Hi All!

Well, yesterday we visited Athens, Greece.

Our day began with an hour and a half coastal drive from the port of Athens to the temple of Posiedon. It began as a beautiful day, but reached the 27-29 degree range by noon.

Following our visit to the temple of Posiedon, we went to the acropolis, which is a bit of an interesting walk since, like all places here in Europe it seems, is a marble pathway on a slight slant, sometimes with steps. Because of the millions of visitors to this historic and famous hill, these stone slabs are worn smooth. Which also equals worn SLIPPERY. Even in rubber soled sneakers, you have to be careful. And yet, you WILL see women in 6 inch heels. Ridiculous. I wouldn't even brave that in my leather flats, and I'm pretty stable in those. I NEED MY TREAD!

The acropolis was very interesting, but let me tell you this: The work the archeologists do there is very, very important for preserving the historical site for future generations. But, if you're expecting it to look like the pictures, like a temple and library etc etc... have another think about it. The scaffolding pretty effectively obscures the 'post card' view you think you're going to get of the gates and the temple. It was a disappointment for me, mainly because I failed to think about the extensive restoration that is continually necessary for a thousands of years old monument in an earthquake prone area. From the temple, you may see the epicenter of the 1996 earthquake that claimed victims near an Athens granite quarry. The cement walls of buildings collapsed, but the Pantheon remained standing.

We trucked down the hill, and took a short jaunt (stopping to see the hill where St. Paul preached to the Athenians) and went for lunch. Then, we had an hour for shopping. I went into the Starbucks there, thinking about a drink, only to find that a TALL (which is a small in Starbucks language) was 4 euros. It's not even four DOLLARS back home. Rediculous. I promptly left.

Today has been a restful day at sea, and now we're nearing Venice overnight. I'm looking forward to returning to Italy, but moreso, I'm enjoying all of the comments everyone is leaving us! I can't wait to see everyone when I get home.