Personal Musings; March 31-April 3
Later, March 31.
The last time we were in Crete, Carter was in the hospital with TB. I didn’t know how much I would remember of the city, but once we were walking around those windy little streets, with whitewashed buildings, it came back. We got a little lost, much to Alemitu’s annoyance, but we made it back to the ship in time. We were looking for the church that had 3 bombs dropped on it, but none of them exploded. After many wrong turns, as well as a good look at the local markets and residences, we found the church. I loved the orange and lemon trees with ripe fruit right in people’s little courtyards. We also bought one of the greasiest baklavas I have ever seen. Even though I didn’t eat it, I still got sticky just from holding it for a second.
A call to Ben brought the news that he and Mika are officially engaged. We couldn’t be happier.
April 1, 2006 Piraeus, Greece outside of Athens
Carter announced that he wasn’t going to be able to get off until around 2:30 in the afternoon, so Alemitu and I took off early for Athens. She was a little worried because I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going, but I was determined to make it to the Metro stop and find our way from there. We started walking and found that the usual instructions, “just 5 minutes walk” meant about 30 minutes, but we made it. The subway station is beautiful. Definitely an improvement since the Olympics. Alemitu was struck by the huge amount of graffiti present on all the buildings, both on the way to Athens, and within Athens. I truly hadn’t noticed it until she brought it up. Also, smoking is SO prevalent. Sort of sad.
We spent the day walking around the Acropolis, then walking around the town, shopping here and there, eating lunch at a sidewalk café. My meal, moussaka, was fantastic, but Alemitu’s was rather strange and not that tasty. We headed home on the Metro – a new stop, which we miraculously found – and just as we caught the shuttle bus, Carter was heading into town. We gave him some Euros and once at the terminal Alemitu met some friends and headed out again. I crashed while she had a second exploration of Athens. I’m sure it was a different view when traveling with kids her own age.
April 3, 2006 Valetta, Malta
What a charming city. The color is sandstone because the entire town is surrounded by a fort made with sandstone and then almost every building is also made of sandstone. When the wind picks up, you get sand in your eyes. The way from the port to the city is not for those walking challenged – steep hills, multiple flights of stone stairs – but the views are spectacular, the weather cool, with a breeze, but also plenty of sun. Who could ask for anything better. We took a tour of the famous St. John’s Co-Cathedral with the aid of an 86 year old guide. His English was heavily accented and I had to spend much of my time just trying to understand him, but it was so interesting and breathtaking. Some day Carter and I may come back here for a week, just to explore. It is a friendly place for those on foot.
posted by Hills @ 2:21 PM
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