Day 8: Last day in Athens

We got to sleep in until 7 this morning and had a leisurely breakfast before heading into Athens. Our first stop was the new Acropolis Museum in the shadows of the Acropolis.  It was spectacular!! After an hour there, we headed to the Plaka and the kids had some free time to do some last-minute shopping, grab some last-minute delicious Greek food, and explore.
In the afternoon, we met back up and headed south to Cape Sounion & the Temple of Poseidon...thus completing the triangle (Parthenon, Temple of Aphaea, Temple of Poseidon). What a gorgeous location on the water...making us all wish we could stay & watch sunset.
Back to the hotel for some packing, dinner, t-shirt presentation to Maria, our guide, some tears, hugs, laughter...and of course, some UNO.

Sorry this is a bit short, but we have a 2:30 wake-up call so we can head to the airport for our early flight. After the rousing UNO game, I sent the kids to bed at 10...hopefully they'll get some sleep and not SnapChat or Tweet each other all night...sigh...the joys of Wi-Fi in the rooms.

Thanks again to everyone for reading this.  Kids are excited to head home, see loved ones & pets & sleep in their own bed, but we've had an AMAZING week here...and really don't want to leave!

So, Kalinichta for now...See you soon!!
I'll recap tomorrow or Monday from Iowa!

Taking the tram into Athens

Our local guide, Fani, started braiding Emma's hair...sooo sweet!!

Completing the Triangle!!

Jumpin' for Joy!

All the Iowa & Florida kids jumpin' for joy!

Saying Good-bye to our great driver, Zaphiris.

Day 7: On the road again...

Today our final destination was Athens, but man, did we have a good time en route! We picked up our delightful local guide, Sofia, and headed to Epidaurus to see the amazingly well-preserved Greek theatre.  We were the first tour group there this morning, which was glorious, and we were able to do the coolest sound test.

Next, we headed to Mycenae to see the citadel & the famous lion’s gate.  The views were spectacular from up that high! We then headed across the street to see the Treasure of Atreus and the ‘orbs.’

After lunch, we headed to a pottery class.  The kids were able to make a clay figurine and do some shopping.

Our last stop of the day was the Corinth Canal.  We drove over it, but luckily parked the bus and walked back to the bridge to look at it. Standing up on the bridge looking down was a bit scary and awesome all at the same time.

Checked into our hotel, which is about a block from the beach, and got ready for the evening’s entertainment:  Greek Night!! It was in the Plaka district in Athens and was loads of fun!  Had some common Greek appetizers, Kebabs, and some yummy deserts!  Then the dancing & singing began! The kids got up & danced – super cool watching them join in the fun!! Opa!!

Tomorrow is our last day… L  We've got another great day planned, so stay tuned for tomorrow night’s update & then be prepared to get us on Sunday night.  Thanks to all who comment – the kids love seeing comments from loved ones… me too!!

Kalispera!

Roamin' Spartans in Epidaurus

Playing with clay

Concentrating...well, sort of!

Girls at the Corinth Canal

All my 'lovelies' dressed up for Greek Night

Iowa & Florida kids at Greek Evening

Dancing

Learning some belly dancing

Day 6: Olympia

Another beautiful sunset met us this morning as we headed west. Another morning nap on the bus prior to arriving in Olympia. This place is so cool. Crazy to believe it was destroyed by an earthquake and floods helped cover it up so it remained undiscovered for eons. Our local guide, Marietta, was fantastic!  She showed us some of the new excavations they are doing on site. We saw where the priestesses light the torch every Olympic year using the sun. Then we entered the stadium. There’s a stone arch at the entrance. The track is a straight away, the length is called a stadium. The athletes would run down & back…so that’s what we had the kids do!  I am proud to say that Team Iowa swept the medals in the Men’s division with Evan receiving a Gold, Drake receiving a Silver and Conor receiving the Bronze. Proudly Brianne took the Women’s division earning a Gold for Team Iowa!  It was a banner day!

