F-Harry-Stowe

Thanks to our NY friend, Kristen, we learned how to properly say thank you in Greek (efkharistó, we were taught to say f-harry-stowe really fast). Ali (who went to college with Kristen), her sister Cassie, and their Greek friend met us for dinner on our first night in Athens. (I don't know how to spell their Greek friend's name but we loved him and he was a dead ringer, in personality and mannerisms, for our German cousin Stefan) We had a great time and they gave us some great tips for our time in Greece.

We started our first day with some hard-core sight seeing: The Acropolis, The Temple of Olympian Zeus, Kallimarmaro Stadium (sight of the first modern Olympics), and hiked to the top of Lycabettus hill (great views of Athens). We also ate our first of many gyros (pronounced hero).

Our second day started with another hike up Lycabettus hill for a daylight view, and then we strolled through markets and the streets of Athens' neighborhoods. We had a beer with the guys at our hostel (the one in red was named Claudio) and then a great dinner at the restaurant Ali suggested, Kucina. After dinner we got more pictures of the area around the Acropolis (our favorite views).

Sunday, we picked up our rental car (much harder then it should have been) and set out for Nafplio, the first capital of Greece (per Ali's suggestion). Nafplio was a picturesque seaport town on the Argolic Gulf. We simply drove up and found a perfect pension (and by perfect I mean, only £40/night), with a great view of the water. We wandered around town, ate wonderful food and hiked to the castle that overlooks the town. On our way back to Athens two days later, we stopped in Mycena and Epidaurus (the sight of a theatre marveled for its amazing acoustics. We stood in the center and could hear each other from the top rows).

We spent our last night in Athens watching the inauguration of Barak Obama (I cried), shopping (we both got custom made leather sandals from a guy written up in the NY Times), and eating as many gyros as we could consume. We can't wait to go back and see the islands of Greece.