Monday, December 17, 2007

The Smith Adventures


October brought the BIG CROWD! What a blast! A huge slumber party with 10 adults in our little house! We went everywhere! It was great fun! Here are some of the photos documenting our trips to the sights in Athens, the Peloponese, on the cruise to Mykonos, Rhodes, Ephesus, and Patmos, and to Sounio. For some reason, we don't have photos of the day in Delphi. Maybe that is because Patti did not go and Dave was in charge of the camera???????? The picture we SHOULD have is of the family playing Phase 10 EVERY EVENING and Lane and others with their IPODS (newest toy) in their ears!!!






Visiting the Temple of the Olympian Zeus in Athens


On the cruise



SHOPPING!



Brent and friend in Rhodes














Lunch at the family-run taverna in Rhodes




Scene from the Street of the Knights in Rhodes



DING DING!















SIGHTS in EPHESUS














Ancient windmills on the island of Patmos













At the Bourtzi Castle in the Harbor of Nafplio













CORINTH







The Gang at Sounio

Saturday, December 15, 2007

September in Greece


September brought a bit of a break in the heat, but still plenty of sunshine and chances for exploring ancient sights. Chad and Elissa Fix came to stay with us for two weeks and we had a marvelous time exploring together and enjoying their company. We had so much fun with them, introducing them to souvlaki, Greek yoghurt with honey, tyrokafteri, and Greek salad. We went to Corinth, Nafplio, Epidavro Theatre, and Mycenae in the Peloponese. We climbed around ancient temples at Sounio and Delphi. We sent them on ferries to the islands of Crete, Kefalonia, Ithaca, and Hydra and on the metro to explore the museums and the Acropolis and other famous sights in and around Athens. We shopped in the Plaka, buying jewelry from George and sandals from John Lennon's and Jackie Onassis' personal sandalmaker. We played games and chatted into the evening on our balcony with the beautiful view. It was a great time and we hope they will come again!





Thursday, November 15, 2007

Mr. Otterson becomes "Gyro Man!"

The first week of August, the temperatures were soaring and another "hottie" came to visit us in Greece. Ben Otterson, aka Mr. O, came for 6 days, way too short, but we did our best to see everything we could. We saw the sites of Athens, shopped for souvenirs, ate good food at many Greekeries, and even did a day trip to Hydra and a bus tour of Delphi and Meteora. Ben was even able to be one of our guests at an official dinner we hosted in our home for the British Attaches. He thoroughly impressed the Brits with his knowledge of and love for the game of "European football" otherwise known by Americans as "soccer". Here are some photos of our fun!






Monday, November 12, 2007

Next Visitor


Cyndi was the next to visit us in the heat of the summer of 2007. This summer was the hottest ever on record for Greece and a very disturbing summer with fires all over the country, many set deliberately. The heat and often high, dry winds were perfect conditions for the fires to spread fast and furious! It was a very sad time for Greece. This country lacks green areas as it is, and the few forested areas they have were damaged very much this summer. In spite of the heat, we had a nice time doing a few of the sights around Athens and even ventured out of the Attica area to visit Sounio, Delphi, Meteora, and the islands of Hydra and Spetses. Here are a few photos of our adventures.






Sunday, November 11, 2007

Long Time, No Post

Here it is November already and I have not added to this blog since June! A lot has happened in these 6 months!! We are very happily settled into our life here in Greece. Our home is nice and our activities are hectic and enjoyable. We have had many visitors each month since Benjamin and Rebecca christened the "Johansen Bed and Breakfast" as our first guests in June. Since then we have welcomed Adrienne, Cyndi, Ben Otterson, Chad and Elissa Fix, and 8 members of the Smith family from Utah. I think in this post I will add some photos of fun times enjoyed with all of our guests...starting with AJ's visit in July. We visited Sounio at sunset. Another day, we took her on a cruise to 3 Aegean islands, Poros, Hydra, and Aegina.









Thursday, June 07, 2007

More photos






Here are some more photos from our adventures in Greece. One is of a beach within driving distance of our home, about an hour away. The next is the view of the Olympic Stadium at night from our balcony.

Monday, June 04, 2007

More from our sightseeing around Athens and roundabout






We have had our first visitors! Rebecca and Benjamin Andersen have visited for 4 days from Copenhagen and we have taken them around to a few sites. Here are some pictures of our travels roundabout! This is Dave and the lovebirds at the top of Lycavitos Hill. The other photo is of the changing of the guards at Syntagma (Parliament).

Thursday, May 24, 2007

About town





























Here are a few of the photos I have taken around the city of Athens. They are of the various ancient sites right in Athens and of course the guard at the Syntagma (Parliament). Enjoy!