  More later...

I woke up at 5AM and got a taxi downtown to the Athinais Hotel.  I was heading out on a full one-day trip to three of the local islands close to Athens.   The 3-deck catamaran ship was only about  one-third filled with tourists since the high season here is slowly drawing to a close.   About 90% of the tourists were Asian which, around here, is pretty common.    They all seem to love coming to this area and have a peculiar penchant for wanting to take pictures of absolutely everything....even if it's dull and uninteresting.   The weather was bright and clear and the sapphire-colored Aegean Sea spread out before us, calm and gleaming in the early morning sunlight.   The Tour Guide gave us an Introductory orientation (in Greek, English and Chinese) about the ship, the islands and the tours that they were offering on Aegina, the largest island that we would be visiting.  After three hours, we pulled into the charming little port and village of Hydra.   There are very few vehicles on this small island and most of the heavy lifting is done by the many donkeys tethered around the port area which carry everything from the suitcases of tourists to unwieldy bags of grain, etc.   As usual, the waterfront is lined with restaurants and bars (most with open seating under canopies) that cater to the tourists who, most assuredly, drive and sustain the local island economies.  After we left Hydra, the ship provided a huge buffet for everyone and served us traditional Greek cuisine.  Our next island that we visited was Paros which was much bigger but, like Hydra, had a similar number of hotels, shops, restaurants and bars.  The last island was Aegina, and we docked there about 4 PM.  I had signed up for a one-hour tour around the island with a 20-minute stop at the well-known Monastery on top of one of the mountains.   It's considered to be one of the most sacred places in the Eastern Orthodox religion because of its relics as well as its association with a canonized saint.  Back on the ship, we were all treated to an hour long show of live entertainment with three excellent musicians and two male dancers who gave us samplings of a number of traditional Greek dances.   As expected, they pulled members of the audience onto the dance floor and taught them the steps.   Back in port, I had the tour bus drop me off at a Metro station and headed back to Kifissea.   A very long day, but now I've had a chance to visit five of the famous Greek islands.

The beaches of Mykonos...

After enjoying a traditional Greek breakfast at the hotel, I decided to rent a car to explore the rest of the island of Mykonos.  I signed a simple contract, got a quick lesson in driving a Smart car, and was told to return by 5:30 so that they could drive me to the airport.   The roads aren't really numbered as they are in the states but are designated more by where they are going.   At their suggestion, I first headed for the inland town of Ano Mera to see a small-town example of an Eastern Orthodox monastery.  Very beautiful and ornate with lots of gold and silver inlaid pictures of iconic saints, the Virgin Mary and Jesus.   The drive from Mykonos Town up to Ano Mera gives you a chance to experience the very dry and rocky interior of the island.   There are SO many rocks around here that the locals have, over the centuries, piled them up to form long, winding walls that really serve no purpose other than just getting the rocks off the earth to make space to build their houses and to allow for goats and sheep to graze.   I understand that there is a law here that forbids your house to be painted any color other than stark white.   Most of the time, the shutters and doors on the buildings are painted blue or, occasionally, a soft grey or green.   The houses are all pretty much the same....rectangular and box-shape and often have rounded corners.   Very little vegetation on this island and everything, at least for right now, is pretty brown and dry.    After seeing the monastery, I found my way over to some of the local beaches:  Kalafatis, Agrari, and the well-known nude beach at Paradise Beach at Paranga.   It's free to swim here in the crystal clear waters of the Agean, but you'll have to pay a few Euros if you want to rent a recliner and sit under a palapa.   About half of the folks on the beach were totally nude, and their ages ranged from toddlers up to old guys well into their 80's.   Everyone was relaxing and enjoying the bright October sun and the calm waters.  I bought a towel, stripped down and had a great swim.   I wasn't about to visit Greece without enjoying the super-clear waters of the Agean.   It's almost like swimming in a huge aquarium, and you can easily see fish 30-40 feet below you.  Very very nice, indeed.   After I dried off, I drove over to the town of Ornos and had dinner at the Ithaki Restaurant on the beach: grilled calamari, eggplant and wine.  I got back to the car rental place in time and, as promised, they drove me to the airport for my 35-minute flight back to Athens.  Tomorrow, I'll be kicking back before heading out again on Friday for a one-day tour of three of the local islands that are relatively close to Athens.  More later....

Going to Mykonos.....

