Athens

After a ferry, a bus, and a train in the hundred-degree heat, we arrived in Athens on Tuesday afternoon.  We wandered toward Syntagma Square and Parliament, only to find the entire area swarmed by the taxi drivers on strike, beginning a new demonstration of their anger.  We walked through the crowds to emerge beyond Parliament and instead continued through the National Gardens, which were very nice.  We got dinner on a busy street between Monastraki and Syntagma, and picked up an authentic gyro as part two.

Our hotel rooftop has a spectacular view of the Acropolis, so we spent the night up in the air, marveling at the lit up wonder.  In Eric's words: "Sitting on my hotel rooftop with a view of the Acropolis, drinking Greek "Alfa beer" and eating a gyro... Life after Mykonos isn't so bad after all."

Wednesday morning, we set out to see the Acropolis up close and personal.  We hiked up the hill to the ruins of the grand buildings that once stood there, looking up at the Parthenon and out at the fantastic view of the city.

Then we continued on our way, checking out other areas of ancient ruins, like the impressive ancient Olympic stadium and Hadrian's arch.  We also saw more modern but no less impressive buildings, including the Zappio and the Presidential residence.  Then, we returned to Parliament to see the building, the guards, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

We spent the remainder of the day wandering the city, until venturing out for food in the evening, and ending our night as the one before: on our rooftop.  We stayed up there a while, sipping a drink and admiring the view, reminiscing about the previous three weeks and all the fun times we shared.  It felt like so much happened and yet went by so quickly.  Still, all good things must come to an end!  In the morning, we pack up and leave for the airport, coming home to New York.  See you there!

Fade into Darkness

Ah, what a relaxing week! Days spent at the pool, on the beach, in town.

One night, the DJ Avicii was playing here on the island, so we spent Friday at Paradise Beach, got our tickets there, and went back at night to Paradise Club, for the late-night party. It was a lot of fun dancing to his live music.

Saturday, Sunday, Monday... Pool, sun, beach, Greek food, beautiful sunsets... Sorry there's not much to report on, but we had a great time! Eric says, Mykonos was all it was cracked up to be! We're sad to be leaving the island, but we're now refreshed and tanned and ready to continue on into the home stretch.

It's all Greek to us!

Hello, from Mykonos!  We arrived on the Greek island yesterday via a ferry from Athens and have been enjoying the relaxing side of our vacation, recovering from two weeks of fun but exhausting travel!

The island is beautiful and mountainous, so funny to travel around the winding roads on cliff edges.  Our hotel is built up onto the hillside, the condos layered down all the way to the infinity pool at the bottom, the beach one level lower.  So nice!  Today, we slept in, enjoyed the breakfast buffet, and lounged around the pool and beach for the afternoon.

 

This evening, we ventured out to Mykonos 'town', the downtown area, for a delicious Greek dinner.  We also scoured the shops, walked through Little Venice, and saw the famous windmills.

We also met the island's mascot, Petros the Pelican.  Yep, that's the real live bird.

All in all, a great start to our time here.  =)  Looking forward to seeing more of the island and taking in more of the sunshine (with sunscreen, Moms!). 

Ich ein Berliner

Germany!

We arrived to Berlin late Sunday night and set out in the rain, in search of two things: food and a TV.  We ate dinner at an eatery while watching USA lose the Women's World Cup, with a crowd of cheering Germans behind us.

Monday, we did a four-hour walking tour of Berlin, seeing all the sights.  Our Australian guide led us through the "amazing and disastrous" history of the city.   After the tour, we climbed the dome of a church at Lustgarten, and then went down to Museum Island to see the Babylon's Ishtar Gate; we've officially seen a wonder of the world!

We went to dinner at a German restaurant, but we had to ask our concierge to find a good one. Apparently Germans prefer Chinese and Italian to their own traditional cuisine, but we did enjoy our meal.  Then we went out for an organized pub crawl and visited bars and clubs with tourists from all over the world.

