Cairo

Well we just got back from 4 days in Cairo and it was quite an adventure. We arrived on Thursday afternoon and went to our hotel which was right on the Nile with a panoramic view of Cairo and the Pyramids in the distance. We hired a private guide and tour guide for Friday and Saturday. On Friday we visited the Pyramids and two other sites. The Pyramids really are as fantastic has people say. On Saturday we visited the Egyptian Museum where we say King Tut's mask and coffins as well as tons of beautiful jewelry and artifacts dating back thousands of years. It is really amazing. We also visited a the most famous mosque in Cairo and the market. This is just a few of the pictures we took while we where there....

View of Cairo and the Nile Rive from our hotel balcony

Faint view of the Pyramids in the distance from our hotel room

Sign on the ceiling of our hotel room pointing toward Mecca

Us at the foot of the largest Pyramid

Me on the Pyramid

Panoramic view of all three Pyramids

David "touching" the Pyramid. Our guide thought this was so cool and was so excited to show us!

David on a camel. We totally got setup by our tour guide. We thought we were going to just sit on them but instead they walked us around and then we we got off charged us a less than reasonable price which I am sure he got a take of later.

Us in front of the 2nd largest Pyramid

The Sphinx

View of us in front of the Pyramids and the Sphinx.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Love from Athens....

2008 USMC Ball

This past Saturday David and I went to the 2008 Marine Corps Birthday Ball here in Athens. This is our second USMC Ball. The first one was in 2006 when I was working for the Navy in DC. There was a great turn out and of course the Marines at the Embassy did a wonderful job. The ball was held at the best hotel in Athens so David and I decided to treat ourselves and spend the night too. In the morning we had the most amazing American breakfast (which is hard to come by over here outside of your own home). Below are a few pictures! On to Cairo next week.....

Us at the Ball

Vicki, Stacey and I

Dan and Stacey

Vicki and I at the USMC Ball

Delphi

This weekend we took a trip to Delphi with Dan, Stacey and Colin. It was a beautiful fall day in Greece with the temperature reaching into the mid 80s. This is this first time we have been out of Athens in a while so it could have been 40 and raining and it still would have been nice. Some of you may need to delve into your Greek Mythology to remember but...Delphi was the site of the Delphic Oracle, the most important in the classical Greek world, and it was a major site for the worship of the god Apollo. It is now thought that the Oracle was actually sitting on vent which produced vapors which caused hallucinations which were mistaken for "visions." They also have a great museum where you can view all of the artifacts that they have found while excavating the site. After the site and the museum we went down to the very cute little town and had a great lunch complete with ice cream and coffee. In the winter there is a ski resort open not too far away which we may check out this winter. That is if I can get David back up on skis again! Below are some pictures from our trip!

View of Delphi

David and Colin at Delphi. David convinced Colin there was a monster in every little cave we saw and he loved it!

This is a huge bee we saw on the path.

This is a turtle we saw when we were walking that David, Colin and Dan were all equally excited about.

David in the old stadium

One year later....

Well I know it has been a long time since I have posted anything. Sorry about that. We had a busy summer and fall has turned out to be just as busy. David and I are both working a lot and I started Graduate School this fall. I am working on a Masters in International Relations from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio and am doing the entire thing online. It is quite a challenge but I am really enjoying it. It will take me two years so if everything goes as planned I will finish in August of 2010!

In November we are heading to Cairo, Egypt for a long weekend (check back for pictures) and then home for two weeks at Christmas to Indiana and Texas! We are looking forward to both especially coming home.

We have been in Greece one year now and it is hard to believe it. In some ways the time has just flown in other ways I feel like I have been here for years! We have learned a lot this past year and looking back now I am glad we have taken on this adventure.

Top Ten Things I Didn’t Know Before Moving to Greece

10. Greece is not part of Europe nor is it part of the developed world. Do not let their pretty and colorful currency fool you. Greece shares more with the Middle East and the 3rd world then it does with Europe.

9. Greeks don’t put their used TP in the toilet they throw it in the trash instead (this does not hold true at the American Embassy or at the Mark Household…we are Americans Damnit)

8. Applebees and TJI Fridays can be craved and are considered a treat (hey it is the closest thing we have to American food not cooked in the Mark kitchen)!

7. Everyone (outside of the US) follows American politics and the election and they will tell you who they want to vote for and who you should vote for (Thank God we don’t let them vote!).

6. Outside of the US, Eggs are not refrigerated at the grocery store and they come covered with poop and feathers! I have also found chicken legs at the store with the feathers still on them (so so gross).

5. Greece was most recently occupied by stray dogs and cats.

4. Americans are blamed for all of the world’s troubles. I have no idea who the world would protest and blame if we were not around.

3. Sidewalks are not made for walking they are made for planting trees and bushes. I have never seen so many unusable sidewalks in my life. In typical Greek fashion, instead of removing them they all walk in the street.

2. Soap, shampoo and deodorant are overlooked and underappreciated outside of the US.

1. The US is the greatest country in the world and we should all thank God that we were born Americans (OK I knew this one already but this last year as further cemented my belief)!

Kefalonia

Well we just got back from 4 days in Kefalonia and it was amazing. We drove about 2.5 hours to the western coast of Greece to take the ferry from Patra to the island of Kefalonia. The ferry was an interesting experience for us as it was the first trip were we took a car (you can see pictures below). We spent the entire trip going from one beautiful beach to another. We had some great meals and just really enjoyed the time to relax. Hope you all had a great Labor Day Weekend and enjoy the pictures below...

I thought this was funny...here is a guy riding a bike and carrying a rolling suitcase

Here is our ferry

David on the Ferry

This is the inside of the ferry were we parked our car for the ride

View from our hotel room

One of the beaches we visited. We had about a 1/2 mile hike to get to this little beach but it was well worth it because it was super cute.

David found a cave at this beach which he loved and he says this was his favorite part of the trip


David inside of the cave

Village we visited on the northern coast of the island (very cute)

Here is a residence goat of Kefalonia. I love the goats and they are everywhere in Greece and I thought this guy was pretty cool.


This is the most famous beach in Kefalonia and it was absolutely stunning

Picture of us on the beach

Picture of us from above the beach

Another cute village we visited

Inside of the 7 euro umbrella that we bought that was worth every penny

Us at a beach we found with these cool bog rocks scattered all over

Inside of a cave we visited (again David loves cave)

David inside the cave

Last beach we visited and the water was just beautiful