We made it, even with Joe and Kathy missing one connection. Kathy wants so make sure she mentions the StroopWafel we had on the plane and to let everyone know that sooner or later it actually melts in your mouth.

Greece! - Day 2 Thursday Sept 2nd

Hi all. We made it on the plane and to Greece. We are in Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki It is nice here. The weather is shorts and polo. We checked into the hotel which is located on the main promenade on the water. Here are some early pictures. We had a good meal on the hotel terrace. No doubt helped by the fact that they our server's name was Xena and she was pushing drinks named Porn Stars.
Note of Greece personality. Our taxi driver was a gamer and we discussed World of Warcraft among other items. He said that he would not play with other Greeks because they did not share the loot in raids.

Day 3

Today we visited Pella Pella and Vergina Vergina. Pella is the location of the Alexander the Great museum and Vergina is the location of the tomb of his Father, Philip the second. The tomb, in its original location, is inside the museum, which is a great design. Note on Greek Personality. Today we had an excellent tour guide. She had us hang audio equipment around our neck so she could speak to us using her headset. Then she just spoke with us normally, no headset. She said in Greece, all that matters is appearance, nothing really needs to work. She also spoke about the national religion and how much is affects life. Greek Orthodox Catholicism. Basically, makes a lot of money for the priests. Turns out it is illegal to be cremated in Greece so folks need to dig up their relatives after three years, clean the bones and put them in a smaller container so that there is room for the newly deceased. She also said that the Greeks do not like Erdogan from Turkey, feel OK about the Turkish people, but they strongly dislike the Turkish Cypriots. She is a well-educated archaeologist. We also learned that Greeks eat lunch at 3 and supper after 9. The food so far has been, quite to our surprise, delicious. We also learned about North Macedonia, they are Slavic in origin and they have inappropriately tried to claim that Alexander was not Greek, but Slavic. This is quite a point of contention.
One of the pictures below is of three joined ivory carvings from the tomb of King Philip. I included the finger to give size perspective. They are very impressive, especially considering how old they are (336 BC). These are high resolution pictures and I recommend you zoom in on the figures. Two of the other pictures are from our hotel room balcony. One is of Jay demonstrating how one would drink at lunch, if he was the type of person who did that sort of thing.

Day 4

Today we toured Thessaloniki, had lunch and were driven to Kalambaka where we will be touring the monasteries on the rock columns. Meteora The pictures show us with our very knowledgeable guide (Rania), the three future Alexander's and 2 would be Brucephaluses standing in front of a dynamically alive statue of a past Alexander and an olive stand. When we suggested to our guide that we have an olive tasting she looked at us a bit weirdly and said "..but we all know what all of these olives taste like". When the olive vendor heard how much these cost in "the states" he said he was moving and opening an olive stand. Today we are really getting into the Greek life. We eat a larger than usual breakfast. Our lunch is getter later each day, we nap in the later afternoon, and our dinners are starting at 8:00 or later. Our jet lag is getting better but seems to be helping with our ability to take an afternoon nap. It the life of Riley er Zorba.

Day 5

Meteora is impressive. These residences "close to God" are worth a real look. Meteora
We also met our "Zorba" today. Our driver, married (sort of) 4 times, plays the guitar and a Greek instrument, multiple degrees. "Persistence overcomes resistance". Good joke about finding a lawyer in heaven.

We also did something really unique today. We visited a Mushroom museum, one of the few in the world, or so they say. We tried mushroom liquor there.
There is a picture of us with our guide. You can see two of the monasteries to the right in the picture. Another picture at the entrance to the mushroom museum. We also have pictures of Jay trying to understand this beard concept and Rich just looking good.

Day 6

Today we traveled to Delphi, Delphi then by Athens and onto Nafplia Nafplia . Gene, Denise and Tracy have arrived.

At Delphi we finally began to understand the order of various cultures. Cycladic, Minoan, Mycenean, Archaic, Classical, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and modern.

There was beauty galore in Delphi, combined with a gusting wind of a perfect temperature and the ruins left us feeling like we could feel the winds of time and change moving around us. We saw Aphrodite, at least we think so, with a well fitted gown rippling in the wind Gown. We saw a sea of 5 million registered olive trees, carpeting the valley and leading to the gulf of Corinth, and we saw a beautiful statue that left us thinking of our halcyon youth.
In Nafplia we began a constant theme of our trip, led by Rich. Gelato!

