Ammon’s class had a Covid outbreak, so he stayed home for a Mommy-Ammon day. We were in the middle of reading a pile of books when Chelsea called and said she was about to go on a walk with Dakota, her dog. Ammon and I quickly finished our stack and then headed over to pick up Chelsea and Dakota. We drove to Canyon Grove park where we parked and took the dogs and Ammon on a looooong walk and bike ride. We walked for almost two hours!
Of course they flew by because I love Chelsea like a sister. She was so supportive when I vented about Ammon’s kindergarten situation, too. At one point the kindergarten teacher wanted me to log on so Ammon could attend P.E. online. I sent her the picture below in response.
After we walked Ammon played on the playground until one of Chelsea’s twins called and needed to come home from school. We headed over to Foothill, picked him up, dropped him and Chelsea off at their house, and then headed home again. I helped Ammon with his piano practice before heading back out to pick up the girls.
In the evening we all attended the Orem Hale’s production of Hunchback. Olivia, Chelsea’s daughter, is in the play and she did an absolutely amazing job. It was so fun to see her, and we were absolutely floored by the talent of the actors in the play. We are so lucky to live in a place brimming with community theater talent. Honestly, there were several actors in the play who seemed like they should be on Broadway, and we are confused that we got to see them in Orem. Confused but grateful, though!
On Tuesday I went to Lydia’s harp lesson with her, took everyone but the little kids to school, and spent the rest of the day practicing reading with Ammon. I also read Clarissa and Ammon a ton of books. And, to be honest, I don’t remember much else about this day! Oh–it was a Tuesday so all of the kids had ballroom in the evening. I don’t know what I did while they were there, but I think I probably cooked or read or something like that.
In the morning, Abe took Ammom biking and to the park and got these videos:
Then we all went to church and then we went to see the Broadway production of Frozen at the Eccles Theater in Salt Lake. I only got the tickets because Clarissa is obsessed and was not expecting to have my socks knocked off. We have seen a lot of excellent shows and theater lately, and I was shocked to discover that Frozen is my favorite so far. The special effects and the singing were just out of this world.
After the play we walked to one of our favorite restaurants, Spitz. We met up with Tom and Suzanne, who brought along some presents for Ammon and Mary! It was very fun.
On Saturday Eli came over for a play date with Lydia. Lydia has been begging for more time with Eli and we all have missed Eli a lot. He is so fun to have around. We have about a million videos the kids took of him jumping on the trampoline, so when Abe gets a chance he will upload those.
I guess the other memorable moment of the day was the impromptu date Abe and I had while our youngest three kids were at ballroom. Lydia stayed home and read while Abe and I took Basil to a park in Vineyard. We spent an hour just walking, jogging, and talking. Some of my most favorite elements of a date with Abe! The weather was gorgeous too. This Utah autumn has been so, so beautiful.
Saturday we didn’t have to leave the hotel until 8:15 for our 9:50 flight because our hotel was literally in the airport. We walked across the street and were there. I loved how easy that was and am now going to keep that in mind whenever we have a major travel day before us.
The first 10 hour flight was a total breeze because our kids were glued to their devices for 10 hours straight. Other than using the bathroom, they barely moved. I finished my sixth book of the trip, The Lincoln Highway. It was my favorite book I have ever read. Honestly. I was floored, wowed, awed–every descriptor possible for “I-Stand-In-Amazement-At-Your-Talent,-Compassion-And-Wisdom-Dear-Author.” I have loved every book I’ve read or listened to on this trip, but this one had to take the cake. It was just beautiful. I now have a new favorite author to read down. Hooray!
I also watched Together, the James Macavoy and Sharon Hogan film that is really more like a brilliant theatrical production caught on film. It made me cry and Abe watched it right after. He also loved it.
After the easy-breezy 10 hour flight where everyone was addicted to screens, we arrived in Chicago. O’Hare is ridiculous and our almost three hour layover was completely taken over by waiting in lines. We waited in the customs line (where we met a lovely older couple from Crystal Lake and the U.K. and spent the whole line chatting with them). Then we waited for our bags. Then we had to recheck our bags. Then we had to wait in a very long line for the shuttle bus becausethe airport train has been brokenfor three years. Come on, Chicago!