After a trip to the museum (still awaiting the results of who won the quiz), we had an awesome lunch and kept heading west.  We took an extra pit stop in Nafplion, a quaint little town on the sea, and shopped, watched sunset, ate gelato…heavenly!

Our overnight tonight is at a great place…we think as it was dark when we arrived.  Tomorrow we have Epidaurus, Mycenae & the Corinth Canal before arriving back in Athens for Greek night.

Kids are having a blast…us adults too…and are fast making friends with our Florida busmates!  They are currently in a conference room in the hotel playing Spoons...but with toiletry items!!

Weather still continues to be on our side…I almost dread going home to what awaits us there…but that’s still a few days off and I’m not worrying about that now!

Opa!

p.s. I put some more pics on the previous days, so make sure you go back & check them out!

On your marks.... Get set...

GOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

My champions!!  We are Sparta!!!

Delicious lunch Gyros!!

My ice cream buddy today...and yes, those are Magnum bars!!

Day 5: Delphi

Today we loaded up our bags & hopped on the bus nice & early and headed northwest towards Delphi.  It was a pretty quiet couple of hours as we all snoozed on the way. But, what a delightful surprise when we awoke to breathtaking mountains, capped with snow, and lush green valleys. I seriously thought we were in Switzerland.

Delphi is nestled up in these mountains, but it’s a bit more jagged & rocky there. We got a full tour of the place and learned about the Oracle and all that transpired in Delphi many, many years ago. We hiked up even further to see the stadium and were treated to jaw-dropping views of the Temple & the valley below.

The kids did a scavenger hunt/quiz in the museum. The winners?! Team Iowa:  Conor & Sarah!! The Team that picked what our guide, Maria, loves the most? Also Team Iowa:  Shannon & Brooklyn!  Prizes await them!

After a delicious lunch nestled in the hills with amazing views, we hit the road again. A good bus ride is never complete without ice cream.  J

Our final stop tonight is Patras. We are nestled right on the water & have some pretty amazing sunset pics.  WiFi is spotty, so if you’re reading this today, I actually got it loaded after the kids went to bed and stopped sucking up the WiFi. J

Tomorrow we’re off to the Races:  Olympia!!!!

Kids at Arachova

Cedric at Delphi

Daily ice cream pic

Sunset at Patras

Jumpin' for Joy with some of our Florida friends!

Day 4: Cruisin'

Cruisin’ the Saronic Islands

Today was another outstanding day as we got up early & boarded our boat to cruise thru the Saronic Islands out in the Aegean Sea.  After a 3 hour cruise, our first stop was the island of Hydra. This spectacular island stands out as there are no cars on this island.  Actually, the only car on the island belongs to the doctor. So how do they get around??  Donkeys!  For 10 Euros, the kids went for a donkey ride thru the narrow, whitewashed alleyways. We then headed for some swimming.  4 of the kids got in…and quickly got back out as it was so cold it took their breath away. But, they took the plunge!!

Next stop was Poros…a quick stop to check out the view from the clock tower. This island allows cars. Still has whitewashed buildings with very colorful shutters & windows.

Last stop of the day was Aegina, the largest of the islands and quite spectacular.  They are known for their Pistachio nuts and there were trees everywhere.  We opted to do an excursion to see the sights and went to see the Temple of Afaia. This temple, older than the Parthenon, is in pretty amazing condition. It’s this Temple, the Parthenon, and the Temple of Poseidon that create an exact isosceles triangle. Those Greeks were amazing!

We ended the day cruising back into Athens and the sunset…sigh…lovely! The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Sunny, 70s.  We all got some sun…some got a little more than others. But a fantastic day was had by all!!

Tomorrow we’re leaving Athens & heading to Delphi, the center of the universe!

Kalispera!

Kids at the Temple of Afaea

Swimmers on the island of Hydra

At the clocktower on Poros

At the top of Aegina, with Athens in the background

Daily ice cream pic

Day 3: Athens - Veni, Vidi, Vici!

