Greece cultural reflection:

Everywhere you look you in Greece, you see a sea of white and blue. There are churches with blue domes and white bases. The usual colors of the houses are white with blue fences and frames around the windows. If you see the flag of Greece, you will see the main colors of the country, blue and white. One hotel in Fira, Santorini did the opposite with the main building all in blue and white on the fences and around the windows and it really stands out in all the forest of white houses. If you see a town from afar, it just looks like a white mass with blue trim. The churches can fit anywhere, even on the cliffs of Santorini!! Some of them are built right out of the rock of the cliffs and then painted in the traditional white and blue.

April 29-30, 2006: Delfi to ferry

Today we took a bus to the ferry. When we got to the dock it was 5:00 and the ferry left at 5:30. We rushed to a tour agent and got the ferry tickets. We ran to the ferry and got on.

Delfi:

 When we got up we went to see the Delfi ruins. When we got there we saw the treasury that was a gift to the god Athena and then we went to the theater and some people were singing. Then we walked up and up until we got to a stadium. Mom and I raced and I won easily. We walked back down and went to another temple to Athena. It started raining so we went and ate lunch. When we were done with lunch we went to the museum at Delfi. When we got in we followed a tour group to learn more. There were a lot of statues that were found by French archeologists. When we got back to the hotel we got G and went to dinner.

April 27-28 Athens to Delfi

Today Mom, Peter, and I went to a couple of more ruins before we went to the bus station to go to Delfi. The first place was The Kerameikos. It was swamp like area and there were turtles. Next we went to The Roman Agora but we were rushed because had to get to the bus. There was an old wind machine and a gate for Athena. We rushed to the hotel and got G and Dad and then rushed to the bus station and got the bus to Delfi. When we got there we got a hotel and then went to dinner. When we were done with dinner we went to bed.

Athens

When we got to Athens we took the metro to the area we wanted to stay in. G and I sat at a restaurant and Dad, Mom and Peter went looking for hotels. They came back and everything was expensive so we went to the least expensive place. We got our room and then went to see the ruins near us (acropolis and temple of Olympian Zeus). First we went to the temple of Olympian Zeus. There were 15 columns and one had fallen over. There used to be 104 columns. The construction started in 6th Century BC. Lots of people worked on it and it was finally finished by Hadrian in 131 AD. Next we went to the Acropolis. We walked past 2 theaters. One was the big one but it was covered in grass and the other one was all in marble and looked in better condition. When we got to the acropolis everything was under construction. When we came through the gate we saw the Parthenon, a long building with tons of columns. When we were done looking at the Parthenon we went to the museum. Then we went to some more ruins below in the Ancient Agora, a big marketplace. There was a building that looked like the Parthenon. We went back to our hotel and had dinner.

April 24-26: Santorini

Today Mom, Peter, and I went to a museum. Only Peter and I went in because we were free. We learned that most of the things in the museum were found from the 17th Century BC. They had pots, pans, saws, nails, fossils, paintings, animal figures, and other things and almost all of them were from 17th Century BC. When we were done looking at the museum we took a bus to the black sand beach. When we got there we went and got food and ate it on the lava rock beach (black sand beach) but then it started raining so we took cover and went to a restaurant and ordered some drinks. We got the next bus back to Fira. When we got back we took our bags to a restaurant and had dinner. When we were done we went and caught a bus to the dock and got the ferry to Athens.

Santorini

Today we went on a 12 Kilometer hike to Oia at the end of the island. We walked along the road but in the middle of the hike G stopped at a bus station to wait for the bus but we kept on walking. We had lunch on the side of the road. When we finally got to Oia we went looking for G but couldn’t find her so we sat at a café. We went to the edge and saw the windmill and the old castle. We had a something small to eat. Dad found 3 churches hidden on the side of the mountain and he brought me over there and I took video. We came back and got mom and brought her over. Then we went to the tip, but Mom and I went and got Peter but we didn’t have money to pay for the food so I gave Peter a tour and at the end told Dad to go give Mom money and we waited at the windmills. When they came we went to the bus stop and caught the bus back to Fira. We started watching this funny movie called Rocket Man, but then Peter changed the channel and FC Barcelona was playing AC Milan in the Champions League Semi-Finals. We watched the rest of the game and it was a tie 0-0 but Barcelona had won the first game so they went on to the finals to play Arsenal.