I checked out of the Aressanna Hotel and Spa on Santorini and got a ride down the cliff to the boat dock.   The cheapest ways to get to a lot of the islands is by using one the many catamaran ferry boats that regularly make the journeys.   You are assigned a specific seat (about 18 seats across on two decks) and are expected to stay there the full time unless you are heading to the snack bar or the toilet.   These boats are quite fast and move a lot of passengers and their luggage between the islands and, since most of the smaller islands do not have airports, they are a real necessity.   I spent the 2.5 hours chatting with a friendly couple from Oregon.   After stopping first at two other smaller islands, we finally arrived at Mykonos.   I had a reservation at the Hotel Leto which is a five minute walk from where the boat docked.   It's a beautiful hotel on the beach at the edge of the Old Town area of Mykonos.   After I settled in, I spent the next few hours wandering through all of the twisted back alleys and checking out the shops and restaurants.  I found an excellent bar with windows that opened directly onto the water.   If you ever get to Mykonos, be sure to go to the Kastro Bar since they have the best location for an outstanding view of the famous windmills of Mykonos as well as for their amazing sunsets.  I asked them for a recommendation of a great restaurant, and they pointed me to Niko's, a few blocks away.   Wow!  I'm really growing quite find of Greek food.  Afterwards, I headed back to Kastro and enjoyed some Ouzo as the sun went down.   A crescent moon and Venus shone brightly in the west.  More later....

On Saturday, my nephew, Craig and I drove out to Cape Sounion to see what remained of  the Temple of Poseidon.  It's at the tip of the southern point around Athens and had served as a lighthouse for the ships returning from the sea.   The Temple had been built around 444 BC which was about the same time that the Parthenon was being constructed.  On the way there, we stopped for lunch at one of the many restaurants along the shoreline:  Greek salad, mussels, pork, French fries, fish and beer.  All very excellent.  On Monday morning, Craig drove me to the airport where I caught a short 50-minute flight to the magical island of Santorini.  About 3600 years ago,the island had exploded and fragmented by a super volcano and the caldera it left is still easily visible.  Fira, the main town, is a trourist haven:  meandering cobble-stone streets about 8 to 10 feet wide all lined with shops and restaurants to fit any budget.  The seating for the restaurants is mostly outdoor on patios that hang precipitously over the edge of the cliff overlooking the caldera.    I'm not a big shopper but I'm absolutely sure that you'd be able to find something here to suit your taste.   In the late afternoon, I returned to the Hotel and treated myself to a massage.   Chris, the guy who met me at the plane, is a friend of  Craig's friend who was able to arrange for my island hopping at a very reduced rate.   When I mentioned to Chris that it was nice of him to do this favor for "John," he said that it "wasn't a favor at all,"  but that he was doing it solely because John was his "friend."   In Greece, things get done more through your personal relationships with people than through anything else.  In the evening, I took the local bus over to Oia, a smaller but equally delightful little town about 20 minutes away from Fira.  If you decide to take the bus to Oia, be sure to ride on the right side by the window.  The road is very curved and the locals don't believe in constructing very many guard rails.   Driving along just a few feet from the edge, there's often absolutely nothing between the bus and the bottom of a extremely steep 600-foot drop.....except air.
Oia is known as the best place to see the fabulous sunsets of Santorini and, as it approached, people gravitated to the many bars and restaurants facing the west.  The food was fantastic although a bit pricey.   I'm growing quite fond of the way the Greeks prepare lamb.   Tomorrow, I'm taking a boat to Mykonos.   More later.....

On Friday, I took the Metro from Kisiffia to Victoria Station and walked 10 minutes over to the National Archeological Museum.   It's actually considered to be one of the best archeological museums in the world, and I can certainly see why.  It boasts of an outstanding collection of Greek sculpture, gold jewelry, ancient swords and a lot of incredibly beautiful pottery.   If you have any interest at all in Greek art, you should definitely find time to check it out.  On Saturday, Craig, the boys and one of their young friends drove up to a nearby mountaintop where we spent a few hours exploring a natural cave with a boulder-size crystal sitting near the bottom.  Near the entrance of the cave was a small chapel that had been hewn into the side of the mountain.  Evidently, it had been used as a place for the local shepherds to worship many decades ago when they had flocks of goats and sheep grazing in the hills.   Below, we could see the city of Athens and the Agean sea beyond.  Tonight, Craig, Athenia and I are going to have dinner at a well-known restaurant in town that's supposed to have a fabulous view of the sunset.  Afterwards, they're going to drop me off  at a private party near the Acropolis Metro Station.   On Monday, I'm planning to fly to the island of Santorini for the night and then to take a 3-hour boat ride over to Mycanos on Tuesday.   I'll fly back to Athens late on Wednesday and await still further adventures.  Some last thoughts:  Sadly, I've noticed that the vast majority of the local adult population are smokers.    Although they have outdoor seating at most restaurants, it's impossible to escape the ever-present second hand smoke that constantly wafts through the eating areas.   An unrelated observation:  each of the separate apartments in every single one of the thousands of apartment buildings in Athens has their own private balcony.   I've yet to discover even one exception to this.    The balconies often have plants, flowers, and even small trees.  Many of the apartments also have roll-up awnings to keep out the blistering summer sun.  Time to get ready for dinner.

