Lond On (London)

It was time to say goodbye to Athens. Like I said, we had to get up early so we could take the Metro to the airport. I was surprised how crowded the Metro was at 5:45 in the morning. It was dark most of the way, as it was during our arrival, so I still didn't get a good look at the country side near the airport, which is located pretty far from Athens. It took no time at all to check in and get through security. We had time to shop and I bought a last minute souvenir - a magnet, to keep the tradition alive. I now have three magnets from my three Thanksgiving international vacations.

The flight to London went by quick. We traveled on British Airways between London and Athens, and I must say, their service is way better than any American airline. The employees are courteous, helpful and seem to enjoy their job, unlike the ones that work for American Airlines, who seem to resent the fact that they have to talk or assist a customer.

We arrived in London early, even after circling the airport for ten minutes. Once we got our luggage and cleared customs, we had a long trip to our hotel, even though it was located at the airport. As we walked to the hotel, it became apparent that the weather was colder than we had expected.

Since the sun sets early in London this time of the year, we headed out as soon as possible after checking into our rooms. We decided to take the Heathrow Express into London, since it took 15 minutes, verses 45 minutes for the tube. However, during the time that we were trying to decide what to do, we missed the train and the next one wasn't until 15 minutes later. So much for saving time. Eventually we boarded the train which took us to Paddington Station. From there we hopped on the "circle" line of the tube which took us to the center of town.

Finally I was in London. In fact, England is the first English speaking country I've visited, as Greece was the first non-Spanish country for me to see.

Even though it was cold and windy, the sun, sitting low in the winter sky, was shining brightly. So out came my camera and I took pictures of the standard sites such as Big Ben, Parliament and the London Eye.

After walking around and seeing all there was to see in this area, we re-boarded the tube and headed to a stop where there were more famous landmarks, such as the Tower Bridge. This bridge is near the London Bridge, but the modern London Bridge is not picture-worthy. We walked across the Tower Bridge, and from there we ended up walking lots more. Once we made it to St. Paul's Cathedral, which we didn't spend much time at, we stopped for a quick snack. The sun was setting fast, and since we were very tired from walking, we hit the tube once again to the British Museum.

It was still long walk to the museum, but it gave me a chance to observe some of the London culture as we walked down the streets. The museum is free, and unlike most, they allow photography, including flash photos. The first picture I took was of the Rosetta Stone. It was just sitting there, right near the entrance, as if its importance wasn't significant. In fact, I plan to examine the photo I took and check the accuracy of their interpretation of the hieroglyphics. Just kidding.

What was most interesting about the museum was how many artifacts thay had (stolen) from Greece. I think I saw more Greek statues here than I did in Greece! There were also many exhibits from Egypt, including actually mummies, which I had never before seen.

As the evening progressed, we agreed our last stop would be Piccadilly Circus. Once we found the closest subway station (by accident since we were lost and didn't realize it), we zipped to the Piccadilly Circus stop. It was dark now, and the bright lights were almost overwhelming. There were big advertisements like you would see in Time Square, and there were these globs of colorful glowing balls hanging above the street. I took a movie of this scene which I'll post later.

By now we were starving for food. You would think that there would be plenty of places to eat here, and there were, but none of them were what we were looking for. I wanted a place where I could have fish and chips and drink an English beer. There were plenty of taverns, but they were very crowded on this Friday night and didn't have many tables for eating. We even tried to get a table at Planet Hollywood (I thought this chain had gone out of business) but there was a 40 minute wait. So, we ended up eating fish and chips at a small Lebanese cafe. I wanted a beer, but they didn't serve beer, most likely because the owners were Muslim. However, there was Christmas tree inside, so that didn't make much since. The food was nothing special, but we were so hungry anything would have tasted good.

The ride back to the airport did take 45 minutes, and even at 8PM, the train was standing room only until a few stops before the airport. Back at the hotel, we headed to our rooms for a good nights sleep on a nice, soft bed.

Our flight didn't depart until 11 AM the next morning, so there was no need to wake up too early. It took a little longer to check in at Heathrow, but we still had plenty of time before boarding our long flight back to Chicago, where we had a five hour layover before the last leg home. We got lucky in San Diego, as we found our baggage had arrive before we did. So a walk back to the car, where the air still smelled like smoke from the recent fires, and soon I was home again. Now it is one week later and I'm almost over my jet lag.

Another fun Thanksgiving vacation is over, and we are already planning next year's trip to Rome and other cities in Italy.