Santorini

We first went to the windmill and then to a blue doom church and then to another blue doom church. At the last one there were purple flowers and a cool bell tower. We walked down lower on a trial. When we got back to the hotel I read Gorillas in the mist until Dad came back. We had dinner and watched Arsenal vs. Villarreal and Villarreal played a lot better. They still tied but Villarreal should have won. Oh, well, Arsenal goes to the finals. It was 12:00 so we went to bed.

Naxos to Santorini

Today we took a ferry from Naxos to Santorini. When we got to Santorini we had troubles getting a hotel put we found one in the end. We had dinner and then watched some TV and then went to bed.

April 16-24, 2006 Naxos

TODAY IS EASTER!!!!!!!!! We woke up to a chocolate bunny and the first clue to our treasure hunt. When we found clue 2 there was a candy bar with it. When we got to the end (clue 12) we found a backgammon board for Peter and a soccer ball for me I was really existed. Then we went up to the top of the roof and had an egg hunt and I found a lot of candy!!!!! When we were done with breakfast Peter and I went and played with the new ball out on the beach and I could kick it really far. We came back and got Mom and Dad to play so we played for an hour and then did sudden death. When we went to the hotel Yanni, Andrew, and some other people were doing some traditional Greek dance so Mom, Dad, and Peter went up and joined in and I went and ate lunch. When they came down Peter told me about Andrew. When they would say British English he would say" it’s not British English, It’s English". When peter was done telling me stuff Mom, Dad, Peter and I went and got milk to make some rice pudding. When we came back I started making my rice pudding. When it was done we ate it and it was really good and then Dad, Peter, and I went and played Futbol in the middle Dad left and then Peter and I played with some kids we tied 9-9. We had dinner and then went and I read Gorillas in the mist and then went to bed.

Naxos

Today we went to a store near the water front and then to the internet café and I checked eBay to see the prices of a Barcelona FC flag, but there wasn’t anything good, so we went to a café to meet Mom and Peter. When we got there Mom and Peter were working so we sat down. When we were sitting in the café Andrew walked by and said he would come back to talk after he got his ferry ticket. When he came back we talked about the UK joining the € and other history topics. He said that the UK would lose if they would change to the €. When we were done we went back and ate lunch. At 8:00 P.M. we went to a Greek ice cream place and the ice cream was really creamy and good. At 11 P.M. we went to the main church and waited till 12:00 and at 12:00 fireworks started going off and dynamite and when the dynamite would go off the ground shuck and they let of a red gas bomb. When people started leaving we headed back to our hotel. When we got back we went to bed.

Naxos

Today we went to the beach near us and played Futbol. In the afternoon I did travel log. When it was 7:00 we went and played basketball with Michaela. When we got to the court I couldn’t make anything because I hadn’t played for so long. But by the end I was making a lot more. We played a game that was Greek and then we play a regular game. At 8:25 we started walking back. When we got back to our hotel we said good-bye and thank you and then she left. We got ready to go on a procession down the streets of Naxos town for Good Friday. When we go to the church there were millions of people. We got candles at the church and then walked down to the bottom of the stairs and waited for the procession to start. It began when the priest walked down the stairs and then was followed by 6 guys holding up a church like statue that was decorated with flowers. So we followed that down the streets of Naxos. When we got to one square, 2 more churches came with there decorated statue and one had a band. Then they all went in separate ways. When we got back to the church we left to go to the hotel and when we got there we went to bed.

