Greece

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So we left our 12 degree weather and hit the wall of Italy in the 30's. On the plus side, we went from an auberge with shared bathroom and shower to a 4 star hotel with cushy everything!
The train ride to Bari, however, was not so cushy. 9 hours later, we arrived in Bari, where we were to catch our ferry to Greece. Due to traditional Italian tardiness, we were on the run...again. The port was not as apparent as we were hoping, and a sardine style bus was required to get to the boat. Once at the port, we had an entertained (and encouraging) audience waving us through to our SuperFast ferry. We weaved through 18 wheelers (the last to load) to find our entrance.
The "boat" was insane. A huge city on water escorted us across the Mediterranean sea to Patras. 16 hours later, 15 if you include the time change we missed, we were in beautiful Greece. One more time, looking for Hertz. Word to the wise, if you want to rent a car from Hertz...go to Greece! This guy left Italy and France looking like smucks.
So we got our car and headed off to explore the country. One of the ONLY thing Greece seems to share with France and Italy is the reluctance to mark roads...highways or otherwise. City spelling will vary, depending on your source also...minor details are not important.
We hit up mount Olympia on the way to our apartment. Very cool. We stood in the place where the Olympics were born, and officially passed the educational career torch across generations.
We virtually crossed the mainland country, 5 hours through the mountains of Peloponnese, to our apartment. AWESOME. Our balcony sits over the pebble beach of the coast line. Our backyard is an endless coastal mountain range.
We are currently sitting in a quaint little internet cafe called Chill Out Cafe, soaking in the culture. The owner has presented us with a signed book, to his friends, of the area. We love this place...we would recommend it to anyone.

Wouldn't it be terrible if Athens was still on strike???? Ha.....see you....soon????

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