Dancing With The Stars, Here We Come!!

So, we went to this dinner theatre-type restaurant in Athens with several friends from the Bible College on Wednesday evening, and oh! the fun we had!  It was a delectable feast of traditional Greek food, and 8 traditional dances were performed as the entertainment, with the dancers in the traditional costume for each particular dance.

The funny thing about these previous two pictures is that this dancer was standing on OUR table to do this--right in front of me--OH MY!!  

Well, the advantage of being at a table right next to the stage was that we had a great view of all the dances...the DISADVANTAGE was that when they choose people to come up on stage, folks from those close tables were chosen...So, here is yours truly trying some sort of Greek move with traditional Greek music...you see Brad up there too...oh yes, FOUR of us from our table were sacrificed to the stage...

Brad was a natural, even adding twists and turns...I was proud of my man!!

Next up were Myrto, who not only danced, but sang with the gentleman in white, and Viorica...

...who very wisely opted to cheer on Myrto, thereby not having to sing with the Greek crooner..

Brad's rave of the evening...this gentleman was a master on his instrument 

Caleb and Viorica enjoying the show...

Our friends Robert and Myrto...

On our way home we stopped by the Olympic stadium there in Athens where the 2004 Olympic games were held.  This stadium was built over the earliest Greek stadium where the games were originally held.  Still today the corridors underneath thru which the runners run to enter the field are THE SAME ONES used by the ancient Greeks at the first games...impressive...

Athens, Here We Come

One thing we find completely delightful is the fact that here in Greece folks utilize their rooftops...there are actually staircases leading up to the roof.  They are also very trusting...there are no rails of any sort...on this particular day when Brad and Victoria were up on top of the academic building (I snapped this shot from one of our two balconies), there were students relaxing, reading, etc. up there.  I really think I could get used to that...beautiful view, refreshing breeze, inviting sunshine, renewing quiet...not a bad combo...

Yours truly blogging away from above menioned balcony...

On Saturday morning, the Bible College hosted several youth groups from nearby villages for several hours of fun, games, food, and worship...we hung around and had absolutely the BEST time, even though many of the youth didn't speak a word of English!  This has been a new experience for the kids to be in a culture where English is not the first language.  They have done brilliantly!  A cultural note here:  The youth groups came from 12 noon to 4pm.  First, for 2 hours were the games, then LUNCH AT 2 PM!!  Lunch BEGINS anywhere from 2-3:30 pm here in Greek culture, then supper begins anywhere from 8-10:30pm.  For all my late night friends, now HERE is a culture you could seriously get into!!  They are a late night culture and S-L-O-W to move in the mornings...

Yes, water balloons were involved...see our adventurous Daniel...

For lunch that day they prepared souvlakis, and we gobbled them up!!  Daniel is eating souvlaki, and Brad is eating souvlaki on pita (also known as a gyro) with french fries, tomatoes, and a delectable sauce called tzatziki, which is made of yogurt, cucumber, and garlic.  I could drink the stuff. It's that good.  For weight reasons, it is certainly a good thing that we are here short term...

After the youth group celebration, we headed into Athens, and THIS was our first view of the Acropolis and the Parthenon, just outside the metro...again, my emotion surprised me...

The Acropolis rock was an easily defended site and has been in use for nearly 5000 years.  It is essentially an enormous rock right in the heart of Athens that boasts 3 contrasting temples and a monumental gateway.  More on this to come, but here is the Parthenon, one of the world's most famous buildings.  The Parthenon was completed in 438 BC as a temple to Athena. 

 This would be none other than the Acropolis Museum, as the words so plainly depict...

Dinner was at an outdoor cafe.  Our friend Robert came with us into the city centre to help us find our way a bit.  He's a great guy from Bath, England, and offered to spend a couple days with us showing us the ropes in Athens...what a guy...

We were feeling adventurous for dinner...Victoria tried the stew, Daniel tried spicy cheese balls, Caleb and Brad just couldn't pull themselves away from the pork gyros (with the tzatziki sauce), and I, well, I tried none other than yogurt and honey, which, I might add, was quite tasty...

...and here it is...yogurt and honey...mmmmmm....

We have just hooted and hollered over Brad's "cup-ette" of coffee.  There was about 3 swigs of coffee in this cup.  He wanted to say, "No, I'll have the adult-size cup, please."

So, we went for gelatto afterwards.  I keep asking exactly what gelatto is, but no one seems to know...at any rate, it was sweet, cold, and yummy, so we were happy...

Just as we were getting back on the metro to return home, we caught this glimpse of the Parthenon by night...beautiful, really...

HELLO-O-O-O London!!

LONDON IN A DAY...

Buckingham Palace.  Liz says hello.

Buckingham Palace Gardens

Something we'll always remember is taking the Tube (subway) around London.  The kids have become real pros at this.  It's been gratifying to see them feel confident on something so different for us...

Victoria's FAVORITE tube stop!

Westminster Chapel, where D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached for nearly 30 years, from 1939-1968.

Westminster Abbey. 

 FUTURE TRAVELER'S TIP:  Ask for CHILDRENS tour headsets.  There's CHOCOLATE at the end. :)