Then we waited on the shuttle bus for the last terminal, and then we waited in a line at the terminal to get through security AGAIN. By the time we were waiting in the line to board our second flight, the littler kids were crazed and red-eyed, and I was nearing the end of my patience. (To be honest, my shallow well-spring of that precious resource dried up halfway through the first excessively long line.) Chicago, I love you…but you can do better. Really, you can.
On the second flight Clarissa fell asleep so the Dallas layover was a little tricky with Abe and I both loaded down with five bags and Abe carrying Clarissa on top of that. In Dallas all of the kids fell asleep except for Lydia, so coaxing them onto the flight to Salt Lake was a trick. Ammon sleep-walked and sobbed his way to his seat while Mary quietly griped about his crying–which only made Ammon wail louder. But once on the flight every single person passed out instantly, and we had a very easy flight home.
Tom and Suzanne were amazing and came to the airport to bring us our car–and candy! The kids were very cheered up at the sight of them and then immediately fell back asleep on the way home.
When Abe and I went to the basement we discovered that most of it is finished beautifully!!!
I have jet lag so have been able to back blog (and also pop generous amounts of gummy melatonin into the mouths of every child who has awoken before the dawn). Abe appears to have instantly adjusted because he went to bed right on time and slept through the night. I’m glad one of us will be functional tomorrow!
On Friday we woke up surrounded by olive and orange orchards on the outskirts of Nafplion. After getting everyone ready for the day we stopped at the first pharmacy we saw to see if they did rapid antigen tests. We needed to take the rapid tests to return home. Because we weren’t Greek citizens the pharmacy could not help us, but they did find a lab in Nafplion that could do our tests. We drove to the port, parked, and set about finding the lab. I was delighted to discover the signs were not in English so that I had to use Greek to find it. That was really fun for me!
Abe had instructions to find the Gkoilionis lab. It was kind of hidden and I was very thrilled to be able to decipher “Gkoilionis” as the first word on the bottom button.Waiting for nose swabs.
After the very kind lab technician swabbed all of our noses (half of which were forebodingly congested) we took the kids to the park. Ammon, of course, made a pack of Greek friends. Lydia also greeted some children, and Clarissa and Mary mostly played with each other and with Lydia.
Abe looked at this playground piece of equipment and thought about how fun it would be to be 12 and put a bunch of friends on it, spin it, and have everyone fly off. And then he realized it would probably be illegal in the U.S. and took a picture.
Abe and I hadn’t had much time alone together during this trip and so chatting together while our kids played felt very life-affirming. Abe wanted to capture the moment.
After we finished at the playground we strolled down the nearby avenue and found a taverna for lunch. The owners appeared to be a septuagenarian couple who also were the cooks. The food was fine, but what was really nice is that the table was next to the pedestrian avenue so the kids could continue blowing off steam playing “Mother May I” while we waited for food. We have heavily relied on devices to keep Ammon and Clarissa quiet while waiting for food in restaurants, and it was wonderful to have a place for them to play.
Clarissa said her favorite part of being in Greece was ice cream and candy
Here Clarissa is happily eating ice cream
After that we bought the kids some ice cream and then headed back to our car so we could drive to Sounion and see Poseidon’s temple. On the way out of town we were driving down another country road in the orange groves and Abe turned a corner and almost ran over a gypsy woman wirecutting her way out of the orchard with a bag of oranges in her hand. She was very short and was tumbling into the road exactly in Abe’s blind spot. I screamed and Abe slammed on the brakes, only after seeing her hurry in front of the car. That was a close call and we were so, so happy something worse did not happen.
Shortly after that we passed a lot of fruit stands selling citrus and we bought a lot of oranges and mandarins. After our experience with the Nafplion oranges at our hotel, we learned our lesson and gobbled them down. Mary, who normally eats very little at all times, has always had one outstanding weakness for mandarin oranges. As a toddler she would go through something like a bag a day.
This day, upon finding herself confronted with an enormous bag of the freshest, most tasty mandarins of her life, Mary turned into Pooh Bear in front of a honey pot. She steadily ate the mandarins long after everyone else couldn’t eat another bite. Occasionally we’d call back to see if she wanted us to take the bag away, and in a soft, contented tone she’d answer, “No, I’m still eating.” It was very cute and endearing.
Poseidon’s Temple at Sounion
Then we drove to Poseidon’s Temple at Sounion. Having finished both Mythos and Troy, we listened to Elvis on the way there. He reminded us of our time in Tennessee earlier in the month.