Day 7

Today we toured the fortress above Naphlia, Palamidi but really it was a day of wine and song. Starting at lunch we drank liter upon liter of wine. We napped and then headed out to dinner where Dimitri, our companion driver, presented a guitar to Denise. He had driven to Corinth while we were napping to purchase it. They then proceeded to play and were also joined for a few moments by local musicians. It was the sort of experience one travels for. Pictures are from the top of Palamidi, morning from the hotel window, the happy Americans and one Greek (Dimitri is in the blue shirt, third back on the right), Denise playing her new guitar and a video of Dimitri playing.

Day 8

Today we toured the ancient sites of Epidaurus Epidaurus and Mycenae Mycenae. We had takeout Gyros and sat at our hotel with wine for lunch. In something of a surprise, we have found that Rich just loves ouzo. In his honor we created this little ditty.

Ouzo is best
I hate all the rest
You think I jest
But give it the test
You'll find I'm no pest
And have brought out your zest.

Pictures Below. The most well preserved Corinthian column head in Greece.

BOB! - The next picture is for you to identify. Jay says you will get it really quick which would be quite a change from the speed it took Jay.

Next picture is the famous Lion Gate, then a theater that held 17,000 people (the Olympic field stadium held 45,000) Picture of two Mycenaean dignitaries in front of their future tomb.

Day 9

Today we drove to the coast to the town of Kakovatus. Kakovatos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakovatos This was our first time on the beach and the water was warm Yes!. The hotel was quite pleasant and the restaurant comfortably on the beach. After a lunch where we gritted out teeth and only drank a little, we headed to Olympia.
Wow! Olympia Olympia as a place is interesting, Olympics and all, but the guide was brilliant. She was highly intelligent, discussing big thought-provoking concepts with genuine interest and excitement. We learned a lot, and what we learned was not boring facts but concepts of religion, of the metamorphosis of ideas and symbols. She discussed how the site of Olympia began as a mother earth sanctuary where female deities were ascendent and then as wars took over the male gods came to dominate. She discussed that the Olympics were about mind, body and soul. About improving the body and our ability to manage our emotions (not remove them as in Christianity), equality with everyone at the olympics camping out together, and cooperation, wars were not allowed during the olympics and everyone got together, had some drinks and would find a way to stop their wars. She also discussed how these ideas were found in all religions, about how all religions have the concept of a being with a god as one parent and a human as the other. Anyway, it was a wonderful presentation. Kathy never complained about it being at a pile of rocks. Adding to the presentation was the storm. There was quite a storm in the mountains and as we started our discussion of Jupiter, it thundered. Wow. Then there was downpour in the nearby mountains, not on us. This was followed by a rainbow. When I told True Trips they said there would be an upcharge for the thunder but the rainbow was gratis.
During the tour we also raced on the olympic track. Jay had indicated that he would be an easy win over Gene and I. As we pushed off the starting gate, Jay began to accelerate and then.... pulled a hamstring and went down. Sympathy from the women was an easy win. Gene and I continued on as we knew that if we stopped and Jay had just tripped, he would have laughed at us as he passed us. Gene won the laurel crown and Jay spent the next week recovering.
After we returned to Kakovatus we sat down for dinner on the beach wth Dimitrios and our other driver George. We were supposed to meet Alex Skabardonis (a professor I work with and who has relatives in this town) but his trip was cancelled by the University. Alex was the reason we went to Kakovatis. So, we were a bit sad that this was not happening.
Then a person we did not know came to the table and asked for Joe. He said he was Alex's cousin and was supposed to buy us wine. We chatted for a while, with Dimitrios translating a bit. We then called Alex in Oakland. We then proceeded to have a meal with more food than we thought possible and learned that the Greeks considered fish to be light, like fruit, and able to be eaten without limits.
Then the night carried into us singing and playing the guitar. Kathy was very happy and we don't understand why Tracie alternated between putting her hand over Kathy's mouth or covering her ear closest to Kathy. So good time had by all.
We are lined up at the start line for our race in the Olympic stadium. Note Jay is not even leaning over, showing his confidence in the final outcome of the race. Next is the picture of the winner of the race wearing his olive crown. Then I was allowed to try it on. Jay decided that a different olympic sport was appropriate for him.
This is a view from our hotel in Kokovatus and of helmet shopping for Gene in Olympia.

