Charter Buses, Toilet Fiascos and Millie

We just returned from our long trip to northern Greece. We spent probably 80% of our time on a charter bus. We either got lost, our tour guide miscalculated approximate distance or our bus driver would take the scenic route for no apparent reason. Haha. Let's start with our tour guide. Oh Millie! Catharina, our usual tour guide, was booked for this week so we got Millie. She is this little lady in her late 50s. I knew it was going to be an interesting few days when she began our journey with a long, drawn-out joke with no end in sight. We had just got on the bus early in the morning-- we didn't even want our seat partner to talk to us that early--and here this little old lady that talks like Mrs. Doubtfire starts playing comedian. She was really sweet, but she loved the bus microphone. And her accent was adorable. Every 2 syllable word ended on a high note...literally. My favorite word that she would say was mountains and pebbles. I wish, oh how I wish, I could put a soundbite in this blog so you would know what I was talking about. She would start out lower with "mount" and excitedly crescendo into "tains" a few octaves above the first syllable. When we went into tombs, she kept saying "tombs" and would pronounce the "b." Little pet peeve..don't ask me why. It is silent-- not "toom-bahs." Man, I'm coming down on Millie too hard. She was a very sweet lady-- the guys here play this crazy game where they call your name and if you look at them they shoot you with an imaginary dart..you must, wherever you are, fall down and pretend to be dead. Someone has to pull the dart from your neck before you are free to get up and go on your way. Millie was very confused by this and asked me why the other kids were falling down all the time. I explained the game to her and later on, someone shot her with a dart and she pretended to be dead. Ten million bonus points for Millie. After she did that, she could say "tombs" however she wanted.

The first day we went to Delphi, which I knew mostly because of the oracles I had heard about. It was a beautiful sunny day-- I got to bust out my tank tops and capris. :-) Like most other sites here, it was quite a climb but the scenery, once again, impressed me. You think I would get tired of seeing mountain, ocean, mountain ocean..but it never gets old to me. We saw Apollo's temple and heard about all that went on there. We saw the altar next to it also. I think what was the neatest about this was seeing the huge rock where the "vapors" would come out and put the future-telling women in a trance. They would give them pretty broad answers so that no matter what happened, it fit the situation. Kind of like that plastic fortune-telling lady at Bonanza. As a kid, I continued to support her with my coins and she continued to tell me "Love is in the air" or "Today is a good day for you." What a rip-off!

It was in Delphi that we saw the stadium where the Pythian games were held. Of all the stadiums, I think this was my favorite because it was more in tact and you could better see what would have went on within its walls. We saw another ancient theater with great acoustics. The Delphi museum, which we have heard about in class, was closed due to a worker strike. What in the world are museum workers striking about? Bad benefits? I guess they don't get paid enough to sit there and shout, "No flash!" Millie tried her best with a pamphlet to show us what would have been inside, but it was still disappointing. I wanted to see the bronze statue of the Charioteer-- it's supposed to be one of the most impressive bronze statues that has ever been found. The sculptor put so much detail into his feet even though they would have been covered by a chariot. I didn't get to see his detailed feet. Mean museum workers.

The first night we stayed at a hotel in Kalambaka, this small town of about 15,000 or so. We had time that evening to walk around the town and get the feel of it. Such a cute town! The highlight would probably have to be eating at Pizza Land-- the pizza was amazing!! I didn't think pizza would be a Greek specialty, but the best pizza I've had has been here. We went to this gelato shop and the owner came out and talked to us for a while. He was so funny. They always seem to start talking about politics. You will be on one topic with them and they will randomly say, "What you think about Obama?" It kind of catches you off guard and before you know it, you are discussing politics. I am sad to report that I think Greeks are more informed about our government than we are.

The 2nd day we visited monasteries on top of huge cliffs in Kalambaka. After huffing and puffing my way to the top, I have a newfound respect for the monks and nuns who travel this path quite often-- especially in those garment get-ups. Haha. (Their restrooms are also holes in the ground so I'm sure their wardrobe isn't ideal for that either..)