It was very windy. This was the best picture we got of all of us together, believe it or not.
Our favorite part of the temple was looking out at the sea from the cliffs. We were shocked to see the wind blowing so hard that the waves rolled backwards. We also stared open-mouthed at the ships traversing the area where Poseidon appeared to be blowing back the sea. One bounced so hard its prow appeared to go under the sea several times!
We got a kick out of watching what the wind and waves were doing to this boat. I commented that everyone on board was likely throwing up.
After we had had enough of the wind, we headed back to the car to drive back to Athens, return the car, check into the Sofitel at the airport, and then head back into Athens on the Metro. The youngest two had spent a lot of time sitting in the car at this point and were completely out of control at all of the stops. Lydia took the picture below as she and Abe concocted games to try to keep them quiet while I checked into the hotel.
By the time we got to the restaurant it was 8:30pm. The view from A is for Athens is maybe the best city view I’ve seen in my life. There are three walls of floor to ceiling glass and everywhere you turn your head there are even more lit up ruins of Athens. Above them all stands the Parthenon. When you looked down from the windows you could see all of the people in Monastiraki Square. At one point a group of people had a dance party in the middle of the square! Throughout it all men were tossing lighted blue toys high in the air. The sight of it all of this excitement and beauty especially dazzled Ammon and Clarissa, who spent the first part of our wait just staring out the window with their faces pressed to the glass.
Abe thought Athens was very alive and took multiple videos
They also enjoyed blowing their breath on the glass and tracing patterns, much to my chagrin. Abe countered that they are kids and the temptation was just too much for any kid to resist. So thanks to him they had a great time!
By the end of a truly delicious dinner Mary was face down on her plate and Clarissa was face back on hers.
By the end even Lydia was falling asleep.
After dinner we made it back to the hotel around 11:45pm and all of the kids just collapsed in their beds. I loved the hotel bathroom and, knowing the enormous travel day ahead, took a long, long bath while Abe responsibly uploaded all of our Covid testing data to the American Airlines app.
Goodbye, Athens and Greece! We had the best time and can’t wait to come back soon.
In the morning we woke up in our ancient castle rooms pictured from inside and outside above. The older girls had their own room around the corner with a view of the sea. Then we went down to the cafe below for breakfast, and then headed up to the top of the city to see the church and views up there.
This is Clarissa and Mary attempting to shoot Abe and Ammon with the cannon. Abe, Ammon and Clarissa were the most entertained by this game. As you can see, in this photo they have made their mark and Abe has fallen dramatically while Ammon attempts to defend him from the cannonball.
The upper castle in Monemvasia, which housed the royalty and aristocracy, is all in ruins. The lower castle, which was reserved for the workers, is the part we stayed in. The way to the top involved climbing a lot of picturesque (if very slick and cobbled) stairs. I probably re-tweaked my ankle half a dozen times, but it was worth it.
Here the Lydia and Mary are doing the dance they created and Clarissa is following along.In some ruins in the upper castle.
It was very very windy, as Abe captured in this video. The wind howled all last night too.This is the ancient church on top of the castle.On our way walking back to our car Abe suggested we check out the tide pools. They found crabs in the pools. (Also, I think Ammon is about to stomp on Mary’s foot in this photo.) I wanted to swim in the water so badly! I was standing on a tiny cement dock with a ladder down to a protected small bay in the sea. I dipped my foot in and the water was still warm, despite the wind. Next time!Abe took this on our way from the castle to our car.Abe taunted Poseidon for a good twenty minutes while giant waves crashed in front of them. They look small and diminished by the photo, but in actuality the waves were large, loud and very exciting.
MYSTRAS
The entrance to Mystras, an ancient Byzantine city and now UNESCO World Heritage site, is pictured above.
We visited Mystras by happy, happy accident. I thought Mystras was the ancient city of Sparta, but it turns out that is buried underneath the new city of Sparta on the plains below Mystras. Mystras is a Byzantine city and perhaps the largest and best city ruins I have ever seen. You could easily spend a half or whole day just wandering the ruins, which span underneath the palace ruins on the cliffs even higher up.