Day 10

Today the travel and alcohol consumption caught up to me and from now on I have been unable to maintain this blog in real time nor in good English spelling or grammar! Pictures will arrive later.
Today we are driving to Mystras Mystras then onto Athens Athens.
Mystras was a fortress that involved a lot of climbing and amazing views. This time of the city of Sparta and of like 15 million olive trees. The 150 olive trees we have at the ranch have been given perspective.
For most of us this is our first visit to Athens. Margo, Lisa Marie and Garth are arriving today. Josh indicated that he is trying to catch up with our alcohol consumption while traveling to meet us. We respect Josh's efforts and only hope the Margo has also started ramping up her consumption. Kathy is not worried about this with her brother.
We drove in two vans, in one there was karaoke, in the other we just picked on Jay. I know in which van we had more fun. You can decide.
In the evening all of us met Margo, Memphis (Lisa Marie) and Garth for drinks on the 10th floor of the hotel with a beautiful view of the Acropolis. Margo, Garth and Memphis went on a walk about and ended up in a hookah bar. We all then went to dinner where Dimitrios joined us (with a fancy motorcycle). Quotes from Dimitrios 1) If a Greek offers you anything for free you are about to get screwed 2) Persistence overcomes resistance 3) We invented being late 4) Guns are not allowed in Greece so we kill you with food George our other driver informed us that Greece is just like the US in that they only give speeding tickets to out of towners.

Day 11

Today, James, Mary, and Josh arrived. The gang is all here! It was a free day for all of us. Gene played tennis! There was a visit to the technology museum Tech Museum and a local park. Shopping was done. Our first gathering with everyone occurred this evening with dinner in the same restaurant as yesterday (down the street from the hotel).

Day 12

Today we have our Acropolis tour Acropolis and then dinner with George and Sophia (our travel planners) and George's role playing (DnD) gaming group. Some were looking forward to this with anticipation, some with trepidation.
The tour and tour guide were excellent. At one point the tour guide said that Europe looks down on Greece and claims they are too American. She said for sure "We like pedicures and manicures and we take showers. Bring on America" Later she sent an email to Jay suggesting he take care of his "carnal" side. We speculate on exactly what this means.
The dinner, at the Dalliance House, was one of the high points of the trip. Josh does not even remember the end of it, but we remember him. There was a bottle of a popular Greek alcoholic item that we ordered and I said that we would give what was left over to George and Sophia. Hah!. Folks were practicing drinking this from shot glasses without using their hands. None was left. George's family also visited. At the end of it, he said that if someone had told him an event with this many different people could go so well, he would have said you live in a fantasy world.
The fact that there was a toast to Mary's breasts should be used as a guide to the direction the festivities took. We don't seem to have pictures of this event, perhaps they have been expunged.
George and Sophia presented us with DnD Dice set and a very nice miniature Greek boat. We gave them a Cal baseball cap and an outfit for Sophia's child.
The next morning Josh woke up with 5 minutes to pack and get ready. He left his wallet in the hotel safe. Josh was a bit more careful about the level of his alcohol consumption after this, basically meaning he no longer tried to keep up with Margo and Mary :). He could not remember the previous night from whence was born the phrase IForgoto.

Day 13

Today we flew to Santorini Santorini and went directly to the catamarans where we planned out our trip and ordered some local food.
We then sailed for six hours to our first island stay, Koufonisia Koufonisia . There was sea sickness to be dealt with by some and it was quite uncomfortable, especially for Gene and Margo.
There are two boats and we needed to divide up the folks. We decided on the party boat and the calm boat. On the party boat were Denise, Gene, Memphis, Garth, Rich, Jay and Josh. On the other boat were Margo, Tracie, Mary, Jim, Kathy and Joe.
In the evening we just went out to eat while several folks stayed home and recovered. I believe we stayed in the town of Chora on Pano Koufanisi island (one of three islands) and ate at this restaurant. Restaurant
On the calm boat we met our captain and our "host". This person is being referred to as George because he resembles George Clooney. The ladies, of both boats, have expressed a high degree of satisfaction with True Trips choice of boat personnel. His name is Anestis. It adds to the glamor that he worked as security on oil tankers along the Somalia coast. He explained the difference between a mercenary and a security guard. One is paid to kill; one is paid to protect.
On the party boat their "host" was a person of Arabic origin and they loved him and felt he had been passed over because of his origins.

Day 14 - The Aegean Islands

We first sailed to the island of Schoinousa (for lunch?). Island of Schoinoussa Either we could not dock there or we were just planning to stop for lunch. Not sure which it was but we could not dock and we headed to the to the island of Iraklia Island of Iraklia The port is called Agios Georgios. We ate at a pleasant little cafe called the Akathi restaurant. After lunch we set sail for our final island and after being unable to find dock space at the previous islands (mostly due to the rough seas), we ended up on AntiParos Antiparos. We stopped along the way to swim in the Agean. It was fun and folks really enjoyed it. We ate at quite a good Italian restaurant there called Salerosso.Salerosso New saying from our boat person. "All the sharks in Greece are on the land". Our saying on angry Greek women was updated to say "Don't bother running, you will just die tired."