I think what hit me the hardest were the depictions of Christian persecution that were displayed on the church walls. It showed martyrs being murdered for the sake of Christ in ways you couldn't possibly imagine. Though worn by time, the pictures still spoke strongly to me today. Seeing them tied to a wooden wheel that was rotated around spikes and other sharp objects, I couldn't help but realize how blessed we are today. I go to church every Sunday on my own accord; I go to a Christian university with people who share my beliefs. I thought being made fun of in high school for not partying was such a sacrifice-- now I know that it was nothing more than what I was called to do-- and I am lucky to have not faced death.

We then headed to Thessaloniki, where we stayed in the best hotel thus far. It was a five star hotel. There is a magnificent fountain in the front of it and the white marble walls required you to lean back and look up to catch every floor. I think all of our jaws dropped when the bus pulled up. When we got to our room, the first thing we did was a bathroom check. The bathroom was as big as our hotel room the night before! And guess what! It had a bathtub with bubble bath! I was jumping up and down at the thought of the evening bubble bath to come. It was then that I opened the closet door and found that I had a bathrobe and slippers waiting for me! Wowzers. Our family usually celebrates when we get a free continental breakfast-- I got a delicious breakfast and a robe! It goes without saying that I had a bubble bath both nights. Haha. Life's little blessings.

We explored Thessaloniki some that evening and, once again, I enjoyed the atmosphere. I love the town squares and the people going about daily life.

The next day we drove to Philippi. Paul came here on his 2nd missionary journey after receiving the vision of the Macedonian man. I have always loved that story-- I love how Paul alters his plans and goes to Macedonia. It is also here that he meets Lydia (the dealer of purple cloth) that he baptizes in the Angilee River. I think my favorite story from Philippi is when Paul and Silas are imprisoned and the earthquake comes. The jailer is about to commit suicide when Paul suddenly stops him. The jailer asks what he has to do to be saved and he and his family are all baptized. I think it's neat that I was in the same area where all this happened. We saw the prison that has become known through the years as the one Paul was probably in. They have recently decided that though this is probably not it, that it would have been similar to this one. Still a cool thought even though they are not positive!

In Philippi, we also saw the remnants of old basilicas (churches). The mosaic floors were still in tact which was so impressive to me. We saw the ancient road that connected the port to Philippi-- just another "walking in Paul's footsteps" moment.

Not as important, but Ashton has once again had a bathroom fiasco. I don't know what it is with me and European bathrooms. It was in Philippi that I had a mental breakdown in a stall with a hole in the ground. Among other difficulties, I laid my purse to the side of the stall. When I flushed, I underestimated the water power that flows into the hole and it sprayed EVERYWHERE, soaking my purse and getting me wet. I couldn't tell how much was water and how much was urine. I scream really loud and later realize that the boys are right next to us and can hear everything that goes on. One of the guys was like, "Ashton, did you have problems in there?" and I turned really red. He still brings it up. Ugh. I can't wait to use my bathroom in my house. I might take a magazine in and enjoy it for hours just for the sake of calling it my own.

Today we stopped in Pella-- a thriving city of Macedonia. We went to a museum and did a scavenger hunt for extra credit in Hum 270. In Vergina, we went into Phillip II (Alexander the Great's father)'s tomb, which was really neat. The museum was dark, with only the displays lit up. We saw his armor and other things that were buried with him. They know that it was him because they know that he had a leg injury from war and the leg armor they found was consistent with that knowledge. As you all know by now, I am obsessed with the dead so this part was one of the neatest parts of the trip. Call me morbid, but I just like tombs and dead people stuff. I can't help but sit there and think, "He WORE that" or "That crown was on Phillip II's head!" Nerdy, I know.

It took us FOREVER to get home it seemed, but we finally made it. We figured that when Millie made a "Are we there yet?" calculation that you multiplied it by 4 and that was the accurate time left. She counts in dog years. Haha. We are here and that is what matters. I'm fixing to go to bed because I'm exhausted. Luckily, we have a day off tomorrow. Danielle and I have to go to a museum here in Porto Rafti though for an assignment. Blah. Museums, museums!

Love ya'll!