The lower ruins wrap around this hill and go all the way up to the castle.Inside the myriad church ruins there are still, amazingly, remnants of ancient frescoes.Below these there were candles lit at an altar. The candles glow up the frescoes. I could just imagine the power this imagery, lighting, and architecture had on the people who used these churches for worship during the Byzantine era. Picturesque ruins.Clarissa in front of one of the churches.The kids played tag and hide and seek in the ruins. I put a stop to it because out of sight of this photo there are sheer drop offs nearby.
Here the kids are playing telephoneAbe entertained the kids by sending them on missions to complete various tasks. Their last task was to sneak up and then surprise me with a group hug.We drove up to the palace after and then took turns going to see it.
Back in Nafplion
We headed back to Nafplion for dinner. I have read gastronome types rave about fresh sardines on multiple occasions but have never found fresh sardines anywhere. They served them here! The bones are really tricky but the fish is so yummy. Abe said it was his favorite thing at dinner.
By our hotel, the Klyemeni Traditional Homes, there was a small orange orchard. The manager told us the oranges were not yet ripe but that we could help ourselves. I told the kids to only pick one orange each, but after we tasted the oranges a day later, we realized that they should have picked a bushel. They were the best oranges all of us had ever had! They were slightly tart, but the complexity was incredibly refreshing. The pretty streets of Nafplion where we shopped and ate breakfast.
At breakfast, Clarissa loved her orange juice and tried to lick every last drop!More bougainvillea and a pretty street.
The central square was alive with activity, including children playingAfter breakfast and shopping we rode a choo choo tram around and sort of listened to the (very soft) narration that described the landmarks of Nafplion.We were a little distracted by this kind of cuteness.
Monemvasia
These are Ammon’s and Clarissa’s bed in a tiny nook above the room where Abe and I slept in the old castle. It was adorable and even had a hobbit like door leading to it.They love their room.Our hotel rooms were right across from an old church.Stairs leading from our bedroom to the bathroom and Ammon’s and Clarissa’s room.After checking in and eating dinner (including the most delicious sea bream fish I have ever had), we walked the old steps up to the top of the town. We turned around before reaching the upper town because it was getting dark and I was afraid someone (certainly me, but probably Ammon too) would trip on the slick rocks combing down in the dark.Coming down I got accidentally separated from everyone else and took these paths down alone. I don’t know if Abe or I took this, but it reminds me of that solitary feeling in the old castle. I thought a lot about the life of women and how they would have felt living here. I have no idea what their lives were like but they could not have been easy. It was kind of like Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston is so pretty, but the past is so imposing it feels almost physically present. At the same time, I hope the beauty of their geographical location and their pretty city offered consolation and joy.
Also, Lydia and Mary made the most adorable dance, which you can see in this video.
In the morning we awoke completely enamored with our adorable hotel. We loved how cozy and clean it was and how beautiful the views from the window were.
When we went downstairs we had the most beautiful, delicious breakfast of the trip waiting for us. Portaria was a total steal. The breakfast was included even though the hotel was the cheapest of the trip. Next time we are going to plan more days in the Pelion peninsula, which is where our hotel was. We wished we could have gone to the restaurant farm and taken a cooking class and explored the area more. But the food we explored thoroughly and it was soooooo good.
Those baked apples in the back are the best I have had in my life. There is a special type of apple grown in the Pelion that they ship throughout Europe, but they bake it in the Pelion with some special spices and the end products are unbelievable.In the heated trays are all delicious dishes of eggplants, mushrooms, and eggs. Those spinach pies in front were the best we tasted in Greece. Our waiter was also the manager. He was our waiter at dinner and breakfast and welcomed us into the hotel. He said Clarissa reminded him of his youngest daughter when she was small.Abe took a picture of his breakfast.Hotel Krista from the outside. The plaza and this tree in particular were lit up beautifully all night long. I loved looking out of our windows at it. As we drove down the mountain the city of Volos literally sparkled in the morning sun.
Delphi
A view of the gorge beneath Delphi from our restaurant.
I’ll be honest. This was the only stop on our trip that we did because it would have been embarrassing to go to Greece and not see Delphi. But even though we were all very thoroughly brushed up on our Greek myths and Delphi seems to pop up in every other one, I just don’t care about Delphi that much. But we dutifully spent a day driving there, touring the sites, and the driving the almost three more hours to Nafplion.