Naxos

Today we rented a car to go around the island. The first place we went to were three villages of Potamia called Ano Potamia, Mesi Potamia, and Kato Potamia and went on a short walk through the valley. At the beginning of the walk we got lemons from a tree and at the end of the walk we found an abandoned orchard with oranges and lemons and got a lot and are going to make orange juice and lemonade. Next we went to a citron liqueur factory. They told us about how they make it and then they gave us a sample and I bought a small bottle of citron liquor that is only made in Naxos. After the citron we went to an olive press. It was very old but in the middle there was a huge rock and you can push it to smash the olives. On our way to The Kouros, a big stone statue of a male, we found a huge pile of marble and I got two pieces. And then we saw a mountain that was all marble. When we got to The Kouros we found another orchard and got more fruit and then went to see the 2 fallen over statues. Next we went to the beach. We went on a dirt road and finally got to a beach.

Naxos

Today we woke up to a Turkish breakfast made by Peter. When we were done with breakfast I worked on my school work. I read Greece culture gram, and did Greece trivia questions, Turkish paragraph, and read. When I was done Mom and I went to the internet café. I looked up world cup and Barcelona but I didn’t find much. When we got back from the internet café Mom and I ate lunch. When Peter came back he cooked dinner and we ate dinner.

 Naxos

Today we went to a town outside of Naxos. We stayed in that town and then at 12:30 we went on a hike to Filoti were we will catch the bus back to Naxos. At first we were on the road but then we got onto a trail. The trail ended a river bed and then we had no trail. We started walking up hill and we went under a fence and then walked through a field of bees and then got the top of the mountain and ate lunch there with a view of island, the town, and the monastery. When we were done with lunch we walked through fields of flowers until we got to the monastery, where it was a road as our trail. At the top of the road dad all of a sudden said "that’s the bus, that’s the bus" so we all started running and then mom said "it’s going first to Apiranthos and then it will come back to Filoti" so we all stopped running. We got to Filoti 15 minutes early. When we got to were G was sitting she was talking to a guy from England named Andrew who is staying at Studio Panos the place were we are staying. When we got back we played Futbol and then talked about the itinerary.

Naxos

Today we went to the castle. Peter and I played espionage through the small streets with white and blue houses as the border of the street. When we went back we had lunch and then went to the beach and went on a run and then played futbol. At the end of the game dad was heading for the goal and I was running full blast and then he tripped over the ball and fell and then I tripped over him and did and 360 turn in the air and landed hard on the ground like what Messi did in the Barcelona vs. Chelsea game. When we were done playing we went back and ate dinner.

 Naxos

Today when we got up, we had eggs and then went to the beach. Peter and I played soccer on the beach and it was a rough game. At the end Peter tripped me and it would have been a Red card. I was so mad I left. I watched Birmingham vs. Aston Villa. Aston Villa won 3-1 and then I watched Liverpool vs. Blackburn and in the middle Peter, M, D, and G went on a walk and I stayed. Liverpool won 1-0. They took 5 hours. When they got back we ate and went to bed.

Naxos

When we got up in the morning we changed hotels and ate. When we were done eating we went to a store and got food for 2 days and it cost just as much as our breakfast. We stayed the day at the hotel but at the end of the day Mom, Dad, Peter, and I went on a hike to the gate of Apollo and it was SO windy that the wind could almost hold you up when you leaned forward. We walked back and ate dinner.

April 15, 2006: Ferries to Greece and EU!!

Today we got up at 7:00 and got a taxi to the ferry dock. When we got there we gave our passports to someone and they went and got our tickets. We were waiting next to a Nike store and it had a cool picture of Ronaldinho. We got our tickets and went on the boat. It took 1 and a half hours and we arrived in Samos, Greece with the saying "It’s all Greek to me" in our minds! We went to a café and waited till our boat came. We got Euro and decided that Euro is much cooler then the dollar. When it was 4:00 P.M. we went on the boat and would go till 12:00P.M. When it was 11:00 the boat started swaying and I trough up and then we slept on the ground for the rest of the ferry. When we got to Naxos it was very windy and was raining so we got a taxi to a hotel and slept.