Day 15

Today we stayed on the same island, AntiParos, and Joe got a little dressed up in the evening. We rented bikes and 4 wheelers and went to a cave. Ask Rich for his song. Kathy was not feeling well and mostly stayed on the boat. Pics include a beautiful cemetery, the cave, Josh appreciating my manly pectorals (or something like that) and a magazine demonstrating the role of business women in Greek society.

Day 16 - Aegean Islands - Ios

Today we had a nice 3-hour boat ride to Ios Ios. No one was sick, I guess we are getting our sea legs. We docked right on the walkway in front of the shops. Ios is a pleasant place with nice architecture. Kathy was again feeling poorly.
We went to a very nice beach and are now heading out to watch the sunset in a nice restaurant. Grandma's Restaurant
The restaurant has an amazing amazing view and then we had a very expensive meal. Quite a place. Thank you Tracie.

Day 17 - Aegean Islands - Santorini

Today we set sail for Santorini. Santorini No one was sick.
We stopped at the small Santorini island Therasia where we had lunch at Captain John's and Jay and Denise climbed the steps.
We then sailed around the Caldera, visited the hot springs, Palea Kameni passed the various colored beaches and watched the sunset.
The crew cooked dinner for us. Very nice day. Kathy feeling better but not better. What was the name of the port we stayed in?

Day 18

Today we were dropped off the boat at 9:00 and taken to our hotel in Megalochori. Megalochori
The hotel, the Vedema, is quite nice and is real hit our group. Vedema luxury hotel We were checked in as the day went on.
Then we went to lunch at Seaview Santorini restaurant and had the best meal of the trip so far (and it turned out of the whole trip for the larger group). Great Restaurant Not only was the food great but the beach scenery was memorable. One bikini clad woman with a full-length spiral body tattoo had the women staring even more than the men. She was special, where are our pictures?
We did not try the hookahs. We got together in Josh's room afterwards but it was an early night for some.
This was the one of those days when Joe nearly lost the air traffic control picture. He only figured out which restaurant we were going to (Seaside Santorini) and arranged transportation about an hour or two before the reservation. That was close...

Day 19 - Santorini

Today we had a most excellent hike along the caldera (Gene and Denise stayed home). Caldera Rich nearly passed out from the heat on the hike. It was beautiful and quite warm. Donkey was purchased. Then lunch in Oia. The views were really spectacular.
Kathy purchased ecstasy with decongestant.
We had going away drinks with Denise, Memphis and Garth. They headed to the Santorini airport for the flight to Athens while Gene got his game on. We had dinner together at the restaurant where Joe just about fell asleep and realized he had caught Kathy's cold. Not sure what happened afterwards.
The hotel was very nice but the food in the hotel restaurant very expensive with a rather small hamburger.

Day 20

Today was a day off. Jay, Josh, Gene and Margo hiked to the top of the local quite high hill. Kathy, Rich and Tracie went shopping. Kathy bought some very nice earrings. Jim and Mary had a massage. Joe was not feeling well and slept in. In the afternoon all but Joe went wine tasting and to a late lunch which they quite enjoyed. Folks gathered at the pool in the evening. Joe and Donkey stayed in room.
The trip is beginning to take its toll. Most folks have something going on whether it is pulled muscles, sun burn, loss of memory, a cold, or other ailments.

Day 21

Plans: Today we have the morning off and travel by ferry to Crete in the late afternoon. Then onto Rythimno. For some reason not many pictures were taken today. We had lunch in the square where James acquired his first beer mug from a waitress from Brooklyn. At the ferry station, our driver had reserved us space at the restaurant there and we got to drink and wait outside for the ferry. The weather was always so good. It was a large ferry and the crossing was uneventful. We found out we had upgraded seats which was nice.
We had a nice dinner at Avli. Joe sneezed on a plant and made some other folks nearby unhappy. Joe was still quite sick and Kathy continued to not recover completely.
Rythimno Rythimno is a nice town with many small streets and shops
Our room was quite an interesting two-story affair right in the center of the old quarter.
Greece 1 >

Day 22

We were driven to Heraklion today for a visit to the Archeological museum and then to the place of Knossos. Knossos James' broken phone caused a problem, as his Covid info was on it, and he was unable to enter the museum. He and Mary took advantage of the extra time to enhance the local economy.
The museum was excellent Heraklion Archaeological Museum with much information about the Minoans. Gene's comment. "Today our products end up in the dump, the Minoans trash ended up in a museum". We learned that it is possible that Minoans mined copper from the US Great Lakes (mineralogical and DNA evidence). We were a bit skeptical about this but they found submerged ship building sites that were capable of building 150-foot ships. Entirely capable of sailing to the Americas. Then they found Minoan DNA is Great Lake Indian tribes. Wow.
The palace of Knossos was nice but was mostly ruins. We learned that the Minoans apparently had the second oldest toilet but invented the plumbing p trap

Day 23

Today we moved to Chania. Chania Chania is a great place. The waterfront is fun to walk along. The town has that nice medieval feel. Our hotel is located a bit from town but the walk has turned out to be pleasant. We had dinner at a nice place in town where we ordered dessert first as we never have room for it otherwise. Some of us drank a little less because of our upcoming Samaria Gorge hike.
The saga of our hotel. Joe was feeling better.