Athens: Days 3 and 4

After just two days in Athens, we had already seen most of the major sites. Our only plan for the day was to visit the National Archaeological Museum. So we rode the Metro and then after a short walk we found the rather plain-looking building. Now, I must admit, that I don't remember much about what was in this museum. After a while, all museums begin to look the same. During this trip, we saw, I think, four or five museums, and all had displays of the same artifacts. So we wandered around for two hours just to get our monies worth.

Then we decided to take the Metro down to the port city of Piraeus to see what was there and to get information on traveling to the island of Aegina the next day. The Metro ride took us past areas of the city we had not seen, including what looked like slums, and closer to the ocean one of the stadiums built for the 2004 Olympics, which we did not stop at. Once at the port, we walked to the docks and found out we could just buy tickets for the boat at any time, since it was off-season. With not much else to see, we took the Metro back to the heart of Athens.

We were now just killing time. I suggested we walk through the National Gardens, since they were close by. The gardens were very green, thick with a variety of exotic vegetation and trees. Then we stumbled upon a "zoo", which was nothing much more than some caged goats, birds and other small animals. You couldn't go inside, and there didn't seem to be anybody attending to the animals. I took some photos, but they didn't turn out very well. Since we hadn't eaten lunch, we decided on an early dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. The food and service wasn't the best, but it was still a meal. We turned in early with the plan of taking a boat to the island, which would be our Thanksgiving adventure.

So we woke up early Thursday and made it to the port in time to buy a ticket for the hydrofoil that departed at 9AM. The smooth ride to the island only took 45 minutes and was rather relaxing. Once on the island, we expected to be overrun with tour guides trying to get our business. We in fact had the opposite problem. We couldn't figure out what to do or how to get around. There was an archaeological site within walking distance, so we ventured over there. It too had a museum. The ruins included structures from six different cities built over the centuries.

Then we walked back to the main part of the town and eventually found a booth that sold the bus tickets for the bus that would take us to the Aphaea Temple in the middle of the island. The bus left at noon, and we were told it would pick us up at the temple at 3PM. So we hopped on the bus and after a 20 minute, wild ride through the narry streets of the island, we arrived at the temple.

This temple was is relatively good shape. Much of the structure was still standing, and since it was sunny, it made for great photos. We wandered around for about one hour and then walked back to the entrance. The temple is very isolated. The only other building nearby was a snack and gift shop that had a very low roof. It was only 1:30, and from what we were told, the bus wouldn't be back until 3. We hoped that there might be a 2pm bus, but there wasn't. So we sat in the street for 90 minutes waiting, as did another family. However, we did meet a family from San Francisco that arrived on scooters. Being the small world that we live in, the father was a firefighter who had been called down to fight the fires in San Diego. He and spent a few days stationed at a fire station not far from my brother's house.

Right on time, the bus showed up at 3PM. So once back at the city, we bought our return boat tickets, and still had time to eat a Thanksgiving meal. We ended up eating at a cafe near the main street. The menu had a variety of items, and I opted for pizza with peperoni. When the food arrived, my pizza had just cheese and green peppers. I guess the order was lost in translation, but the pizza was very good with lots of cheese and freshly made crust. It tasted even better with a local beer.

We boarded the 5:30 hydrofoil and were back on the mainland by 6:30. Then we took the Metro back to Syntagma station, and after a visit to the Internet cafe, we had one more museum to check out because it was free on Thursdays. The day before we tried to find the Museum of Popular Instruments, but it turns out it is closed (covered in a large green tarp). So we entered the Benaki Museum, located near the Parliament and various foreign embasies. This museum had artifacts dating from 500 BC to the 1800s. We were already tired from walking for four days, so having to climb the four stories of exhibit halls drained what little energy we had. There was still the walk back to the hotel to contend with. The museum was interesting, but once again, one can only view so many exhibits before loosing interest.

Since this was our last night in Athens, we attempted to buy some souvenirs. But many of the shops were closed and we didn't feel like walking too far from the hotel, so we concluded our eventful and fun-filled adventures in Athens. We had an early wake up call the next morning so we could get to the airport for the flight to London.

Athens: Day2

We began our second day in Athens, after a good nights rest, by walking to the near by Temple of Olympian Zeus. We encountered a sprinkles, but other than that it was a fine morning. We were the first visitors to this site, and spent some time walking around the main area, plus the "hidden", less popular section below. This photograph is of two columns. There was a third one that was toppled by a fierce storm in the 1800s. I wondered how old the "new" buildings in Athens were, and found out later when I saw a painting of this temple from the early 1800's that showed no modern buildings between it and the Acropolis. A painting from the late 1800's showed some buildings at the base of the Acropolis. So I's assume that most of the structures in the valley are not that old.

