Marathon Man Monday

So, Monday was a bit of a slower day after the Athens extravaganza on Siunday...we chose to stay closer to home...this is the "Marathon Man" and it is a statue very near the Bible College that represents the 1/2 marathon mark--13.1 miles--from the city of Marathon to the stadium in Athens.  As the story goes, when 25,000 Persians arrived at the Bay of Marathon in 490 B.C., it seemed impossible that the 10,000 Greeks could defeat them.  Greek victory was won by enclosing the Persians on all sides and driving them out to see, where 6000 Persians died and only 192 Athenians.  The origins of the marathon run date from this Battle of Marathon.  News of the victory was relayed by a runner who covered the 26.2 miles back to Athens in full armour before dying of exhaustion.

Just across from the Marathon Man is the largest and best bakery I have ever been in IN MY LIFE!!  It went on and on and on...heavenly...they boys each chose an ENORMOUS donut covered in sugar, Victoria chose a pastry with Merenda (Greek-brand Nutella) within, and Brad and I went with the homade baklava...I think we've been back every day since! (The owners were so kind...when they realized we were Americans visiting the Greek Bible College, they insisted we try a couple other of their pastries as their gift to us.  Talk about an example of showing kindness to foreigners!) 

After our venture to Beneth, the bakery, we went to our neighborhood underground grocery store, where the first thing that greets you is octopus, straight from the Aegean Sea.  I do so enjoy going into grocery stores wherever we may be, from a country story in Tennessee, to the corner market in Greece, I always find the experience completely delightful.

Even daily activities here have a Greek flair, which we are so enjoying, like hanging out our clean laundry...on the roof!...

...and playing hide and seek in 2 foot tall clover!...

...and climbing unknown (olive?) trees...

The Greek Bible College has many amenities for the students, among them this basketball/volleyball court.  We had loads of fun here...

...and here as mom is whoopin' up on Daniel...WAY TO GO, MOM!!

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...

Gorgeous Greece

Our first full day here in Pikermi, Greece, we decided to take a family walk down a pathway near the Greek Bible College, where we are staying and where Brad is teaching.  We discovered all kinds of things...like this heavily laden orange tree...  (Their fruit is D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!)

  

...lots of beautiful blooming bushes...



...and the boys favorite... this type of tree with itty-bitty (1-cm long) pine-cone-type appendages that they discovered if they ruffled the branches, the pollen would douse everyone walking behind them.  They found this GREAT fun, and we all came home bearing plenty of pollen to prove it...

The village of Pikermi is just a few minutes from Rafina, a coastal village, so our first afternoon we headed down to the seashore.  Our friend Jeff insisted we borrow his car, and we were off...(I was so thankful that they drive on the RIGHT side of the street here, unlike our Irish driving adventure!)  We were struck how the buildings here look like we'd thought they'd look in Greece...mostly all white-washed with the rocky, hilly countryside looking just like it does in books...we were not disappointed!

The most interesting thing we saw today was right here on the beach.  This gentleman was an octopus fisherman, and he took the time to show the kids the steps of cleaning an octopus (right in front of our very eyes - Egads!, as my daddy would say), which includes squirting the ink (and innards) into a bucket of water...

(Side note:  note the ship in the background...this is a port town, and it is not uncommon to see ships such as this in the harbor, some of which carry passengers to one of the many Greek Isles...)

...then "beating the fire" out of them with what looked like a small cricket bat to tenderize them.  The octopi still had reflexes as they were tenderized...they weren't the only ones cringing at that point...

We ended our day with dinner by the beach with Myrto, our friend from Cambridge; Jeff Baldwin, the headmaster at the Greek Bible College, and Robert, another friend from Cambridge.  We ate souvlaki gyros, which is a SCRUMPIOUS typical dish, along with a Greek salad (no lettuce), which can be seen in the foreground.  The feta on these salads was fresh, and so yummy.  I didn't think I was a feta fan, but how wrong I was!  I could NOT stop eating the stuff!

Our first day ended with loukoumades, a traditional honey-dipped pastry, similar to beignets, and equally as yummy.  The kids have been great at trying new foods--even ones they can't pronounce and don't know exactly what is...we are REALLY enjoying Greek cuisine!!

