Happy in Athens and a Belly full of Bougatsa

Leaving Athens...

Last night in Athens with the family. Hike to the Agora—the main meeting place of Ancient Greece. Impressive temples and Byzantine churches still in tact. In awe of the structural intricacy of the ancient sites. The time and attention to beauty that was a part of everyday life. Nova poses on pillars as a goddess-and fits right in. We say goodbye to our last Athens street dog—one that Nova truly wants to take home. Say goodbye to the "haunted" house that Dan and Nova discovered on day one.

That night the Plaka is alive. Spanakopita. Greek salad. Greek "apple pie" to celebrate my dad's 75th b-day (3 b-day parties in Greece for him!) The Acropolis lit up like a million stars. Painters capturing it all. It’s a haunting electricity and I feel it buzzing through all of us. Buzzing with love and grace of being together in a place so old yet so alive.

The family ventures home, and through heartache, I explore one more day in Athens. So happy to Nicola join me (we met in Kenya in 2007) I know already that our time together will be incredible! We escaped the heat in Greece for two weeks until today. The temps go past 100 F! Ugh. We take the metro 3 stops back and forth to find a train office to buy our tickets to Istanbul. Stop off at the National Gardens. Booksellers on the street--Diary of a Wimpy Kid in Greek makes me smile! More cicadas filling the air with their sound. Children’s laughter makes me miss my family even more. I escape into the cool shadows—bright sunlight reflecting off the trees to create every color of green. Walking back through the Plaka in search of an internet café, I discover bougatsas—phyllo pastry stuffed with custard and covered with powdered sugar. I’m enamored by this delight and I chomp and swallow not noticing my entire body is soon covered by the white sugar. Tourist moment! I get lost getting through old neighborhoods behind the Plaka--I walk the entire outside perimeter, ending up passing the entire Agora again on the outskirts toward the Acropolis. Hot and tired, but never worried-- a happy belly full of bougatsa.

Stillness, Strength and Honor

Athens. The sweet dogs. Over abundance of pigeons. Taxis. Cars. People zooming through the business district. The stoic guards at Parliament. Signs that speak of the recent protests. The Running Man statue, all made of massive plates of glass.

Then there's the amazing food. I fell madly in love with a pastry called a bougatsa while strolling through along the street near the Plaka. So enraptured by the flakey, phyllo crust and custard filling, I hadn't even noticed the waterfall of powdered sugar cascading down my shirt. Total tourist moment.

Italian food at a beautiful restaurant completely hidden in a dark Athens neighborhood, covered with pines and drenched with grape vines. Owned by an Italian man who lived in LA and then came to Athens. A very slow cooked meal. Battered and fried olives. Tapenade & freshly baked bread. Spinach ravioli. My beautiful family + laughs + food= a little bit of heaven.

I can't forget the interesting people. I remember the guy who picked up six or seven flats of eggs every morning from the small grocery store across the street. He'd pack them on the back of his moped and speed off through the insanity of downtown. Now that's talent. Or there laundry day (desperately needed after about 14 days of the same clothes.) We trek through the mysterious city in search of the laundromat. Tucked away next to a bar run by a Scotsman and filled with Europeans. It's happy hour, of course, so Dan, Steve, and a great American girl we'd just met (who'd just finished college--last semester in England and now off traveling for three months!) enjoy pizza and drinks while waiting for our spin cycle. The barkeep/laundry master keeps our machines running and our spirits high. It's one of those moments when everything just seems right in the world. The inspiration of those you love and clean clothes...

Ah, the history--where to begin? The Temple of Zeus. Unfinished until the Roman Emperor Hadrian completed it in 131 AD, seven hundred years after its beginning. Only 15 out of the 104 columns still stand today. Gold and ivory statues of Zeus and Hadrian have long disappeared, along with most of the temple believed destroyed in a medieval earthquake. Across from the temple is Hadrian's Arch--another iconic symbol of Athens. A breathtaking mixture of old and new. I feel a stillness here. A remnant of strength and honor swirling around in the air.

The old Olympic stadium. A naturally hollow bit of ground transformed into a stadium around 330 BC for the athletic Panathinaea Festivities. Found in the 1870 excavation, the stadium is 204,07 meters long and 33,35 meters wide and believed to hold up to 50,000 spectators. Used for arena competition in Roman times, and then restored for the 1st modern Olympics of 1896. Dan and Grayson race around (13 year old boy advantage) and emerge victorious.