Waiting for lunch.We did enjoy the friezes in the excellently curated Delphi museum. This one depicts Apollo and Hercules fighting over the sacred tripod of Delphi. I was impressed by this opulent offering discovered at the site. Not only is this gift clearly spectacular, but its reconstruction is ingenious and beautiful.This was a sphinx carved out of marble from Naxos!Ammon had no idea what Delphi was about, but he just naturally adopted an oracular pose close to Apollo’s temple. Apollo’s temple.The older Delphi site.
Because Delphi is out of the way we spent the rest of the day driving to our hotel in Nafplion.
We arrived extremely late because right as we were about to cross the isthmus to the Peloponnese peninsula the toll booths shut completely down. Apparently there was a clash up ahead between the gypsies and the police and they would not let anyone through for an hour. Luckily we had Troy to listen to. We hoped everyone was all right but at the same time felt ever so slightly appreciative of the fact that we were experiencing something that everyone around us seemed to accept as a fact of life in Greece but felt foreign to us. That feeling was probably morally unacceptable, considering the investment and risk going on in both sides of the confrontation. But, to be honest, it was there.
We drove to Meteora early in the morning so we would get there before any busses or crowds. When we arrived, everything was still, quiet, and profoundly peaceful.
Climbing the stairs to the Varlaam Monsestary.This is the basket that used to haul people up. My dad used to talk about Meteora a lot and it was fun to see the baskets he referenced in his stories.
Here is a video Abe made from the Varlaam monastery:
Next we walked up to the Grand Monestary of Meteora.Our favorite part of this monestary was the old kitchen, but we forgot to take a picture!We didn’t eat breakfast and Clarissa was on the verge of mutiny, so we came down to the town to eat lunch. The waiter kindly took our picture (and posed us to boot!).
Mt. Olympus
After Meteora we headed to Mt. Olympus. We wanted to see it mainly because of its role in Greek myths; we had no idea that the mountain would be anything special. But we were so wrong. I fear our pictures could never do this mountain justice! It was the most beautiful mountain Abe and I had ever seen. The whole road up and down the mountain we all kept essentially screaming in surprise at all of the vistas and colors. We also so five foxes (at five different times!). The fifth fox was being fed by people in their car so that is probably why so many were by the side of the road, but still it was fun to see them!
I changed the filter on this picture in an attempt to evoke the same magical feelings we all had on the mountain. We were in awe the whole time.Look at those lacy, glowing leaves.Ammon loved all of the moss.This picture comes close to showing a little of what we experienced in certain sections of the road. Although I took this on the hike, on the road there were entire sections where the trees on both sides looked like this and the whole top of the road was covered with these glowing, amber leaves. It was incredible.On the other side of that wall is a sheer cliff to the bottom of the gorge. We did not let Ammon or Clarissa out of the car here. Lydia looks slightly apprehensive at the cliff.
After Mt. Olympus we all rode down to the town at the base of the mountain and ate pasta, pizza, Greek salad, and ice cream. Then we got back into the car and I put “Sarakina” into the GPS. Our farm house was in a little village called “Sarakina,” so I imagined that would be sufficient.
That is why at 10pm at night we found ourselves driving on unlit roads in the middle of country nowhere. We still thought we were close to our village because it was also in the middle of nowhere, but when the road got so narrow and steep that we had to back up and turn around, I double checked the GPS.
Imagine the shock when I realized we were 45 minutes from the Bulgaria border and honestly not that much farther to Turkey. Our Sarakina (or Sarakinas, as it turned out) was three and a half hours southwest. Oops. Poor Abe had to drive almost until 2am that night. Luckily we had great audiobooks (Michael Pollan’s Second Nature and Stephen Fry’s Troy) and good music to keep him going. It turned out to be a really fun night in at least one other respect because we got to talk a lot to each other without interruption. That is always a treat.
Also (Abe interjecting here), there is one anecdote that I want to make sure we share. I’m not sure if it was today or another day after Naxos, but the kids have been using their devices a ton while we drive. It keeps them completely quiet, and they love it and we love it (the quiet, so we can listen to our Stephen Fry audiobook on Troy). One day we were driving, and Clarissa spontaneously (or so we thought) burst into tears. Her sobs were desperate like her dog just died or something. We asked Clarissa what was wrong and in a completely distraught voice she wailed, “My ipad died!”. She really does love that ipad. I’ve even heard her call it her “Ipaddy”.
Also, here are a bunch of other videos from the day:
Here is what Mary captured in her travel journal about today:
