City of Lights

We arrived in Paris around 14:00 today and haven't stopped walking since then. After we transfered from the airport to our apartment we (which included a nice bottle of wine of which we opened immediatey) made our way to the Notre Dame Cathedral.

The Cathedral was overcroweded with people and it was starting to get dark outside so after making our way around the inside we decided we would try to come back later in the week and hope it wasn't as busy and the stained glass looked a bit brighter. Next, we walked in the direction of Le Madeleine and passed the Louvre where Rob stopped for the photo below.

After passing through the Tuileries Gardens we came upon a very festive Place de la Concorde where we stopped for some mulled wine and a ham and cheese crepe. YUM! I think it's the best mulled wine I've ever had. There was also a very big ferris wheel that Rob said I can go on at some point this week.  :)

Following our pit stop for the snack we continued up the Champs-Elyesse and window shopped all of the wonderful Christmas markets. We will definitely want to come back for real shopping soon. Finally, we made it all the way to the Eiffel Tower but we were so tired from the long walk from the Marais where our apartment is located that we didn't want to wait in line for tickets and instead took the metro back home. For dinner tonight we had falafel at a restaurant very near to our place (and because the price was right we might become regulars!). It's been a long day and Rob is already snoozing as I type. I think I'll send him out for our breakfast in the morning :)

Merry Christmas

Rob and I recently attended a tree trimming party at the Director's Residence of the American School. It was a great party and a nice way to bring in the holiday season! We're heading out of Athens tomorrow for our trip to Paris and Turin. We've created a very busy itinerary for ourselves but plan to update as much as possible while we're away. Merry Christmas!

Weird

Rob and I have been taking a lot of walks lately in order to stay healthy and also get physically ready for our upcoming trip. While walking around Athens it isn't unusual to see strange things taking place. While walking over to a girlfriend's apartment yesterday I came across two entertaining scenes. First, the tree in the middle of the street:

Believe it or not, there is actually enough space between the tree and the curb to parallel park. Next, I spotted a car completely stuffed with papers and belongings with a motorcycle on top. Perhaps a sign of the times in Greece.

Orange Oranges

After much anticipation the orange trees throughout Athens are starting to turn orange! They provide nice bit of color to the city when walking around the streets and it's fun to watch them tumble down the streets when they fall off of the trees too!

Great December Weather

Mostly sunny and 65 degrees in Athens today: the perfect day for a game of chess on the Areopagus.

Catching Up

I apologize for the lack of posts lately, we're still working with only Rob's computer. No worries though, my camera is still working great! The Christmas bazaars in Athens are in full swing and I acompanied Cathy and her daughter Willah to the Anglican bazaar at the Zappeion this morning. In addition to food and crafty type items there were many carnival rides set up for the children.

Yesterday Rob and I went to visit a special exhibition at the Byzantine Museum featuring paintings of Mount Athos in Northern Greece by the Greek painter and architect Warlamis. His work is truely captivating and since women are not allowed on Mount Athos I certainly appreciated Warlamis' work.



We ended the weekend by heading upstairs to Glenn and Cathy's house for a wine tasting/chili dinner complete with a magnum bottle of wine (1500 ml) that Glenn had won at a recent wine tasting in Athens. 

No Museums Today

Museum Thursday was cancelled today due to strikes in Athens by labor unions, many members of which include museum workers. Rob and I took a walk to the Monastiraki Starbucks and spent the morning planning our upcoming holiday excursion. I suppose I should fill you all in on a little secret I've been keeping. In addition to Museum Thursday, we usually also have chocolate brioche Thursday. :) My favorite chocolate brioche comes from our neighborhood bakery called Lycabettus Bakery, but the Starbucks variety does the job too!