Reunited!
And it feels so good!
Gammy (Ben’s mom) and Uncle Billy (my brother) met us in Athens and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have them here with us!
We last saw Gammy on August 7th when we left Louisville and while it has been just under two months, it has felt like two years for her and the kids. Facetime chats are good and all, but nothing compares to in person hugs and kisses.
The reunion was even sweeter because Gammy had a bit of a snafu leaving Newark when a form Greece required her to fill out online was unavailable because the system was down. Despite Billy’s strong advocacy and the involvement of several United Airlines stewardesses, one grumpy supervisor decided there was no way they could let Gammy on the plane and so my brother Billy had to leave her in Newark and board the flight without her (much to his dismay and Maddie’s insistence).
Ultimately, United made it right and covered her hotel and food costs and put her on the next day’s flight for Athens, so she only missed an evening with us.
In the past two days, we’ve hit some of the highlights of Athens, starting with a sunset trip to Poseidon’s Temple, which did not disappoint!
The next morning we strolled past Parliament and the changing of the Guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, made a quick stop at the Olympic Stadium, and passed the running man statue, hiked to the top of the Acropolis, walked the grounds of the Parthenon and the ancient temples honoring the city’s namesake, Goddess Athena. We even saw the Olive Tree said to be the gift Athena gave to the city that won her the distinction as its protector over Poseidon, who gifted the city sea water.
After a quick visit to the Acropolis Museum we had an incredible lunch at a restaurant that made us feel like family from the moment we arrived. A quick walk through the Plaka district ended our day’s excursion. After such an eventful day, we opted for dinner in and card games in our lovely apartment in the heart of Greece’s Neos Kosmos neighborhood.
Now we are off to the island of Crete, where we are told the 6.0 magnitude earthquake that hit yesterday and killed one person, did not impact the airport or our home for the rest of the week.
We’ll be saying a prayer to Saint Christopher - patron saint of Catholic travelers- for safe travels. And since we are in Greece, we’ll add a couple to Greek God Hermes, protector of travelers, and Greek Goddess Artemis, who travelers pray to for fair weather. Not sure you can categorize an earthquake as “weather”, but it can’t hurt.