Today, we went to Berlin's Jewish History museum, which chronicled the Jews in this region from a millennium ago to the modern day.  This afternoon, we did a load of laundry, ate German pretzels and strudel, and, after seeing the movie posters in English, French, Dutch, and German, finally saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part II.

 The movie was great, and the cinema was in a really neat semi-outdoor-semi-domed entertainment center, filled with shops and restaurants.  Very nice!  We got dinner on our way back home, where we had to pack up and get a liiittle bit of sleep before our early morning departure.

Amsterdam!

Three days in Amsterdam came and went so quickly! We immediately loved the vibrancy of the city; it was sunny and bustling when we arrived, and it continued to be busy and lively with people, music, bikes, and (watch out for the--!) trams.

We walked around to get a feel for the place, figuring out the patterns of roads, canals, and bridges, and deciding that this crazy place must be lacking traffic laws. That afternoon (this was Friday), we visited the Anne Frank house/museum, learning what it was like for the Frank family in hiding. Then we wandered the nearby Jordaan neighborhood, finding a nice place for dinner. We walked back down to Leidseplein to see the shops, street performers, etc, and then went to Vondelpark for the night. In Vondelpark, we watched the summer performance of the night: Modern Dance. Then we got fairly lost in Vondelpark, which was a little scary, but then funny once we were safely outside.

 

Saturday, we lead ourselves on a walking tour (thank you, Rick Steves) of "the city", but doing it backwards so that we started near our home and ended at our next walking tour: the Red Light District. The city was nice to see, had some interesting sights and history. The Red Light District was unlike anything we've seen, and we just kept shaking our heads that this is really the norm here.

After working up an appetite with all our walking, we got a late lunch of Amsterdam's delicacy: Dutch pancakes! Then we spent the entire afternoon at the Heinekin Experience, learning all about the history, making, and culture of Heinekin Beer.

That night, we had dinner at a rijsttafel--an Indonesian rice table. A friend recommended doing this in Amsterdam, and they were right. It was about 20 small plates of deliciously spiced and sauced foods. We worked as a team to conquer the rice table and, in the end, succeed.

Today (Sunday), we went on a Canal Cruise of the city, seeing Amsterdam from a new perspective. It was a relaxing and informative end to our stay here in Amsterdam.
Now, to the airport...

See, Sniff, Sip

Our last two days in Paris were fun and relaxing. We let ourselves catch up on some much-needed sleeping in, to start. And we ate many croissants, crepes, and paninis. Can't get much better than that!

Wednesday, we had a lunchtime wine and cheese tasting. It was fun learning all about French wine and how to drink it. The cheese was good, too, but the bread was perfection.

 
Later that day, we strolled down Rue Cler, popping in and out of the specialty shops. From there, we hiked up to l'Arc de Triumph and walked all the way down the Champs-Elysees.

The street was clearly being prepared for the following day: 14 juillet--

Bastille Day! The night before, we checked out a "Fireman's Ball"--the kickoff event of the Holiday. On the morning of, we watched the parade coverage and heard the ceremonial fighter jets soaring overhead. We got lunch with Meredith's friends Jessie and Lily at CrepStory, a restaurant they frequent. These meal crepes are delicious, and it was good to catch up with the girls and see their lives in Paris.

We spent the later afternoon reading in Luxembourg Garden, and, at night, met Jessie and her friend on a bridge for the end of our Bastille Day festivities: Fireworks over the Eiffel Tower.

A perfect last night in Paris!

Paris, je t'aime

J'ai arrive a Paris! 

Yesterday, we took the speedy Chunnel train to France and arrived at our Paris hotel by eight in the evening.  It's a charming little place in a lively area, so we're happy.  We quickly set out to take advantage of the night, which seemed like day because it was still so bright!  We walked to le Jardin de Luxembourg and then wandered out toward the Seine, seeing Notre Dame and the Panthéon, and back toward our neighborhood, where we settled down for our first French meal.  Let the good eats commence!

