Eric's Final Thoughts from Athens

First thought, I am so glad Jenny's bag finally made and apparently made a trip to Rhodes as well, very exciting. Meeting up with Rob and Courtney for dinner was great fun. I think one of the fascinating things about traveling with friends is seeing them in a context in which you are not used to seeing them. And hanging out at a Greek restaurant with the Acropolis in the background and the World Cup playing in the foreground is definitely a different context.

I was glad to see they made it safely, but their bags did not make it with them at the moment. However, their bags are in Amsterdam and should be delivered during the night. So all four of us, despite a little drama here and there, are excited for our next adventure, the cruise. Being on a ship for seven days and seeing some amazing new sights is something I have been looking forward to ever since we booked this trip, and now it has finally arrived. I am not sure when we will post next, but I hope everyone reading this is doing well.

Last Night in Athens

I was so tired last night that I couldn't blog. We had anamazing evening climbing to the Acropolis and then wandering through the Agora. We walked all over the place, over 8 miles in the evening, and finally stopped at an outdoor restaurant and watched the lights come on at the Parthenon. I wish I could upload a picture.
Today was an easy day as we had laundry to do. So we relaxed, read books, talked with other travelers, and had lunch at a fun little cafe near our apartment. Our friends Rob and Courtney arrived from Houston today and we met up with them for dinner. We had fun showing them around a little. And before we headed in for the night, we picked up my luggage!!! Yeah!!! Looks like everything's in there, although I haven't unpacked it. No point since we leave on our cruise tomorrow.
I'm not sure when we'll be able to blog again. We're headed to Bodrum, Turkey, Dalyan River, Turkey, and then Santorini, Milos, and Hydra.

Hope you are all doing well. Thanks for the comments; we really enjoy hearing from all of you!

Shopping Adventures in Athems

Good afternoon! We are taking a break from the heat for awhile. Today is the hottest day so far, in the high 90's. Our trip to Nafplio was cancelled, which was OK because it gave us a chance to sleep in and go shopping. After a leisurely breakfast at a cafe near our apartment, we headed to the stores. There is a fun, touristy area called Plaka which we walk through to get to the clothing stores. Several areas in Athens are paved (?) in marble. This always amazes me. It is gorgeous and unbelievable to be walking in large areas of marble. Other areas are covered with cobblestone. It's all very charming. So we thoroughly enjoyed our walk. Eric is a good sport and was very helpful trying to find clothes for me. Now, this is not me being self-conscious or overly sensitive about clothing sizes. They truly don't fit. Eric very sweetly said this is due to the fact that I'm taller than the average European. Honestly, I think Americans are more curvy. Anyway, we went to two stores that I thought might work: H&M (which we have in the US) and Sprider, which we had seen advertised on the side of a bus. I did find a couple of things (yeah!) and Eric was very cute. I would come out of the dressing room to ask him if something looked OK and he'd either say, "I like it - it looks good" or "Ehhhhh- that's not so flattering." It was like having a personal shopper, which was great! And he found a shirt that he really liked for himself.
So here's the funny part- I was all set to write about something clever that I figured it out, and I see that my dad already wrote about it in the comments suggestion. Great minds think alike, huh Dad?! Well my great discovery was mens athletic shorts (with an elastic waistband) fit great, and a black pair with a nice shirt look dressy. (yeah!) So I'm thinking of a concept for a new show for the Travel Channel: What to Wear When Your Luggage Gets Lost. They can take real people, in countries all over the world, and show them how to shop for clothes that would work best for them in that country. I'm thinking back to Japan and how petite all theclothes were. Thank goodness I didn't lose my luggage there! Anyway, we continue to call the airport and they continue to not know anything about my luggage. But I have some other clothes now, so I feel much better. For now, we are taking a break and then planning to visit some more ruins. We'll try to add some pictures to our next post. It really is beautiful and amazing here!