Thursday, June 11, 2009

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Last night was interesting, sort of like bad American dinner theater. At least we were the only people in the place! I was able to get out of dance class but still ended up getting pulled onto the stage. Kasondra was feeling grumpy and would not go up even after I went. The dinner was in a not so nice area of town but we all came out without a scratch and made it back to the hotel just before 12pm. Kasondra and I went to our room and guess what? The air conditioner wasn't working again. The electrician came and asked if I wanted to changed rooms. I said, No, thank you." We needed to be up at 6:45am and it really wasn't worth the effort.

Got a wake up call at 6:45am but I was already up because I did not sleep well. We had to bring our bags down before we went to breakfast so we did that and then headed to eat. Breakfast once again had a lot of options and the girls were even offered hot chocolate which they accepted. We took our bags to the bus and started loading them. For some strange reason, we had to take our bags to the other side of the bus (the side with cars) and risk our lives even though there was room on the other side. I so don't understand the Greek. (See photo) We were on the bus at 8:15am and proceeded on our journey. We are going to the Oracle of Delphi where many people used to worship the gods and ask the priestess for advise and wisdom. It is like current day astrology. The bus ride took about 4 hours and we stopped about half way there for a bathroom break and a snack. I like the area we are traveling in now. It is a plain that used to be a lake. It is very flat and they farm cotton among other things. We finally got to the Oracle at Delphi and were informed by our guide that the tour guides are on strike and she would not be able to show us through the grounds. We were on our own. We had our teacher, Mr. Kearney and Luchia with us so it would be okay.

We get our tickets and I guess only people over 18 years old have to pay to go. We started up a really, really long climb to the top. Once again it is HOT, HOT, HOT!!!!! This is not my idea of fun but here I go anyway. So we climb to a theater where the kids were supposed to do a play about some Greek goddess who was stolen by Hades when a really not nice lady tells us they can't perform it. I guess the guides run the show and there is to be no learning whatsoever while the guides are on strike. Mr. Kearney even got in trouble for telling us some stuff too. This lady has a whistle and I guess she could whistle to her other guide friends and kick us out. I'm not sure. Sounds strange, right? Well, we continued on our way thinking not nice thoughts about that lady and since we (okay I) was hot and tired anyway I would have liked to push her down the stupid hill. We finally got to the top and saw where they played some games and then started our decent. When we got down the hill, we went to the museum where it was air conditioned. As we walked to the museum, the guides are picketing outside and giving out flyers. We ignored them and went into the museum. In the museum I tried to take Kasondra's picture next to a statue and that was a no no too. We went to another room where someone else got in trouble and found out that you are not allowed to pose by the statues. Like it matters. By now I was really annoyed at everyone around and the museum wasn't that cool anyway so we made our way out and went and got a frosty drink and sat in the shade. Those pesky guides kept trying to give us their flyers and I just threw it away. They were not going to get any sympathy from me!

Look how far we walked! It felt like we started at the bottom of the mountain!

After we found everyone, we got back on the bus for a quick trip to lunch. It was at a nice restaurant and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Michelle and Lauren split a spaghetti, Kasondra had bread (she's still grumpy) and I had a salad. Here's a picture of them at lunch. Yes, there is a jewelry store right behind them. Kasondra went in and tried on a necklace that cost $180 Euros. I said, "no".

We got back on the bus for another 2 1/2 hour drive to our hotel. The hotel is in the city Patras. We stopped about 1 1/2 hour into the trip to use the bathroom and get snacks. We have been driving by the sea (the Ionic Sea, I think) for a while now and the breeze is pretty nice. But, it is still hot! We finally arrive at the hotel called Pavolina Beach Hotel and check in. Michelle tried to get two keys but they told her "No". One is all of get and they don't even give us the remote to the television even though we can all see they have one in the cubby with our room number on it.

After we took our bags to our room, the girls changed into the swimsuits and we walked down to the Ionic Sea which is on the west side of Greece. The views are just beautiful as you can see from the picture. The girls all went swimming in the sea. It is very salty and Kasondra got a huge mouthful of water. The water was refreshing and warm. After swimming, we went back to the room where I left to come downstairs and use the computer and Kasondra decided

to shower.

I had to take a break from the blog and go upstairs to eat dinner. I had some linguini noodles. Dinner is included but drinks are not. We paid 2 Euros each for a coke and 70 cents for a bottle of water. Kasondra got sneered at for taking too much ice cream and making a mess with the chocolate syrup. The waitress is not very nice. Good thing I don't have to tip her! In Europe (or in Greece anyway) tipping is completely optional and is really only done when great service is received. So far, I haven't had to tip for anything!

Tomorrow was are visiting Olympia and probably about 12 other places. So much to do and so little time! Hopefully it will be cooler and there won't be as much walking. We are changing hotels and the next one is supposed to be near the sea and also have a pool. We are there for 2 nights which will be nice. I hope to blog again tomorrow night.