Tuesday morning, we took the train to Disneyland Paris!!  We waited there in the station for the pouring rain to let up, which proved worth it, because it turned out to be a very nice afternoon.  We enjoyed the rides--some tame and some frightening--and it was fun seeing all the characters and themed areas, too. 

Upon returning to central Paris, we needed something sweet to recharge us.  Meredith got a small Amorino gelato (the best! still made in flower-shape!), and then we to find a creperie that Eric and his family frequented during their visit to Paris some five years ago.  Still there, still delicious! 

We walked to the Champs du Mars that night, looking up at and then climbing the stairs of the Eiffel Tower!  Below: from below, atop, and (clearly) the towel itself, looming high.

 

After a very, very late dinner (guess we're official on European time), we returned home, exhausted from the long, but fun, day.  

Bon soir!

Cheers!

Ah, last days in London.

Sunday morning, we visited the new Globe Theatre, a recreation of Shakespeare's original.  Although, as Eric points out, it was more of a lecture than a "tour", we got to sit in and walk around what is basically the theatre we heard so much about in school all those years.  It was also fun to hear descriptions of the rambunctious behavior of the audience in Shakespeare's day and what it's like to be a modern-day "pennystinkard" today.

Then we walked next door to the Tate Modern, to which Eric's responses were 1) "Psh", and 2) "I can't believe people think this is serious."  And for much of what we saw, I had to agree.  I dragged him quickly through just a couple exhibits to check it out and then we left.


Next up: we walked along the river and across the Tower Bridge to the Tower of London.
(On the Tower Bridge:)

The Tower of London, which was much bigger and more impressive looking on the inside than we'd realized.  The content of the exhibits was alright--the room of torture with recreated examples of machines of torture like "The Rack", the White Tower's multi-floor exhibit on the King's armour and London's weaponry, and, of court, the Crown Jewels, which was clearly what everyone came to see.  After that, we listened to a band play on the lawn and set out again.

Back in Victoria, we went to the Grosvenor Hotel for traditional "Afternoon Tea".  We enjoyed our tea, finger sandwiches, cakes, and especially the delicious scones!  Post-tea:

At night, we went to a really cool place called IceBar London - It's a bar made entirely out of ice, kept at -5 Celsius!  Even drinks are served in ice cups.  They give you jackets to wear, too.   It was a freezing 40 minutes, but definitely cool, no pun intended.

Monday morning, we went to Harrod's Store, a huge display of extreme luxury retail.  Meredith had way too much fun in the toy department, and we both really liked the food selection and the sandwiches we got for lunch.  After Harrods, we walked back to Victoria, collected our bags, and took the Tube to the train station.  First, we stopped at King's Cross to see the famed "Platform 9 3/4", and then walked to the adjoining St. Pancras International Station, where we took the "Chunnel" to Paris.

So that was our last 24 hours in London.

Cheers!

Lawn sports and London Eye

We started Saturday with a morning tour of Lord's Ground--the home of cricket. We learned all about the history of the national sport of England. We entered the Pavilion, formal dining room (they were setting up for afternoon tea), the committee room (where the queen sat to watch the game), the teams' dressing rooms, the awesome aerial press box, etc. It was amazing how all the others on our tour (from the UK, Australia, and India--no Americans!), even the little kids, all knew so much about the rules, players, and history of this sport that we knew nothing about; it felt like going on a tour of a quidditch stadium! But really, it was fun to learn about something to which we previously had very little exposure.

We realized we were near a certain landmark, and so quickly decided to wander up to Abbey Road, in the rain. Worth it for the cheesy Beatles-fan-tourist photo-op? Depends which of us you ask ;)

From there, we went straight to Wimbledon! This is something we, especially Eric, know MUCH more about. Although he was smitten with the tour at the time, all he can say now is, "It was really cool." We started at the museum and then joined our tour, with which we walked the grounds, saw some of the smaller outdoor courts up close and went into the stands of Court No. 1. We walked through the private areas inside the club and learned how ridiculously exclusive membership is. At last, we entered Center Court! Very impressive.