Fun with Jo

One of the highlights of being over here has been having friends from home "pop" over (as they say here) for a wee visit!  Our first such visitor was none other than Jo Padgett and her friend Karen Adams, who stayed with us 3 days on their way up to Scotland, where Jo's parents live.  We had a wonderful visit, and found it delightful to be on the "GIVING-the-tour-end" of Cambridge.  We did a pretty good job of it, if I do say so myself, and we didn't charge NEAR the prices they'd have paid in town. :)

So, there was this kind passerby that took it upon himself to clear away all the other people on the sidewalk so we could take a picture, and then, to the amazement of us all, jumped in the picture himself! We laughed and laughed.  No idea who he was...

Karen, in particular, wanted to go to an official English pub.  No problem, they're everywhere.  We took them to The Mitre, which was the first pub we visited when we first arrived...even sat in the same booth.  I think that makes it a tradition. :)  Fish and chips were enjoyed by all except Dianne, who opted for the Shepherd's Pie, another typical entree here, and every bit as yummy...

Punting on the Cam River is probably the one unique activity that Cambridge is noted for, so that was a must-do for Jo.  Punting involves these long shallow boats, called punts, and a long stick that you poke in the mud in the bottom of the river to push the punt along.  You can either pay guides to take you down the Cam, or attempt to do this yourself.  After seeing more than one close call of people falling in, we chose to go with a guide, much to the dismay of Caleb and Daniel.  Our guide was a college student with a very good sense of humor.  Once we looked at our pictures, we noticed that in almost every single one, we were laughing...he really made the trip one to remember!  Anyway, most of the famous colleges that comprise Cambridge University and other interesting historical sites are along the Cam River, so  it is a very pleasant outing...oh!  Did you see the rainbow behind Caleb?  So, twas a beautiful afternoon when we started punting, and then, all of a sudden, it started POURING rain...enough to get us all soaked...then stopped and was completely beautiful the rest of the time.  Such is the weather in Cambridge. :)

This bridge is called the Bridge of Sighs, and is named after its predecessor in Venice.  This one, built in 1831, links the New Court of St. John's College (where the students take their exams) to the main part of the college, and was so named because of the sound students make as they walk across it upon completion of exams.  As it was explained to us, on two different occasions, student pranksters have suspended a car beneath the bridge, after first punting the vehicle along the river then hoisting it up by ropes. 

We'll always remember the daffodils.  The English are known for beautiful gardens...and for a reason!  We have seen some real horticultural masterpieces!  Just around back of our flat--we are on the edge of campus--are thousands, I mean THOUSANDS, literally--of daffodils.  We have had fresh bouquets of daffodils all over our flat for over three weeks now! 

Ever play that game where you put a quarter on your elbow, and then swing your arm down quickly and try to catch the quarter in your hand?  Yes, come visit the Greens in Cambridge and you, too, can have a go at this international phenomenon.

Karen was knitting a pair of socks while here, and Victoria, to her great pleasure, was the wind-the-yarn-up-girl.

Daniel thinks one of the best things about Mrs. Padgett is that, since she works in the medical field, she often has these great water balloons, sometimes disguised as ordinary gloves, in her pockets. Oh, the splatting-good-time those boys of ours had with the water bombs from her pockets! :)

Lambing Season at Wimpole Estate

Frolicking lambs were the order of the day when we visited the Wimpole Estate, a sprawling National Trust property southwest of Cambridge.  This working farm boasts of many rare breeds of farm animals, and the day we visited, there were over 100 (!) ewes about to give birth.  There we all stood looking at each other:  the very pregnant ewes ready to have their babies, and the watching public, wanting them to have them.  I don't know who was more disappointed when their babies did not arrive that day...

These are some of the pregnant mamas during feeding time.  Do you see the black one in the MIDDLE of the round feeding trough.  We're still wondering HOW a VERY pregnant ewe landed in the middle of the trough--giant leap?  good buck in the seat of her pants?  using other sheep as stepping stones?  Funniest thing...

Every time I see this picture I laugh.  This entire breed of sheep needs their bangs cut!  I just laughed and laughed.  In order to even see to walk, they had to kind of flick their heads a bit to expose their eyes...reminded me of that muppet with the long crazy hair... :)

The kids got to practice their milking skills...not too bad...

Rudyard Kipling's daughter, Elsie Bambridge, was the last owner of Wimpole, and she restored the house and grounds to their original glory.  There was much to see and do, but we spent the entire day on the farm!

And a good time was had by all...