Thus begins the story of Nik and Laura’s Summer 2008 trip to Greece.  To see all of our pictures, click here.  For most of the pictures, Nik has mapped them so you can see exactly where in Greece they were taken.  Here’s the list of the whole series.

Part 1 (of 7)

The flight to Athens was long but blessedly a direct flight.  Theo (Uncle) Nik picked us up at the airport and I was immediately impressed by the flowering laurel that was everywhere, growing on the roadsides.  Another Orthodox priest was also at the airport waiting to pick someone up and he told me that my Greek name was really Daphne, which means Laurel Tree – therefore, Laura.  Thereafter, Nik and I became Niko and Daphne, the Greek couple!

The elevator in Theo Nik’s apartment building is very small.  Here’s the proof:

We arrived in Greece in the morning but really around midnight our time.  So we spent our first day resting and trying to get my foot less swollen.  Flying with a broken toe really isn’t all that fun!  I was thrilled to meet Nik’s yiayia (grandma).  We couldn’t say more than a couple words to each other but we could still love each other. Nik helped by translating a little bit.  Yiayia had a stroke not too long ago and speaking is difficult for her now.  Nonetheless, I could see her strong love for Nik and how happy she was for us to be there with her.

Our second day, we ventured out into Athens – the traffic was incredible! I try not to think about how many accidents we seemed to just barely miss!  That night, we went to the top of one of the many hills in Athens.  For this one, we rode a tram to the top.  Here we are at dusk at the top of Lycavitos. You can just barely see the Acropolis in the background.

The next morning, we had the pleasure of walking to the local farmers’ market where we were overwhelmed by the amount of produce available and the incredibly good prices.  Aren’t the beans beautiful?

Theo Nik then took us on a day trip to the Peloponnese Peninsula.  To get there, we had to pass over the Corinth Canal (as in the Corinthians!).

Our next stop was Mycenae, a very famous archeological site.  It’s about 3000 years old.  I especially liked the huge blocks that the walls were built from.  Walking around the site wasn’t the most fun activity with a broken toe but we walked slowly and it was OK.

 
This is the famous Lions Gate.

Next, we were on to Nafplio, a delicious lunch, and a boat ride in the harbor.

Our next stop was Epithavros, one of the best preserved theaters in Greece.  It was gorgeous and unfortunately, spoiled us for every other theater we saw on our trip!  Nothing compared.  This has the sweet spot in the middle of the stage where you could whisper and be heard perfectly clearly at the top of the theater!  15,000 people can sit in the theater and everyone can hear what’s being spoken from the floor!

Meet Daphne, posing with daphne, the plant (I think!).

The next day we left for Santorini!

To be continued…