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Published: August 25th 2007
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Time has wisped us away to France where I am finally finding the time to write about our wonderful stay in Greece. Travelblog had a crash for about a week which didn't allow me to write just after our travels. By the way, if anyone has printed out South Africa, Reunion Island, or Egypt please let me know because either all or part of these entries have been lost and I would like to recover them. During this period we were already in France and we headed out to the countryside, west of Montpellier to Aveyron where we found ourselves in the calm and without internet access. Already back in Toulon I am stealing away for a few hours to catch up on all that has happened in the last weeks.
As planned we met our friends Sophie and Stephan with their two daughters Clementine and Capucine in Athens. Thrilled to see familiar faces and feeling so close to a land that we know, we picked up our cars and began the drive West of Athens to the Peloponnese where we spent a hot but peaceful week by the sea. First amazing sight was the groves of olive trees as we
approached the Messini Bay and the town of Kalamata! Wow, now I know why we find so many Kalamata olives in the US! I couldn't help but imagine what my first taste of olive oil would be like... We knew we were also in for trying some roasted pig as whole pigs, roasted to a golden brown and covered by a spaceship like dome were placed on the roadside to entice passersby. We had rented two cute houses perched on a hill overlooking the bay. Between the sea and the pool we had everything we needed to spend a perfect week. Our house had a few extra lodgers as we discovered we were being visited by rats nightly! Oh the joys of travel!!
Lots of catching up but always time for exploring. I must admit that Sophie and Stephan were much more motivated than us. I think that we needed some time to just digest all that we had done in Egypt. A few times we just stayed behind and did nothing, something we hadn't done in a while and which did us a lot of good!
One of our trips brought us to Olympia, sight of the first Olympics.
I don't know if it was the heat but I was having a hard time imagining what the place looked like when it was all in one piece. A few columns were still standing and there was a general outline of where the various events took place but the rest was really left to the imaginaiton! I think we were spoiled after Egypt and had high expectations. The museum on the other hand, was well done and offered many beautiful pieces for us to admire, it was also airconditioned!
As we drove though the quaint fishing villages that line the coast, the locals eyed us up wondering what we were doing in their part of the world. Widows dressed in black gathered in the town center to share their latest recipes or give the latest news of relatives in the US. We were surpised to learn that there are 11 million in Greece and close to 4 million in North America. I guess I have always felt a Greek presence in the states and this explains it. The Greek Orthodox churches seemed to grace every town center. There was a real religious presence, a theme we have seemed to follow
throughout our journeys.
The kids are sleeping so they will not be adding their comments but I
know that besides being with their friends they were all content to eat gyros and Greek salads! Amazing what happiness this could bring to our little travelers. Sophie and I adored the grilled octopus and yes, Emmanuel and Stephan were content with their ouzo!
After leaving the Messini Bay we made our way to Epidaurus where we visited a well preserved outdoor theater. We climbed to the top and listened as a coin was dropped in the center of the stage and the sound was carried all the way up to us. Perfect accoustics!
We were pleasantly surpised by Athens where we spent our last few days. The city wasn't as chaotic and polluted as we had thought it might be. The 2004 Olympics in Athens brought with it city improvements. As Sophie said " you could eat off the floor in the metro it's so clean!" And coming from Sophie, this was saying a lot!! All of the areas surrounding the Acropolis have been joined together by a pedestrian route lined with cute restaurants and cafes. We enjoyed wandering
around the Plaka which is a labyrinth of winding streets with boutiques and more restaurantshugging the Acropolis. For the first time on our world tour we felt the tourist population! Thousands of curious travellers climbed their way to the top of the Acropolis and we all tried our hardest to take a picture without the swarms of people that were surrounding everything. This along with the heat pushed us once again to the Archeological Museum of Athens where we breathed the fresh air and took in pieces dating from Neolithic times! Somehow my perspective on what is old has drastically changed. I need to see items and places dating 5,000 years or more before I'm impressed. We really are on this earth for a short breath of time!
So glad we have taken the time to visit one more of Europe's marvels. So glad to be in France!
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vanessa
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c'est la rentrée!
Coucou pour vous souhaiter un bon retour sur Seattle et une bonne rentrée des classes à Tatiana et Yohan! ici, ca y est cela fait une semaine que les enfants ont retrouvé les bancs de l'école. Je suis bien dans ma nouvelle école,j'ai un CM2 de 22 élèves qui sont motivés! J'envoie des bises à tous ceux qui me reconnaissent et souhaite une bonne année scolaire à tous mes anciens élèves,ils me manquent,je vais essayer de venir en mars. Alors à bientôt,bisous,vanessa