Blogs from Greece, Europe - page 486

There is one place in the world that without a doubt easily lays claim to single handily having the most profound effect on the way we live and think today. As the incubator of western civilisation, this country of great gods and goddesses, poets and philosophers, politicians and athletes; has bequeathed modern civilization with the building blocks of our society. I was always aware that English was derived through Latin but what I wasn’t aware of is Greek plays an almost equally important role as the root of the English language. Over a Mythos beer I think I could easily argue with you that Politics, Democracy, History, Physics, Law, Ethics & Philosophy - all words derived from Greek - are some of the most important words in the English Language and have fundamentally influenced our societies ... read more

I'm sad to leave Turkey though I'm much relieved not to have to pay anymore for the privilege to use a squat toilet and then flush my business by hand with a water jug. As with all of my other trips to third world countries they always seem to give me the parting gift of serious travellers stomach upset. Janice and I both got it, and luckily I have ciprofloxin with me. We did contemplate going to get Janice her own personal antibiotics but that would require going to a hospital. Do they not have personal doctors operating out of small clinics that like dealing with friendly travellers like us? We spent a day on the island of Samos suntanning in the little town of Pythagorias. I'm proud to say I've finally immersed my whole body ... read more

Good Morning. Its just before 7 am here in Athens and I am enjoying a morning orange juice while waiting for Aisha and gang to finish getting ready so we can head out to Corinth. The sunset off of our hotel balcony is a stunning mix of orange, red, and pink overlooking the mountains opposite the Acropolis. The night lights of the Acropolis light the mountaintop on fire with such a glow that makes you want to climb up and look down over the city of Athens. The air this morning is crisp and the hotel is bustling with guests who are ready to adventure out to various locations throughout Greece or the world. Everyone has been super nice so far, with a smile or hello. The hotel rooms are smaller than my room in EC ... read more

Aditi finally arrived as her bag was the last out of the airplane today. Aisha, Jeanna, Jessica, Aditi and I (Melissa) roamed around Athens around our hotel. There are miles of markets and stores that sell everything from Cartier jewlery to postcards. We all agreed that the hand blown glass crafts were something that we would like to bring home but not sure if they would make the journey. We stopped at Gyro/Greek Salad place for lunch. The greek salads are fabulous with tomatos, olives, onions and feta cheese in a block. It is hard not being able to understand Greek as the letters are based differently, not like in Italy where you can take a good guess on what your ordering. Many of the menus are in Greek in English, but rumor has it we ... read more

We have been having a pretty amazing time, sorry we haven't been adding to this very often...it costs money and it is not always available. Egypt and the Nile was a blast. We spent some time in Alexandria and Ed was able to take photos of the area where his parents had lived. I think that his Mum will see lots of changes. Alexandria was beautiful as long as you stayed on the seafront. Our trip on an overnight train to Luxor revealed the true poverty of the place. Farms with no signs of modern technology apart from tv satellite dishes and men riding donkeys or camels using their mobile phones. The cruise on the Nile was stunning. 4 nights on an aging beauty named the Nile Ritz. Generally good company and masses of food. We ... read more