it's all greece to me

Hey kids out there on the world-wide-interweb! It's me, Mo*reezy posting to you live from Greece! It's Wednesday the 24th at 6 pm as I type this... what time are you reading it? Whatever time it is, I've ALREADY lived it! HAHAHAHAHA... well, the flight was Loooooooooong and I got almost NO sleep. They showed "The Queen" and that's a good movie. We had a decent meal and a less-decent breakfast during the flight. When we arrived it was about 10:45 am Athens time and we drove through part of the city with our driver Dimitris and our guide Luyla (pronounced Lula) to the Hotel Acropol. After some room confusion, I have settled in with my roommate Enuma who is a writer from Durham, NC and is serving as the Chaplain for the trip. Our room has two twin beds and a balcony with a view into some apartments across the street, most notably a large Greek man who sits in his window shirtless all day and eats something. For our convenience and enjoyment there is also a "Sex Shop Tabu" across the street. Today we took a tour of Athens, we were allowed off the bus at the Agora, which was the center of philosophy, religion, and discussion in ancient times, also the foot of Mars Hill from which the Apostle Paul preached. There was a lot of picture taking, but that will have to wait until I return home to the US. Then we drove more around the city, seeing various important buildings and landmarks, including Zeus' Temple and the Olympic Stadium which seats more than 60,000 and where the Olympic flame is brought every 2 years from Olympia to be passed to the city which is hosting the Games. Then we proceeded to the Acropolis. From the base, you can walk over to the top of Mars Hill and look down upon the Agora. It was windy and slightly cloudy but the view of Athens from there was amazing. We then climbed up to the Acropolis, which is the site of the Parthenon and Athena Nike temple. There was a giant "swoosh" symbol on the side. :o) The highest point at the top of the hill was another amazing view of the city. Tomorrow we will go to Corinth and to some markets there. I bought today my big souvenier to bring home for myself. Tomorrow's markets will hold treasures for the rest of you, I think!

Let's see, what else... oh! There was a demonstration today about the university system, so we had to adjust our tour schedule so we wouldn't be blocked in by the closed streets. Neat.


Food has been ok, tonight we go to a local tavern for dinner, music and dancing! I hope ever so sincerely that it's audience participation. Pick me! Pick me!!!

I love you and miss you all! To those of you who helped make this trip possible for me I owe many many thanks. Be well and until we meet again,

Adio! ~Maresi