So I went to bed somewhat early the night before, anxious about being in tip-top shape for our final 24 hours in Greece. Uli, our wonderful travel agent, also warned us at happy hour that Athens was going to be crazy-town with the cruise ships unloading a million-and-a-half people to see the sights today. And also a gay pride parade, which we didn't end up seeing, but we did see tons of rainbow-decorated humans all around town.
We texted Brent & Julia-Goolia TOO-DA-LOO (we decided to do separate adventures today, because they have seen the sights and had their own adventures to be had), and went on a jolly-good-morning-walk up the hill to the Acropolis. FYI - the ACROPOLIS is the entire group of structures on top of the hill. The PARTHENON is one specific building in the Acropolis. <-- I did not know this, and it caused me some confusion when planning our day. We followed an employee on her morning commute walk all the way until we found the line. THE LINE, before opening. Yes, it was a good idea to have started our adventures early. Also, IT WAS HOT. Greek sun is no joke. Like Florida sun....but Greek. *snort* It was only 8am and I was roasting. My water bottle was already empty and I was tired after about 30 mins of exploring.
Spied some goodies on the walk to the Acropolis. #allthepastries
The Acropolis
Opening morning military ceremony
There it is in all its glory. The Parthenon.
Photo credit: Julia
Julia's favorite pillar in all of Greece. (Stole this pic from her later.)
OUR HOTEL is RIGHT THERE (Green and red windows)
photo credit: Chris
After melting on the Acropolis (turns out a few days after we got home, a heat wave microwaved all of Europe, and they actually shut down the Acropolis. It was just too hot to let anybody go up there!!), we headed back down the hill to the Acropolis Museum. This was a serious museum folks. And I accidentally took pictures of things. I follow the rules!!! If the no picture sign had been in a more prominent place, the stern greek lady would not have had to reprimand me. Lots of cool artifacts. I was so so tired though after our hot excursion up the hill. Energy management is a thing for me. And there were so so many things to look at. Brain-overload. I ended up exclusively reading the plaques that were meant for kids, written by Goddess Athena, just so I could process the information better. haha.... And those plaques were more entertaining anyway.
My favorite part was the very top floor where they restored the outer roof trim of the Parthenon (I don't know what this is officially called. But it was the coolest.)
So cool. Pieces of the trim with the actual Parthenon up behind it.
After the Acropolis museum, we went to ANOTHER one of Zeus's temples. Geez, these things are everywhere. You would think Zeus is important or something. After high-fiving Zeus's vibe, I declared that I must eat food and we found a cute place to eat lunch. And Guzzle about five gallons of water. And drink a greek-yummy-caffeinated-beverage.
photo credit: Chris
After lunch, we planned 1. Ancient Agora. 2. Shower (so sweaty) & Nap. 3. Shopping. 4. Dinner w/ Brent & Julia. 5. Tearfully saying goodbye to this beautiful and delicious country.
Ancient Agora, the ancient city below the Acropolis, was the coolest place. They completely restored one of the buildings and put a museum inside.
Photo credit: Chris
We wandered some more around Athens before freshening up again for dinner.
Our Last Supper: This restaurant's owner also owns Boubouki, the soap place. I currently am wondering how I can buy more of his soap from the U.S.A. I will be out soon! His soap is super gentle, and he created his shop because he has sensitive skin issues and realized the need for that market. I also happen to have sensitive skin issues, (stupid chemo) and bought tons of soap for myself and also for family members. I hope they are enjoying it as much as I am.
This pasta was so delicious. The cheese blend....omg. What I would give to have a mouthful of this pasta right now. I miss you, Greece.
Fun signs in the bathroom. ha!
The one thing I didn't like about Athens was this very thing. You can't walk down the street without someone trying to hustle you into their restaurant. This place refuses to do that. I love you. And your soap. And your cheesy pasta.
Good bye Athens. I love you so much.
Photo credit: Chris
Final Mythos beer on our hotel's rooftop bar.
Photo credit: Chris
Acropolis and twinkly lights.
I don't think I've walked so many steps in all my life.
The flight back to London, and then to Dallas were both uneventful, as far as I can remember. Oh, and it was June 9th.....our 7th anniversary. We spent a 32 hour day together. Aw, isn't that sweet.
However, in Dallas, there were storms which delayed everything possible. Chris worked tirelessly to find us a new flight, and I found out later that he almost rented us a car to drive us home. He was due back to work and also leading professional development to boot. The Dallas USO was freakin amazing. Usually they close for the night, but some awesome women decided that they would stay there all night, so the stranded army-affiliated travelers would have a place to stay. Pillows and blankets for all. Everyone stretched out on every available square inch of the place and napped as much as they could. Food, drinks, and other amenities as well. I love being an army spouse, by the way.
Welp, we finally made it home. And our refrigerator was left cracked open. Awesome. So first thing I did, after sleeping for 20 million hours, was clean out the refrigerator and go shopping. haha!!
Oh yea, and we arrived home at like 10:25am, and Chris was out the door at 10:50am, ON NO SLEEP, to go lead professional development. I texted him incessantly throughout the day to make sure he was still alive.
Puppers!!!!
We had to leave our goodie-bag behind in Dallas, because it was re-routed due to all the delays and stuff. They eventually delivered it to our house. #SOAP!
#postgreecemood
So I've been contemplating starting a REAL BLOG recently. Like one for money. Just to see if it goes anywhere. So the route I could go would be to sign up with a host (I have one in mind), and you pay them for your page. Your .com basically. You can use various marketing strategies to earn money with it, just ads to start out with probably. Click bait. I'm thinking about it. Maybe it would take off. Maybe totally not. But I won't know unless I try it. I randomly started collected memes and dumping them into my Instagram story feed one day. Three people so far, yes three I've kept track, have expressed to me how much they look forward to my meme dumps each week. One person said they were basically getting her through grad school. OMG. They are a mix of funny, inspiring, and focusing on self-care and mental health. So then I started thinking that maybe I could create a blog with this same vibe to it. Funny, inspiring, focusing on self-care. I definitely feel pulled in that direction, and feel passionate about that topic. I preach it almost every day to the people I work with. Self-care. Enjoying your life. Stop being so stressed out all the time. You will naturally be better at your job if you are in better health, physically and mentally. And I think about 4 people read this blog, right?! I can be interesting and useful to a couple someones, and at least make my money back for starting it?
So then I remembered this word that I used love: Hygge.
Hygge is a Danish word (pronounced Hoo-gah). Definition: a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being. Its acknowledging a feeling or moment, whether alone or with friends, at home or out, ordinary or extraordinary as cosy, charming or special. We all need some Hygge in our life, right?
I need a brand. Something catchy. Brainstorming a .com
HyggeVibe
HyggeHeather
LetHyggeBeThyMedicine
HealthyHygge
I don't know. Just something I'm thinking about.
YEA!!! LOVE IT!!!
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