Trip in review: The Acropolis

I got in trouble when we went to the Acropolis. No, I didn't break anything. But they have a policy that you can't take pictures of objects.

First we had a school flag that we use for all of our group photos. We were told that was a no-no. I can understand the flag and banners thing. They don't want political messages or anything.

But then I had a little BYU Cosmo — no more than two inches high, if that — and I tried to take a ""where's Cosmo?" photo. 

They came down on me so hard that I didn't take another Cosmo picture the entire trip. I honestly wasn't trying to cause any trouble! So be forewarned next time you visit the Acropolis: no photos of things!

The offending Cosmo.

 

Trip in review: More Athens

Any time you eat in Greece, you're going to get way more food than you can ever eat. And they'll keep it coming. And it is all very, very good!
 

Trip in review: Athens

Longtime readers may know that after we take our high school students on field trips to Europe, I draw a series of cartoons to recap the trip.

This year we visited Greece and Italy with Mythology students. Our first day in Athens we were dropped off downtown. One of the first storefronts we encountered was a museum with an interesting theme. It was not our destination, nor did we stop. But it was a surprise!

I thought it best, however, to use the edited version for this website so we keep our PG rating. Thank you for your understanding.

 

The songs of Zion

Church in Athens was awesome! There are two branches that meet in the same building: a Greek branch and an English branch.

We went to the Greek branch because of our flight schedule (we stacked up our baggage in the foyer). There were people there from all over the world: Sweden, France, Canada, the USA, Greece (of course), and others. The business and prayers were all in Greek, but the talks on this particular day were both in English.

What was cool was that everyone sang the hymns in their own language! It felt like the "unity of the faith" that the scriptures talk about. It was an awesome experience!

All shook up

Almost as soon as we walked out of the temple, out phones started going off with messages from people back home wondering if we were OK.

Wha —?

We soon learned that while we were incommunicado, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake had hit just outside of Athens. It shook things up a bit, but nobody was hurt and there wasn't any significant damage.

Apparently it struck while the hotel staff was servicing our room. It looked like whoever was cleaning stopped in mid-mop. There were bags and rags left in our room, and the bed was only mostly made!

The one thing that made me happy, though, was it gave me a chance to make this joke — there are few places other than Athens where it would work!

Just one more little thing

Forget historical sites, cultural gems or national treasures. One of the most important things to do when you travel is to buy souvenirs and trinkets for everyone back home.

We did a good job at this part of the trip. No less than three stores gave Mme B parting gifts because of what she bought!

And yes, we did need to buy an extra suitcase to bring everything back home!

But don't leave home without it

Of the two hours we had scheduled to visit the Acropolis, about half the time was spent standing in line to get tickets to go in! As a result, we weren't able to see everything we wanted to, or spend as much time as we would have liked.

Still, it's hard to be disappointed walking alongside history, standing in the same place where Pericles, Socrates and the Apostle Paul stood. But next time, I'm going to buy my tickets in advance!

Portion control

On our first night in Athens, Greece, my brother-in-law took us out to dinner.

"Let me warn you, you'll only want to order a half portion," he said. "Seriously!"

Maybe he knew about my lack of enthusiasm for Greek food (at least the Greek food we have back home). Maybe he was being frugal. Or maybe he knew something I didn't. No matter, I took his advice.

When my order came — the half portion — it was flowing over the edges of the plate! And, much to my relief, it was DELICIOUS! Cheese! Vegetables! Fries! Bread! Kabob! Greek salad! Mouth-watering deliciousness in abundance!

I couldn't finish it, there was so much food. And that was A. Half. Portion. Did I mention the watermelon and ice cream after?

The amazing thing is that we (Mme B and I) both lost weight while we were there. I don't know how.

Yeah, I could get used to the Mediterranean Diet!