This morning dawned fresh and semi-clear so I took the Red line Metro to the Syntagma Station and walked over to the Parliament building to see the colorful changing of the guards.  Two high-kicking guards would march in and replace two others who had been standing at attention for the past hour.  All four of them would then do this stylized ritual of high-strutting kicking in slow motion for several minutes before the change was complete.  Kind of silly but fun to watch.  I then walked through the beautiful National Gardens to the famous Panathenaic Stadium, the site of the first Olympic Games in the Modern Era in 1896.  It's the largest stadium in the world made from marble, and, when filled to capacity, can seat 60,000 people.   Dozens of people were rehearsing a dance for the arrival of the Olympic Torch which was on its way to the stadium and scheduled to arrive there on Saturday.  Eventually, it will find it's way to light up the 2014 Winter Games in Russia.   If you climb to the top, you can get a very nice view of the Acropolis a mile or so away.   I headed on over to the Temple of Zeus (or what remains of it) and got some nice pictures of these impressive columns.  Then it was on to check out the very impressive new Acropolis Museum which houses a lot of the sculptures and stonework found in and around the Acropolis.   Since the weather was clearing up even more, I decided to finally make the climb to the top.  It's the quintessential Athens experience and not to be missed.  They've been doing a lot of reconstruction on the pillars for the past several years so there's always a lot of scaffolding around, but I still managed to get a few nice shots of this iconic structure.   I noticed that, even up there, I saw a lot of large, unattended dogs just lying around.And, of course, there were also a number of the ubiquitous feral cats of Athens posing for the tourists, too.

After being awake for over 35 hours straight, I finally crashed for about 12 hours of restful sleep.  In the morning, (after three cups of coffee) I walked to the neighborhood flea market which materializes every Wednesday only a few blocks for Craig and Athenia's home.  Half of it was dedicated to an incredible array of fresh fruits and vegetavbles and the other half was focused on everything else that you might find at your local Walmart.   In the afternoon, the merchants would all dismantle the entire market and move absolutely everything to another neighborhood in one of the suburbs surrounding Athens.  Next Wednesday, it will all re-appear right here again.   In the afternoon, I took the Metro to downtown Athens and spent hours walking through the narrow streets all lined with shops, stalls, restaurants and tourists.  I saw the Acropolis but thought that I wouldn't expend my limited energy to making the climb today.  However, I checked out the open amphitheater of Dionysus at the base of the cliff and even stopped to have my bare feet cleaned of its dead cells by a lot of very friendly...and hungry...little fish.  You sit on a bench and dangle your feet in these aquariums and, within 10 minutes, your feet feel entirely rejuvenated.  It's called, appropriately, fish therapy.   Later on, I enjoyed  a plate of Moushka, a traditional Greek dish of eggplant and minced meat with a glass of red wine before heading home on the Metro.   There are a lot of ruins everywhere in Athens, and they are the home to a legion of feral cats who sit on the empty chairs at the many outdoor restaurants looking to beg for scraps.  I was saddened by the incredible amount of graffiti that's been tagged all over Athens.  You can hardly find anything vertical that hasn't been defaced by spray paint.  :((   Tomorrow looks to be a bit rainy so I'm heading for one of the many famous museums in downtown Athens.   More later as it unfolds....

Flying to Moscow and Athens....

My smooth flight on Aeroflot left DC on time and headed NE up the coast past Nova Scotia before finally turning due east towards Moscow.  They fed us two huge meals, showed a few movies and even ran some 40-year old Tom &Jerry cartoons in the middle of the night.    Moscow is eight hours ahead of the east coast, so we left DC in the afternoon, flew into the night and landed in Moscow 9.5 hours later at 8:30 in the morning.  Then, another 3.5 hour flight to Greece.  Once in Athens, it took more than 40 minutes to get past Passport Control....maybe due to the fact that our plane had arrived from Moscow.    Athenia, the wife of my nephew, Craig, and my great-nephew, Zack, (5) met me at the airport and drove me to their home.  Coulter (8) and Craig should be showing up any time.  We'll start laying out a general outline of a  plan for my time in Greece.   More later as it unfolds.   Meanwhile, though, I've got some jet lag tagging at my eyelids..