That’s our motto of our day as we did an amazing tour of Athens today. Up bright and early and off for a  full tour-day.  First stop was the old Olympic stadium.  From there, if we turned around, we could all see the Acropolis & Parthenon – awesome!  You could hear the silent gasps when they saw it for the first time.  We continued on to the city center to pick up our Local guide, who took us around, explained soooo much history – wow!!  We went to the bottom of the Acropolis and made the hike up, stopping along the way to look at the amphitheater and other temples before we entered.  I think the kids were in awe being there.  Got some great pics. Weather has been absolutely amazing!!  Think we all got some sun today – not a cloud in the sky & nice & warm (70s).

As we came out of the Acropolis, we could hear demonstrators outside the gate…oh, the Greeks!  This time they were teachers. 2500 of them were fired/laid off on Sunday due to budget issues. Can you imagine?!?

We headed to the Agora, with a quick pit stop at Mars Hill where St. Paul preached, then off into the Plaka. Had delicious Gyros for lunch and did some great shopping…and gelato eating.

Headed next to the Parliament building to watch the changing of the guard. Quite different from how the Brits do it, that’s for sure!  Last stop was the Columns from Temple Zeus.  Exhausted, a little suntanned, wallets a little lighter, feet a bit tired, we boarded the bus back to the hotel for dinner. The kids were reflecting at dinner what an amazing day they had and hard to believe they saw that all today…our first real day of touring!!  Good stuff!

Tomorrow is supposed to be another amazing weather day…which is good as we head out for a Saronic Island tour!!  After watching sunset tonight from our mini-beach by the hotel, I can only hope we’ll see it tomorrow from the boat.

Better go check on the kids – when I last left them, some were getting ready for bed and the other half were out in the hallway playing UNO.

Until tomorrow…

My Roamin' Spartans on the Acropolis with the Parthenon.

At the Olympic Stadium

Day 2: Welcome to Athens!

Well, we made it Athens today!!  Yay! It was a bit of a question in Paris as we only had less than 1.5 hrs and had to do security & passport check. We made it with about 5 min before boarding.  It was a beautiful flight out of Paris as we flew over the snow-covered Alps.

Besides this awesome pink bus, we were greeted in Athens by some amazing weather!  Everyone quickly put on sandals for our walking tour.  Our hotel is along the Aegean sea, so we walked into the town, got some Euros, hit the ice cream store, and then walked along the beach.  We got to watch sunset on our walk back to the house.

The kids did great – they were pretty quiet at dinner tonight – which is normal.  Some didn’t sleep too well on the big flight, but most were napping pretty solidly on the Paris-Athens flight.

After dinner, we all crashed. Since there’s free Wi Fi, I’m pretty sure the kids were getting their daily dose of technology before crashing out.

Tomorrow is a busy day as we tour the city, Acropolis, and Olympic stadiums.

 Kaliníhta! 

p.s. Taking forever to load pics - I'll try to add some tomorrow... I need sleep!!

On the Aegean Sea

Ice cream time!!

Gotta put our feet in

MLI - MSP - CDG - ATH: It's All Greek to Me!!

Today is our day!!  Spring Break is finally here!  After our LOOOOONG, COOOOLD winter, we are QUITE ready to get out of town and explore!
This year, we heading back to Europe for a 9 day tour of Greece!  It's been almost 12 years since I've been to Greece, so am excited to see it after all these years!  My guide the last time I was there, Roberto, is now the boss of the Athens office.  Am excited to catch up with him some more!
I have 11 students and 2 adults coming with me.  We are paired up with 2 co-groups from Florida.  Our guide is Maria, and it sounds like we're in good hands.

We have 3 flights over:  Moline - Minneapolis - Paris - Athens. And, since we have a couple tight lay-overs, we're all doing carry-ons.  I'm so proud of them all for taking this challenge on, but it's going to make life so much more easier...and we're guaranteed to have our stuff! My firiend, Bob, would be so proud!

Here's this year's edition of the famed T-shirts!  The kids chose a royal purple and this awesome design! Thanks, Eric, for the design idea!

So, wish us luck!  Follow us along as we linger where the Gods mingled.

We'll see you next Sunday!!

~steph :)