Our Birthday Adventure - Part II

After having seen amazing sites in Athens we were ready to R-E-L-A-X!  So, we jumped on a quick flight to the Greek Island of Santorini.  I think Tom and I found heaven on earth!  We spent 5 days soaking in the sun and relaxing with the gorgeous views of the Agean Sea.  Our plane landed in time so that we were able to watch the sunset from our hotel room balcony.  Our hotel was the typical picture of Santorini...built into the side of the cliff, a series of little white and blue houses one on top of the other.  Our hotel "neighbors" rooms were directly above and below ours.  It was so picturesque and absolutely stunning!  We were able to watch the sunset over the sea every night....pure bliss.  : )  We spent our days taking in all Santorini has to offer.....a sunset sailboat cruise around the island (Tom did great and managed to do much better than on our honeymoon!), a wine tasting tour exploring the various vineyards around the island, and we even rented an ATV to explore the island on our own.  Our pictures don't do the beauty of this island justice but will at least give you a general idea.  

We couldn't have asked for a better birthday celebration and are so fortunate to have had this experience!  

Our Birthday Adventure - Part I

Since Tom and I have birthdays 10 days apart we decided that our gifts to each other would be planning a vacation.  When it came to choosing a destination there was no question where we would be headed.  This place had been on our "must see" list since living in Rome in 2001.  So, a couple days after my birthday we were off to GREECE!!!!

The first part of our trip we spent exploring Athens.  Tom, a huge history buff, was in heaven and absolutely in awe of the history in this beautiful city.  At one point he even commented that Athen's history puts all the history in Rome to shame because Athen's history is able to go back so much further.     ; )  We arrived on Saturday afternoon to gorgeous 75 degree weather.  We decided to grab lunch on the rooftop deck of our hotel and enjoyed greek salad, olives and wine.  Later than night we went out exploring and meandered through the Plaka area.  It is a great lively area filled with shopping, restaurants, scenery and more.  Tom was able to try his first of many Greek gyros.  On a side note, Did you know that the lamb gyro that is traditionally served in the States is not what is typical in Greece?  Greece is known for their chicken and pork gyros.  And, they are much smaller in size than the ones in the U.S.  And, the best part yet....they cost about 2 Euros a piece.  Perfect for a light lunch or small snack.

The next day was Labor Day across Europe.  It is similar to Labor Day that we have in the states.  But most Europeans take the opportunity to protest that day about work-related issues.  The square outside our hotel happened to be the central meeting point for the protests.  It was quite interesting to watch.  Apparently, the Greek folks were protesting about needing higher wages.  We spent the day walking all around Athens and exploring the sights and scenery.  We made a stop at the world's oldest cemetery.  And we finished the day with an amazing traditional Greek dinner at a restaurant with an outdoor patio with views of the Acropolis at night!

Monday we got up early for our guided tour of the Peloponnese region of Greece.  This area is about an hour outside of Athens and is an area that includes a number of ancient sites including; the Corinth Canal, the Ancient city of Corinth, the spot where St. Paul spoke to the Corinthians, the oldest Ampitheatre in the world that was built over 3,000 years ago and more.  It was a great day and was truly amazing to see all of the history.

Tuesday was our final day in Athens and we spent it touring the Acropolis and the Parthenon.  What awesome sights!  After that we made it to the tallest hill in Athens to check out the view of the entire city.  We followed it up with lunch at a local taverna before heading to the airport for the next part of our trip!

Limitless and Hanna - What?

We need your help, please!  We have realized that we are starting to lose touch with the new television and movies in the states.  Now, we certainly don't mind spending less time in front of the t.v.  But, we do want to catch any good shows and movies that are playing.  

I realized that we were "losing touch" when I was catching up with my friend Lauren who mentioned that she had gone to see the movie "Limitless" over the weekend.  I had never heard of the movie and had no clue what it was about. It felt sort of odd.  Don't feel too sorry for us over here...we have access to American television through our slingbox and most major American movies arrive here in the movie theaters a week or two after they are released in the states (the movies are even played in English).  And, we can always rent movies through itunes.  But, the only time we really watch television here is when we turn on our pre-recorded shows.  Therefore, we don't see a lot of ads for new or upcoming shows.  And, movies are advertised here on billboards and posters around the city but they are all in Polish and they also translate the movie titles to Polish so we really have no idea what the movie is about.

So, we are asking for your help.  If there is a movie you saw or a new t.v. show that you love...or think we would love....please let us know!  Email us, leave us a comment on the blog or shoot us a facebook post.  We would GREATLY appreciate it!  Many thanks in advance.