From the Zeus temple, we walked to the Panathinaikon Stadium, the site of the first modern Olympics. You cannot go inside, so this is the best picture I could take.

Then we headed back past the Acropolis and walked up Filopapos Hill. There are lots of sites at this location, and there was no fee to enter. Along the walk to the top, we passed the prison of Socrates. At the top there is the Monument of Filopappos and a great view of the city of Athens. As we walked down the hill, we found the ancient Greek road that led form the sea to the Acropolis.

Our next stop was Keramikos, the place that was closed the day before. This is basically a big cemetery. We spent some time in the museum and then wandered the grounds. It was then that I realized that the entire city of Athens was built on the ancient city. I figured that if you dug underneath any modern building, you would find artifacts from 2000 years ago. In fact, there were pictures of pottery and other stuff that was dug up during the construction of the Metro for the 2004 Olympics.

Lunch was soon to be eaten, and shortly after we wandered into Hadrian's Library. We were happy to find out that this site is now included with our ticket we bought for the Acropolis, so we saved three euros! This is another site located in the middle of the city, surrounded by houses and businesses. It was also in the process of being renovated, with reconstructed columns, decorative mosaic floors covered with protective sheets and structures obstructed by building platforms. And, like all places in Athens, an assortment of cats roaming the grounds.

Another rest break at the hotel and we were ready for dinner. We wandered the shopping quarter again, where we discovered a shop that sold interesting, yet useless, items, such as hand painted cows. I don't know why, but I was fascinated by these cows. There were regular, standing cows, and cows sitting on a bench reading a newspaper with articles that would interest cows, such as how to handle mad cow disease. In fact, downstairs, there was an entire section of cows, big and small. However, I couldn't get myself to buy anything here, so a photo was the best I could do.

After a second day of walking for miles and miles, we returned to our hotel for the night, as jet lag was starting to set in.

Traveling To Greece and First Day

Our trip to Athens started in San Diego on a Saturday morning, and we arrived in Athens Sunday evening after flying through Chicago and London. Upon arrival, we decided to take the Metro instead of a taxi so we could learn how to use the mass-transit system. There was a Metro stop within a block of our hotel, but since we arrived at night, and we were all very tired, it took a look at a map to realize we had just walked past the hotel. After checking in, we turned in for the night to get some rest for our first full day.

Our hotel included a free breakfast buffet, which was actually quite good. After eating, we set out for our first stop, the Acropolis, which was just a ten minute walk from the hotel. We bought our tickets, which included access to five other sites. Luckily we beat the tour-bus crowds, and treated ourselves to a leisurely self-guided tour of the ancient Greek ruins. It was interesting to see the restoration work going on, which seems to be non-stop. They are actually repairing previous restorations that were not done correctly.

We wandered next to the Theatre Of Dionysos, which sits just below the Acropolis. You can walk down the steps, but there are still areas that are off-limits, blocked by ropes. We found out that there are people watching the tourists, and if anyone ventures beyond the ropes they'll blow a whistle. We heard a few people get the whistle warning during the week.

Back up to the entrance we passed the Odeum of Herodes. This area can only be viewed from outside. After checking out some sites on the north side, we headed to the Ancient Agora. There was a museum there that was included with the price.

By this time we were getting hungry for lunch. All the restaurants in the area had the same basic menus. So when a man invited us to eat at his restaurant, we obliged. That became the theme of eating in Athens. The most aggressive hosts got our business. I ate a plate of mixed grilled meat which was very good and very filling.

Our next stop was Keramikos, but we got there too late, so we decided to head back towards the hotel, which we realized was a long walk. Along the way, we stopped at the Tower Of the Winds, which doesn't have the impressive buildings of the other sites, but was still interesting enough. A few more photos here and we were done for the afternoon.


After a short break at the hotel, we headed back out to see the city at night. All the ancient ruins are quite impressively lit up at night. However, it is difficult capturing that scene using a small digital camera.

We wandered up to Syntagma Square, which was quite crowded, partly because it is near a major Metro station. Then we walked down a busy pedestrian street looking at various shops along the way. For dinner we found a place where I had fresh sea bass that was not ill-tempered (Austin Powers joke). I also drank my first been in Greece.

We also found out that some restaurants give you some food "on the house". This place gave us a desert and a "small" glass of Ouzo, the traditional Greek drink. I ended up drinking most of it, as I'd had it before and liked the taste. However, dinner was not a cheap as you might think, since a 60 Euro meal costs almost 120 dollars these days.


