And we're off!

The countdown to Italy is on! Ciao for now :)

I see a good workout in your future...

Today we took a bus about 2 hours outside of Athens to visit the ancient sacred site at Delphi, home of the Temple of Apollo and the famous Oracle of Delphi.

On the way up we were treated to gorgeous views of Marathon Lake and Mount Parnassus, before reaching the drop-off point to begin our exploration.

In ancient times, Delphi was a place of sanctuary where people pilgrimaged from around the area to hear the prophecies of the Oracle to help them solve the problems of life, big and small. The history and ritual surrounding the area, requests for prophecies, etc is really fascinating. We reached the Temple of Apollo, viewed the Theater and decided to take on the hike to the stadium... in the scorching midday sun and heat. We climbed and climbed and climbed and then, Wow! This massive expanse of a stadium rises out of the side of the moutain. It seated 7,400 people and is nearly 700 ft long. At this point we were starting to get pretty sticky so we made a quick retreat back down the mountain.

After all that climbing it was nice to get into some AC and enjoy the treasures of Delphi. The bronze statue of the Charioteer is largely intact AND has amazing eyes, composed of Ivory and Onyx. No detail was spared in the statue, including eyelashes that still exist today.

We made a couple of stops in the skiing towns on the mountain and got a chance to see the aluminum and boxite mines in action. We had a fabulous lunch of spanikopita and settled in to the bus for the ride back to Athens.

In the weeeeeeeeeeeeee small hours of the morning we are jumping on a boat and heading to Mykonos for a couple of days. Here's hoping I keep on top of my sunscreen needs (Greece was not made for us fair skinned people....)

Step into the Way Back Machine...

Ah to be in Athens, the city where ancient history appears along side bustling modern life. We started the day with a trip to the Panathinaikon (Athens) Stadium, site of the first modern Olympics in the late 1800's. From there we headed down to the colossal Temple of Olympian Zeus, with its 15 remaining columns of marble glistening in the sun. Below are the grounds of houses that were built by Romans after they invaded the city.

In the searing heat of the midday sun we made our way up the hills to the top of the Acropolis with the Parthenon, Theater of Herodes Atticus and Temple of Athena Nike. What a sight to behold! The temples are largely encased on scaffolds as the 25 year restoration proceeds, but it takes your breath away to see the scale and contemplate the centuries of human history that have passed through this very spot before you. It is, at times, heartbreaking to uncover the story of these sacred places and the destruction that has been visited upon them in the name of war, religion and conquerors. But yet so much still stands as a testament to the human story....

We made our way down (after drinking gallons of cold water to stave off dehydration!) to the New Acropolis Museum and viewed the fraises and statues that remained in the area and/or we uncovered in archeological digs. Under the museum is a settlement uncovered during building which is visible through many glass floors around the interior and exterior of the museum.

After having our fill of marble statues, we walked back toward the hotel and stumbled on the Roman Bath site uncovered during the Metro construction of the 90's. There were channels and water heating rooms along with divided bathing rooms full of pillars. I couldn't help but think it must be very challenging to do any construction in Athens that requires digging, as chances are very high you'll hit a significant find! We found some shady refuge in the national garden and tried our best to stay cool and avoid a nice sunburn.

As day passed into evening, we viewed the Parthenon and Temple of Zeus bathed in light against the moonlit sky. We enjoyed some Greek food in another open air restaurant and took in a bit of traditional music at the Syntagma Square just down from our hotel.

In the morning we head out to Delphi, site of the famous Oracle and the Temple of Apollo. Enjoy the pictures!

Proost!

Before we begin, I forgot one key learning from yesterday... There was a profession known as the 'piss prophits' who claimed to determine all that ails you by examining your urine. Lucky for us they were discredited by the 17th century, but how did this ever come into fashion in the first place...

Moving right along then. We started off this morning at the Van Gogh Museum and I discovered I am a big fan of Odilon Redon lithographs housed in the museum, especially the very science fiction-esque "As In a Dream" series. In short, Van Gogh was passionate, talented and tragic. Very interesting to see the chronological progression of his works aligned with his life experiences.

Next we headed off to the Heineken Experience, where you see me in rare form with an actual *gasp* beer in my hand. Gwen is not a beer drinker, and try as they might, the good folks at Heineken were unable to change this. We did go on a little 'brew you' ride where they 'bottled' us and we got to taste beer ingredients in their pure form, wort form and as a finished product.

We settled in to a canal cruise and learned about the building of the canals and the bridges throughout the city. The evening breeze started to cool off as we finished our ride and headed for the Anne Frank house.

That was truly an amazing place to see, to try to understand what it must have been like to live in this hidden place with eight people and no chance to ever see the sun. I am always moved by small glimpses into Europe during WWII and her short life is tragic and touching - you can feel her presence in each of the rooms.