We spent the late afternoon exploring Portobello Market, a massive street display of antiques, food, clothes and jewelry, and lots more 'junk'. It was fun to wander through the oddities. We got a mini-meal (Meredith, from a falafel street vendor, and Eric, a burger from 'Banger Bros'-- ah! Eric finally chimes in, quoting the storefront's tagline: "Banger Bros., *exquisite sausages").

Our evening began at the London Eye, a 443-foot tall ferris wheel on the bank of the Thames. We rode in a glass, round capsule high above the surrounding city, getting a bird's eye view of the layout that we're finally coming to know fairly well. Beautiful! Then we walked along the bustling pier for a bit before venturing further in to have a late dinner at 'Thames', where we tasted London's Indian food. So good! We learned which dishes we like most.

We walked back to the pier for a bit. The South Bank is definitely one of our favorite stretches to walk and wander, so it was the perfect way to end the day.


Sent from my Verizon Wireless Blackberry

London

Hello, from London!
 
Sorry for the delay; internet's been hard to come by!  Thus, this is coming from a phone, so it won't necessarily be pretty.

We arrived on Thursday morning to Heathrow Airport and took the Underground to Victoria Station, from which we walked to our hotel.  Our first Tube ride was a great success.  Our walk from the station to our hotel was a bit more confusing but we ultimately found ourselves.  After checking in and taking a brief but much-needed nap after our redeye flight, we walked to Buckingham Palace (photo below), as well as Green and Hyde Parks. 

For dinner we went to a pub in the area, where Eric got a steak sandwich and Meredith opted to try to local specialty: fish and chips, which Eric tasted, too. It was pretty good, especially with the fish's side sauce and vinegar on the 'chips', aka French fries. As we waited a long time for our food, which arrived by dumbwaiter, we realized that we need to readjust our patience to European time and entertained ourselves by guessing/remembering what the menu items mean. Examples: 'bangers and mash' = sausage and potatoes; 'bloomer bread' = a loaf.

Yesterday, we walked out into a downpour of rain, taking a bus tour around London to get acquainted. We hopped off at Oxford Circus for some lunch and shops, and then took the loop all around, seeing the bridges, Big Ben, and the Tower of London, just to name a few sights. We passed through Trafalgar Square, where the Harry Potter movie premiere was happening, red carpet and all! We got off the bus at Tower Pier for a boat cruise down the River Thames, sailing under the London Bridge and the more beautiful Tower Bridge. The weather cleared up by then, so it was quite nice.

Today, we did some more sightseeing, starting with the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace. We took a slow bus up to St. Paul's Cathedral and toured the floor, the crypt, and climbed the 365 feet up to the dome for a spectacular view of the city. From there, we crosses Millenium Bridge and browsed Borough / Green Market, which was both fun and delicious!

This evening, we saw The Mousetrap, a fantastic whodunit play, which we both (yes, even Eric! Swear!) enjoyed. Then we went out in the Covent Garden area for a while before calling it a night!

More busy days ahead, so goodnight!

- Eric and Meredith

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Blackberry

24 Hours

The Fourth of July!  After a delicious grilled dinner, a disappointing Yankee game, and the creation of this very blog, we zipper up our suitcases to weigh them, and then add the last remaining bits and pieces.  At 9:10 pm, we receive an e-mail from Delta that: "It's time to check in!"  Our flight is officially departing in 24 hours.  YES!  Should we do it now?  No (said Meredith), let's finish packing completely, and then symbolically check in, and then BLOG about it!

So welcome to the beginning of our travels.  Listening to and peeking at the fireworks outside, we finished our packing, printed our final itinerary, and checked in to our cross-Atlantic flight.  Next time you hear from us, we'll be in London!  See you there.