Greece

9/19/02 - Athens  Surprisingly British Airway's business class was very uncomfortable.  The cabin was full and the seats were 3 across.  My legs would have fit comfortably, if only they detached.  We arrived in Athens at 4am and Leanne's friend Scott was there to meet us, just like he said he would be.  Amazing.  We took a 20 minute taxi ride to their beautiful apartment.  His wife Linda was up and we chatted for a little while and then passed out in their guest room.  We awoke at about noon and headed off with Linda on the Metro to visit the Acropolis in the center of town.  It was an impressive collection of old stuff (hey, this is not my forte.  Mock me now, but you'll call when you need computer help - every one of you).  Seriously, it is one of those world class sites that really makes you feel like you've traveled someplace special.  Later we met up with Scott and the four of us had a great dinner.

9/20/02 - Athens  In the morning Leanne went to visit her friends at AOB (Athens Olympic Broadcasting) and I fooled around with the computer and tried to plan our African safari.  Leanne had arranged a rental car and, amazingly, they delivered it to the house.  Now that was 22 bucks well spent.  We got directions from Linda had headed off to ancient Corinth, about a 2 to 3 hour drive.  Corinth had interesting ruins - then Leanne said we could go.  We then headed to Napflio, a lovely seaside town.  We walked awhile and found a nice cafe and had a great meal.  We successfully found Linda & Scott's place in Athens and went to bed.

9/21/02 - Athens  Today we had a beautiful drive to Delphi, again about 2 hours.  Delphi is situated on a hillside and it is a beautiful and serene setting.  The ruins are quite impressive and actually held my attention for about 30 minutes.  Leanne went to the site's museum while I had a really bad cheese sandwich.   We had a meal in the very quaint nearby town and headed back "home".

9/22/02 - Santorini  We decided to fly to the island of Santorini and had a 9:45am flight.  The crazy cheap car rental agency met us right in front of the departure area, and we were off.  We got to our hostel at about 2pm, got settled and headed off to Parissa beach for a while.  It was a little disappointing, actually.  The beach was narrow and rocky, and not overly attractive.  Later Leanne took photos of town and I went for a run on the winding path to the old port.  We spent some time catching up on the Internet and had a nice Greek meal overlooking the caldera.

9/23/02 - Santorini  Today we took a boat trip around the island.  Our first stop was the volcano in the center of the caldera.  We walked about 20 minutes to the top and had a great view of the island.  Next was a nearby "hot spring".  Leanne hopped off the back of the boat and swam to it, I watched our stuff.  She said it was pretty lame and warm at best.  Next was a beach and small town atop a hill, both were again uninspiring.  The last stop was the beautiful cliff-hanging town of Oia ("ee-ah").  Our plan was to walk around until dinner time, but we were pretty hot and tired.  I was admiring a particularly beautiful hotel pool and Leanne suggested we try to make 'em an offer they couldn't refuse.  Ten minutes and as many dollars later we were stylin'.  We swam, slept and read.  Refreshed, we went to one of the many gravity defying restaurants and had dinner while the sun set over the water.

9/24/02 - Santorini & Paros  We planned for an 11am ferry to the Island of Paros, but the seas were rough and the ferry was cancelled.  Leanne headed off to view some more old stuff and relax at a red sand beach, I fooled around in town.  We caught a 4pm ferry to Paros and checked into our tiny but super clean room.  That evening we walked around town and had a fine crepe dinner.

9/25/02 - Paros & Athens  I got up early and had a run.  We both then caught a bus to the alleged location of a beach.   Really it was rocks, garbage and the inevitable stray dogs.  We finally did find an ok beach and Leanne prayed to the glow ball for awhile.  Then it was another ferry and by 6pm we were back in Athens.  We took the metro to the bus to the warm comfort of Linda & Scott's place.  They took us to their favorite local taverna for beer, Greek salad, lamb, chicken and fried everything.

9/26/02 - Athens  A day of leisure.  We just hung out at Linda & Scott's.  Leanne read and I published the web site.  Scott came home for lunch and we feasted on Linda's lasagna.  At 3:30pm we left for the airport bus -  four flights from now we'll be in Namibia.  Click here for our itinerary. 

Greece Summary  We had a fine time in Greece, and the pictures certainly are beautiful, but Greece did not live up to our expectations.  The places we visited were great, but you need to look at just the right angle.  Beyond the sites is  what Scott coined "upscale Mexico".  The people were aggressive and often rude (you just can't get on a bus ahead of the old ladies) and the cigarette smoking beyond belief.  If a country's civility were measured in its quantity of stray dogs and cats, Greece would be in trouble.  So we enjoyed our stay, but we're in no great hurry to return.