Day 24

Today, Kathy, Jay, Josh and Joe did the long Samaria gorge hike but it was, thankfully, mostly downhill.

I recommend you look at professional pictures of this amazing geological feature. Samaria Gorge

We learned how to use walking sticks from Josh. Kathy learned to just about run with them when we thought we were going to miss the boat. We heard about the young hiker from England who started crying at kilometer 3 (out of 16) and did not stop until the end. It was a long but very rewarding trek. We started at 7:30 in the morning and were back home by around 8:30 at night. Kathy said she is glad she did it but will never do that again, at least until the next time she does.
The rest of the group went on stroll about with shopping and walking in Chania. Gene went for a swim I believe and said the water was great. Later that evening they went to the "Well of the Turk" restaurant where they had an entire long evening of middle eastern style food.
The Samaria gorge team drank beer on the ferry with another excellent guide, drove back to the hotel from whence we walked up the hill to eat in the local restaurant. Good pork dish.
And the Covid testing needed for the trips home started. All went well.

Day 25

Our last night in Crete
We had a very pleasant walking tour of Chania with an excellent guide as usual. We saw graffiti which indicated that the police were not well liked in Greece either. We then visited the knife market where a number of us bought knives from the only remaining Cretan knife maker in Chania. Then onto the food market. We purchased some cheese and headed home for a final get together with everyone.
Kathy and Joe bought some local cheese and Retsina. The retsina cost 4 Euros for a liter and a half. And it tasted real bad!
Margo, James and Mary left for the Chania airport where they flew to Athens for the evening. Getting the luggage in the trunk was a challenge. Gene successfully played tennis!
Right after Margo, James and Mary left we had a wine tasting provided by the hotel. (Another example of the exquisite planning of the hotel. I thought that maybe they were trying to do something nice for us and had recently planned the tasting but they said Oh No, this has been planned for a while. I did not have it in me to ask why they planned it right after 3 of our group left. I would note that this was the only less than stellar experience we had with any aspect of the trip.
The wine tasting was great. We tried three wines from Crete. The red was really good. We told the sommelier about our retsina experience and he opened a bottle of pretty good retsina and told us in general to mix retsina with coke. We invited him to sit down and he did, but he really looked nervous doing it, like he was going to get fired or something. He recommended two places to eat. Joe went upstairs to get reservations and when Sophia heard where we were going, she called the owner, an old friend, and asked him to take care of us.
Rich's ankle was still bothering him and Jay and Tracie were feeling tired from the alcohol consumption that started at lunch, so Kathy, Gene, Josh and Joe headed out to the restaurant. The restaurant was great, we were seated right in the front on the waterfront and the owner and friendly great staff took good care of us. The food was excellent (tartar and scallops, etc.) and we had the best wine of the trip. A 100 Euro bottle of white wine that tasted like very good champaign without as much effervescence. Never had anything quite like it.

Day 26

Today we packed up and headed to the local Chania airport for a flight to Athens. Our hotel, apparently sad to see us go, decided to not load Josh's suitcase in the van, which was a very unpleasant surprise for Josh when we arrived at the airport. All ended well, with the bag being delivered in time for Josh to join us in the flight.
We made it to Athens and thence to the Sofitel in the airport where we ate and drank a bit and mostly went to bed early. Jay learned that British Air check in counters only appear each morning for a certain period of time. Joe and Kathy learned that they were in Turkish Air business class (they forgot they upgraded with miles)
Mary and Jim made it home but poor Margo missed a connection and ended up stranded in Canada.

Day 27

Today we all flew home. Kathy and Joe were very excited when they learned that the seats folded down and you could lay out in them. Like a comment from Lisa Marie earlier, we thought we must have been in first class. Everyone made it home, even, eventually, Margo.
Overall, the trip was aggressive but successful. By the end everyone was ready to head home and feeling the effects of the many nights of food and drink. We predict that once everyone recovers, we will be ready to do it again, maybe with a few less transfers. We stayed in 9 different residences counting the catamaran.