Tomorrow morning we bid Amsterdam farewell and fly off to Athens for the next leg of our journey. More then!

Goedemorgen Amsterdam!

After a long day flying from Minneapolis to Newark to Amsterdam, we arrived in the early morning hours Monday.

We were thrilled to get to the hotel and freshen up a bit before heading out to the Rijkmuseum to see The Masterpieces collection including a number of Rembrandt's works across his lifespan. The museum tour was followed by coffee and a cheese croissant, and some rather assertive pigeons that quickly wore on Tom's nerves by attempting to steal pieces of food!

We wandered many parts of the city and had a fantastic open air dinner with musicians serenading nearby. Tomorrow we're off on a canal cruise and more museum visits, including the Anne Frank House and the Heineken Brewery.

Pictures going up at the Picasa site: http://picasaweb.google.com/gwendolynjorgens/Europe2009#

Sunset sailing

We thoroughly enjoyed our Key West visit and topped off the trip with a sail on a tall ship into the sunset.

We made a few new friends, enjoyed quite a few conch fritters, enjoyed the stylings of the Cat Man, had a mock cannon battle at sea with the Western Union Schooner and relaxed by the ocean as the sun dipped below the horizon.

I did just check the forecast for Minneapolis, and I'm thinking of 'missing' the flight in the morning!

Thank you to good friends and Key West for a fabulous escape...

Come sail away with me...

Today the group of us went out on the sailship the 'Danger's Prize' for a full day of snorkeling, kayaking, and sailing.

We began with a gorgeous sail (some wind bit a bit of motor assist due to low winds) out to "The Lakes." It is a tranquil area of newer island formations with fantastic live coral reefs and great visibility. We slid into our wetsuits, donned our goggles, and grabbed a noodle before jumping feet first into the ocean for a peek.



After bopping around in the water for about 45 minutes, we climbed back aboard for a trip into the new mangrove islands. As we neared, the sailboat crew pulled out the kayaks to set us off for our next adventure. We quickly learned the art of kayaking (a somewhat amusing scene for Tom and me) and took off into the channels. I was amazed to learn that all of the keys originally formed from mangrove trees taking root and forming a mass where dirt, fresh water and seeds eventually formed new land. Even today, our guide explained they watch for the first palm tree to grow on the islands as a sign that a new key may someday coming into being.

We kayaked out into the sand flats and enjoyed sea cucumbers, nurse sharks and string rays in the shallow clear waters. The sky was so blue and the water so clear it made for storybook pictures as we went along.





After all that work, we pulled back up onto the boat and were treated to lunch and some fabulous wines.

It was a fantastic sail and such fun to see the reefs and mangrove islands. Sunshine and ocean are such an appealing combination!

It's GORGEOUS here!

We had dinner by the seashore for valentine's day and enjoyed the Catman's amazing show including cats leaping through flaming hoops!

Tomorrow we're off for DANGER! We're taking a sailboat out for an all day cruise including kayaking and snorkeling off the crystal blue shores of the keys...

Here's a taste of the island life:

Miami Vice

We met up with Pat and Rachel in the Minneapolis airport and boarded a plane for Atlanta leg of our flight. It was uneventful until arriving in Atlanta…

We were squooshed onto a mini-plane, and waited. And waited. And waited. And then, the intercom crackled to life and began calling a list of passenger names. “The following passengers please re-check the gate…” After some commotion, the flight attendant gave a lengthy and concerning explanation. Apparently, Key West was foggy and our plane needed extra fuel in the event of diversion to another airport. In turn, the extra fuel weight meant passengers would need to be booted since Key West has the shortest commercial runway in the nation and we didn’t want to skid into the ocean.

After much shifting about and a 30 minute delay, we departed for the Keys. The flight was pretty smooth until a sharp bank to left and another odd prediction from the intercom. “Folks, we’ve had three flights attempt to land in Key West and due to lack of ability to see the runway, aborted landing. So, uh, we’re going to be landing in Miami and we’ll let you know from there what is in the plans for you.”

It took far too long to get a gate agent to the door and get us off the plane. We were happy to stretch our legs but less thrilled with the announcement that there were no hotel rooms left in Miami and no chance to flying to Key West as the fog had gotten worse! Around 11PM we were loaded onto a coach bus and began the 3 hour drive. We finally arrived at 3AM and were greeted by our friend Terre. I’m hoping for a much more uneventful trip home!

Key Largo, Montego, ooooh I want to take you...

We're off and running again!

In 24 hours Tom & I expect to be sunning ourselves and enjoying the beautiful shores of Key West, Florida.

See you from beach :)