After dinner, we continued to explore the back streets of Athens, and somehow ended up walking straight to the hotel by shear luck. Enough walking for one day. We were all tired and ready for bed, for there were three more days left in this city. Speeking of bed, the beds in hour hotel were very hard, which seems to be common in Greece. They were alow barly long enough for someone like me. However, if you're tired enough it makes no difference.

Athens and London

What a whirlwind of a week. Four days in Greece and one day in London plus lots of flying time. I'm just now sorting though the photos I took and these four are some of the best. This is a photo of me in front of the Parthenon at the Acropolis in Athens. We visited this site the first day because it was the closest to our hotel.

The next day we toured the Temple of Olympian Zeus, which was also very near our hotel. This was the only day it almost rained, and once again, we got there early and beat the winter-time crowds.

On Thanksgiving, we took a hydrofoil to the island of Aegina. This is us in front of the Temple of Aphaea. This was the sunniest day of the trip, making for great photograph opportunities.

No trip to London is complete without a picture of Big Ben. Of all the people in the area, I'd say 90% were tourists and they were taking photos of everything, despite the extremely cold temperatures.

London in 8 hours

That is how much time I had to see all the sites in London. Big Ben, Parliament, British Museum, Tower Bridge, Piccadilly Square and more. Now I'm home. Photos to come soon.

Island of Aegia

We took a hydofoil to the Greek island of Aegia and after spending time at a our second site, we waited 90 minutes for the next bus. Then we had our Thanksgiving dinner on the island and headed back to Athens. Time for one more Muesum then it is off to London tomorrow.

Day 3 in Athens

We visited the National Archaeological Museum today and saw more than enough pots, sculptures of human heads and artifacts to last a lifetime. Then we took the Metro down to the port city and looked into taking a ship to an island tomorrow. Then back to Athens to see a museum that wasn't there, so Internet Cafe it was.

More Walking in Athens

During our second day of non-stop walking around Athens we have seen almost all the top sites, all of which were included with our original ticket to the Acropolis. What a deal! We have also been making friends with local cats and dogs which roam the steets everwhere. It was very cold today but did not rain. Tomorrow should be a nicer day, but might also be a museum day.

Athens, Greece

We made it to Greece! Lost two days due to traveling, but we are making the most of today (Monday) by walking all around the local historical sites. Our hotel is within walking distance of almost everything, with the Acropolis just across the street. More walking tomorrow or we'll take the Metro, which got us from the airport to our hotel.

Traveling Fool

I don't know what a traveling fool is, but it sounded like a good title. I just got back from a work trip in the Keys, hence no photos or blog updates. Now I'm frantically getting ready for my trip to Greece. I have plenty of time to get ready this afternoon, after working only four hours this morning, but I won't be able to relax until all my bags are packed and I'm ready to go. The forecast for Athens is rain at the beginning of next week, but weather forecasts are usually wrong, and I expect mild, sunny temperatures. I will try to blog when I can, but I'll be taking lots of photos to post upon my return.

ASU @ UCLA

Another disappointing loss by the Bruins. This is my last game this year. I will not be at the Oregon games because I'll be flying home from Greece/London that day.

More Cornhole at the UCLA tailgate

It was a great day for BBQ, beer and Cornhole. We found out that the bags are filled with actual corn, as one exploded when it hit the board. Bad stitching, I guess. The final game was one by the Defeaters, who beat the Undefeatables!

9600 kbps

That is the download speed my Internet connection was clocked at recently by this site. 9600 kilobits per second, or 9.6 Megabits per second (Mbps). Time Warner just upped the speed at no extra cost to 10 Mbps. It wasn't that long ago they changed it from 4 Mbps to 6 Mbps. I feel this is to compete with the ever-expanding fiber optic connections being offered by competitors, such as AT&T. 10 Mbps = 1.2 Megabytes/second, if my math is correct. I remember in the dial-up AOL days, it took me 30 minutes to download a 1 MB video file. How times have changed. The upload speed, from the same site listed above, was measured at 960 kbps, which is faster than before, but still relatively slow. I plan to test the new upload speed with the arrival of the new "Keith Cam"! Yes, that is correct. I will soon buy a new camera and the Keith Cam will be back up and even better, with the ability to control the camera from any computer in the world that is connected to the Internet.

Zero

That is the number of trick-or-treaters that came to my home on Halloween for the second year in a row. I heard a few children outside, but none rang my doorbell. Well, my tradition is to take half the candy I bought to work, where it gets eaten very fast, and keep the rest at home for an after dinner dessert. In fact, at work, I only saw one person dressed-up whereas I usually see about a dozen. I attribute it to the fires and all the chaos of the past week. So, now it's time to regroup and get ready for Thanksgiving in Athens, Greece!