The 3 layered Acropolis Museum--built right on top of ruins, and structured with transparent glass floors all the way up. So many artifacts. So much beauty and artistic design--luckily, recovered and there for us to witness. Everything built on ruins-- life underneath us--thousands of years of families, technology, love and loss--joy and pain--all in crumbled pieces beneath our feet. It strikes me so profoundly today, standing over these three transparent layers--An ascending, glass-floored gallery holds artifacts from the slopes of the Acropolis. The floor gives visitors a view of the excavation, its upward slope paralleling the ascent to the Acropolis. Thousands upon thousands of artifacts--stories and tragedies from a lost civilization. It's overwhelming and I'm not sure what questions to ask. Where to focus. I am taken in by the tales told in sculpture--the Greek gods fighting amazons--giants--titans. The attention to detail and perseverance in getting the story told and preserved for us to see so many years later.

It's that crazy mix of old and new that I love so much. The city presses on through difficult times, and 'm overcome. Treasures uncovered. Mysteries to be solved. Amazing food to be eaten.

(Thank you Jeremy, for the photos of: the guards, pigeons & protest sign. Your photos ROCK!)

The Acropolis. I know it's So.

The Acropolis (which translates to hilltop.) Crowned by the Parthenon. Stands high above Athens, visible from almost every point in the city. It became my landmark--a way to find my way in the crazy busy city of winding streets and racing cars. And even in the heat, or in the midst of being totally lost, I look up and the Acropolis takes my breath away.

This amazing ancient monument, built by architect Pericles in the Mycenaean period, was dedicated to the goddess Athena. Walking through its grandeur, I'm reminded of the continuous struggle here in Greece. Reduced to ashes by the Persians in 480 BC, Pericles rebuilt, transforming the Acropolis into an iconic city of temples. Destroyed again in the 17th century when Venetians attacked the Turks. The Turks opened fire onto the Parthenon, which is where they stored their gunpowder. A massive explosion, of course, followed by a two-day blaze.

Now, as I walk through this amazing site--we still see the effects of foreign occupation, pilfering, earthquakes, and the black stains upon marble caused from industrial and car pollution. There's scaffolding everywhere. Part of me feels that these reminders take me out of the experience, they pull me out of mystic ancient Greece. But the reconstruction and dedication to preserving this World Heritage site reminds me of how Greece continues to rebuild and overcome.

The strength and perseverance of the Greek people stands tall in the Iconic columns of the Temple of Athena Nike. It surrounds the arena and theater (where Dudamel actually conducted on night we were there, and I could hear the orchestra and cheers filtering through the streets.) This power shines through the Parthenon, the largest Doric temple ever built. And within the 12 meter- high statue of Athena that once stood there. A breast of gold, a small statue of Nike (goddess of victory) in one hand and a spear in the other. When I think Athena, I think of today's Greece-and even in economic struggle, and I believe her wisdom, grace and beauty will go forth. Here, I stand at the top of the world. With pink parasols, cuddly street dogs, and over a hundred steps.

The Acropolis. And I know it's so.

(thank you Jeremy for your Acropolis at sunrise shots)

Speeding cars, ancient ruins & saganaki

June 21^st

LA to Heathrow. Heathrow to Athens. Wonderfully uneventful. Love British Air and the personalized screens. Movies and conversation with a wonderful couple from New Zealand.

To hotel—ride through the Athens. Should have been my first clue as to the craziness of the city—speeding cars, zig-zagging motorcycles, lack of street signs (all which will almost make me insane later when I myself first drive through Athens!) But I don’t pay attention to the chaos—I’m mesmerized by the ancient ruins that shoot out of the city buildings. Hadrian’s Arch. Zeus Temple. The Parthenon and Acropolis. It's unreal. The ancient and modern coexisting. The stories I've heard for so long. All alive right in front of me.

We're here! A family adventure. My amazing husband and kids. My father, brother and extended family (Linda, Sherri, Jeremy, Jacob & Josh!) And I am so grateful.

Finding our way in the dark. Up and down cobblestone streets. Dinner at a beautiful, yet hidden, restaurant measures up to all I imagine. Saganaki (fried cheese,) eggplant, spinach zucchini balls, Greek salad. The Ouzo I can do without! But the view of the Acropolis at night is breathtaking. Mix that with the amazing flavors and a family’s laughter. A perfect first night in Athens. Perfect.