Greece - Part 2 (Mom's version)

The update continues...for those who want to hear about our trip, or for those who are planning a visit.

After we left the Acropolis (back down the death-trap stairs with no guardrail!), we visited the new Acropolis Museum.

(Side note: One of the most impressive things I noted about Athens, and the Greek people in general, is their incredibly generous and tolerant attitude towards children. Not only are kids welcome everywhere, but bringing your children is encouraged in all manner of restaurants and museums. A perfect example of the Greek attitude toward children is the custom of not charging for children. Often restaurants and museums don't even charge you, or charge a nominal fee, for the kids. At the Acropolis Museum, I only had to pay one Euro for a ticket for myself...the girls got in free!)

The Acropolis Museum is an archaeological museum and was built to house every artifact found on the Acropolis from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece. It also lies on the archaeological site of Makrygianni and the ruins of a part of Roman and early Byzantine Athens. The building itself is beautiful.

The coolest part is easily the glass floors that allow you to look down upon the ruins over which the museum was built. Maddie was a little freaked out and wanted to walk off to the side on the more solid-looking floor. We didn't spend long in the museum. There is only so much antiquity 12 year-old girls can take in one day. And I desperately wanted to see the...

National Gardens.

I love gardens. And if I travel and there is a chance to see a beautiful garden, then that's where I

want to go! So even though the energy of my sweet twins was flagging, we trekked back to the main square down town and walked the National Gardens of Athens from end to end. Greece is much more tropical than I would have expected, with a climate much like Florida. As a result, the botanical plantings reflect the long hot summers and mild winters. I did not expect to see palm trees, yet they were everywhere! The gardens were beautiful and I could have stayed for hours, but the girls had run out of steam. We made one last stop at the...

Greek Parliament Building to see the colourful Evzones perform the Changing of the Guard Ceremony in Syntagma Square. The guards wear traditional Greek uniforms and when they change places on the hour, they do an odd march that sort of looks like a dance. Here is a picture of the girls with one of the traditionally dressed guards.

Afterwards, we caught the shuttle so I could take my exhausted girls back to the hotel for a dip in the pool. But then I thought, why swim in a hotel pool when you can swim in the Mediterranean Sea?!?! And when will we ever

get a chance to do this again? So we walked down to the beach, and although it was a bit cold, there were many people, hotel guests and locals, taking an afternoon swim. It was beautiful and we watched all the cruise ships passing in the distance while the girls hunted for sea glass.

The end of our 2nd full day in Greece brought the biggest surprise. The conference Jamie was attending was hosting a big dinner and invited the families of all the conference guests. We were told the dinner was being held at a remote and private museum (The Vorres Museum http://www.sitemaker.gr/vorres/) and we would all be taken over on tour buses. We

had no idea where we were going, or how fantastic and unexpected our experience would be.

The tour buses dropped us off 40 minutes outside of Athens at a discreet entrance, a cobblestone walkway lit with candles that opened into a private courtyard. There was a harpist and other musicians playing in courtyard, an open bar and a beautiful selection of traditional Greek appetizers. The courtyard extended into a beautiful garden and then into a historic home that was converted into a small museum of Greek artifacts. We enjoyed the food and music and explored the area and rustic garden while waiting for all the other guests to arrive.

When dinner was announced, we were all led into the tiny house we had just explored and to our surprise, a secret door was opened to reveal an enormous modern art museum built beneath the home and into the side of the mountain. Several hundred guests walked through this "looking glass"-like door and meandered through dozens of modern paintings and sculptures. The

hallway ended with a giant gallery where an enormous banquet had been prepared amidst the artwork. Needless to say, we were all simply blown away by the magical hidden gallery and the incredible effort and generosity of the people hosting the conference who had arranged this dinner.

After we ate dinner (all traditional Greek cuisine), they had a live band and some Greek dancers give a demonstration of traditional Greek dance. At the end, they invited guests to join them and learn the dances. Jamie and the girls just wanted to watch, but I could

not resist giving it a try. Again, would I ever get a chance to try this again? In these pictures, I am being whirled around by one of the dance instructors. I have no idea what I am doing, so it is a credit to this man's dancing skills that it looks so easy! I certainly could have stayed longer, but my girls were exhausted and I knew we had a long day of adventure ahead of us, so we took the first bus back to the hotel.

Next up: Day Trip to the Center of the World!