On our flight home we tried to think through some of the unique things about Greece that we haven't talked about in our other updates. Here is what we came up with:

Cats and dogs - they seem to be just about everywhere. While the dogs roam freely most of them have collars on and appear to be well fed and taken care of, so it is a bit confusing. The cats appear to be relatively friendly and also look pretty healthy. Some neighborhoods had stray feeders out.

Driving & Passing - Driving in Greece is crazy. In the cities, the roads are extremely narrow. It seems as though there isn't enough room for one car to drive down much less two. Cars park everywhere and there are no meters. Cars park on sidewalks and right up to the corner of the street. Some of the larger roads are two-way streets. Passing is a free for all. We learned to hug the right shoulder as cars would pass and drive halfway over the centerline in both directions regardless of oncoming traffic. There are also a lot of motorbikes and scooters that will pass however they can on whatever side they want - even driving down the sidewalks sometimes! Everyone's car is so small and it's amazing how close they get to each other!

Toilet Paper - Due to the old pipes and plumbing in Greece, similar to Beirut, you aren't supposed to put toilet paper in the toilet. Luckily the hotels we stayed at all picked up the room at least twice per day and always emptied the trash!

Dining - There were a lot of unique things about dining in Greece! Most restaurants offered a wine list, but they also had House Wine offered in ¼ or ½ liter carafes for a fraction of the price of a bottle. It was perfect for us because ½ L is about two glasses per person! Our favorite part was that at the end of most meals we were presented with a free dessert. Often this was paired with Roki, a very strong "moonshine". We tried it a couple of times but we just couldn't do it. It tasted like rubbing alcohol. We saw many people sip it like it was a small glass of water! Also, you had to make sure to specifically ask for your bill or you could sit at your table all night. This usually meant flagging your waiter down in any way possible because once you had dessert they never came back!

Parking & Narrow Streets - parking in most cases didn't have a lot of structure or rules. Cars could be parked in any direction as long as they fit (including perpendicular to the sidewalk). One thing we noticed though, was that some streets with turns had no parking marked off specifically so that buses could make the turn around the corner! This is because the streets are so narrow there is nowhere else for the larger vehicles to go besides nearly up on the sidewalk.

Overall, the people we met were very friendly and nice. Everyone was extremely helpful whether it was hotel employees, tour guides, wait staff, or just people we asked questions of in the street. Most people spoke very good English, and for the few we asked questions of that didn't, they called someone over that would help us. We had a great time in Greece, but of course there are a few things we missed, so we just might have to go back someday! Right now we are happy to be home with our boys!