It's about time. What happened in Athens

Sorry to take so long with this entry, but at first I was under the weather, and had requested Jeff make it, then when I did feel better I got busy with .....
So, our tale begins with boarding an Olympic Airlines 737 and the first thing you noticed, was leg room, they had it! Honest, you could cross you legs without being able to perform any acrobatics. You could step into your row of seats without climbing in. The next thing was a metal bar that swings down from the seat in front of you that could be called a footrest! Wow! and we're not even off the ground. I took the window seat and closed my eyes, and when I opened them the flight crew was passing out meal trays, as in salad, entree, bread and dessert. Yes, I thought I was dreaming. We're talking a 2 1/2 hour flight, and it came with a meal!!!
Upon arrival we easily found a cab and headed into the city. Jeff and I both agreed it was one of the sanest cab rides we'd ever had. 5 million people live in Athens, there are lots of cars, yet not one Italian type driver in the lot. How refreshing! Once checked into the hotel we headed for a stroll toward the Acropolis. We wandered several hours, window shopped, and ruins viewing then headed for dinner. Next morning was the service on the hill, and after that we returned to our hotel for hot coffee and a huge breakfast buffet. Nap time, then off to Hadrians Arch and the Temple of Zeus, more wandering in the Plaka area, alot of sneezing on my part, for some reason I thought I took 3 naps that day, I was kind of 'out of it'. Monday morning broke bright and clear and we were off to climb the Acropolis and see the Parthenon and other ruins up close. Great view of Athens from up there, too. We said goodbye to downtown Athens at 3PM and headed for the airport. Athens is easy for english speakers thanks to all the preparations for the 2004 Games. It was less expensive than Italy can be, too.

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Easter in Athens

No matter how I felt, I wasn't missing this Sonrise service that has been celebrated here since 1973. This is a picture of the Taylor University Chorale from Indiana who were on tour and blessed the service with their voices. 18 congregations united to celebrate the western Christian church's Easter in the land of Greek Orthodox. It was a bit chillier than anticipated and I'm sure that didn't help my situation much either, but some things are worth a little discomfort. This is one I will look back on and be glad I got to experience it.

Tuscany and Venice

I can't very well talk Athens before I finish my Italy tour with the church. So, here goes, but bear in mind a cold caught me in Athens. Steven found his passport in Frankfort and headed to Nigeria, not exactly my choice of Easter destinations. The remainder of the tour was scheduled to be a revisit, for me, of Florence and Venice. But there were 2 surprises in store. There was scheduling issues for a tour of the Uffizzi, but we squeezed it in on Sunday evening. With most museums closed on Monday, we were given the option of wandering Florence, or a side trip to San Gimignano. Whoop!! So, half of us headed off through the countryside to take in the Tuscany of film. There are so many Tuscan ans Umbrian towns that are worth a visit, I was glad to check another one off, and take some great pictures besides. I'd only spent the one night in Venice with my sisters, and was anxious to return. Our guide arranged for a good price on a gondola trip with musician, so, even though I'm waiting for that romantic ride with my husband, I couldn't pass it up. The trip was great, a the fellowship unequaled. 2010 Germany!!

Day 3 and 4

I'm trying to get my entire trip chronicled before we leave for Athens tomorrow, for fear that my brain is full, not to mention the camera disc. Meanwhile we found out that our son-in-law, Steven, is stranded in Germany. He is awaiting his passport with visa for his work assignment in Nigeria, I think. They ran into no delivery due to Easter weekend, so I'm looking at him joining us in Athens.
So...onward south from Rome. First stop was Pompeii and a wonderful Sicilian guide who explained the relics, the buildings and the streets to us. Fascinating stuff, and something Jeff is very interested in visiting before our final return to the states. We spent 2 nights in Sorrento, our base for our drive on the Amalfi coast line. These days and Rome were the main reason this tour with the church was something I very much wanted to do. Who knew what a reward it would be to spend 9 days with these wonderful people. In ways the coast reminded me of the bits of California coast we saw around San Francisco especially the sun playing hide and seek. Our tour bus driver was amazing, and very knowledgeable of the road. Buses are only allowed to go 1 way, for obvious reasons, and where we were to turn off after the town of Amalfi to take the 'high' road, the link was closed for construction, so we got double the drive all the way to the outskirts of Salerno! I thing the second 1/2 of that drive was more treacherous than the first.
This region of Italy, Campania, is noted for Limoncello, and pottery. I made sure to sample the first and purchase the second.

Day 1 and 2 were Rome. I've got many pictures, and 'archive' photos from LaD's visit and other visits to Florence and Venice. I'm a bit draggy right now, and have to get 'stuff' done before we depart for Athens. But I'm home and I had a terrific time. The fellowship was the icing on the cake. I was acquainted with alot of my fellow travelers and am happy to say I have been blessed with their friendship.

Shrubs and other things

My yellow and pink blooming bushes are still unidentified. Please help!!!??!
I'm getting myself overwhelmed these past few days trying to get all my ducks in a row for the next month. I leave tomorrow afternoon by train to Rome to join my fellow travelers from Christ the King here in Italy. We have 3 days in Rome, 2 in Sorrento, 2 in Florence and 2 in Venice. While I'm away, our son-in-law Steven is in Leipzig Germany, so I've been checking out the feasibility of Jeff going up there this weekend, by train or air. That's still up in the air. 2 days after I return from the tour of Italy Jeff and I are off to Athens for 2 nights. It's Easter weekend for the western church, but not the Greek Orthodox. But.... while doing some on line research I found a mission church, english speaking, that has an Easter Sonrise service on Filopappos Hill with a view of the Acropolis, at sunrise. I found a hotel very close to this area, wanting to walk where ever we go. I'm calling it my intro to Greece trip, hoping to explore the islands at a later date.
A week and a day after that I'll be heading to the States, with 2 weeks in Minneapolis then on to Houston for ?. The question is dependent on Jeff's plans. He thinks he'll be in Amsterdam mid April and could add a flight in and out of there to Houston cheaper than from Milan. He also wants to see Liz's company show on the 28th. If it's a perfect world, which living in Italy we have doubts, Jeff and I will return via Amsterdam, and lay over there a few days. I've lost track of the air fare search engines, best prices and where will who be coming froms!
But I'm excited at the prospects of being on the move again!
If not before Easter, I should have loads of time to post pictures after I get back from Greece.
Which leads me to another important questions. Which way is preferable to view pictures? I used to use a slideshow on the side, and now have tried less pictures posted separately, and the new 'smile show' or whatever it's called. If there is a preference let me know!

It's Sunday, it's sunny, and I'm on the computer. If all had gone as planned we would have spent last night in Brig, Switzerland, having taken the 2 hour train ride. But alas, Jeff got home on friday and when I asked, do you know where our passports are? his reply was no, then yes,in my briefcase at the office still there from our trip to Spain. So yesterday we took a 4 hour stroll of Milan and I showed him St. Ambrogia's. It is the oldest church in Milan, named after Milan's patron saint. This is a walk I took with my sisters when they were here. We had an address for a store that specializes in hard to find items so stopped there on our way home. We found a taco kit, barbecue sauce, and pancake syrup that was not pure maple. Jeff is doing his favorite thing right now, sleeping to golf, but I won't let him sleep for long, it's to pretty a day. I was walked out when we got home yesterday, but got lucky with the TV. Sky cinema was showing 'Dreamgirls' and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Jeff even stayed in the same room with me, albeit on the computer doing his most recent favorite thing, researching woodworking tools and shop designs.

Please help me! can anyone identify these 2 shrubs?

How they trim trees in Italy