Athens adventure

Jeff and I woke up went down to the lobby and had coffee while the kids slept for a little longer. Life in these parts of the world run on a different time table. Local people don't really come out until the sun starts to go down. There are tourists like us who walk around and see the sites while it is hot but when the sun is setting the streets are packed. 

Before we left our room to start our day we read Acts 17:16-34, where Paul is brought to the Aeropagus and addresses the men there. It's a pretty cool thing to see the Bible come alive in a completely different way. 

We started out at the Acropolis Museum. Under the museum are stones they are still excavating. Pretty amazing! 

Then we had a little lunch before we climbed the hill to the Acropolis. 

Before we even started the trek we were stopped by a man on a Segway telling us we can take a tour around the Acropolis to other parts of the city. I swore you would never catch me on one of those things but somehow my family convinced me that we should do it. I caved, so we made a reservation for later in the day. 

It was a hot day, I think every day might be hot here but we started up the hill with several water breaks in between. The sites are just beautiful. The stone is so massive it's hard to imagine how the Greeks built all of it. 

One thing I do understand is Paul's heart as he walked around the city and the marketplace and saw that they worshiped many idols. Walking through the marketplaces grieves the heart. There are so many statues of Greek gods and symbols representing all of them and beyond that there are things that are very difficult to see as they worship the human body. I won't go into anymore detail. Paul was provoked by the Spirit to go reason with the Jews and the people in the marketplace because they were worshiping everything but the one true God. Oh how I admire Paul's boldness to proclaim the gospel! 

After our walk up to the Acropolis we made our way down and went back to the hotel to take cold showers (they don't have pools only spas). 

Jeff and I went out for a little iced coffee break and went back to get the kids for our Segway tour. For 15 minutes we figured these crazy things out and then we were on our way. It was actually a lot of fun and scary at times because at one point we were going downhill and I thought I was going to fall off or crash. Kailee was a pro and Jake and Jeff had a blast horsing around on those things. So much fun that Jake was trying to show me how tricky he could be and it spun out from under him and he fell off the back right in front of the tour guide. We all laughed!

After our fun on the Segways we found a place to have dinner in the middle of the city. I think we have had pizza for 4 days in a row. It wasn't the best meal we have had but the company was great!

We are having so much fun together exploring new things and making memories that will last a lifetime. I'm in mom heaven!

On our way from Thessaloniki to Athens

This morning we got up had coffee and breakfast and our taxi arrived at 10:00 am to take us to the train station in Thessaloniki. We arrived an hour early. There is something about train stations that is a little creepy. I think I have seen too many action movies. Little did I know the train ride would be creepier (people staring at you from the isle almost the whole ride, maybe I'm slightly paranoid). At one point when we stopped I think a beggar got on the train and eventually got off. We did hear an English man near us talking to a couple of girls about the Bible. 

We had many stops before Athens but a couple hours into the ride we just stopped, there was no train station and the engine turned off. There was an announcement but we don't understand Greek so that didn't help. It was hot inside the train and people were getting off to smoke. This was so out of our comfort zone, we are really having to trust The Lord when there is a big communication barrier. So we sat and waited. 

We finally arrived in Athens around 6:30 pm and dragged our suitcases to a median in the middle of many crazy taxis. We were standing around looking at all the taxis thinking there is no way 4 people with 4 big bags will fit into a small car. A man came up to us and says come with me. He proceeds to fit all of our luggage in the back of his hatchback. Ten minutes later we arrived at the Herodian hotel. After that we walked around Plaka. It was jakes turn to pick a restaurant and after we sat down we were questioning the pick but after eating our food we were all impressed with how good it was. After dinner we wondered around the agora (market place). We walked into an art gallery and there was a door to go underneath the gallery where there were people painting and a hundred year old excavated pot looking thing. I would like to request the ability to be awesome at painting and an underground studio when I get to heaven. ;)

And then we went back to the hotel room for rest. 

Today was a long travel day but today was profitable. My heart had no where else to go but to depend on The Lord and His guidance and wisdom as we ventured through places unknown. I am very thankful for today.