Field Trip to Ypres...

Just three days after returning from Greece, Veronica went on a whole day (8 a.m. to midnight) field trip with all of Year 9 (8th grade) as part of their WWI studies in history. Reading about the devastation of trench warfare is one thing, but it adds such a level of understanding after visiting several of the 150 military WWI cemeteries and the trenches.
They traveled to Ypres in western Belgium, where almost 500,000 soldiers died in the trenches and No Man’s Land surrounding the city between 1914 to 1918. The Germans introduced mass destruction weapons here for the first time in the form of chlorine gas. Ypres was completely wiped out as the Western Front was just a few miles away from the center; it was rebuilt according to original designs as closely as possible. The trip went so late because they stayed for the nightly ceremony at the Menin Gate Memorial to sound Last Post (similar to Taps) for the nearly 55,000 soldiers who died without known graves. My knowledge of WWI is pretty limited, so I hope to have a chance to visit as well.

The Dog Whisperer...

Whereas Skiathos was overrun by stray cats, Athens had a huge stray dog population. Ashlynn insisted on buying some dog treats. I was a bit freaked when she first approached a stray on the street, but it soon became evident that the dogs were actually well fed and weren’t aggressive. This black dog followed her around for about an hour; the name she made up was so bizarre that we’ve all forgotten it. On our last day, this tan dog, which she named Apollo, followed her for several hours. He was amazingly well behaved, even crossing major intersections with her. Luckily we didn’t get reprimanded when he followed her around the stadium. When it was time to catch our taxi to the airport, she had to say good-bye, which was traumatic to say the least. It is unfortunate that our crazy lifestyle doesn’t lend itself to having a pet, but it’s nice that we can dogsit occasionally.

Our Olympians...

Vivynne and family had to leave on October 26th after breakfast to catch their flight, but we still had a few more hours to explore. We went some more ancient sites (the amphitheater and library, where we saw lots of turtles), then headed to the ancient Olympic Stadium. Originally built in 566 BC, it was been renovated many times over the years. It was remade in marble in 329 BC and is the only stadium in the world to be made entirely of white marble. It hosted the first modern Olympics in 1896. It holds 45,000 spectators and was used in the 2004 Olympics for archery and the finish of the marathon. Here are the girls having their own competition.
Alas, Veronica might have been ahead, but she decided not to run the entire 200 meters and thus shouldn’t even be standing on the winner’s platform alongside her speedy sister.

Fun in Athens...

Our two-night visit to Athens centered around two things: ruins and shopping. In addition to visiting the Acropolis and Temple of Zeus, we wandered through the Agora to see the Forum and an intact temple. We also went to the antique market and watched the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The pedestrian area was rather touristy, but we all enjoyed looking for trinkets. We bought the girls Greek coin necklaces, both clearly reproductions. Veronica is now reconsidering her desire to study Roman archaeology and thinking she might concentrate on Greek instead.

The Acropolis and Parthenon...

We were very excited about finally getting to see our third UNESCO World Heritage site on this trip: the Acropolis. But first, we just viewed the 490-foot tall flat-topped rock from afar, because we needed to get to the new Acropolis Museum before it closed. The clear acrylic-covered walkway at the entrance was fantastic as it was built over ruins that are currently being excavated. It will be interesting to see how the British Museum continues to justify housing the Parthenon’s friezes now that this impressive museum is open. The following day, we made the walk up the rock to view the Parthenon (a Temple of Athena built in 438 BC). Reconstruction began in the 80s, but as you can see, there’s many decades of work still to do. Considering the large number of people walking around off-season, can’t imagine how crowded it must be in the heat of summer. We got a good laugh out of some Korean tourists that posed with the girls for a photo, then with me with they found out I’d visited their country.

Location, Location, Location...

Gotta admit that when we drove off the highway and saw all the ugly sprawl and traffic of Athens, my initial impression wasn’t good. Luckily, looks can be deceiving. Vivynne booked us into the Athens Gate Hotel, which wasn’t cheap, but was highly ranked on TripAdvisor. It was ideally located just around the corner from the pedestrian zone. This was the view from our room of the Temple of Zeus; begun in 520 BC and completed in 132 AD, this temple was larger than the Parthenon, but was heavily damaged in 267 AD and was never rebuilt.
And, this was the view of the Acropolis with the Parthenon on top as seen from the rooftop restaurant, where we started each day with breakfast and ended each day with cocktails.

More Ruins and Hiking...

After the amphitheater, we went to our 2nd UNESCO World Heritage site of the day, the ruins at Mycenae and the tomb of Clytemnestra. Here you see the Lion Gate to the citadel, dating from approximately 1300 BC; while this appears mostly intact, the remainder of the giant fort was just crumbled rocks. Above, you see Jimmy and me as we attempted to climb the 999 stairs to the castle overseeing Nafplio. Unfortunately, we got too late of a start and the castle was already closed, so we gave up before the halfway point so we wouldn’t have to climb down in the dark. Instead of another giant dinner, we had gyros and beer, which hit the spot. I was thrilled to find a Greek coin pendant in a junk shop; hard to tell if it’s really old, but it’s cool even if it’s a fake.

Ancient Perfect Acoustics...

While in route to Epidaurus to see this magnificent amphitheater (an UNESCO World Heritage site), we made two unsuccessful detours. The first was a hike to see a stone bridge, but while we found signs to direct us, we never saw the bridge. The second was at the small amphitheater that the sat nav misguided us to. So, when we finally arrived at Epidaurus, we were really impressed. Amazingly, this theater was built in the 4th century BC and is so well preserved that it still hosts Greek dramas today for up to 15,000 people. The original 34 rows was extended in Roman times by another 21 rows. We sat on the very top row and really could hear when Ashlynn dropped a coin in the center of the stage.

Ancient Corinth...

After hiking around Acrocorinth, we drove back into town to wander through Ancient Corinth. Unfortunately, most of the ruins are heavily damaged from centuries of earthquakes and wars. The most spectacular ruin is definitely the Temple of Apollo (the god of light and the sun). Ironically, this photo was taken by a Belgian couple who we overheard speaking Dutch.
While the Greeks have every reason to take their history, including their statues, very seriously, it was the Greek in our group that loved getting the kids to strike goofy poses. After visiting the museum, we happened upon a pathway outside of the historical site that had some pottery shards in the mud; we didn’t find anything amazing, but still had to drag ourselves away as searching is addicting. Found a restaurant for another traditional Greek lunch (although some of the kids had burgers and fries). Then we headed to Nafplio, a lovely port city, to search for a hotel. Unfortunately, while viewing potential hotel rooms, a thief noticed that Jimmy forgot to lock the car and stole Ashlynn’s brand new iTouch and speakers. Luckily, the rest of our luggage was left untouched. We found a simple, but clean hotel that had a quad room for the kids to share, then headed out to explore this touristy, yet quaint city.

Exploring the Mainland...

After our six nights at the villa in Skiathos, it was time to catch a flight back to Athens. We rented two cars and made our way to the Peloponnese, a large peninsula in the south. Our first stop was Acrocorinth, the acropolis (monolithic rock) of Ancient Corinth. It was continually occupied as a defensive fortress from archaic times to the early 19th century.
Most of remaining ruins are primarily from the Venetians’ rule of 1687 to 1715. I was very relieved not to be on crutches because the paths were steep and rocky. The views over Corinth and the surrounding towns was impressive.

Life in Skiathos...

Our villa was high on a hill overlooking the port and came with the use of a jeep (we also rented a car as it clearly wouldn’t fit eight). It was very fun zooming around with the top down. Luckily it was 4-wheel drive as some of the hills on the island were quite steep.
Diamantis stayed at the villa next door with his puppy Susie. There was a large family of cats hanging around; we never did figure out if Diamantis fed them or if they just lived off of mice from the hills. The kids loved having all these animals to play with.

If Only it Had a Heater...

The lovely pool at our villa overlooked the port of Skiathos. It was featured in many of our photos and made for the perfect setting for happy hour. Unfortunately, without a heater, it was icy cold. The kids made one grand entrance just so they could say they did.

Skopelos...

Our final stop on our trip around the island was in the main city, also called Skopelos; while this island is larger than Skiathos, it is less inhabited at just under 5,000 permanent residents. We invited Diamantis to join us for lunch, where we again shared many mezes (appetizers). The men ordered the local ouzo, which each came with a meze (if only Diamantis had warned us before we ordered) and the neighboring table shared some birthday cake, so it was a huge meal. On the return trip across the choppy sea, Diamantis went out of the way to locate some dolphins. Our girls had never seen dolphins in the wild and were just thrilled--the perfect ending to a great day.

This is What I've Been Waiting for My Whole Life...

When Ashlynn spoke those words after seeing the crystal clear water, we knew that we’d come to the right place. She didn’t have snorkel gear, but she had goggles which she used for viewing the fish.

Walking on Water...

Our second stop on Skopelos, was at a cove for swimming. Jimmy was in the first in the water as you see him here diving right off the boat. This cove had an extra attraction--a convenient spot to walk on water.

To the Top...

We read that there were 105 stairs to the top, but the kids managed to count 185. Luckily there was a good railing as it was a little creepy at times on that steep rock. The chapel’s key was left in the door, so we let ourselves in.
It was very small and it’s clear that the wedding scene couldn’t have been filmed inside. Apparently there’s no record of when it was actually built, but it is believed to be from the 18th century.

Off to the Mamma Mia Chapel...

After the success of our boat ride with Diamantis, we decided to hire him for a longer trip to the neighboring island of Skopelos, where several scenes of the movie Mamma Mia was filmed in 2007. Our first stop was to visit the Agios Ioannis chapel high up on a 325-foot tall rock (you can just see the white top in this photo).
Since this church was featured for the big wedding at the end of the movie, we thought there would be a dock for the visiting tourists. Silly us! Diamantis pulled the boat up to all of these rocks, and the kids just started scrambling across. I was too nervous to try with my injured ankle, so he attempted another approach on the other side and got me much closer. Jimmy and Tony were able to help me across the few rocks between the boat and the main walkway.

Fine Food with Fine Friends...

We actually only ate dinner outside the one evening that we had Diamantis over. He made an amazing crawfish soup. Tony BBQed fresh fish that Diamantis helped us pick out at the fish market. One of his cats was especially happy after he made off with an entire fish.
Feta cheese was unbelievably cheap here and we ate it prepared in a variety of ways. One of our favorite (and a big hit with the kids) was when Tony made it, which involved lighting alcohol on fire.

Happy Hour...

No matter how we spent the afternoon, we always made it back to the house for appetizers and happy hour. We mixed things up--sometimes sitting on the back deck, the dining room table or around the pool. The Greek wines were surprisingly good. The men often started the evening with ouzo, a licorice-flavored aperitif, which is very popular in Greece. At some of the restaurants, if you order ouzo, it comes with a free appetizer.

Our Second Swim Stop...

Shortly after our cave stop, Diamantis pulled into a cove for another swim stop. As you can see, the coastline is rather rugged and many of Skiathos’ 60 beaches can only be accessed by boat. This cove had some ruins on the hill above. Jimmy and Tony made the hike up; we figured it was too soon for me to try, so I again just hung out in the boat.
They had a nice view of the cove from up above. The kids enjoyed swimming and looking for pretty rocks. Afterwards, we continued our circuit around the island, then went back into town for lunch.

First Stop--A Cave!

Jimmy was ecstatic when he found out that the first swimming stop would be at a cave. The water was cold, but that didn’t stop him, Max or our girls from jumping right in. Ariana was much more hesitant, but allowed Tony to coax her in. They were hoping to find a beach inside, but mostly they just found bats. I used my sore ankle as a good excuse to stay warm and Vivynne stayed behind to keep me company.

Boating Adventure in Skiathos...

The owner of the villa, Diamantis, was a local ex-professional basketball player that just happened to own a power boat big enough for all of us. We hired him to take us around the 27 miles of Skiathos coastline. The kids enjoyed the much bumpier front of the boat, which was fine with me.

Sleepy Skiathos...

Skiathos is a small island in the Aegean Sea. With a permanent population of just 8,000 villagers, it swells to over 110,000 during the summer months! Apparently we missed the end of the season by less than two weeks and all the hotels and many of the restaurants were already shuttered for the winter. Most days we came into town for lunch and we spent two afternoons wandering around the alleys. The main beach, which is reported to be one of Europe’s best, was closed, but we managed to find a little bit of sea glass at a smaller beach.

It’s All Greek to Me...

Ever since we moved to Holland, Vivynne and Tony have been talking about trying to get us to Greece. Vivynne lived there for several years as a child and Tony (whose father was born in Thessaloniki) spent most of a year living there. The girl’s October break seemed the perfect timing, although they had to pull Ariana and Max out of school. They flew ahead to visit family and we flew in to Athens, spent the night at an airport hotel and caught a flight to the island of Skiathos to meet them for six nights at this villa. The ride up the steep hill was scary, but the view was worth it.
I stupidly crashed my bike just six days before our flight and damaged the ligaments in my ankle. It wasn’t broken, but the doctor prescribed a tight wrapping and crutches for two weeks, which didn’t bode well for an active vacation. Luckily, fate intervened to save our trip. A friend came to pick me up just two days before our departure and said the doctor was wrong; she was a physical therapist pre-kids and instructed me to ditch the crutches and do exercises to strengthen my ankle. So instead of sitting on the couch all week, I was able to get around pretty well.

Another Year, Another Frisbee Tournament...

In the early hours of October 10th, we split up to catch rides to Tiel for another Jr National Ultimate Frisbee Tournament. Ashlynn was the captain of BSN Blue, the youngest team competing. Those five 10- and 11-year-olds played more minutes than any other players because they were the only team with no extras to rotate in. Despite her team getting trounced by older and taller players, Ashlynn had a great attitude and continued to encourage her teammates until the ending whistle blew.
Veronica was happy to get to play on the top BSN team this year, the Grey Lions. David was his usual power player and Andrew, their youngest player, was fantastic. The team rolled over all their competition until the finals where a German team got the better of them. Here they are with their 2nd place trophy.