Thoughts of Vacation

Greece is a nice place to unwind for a few weeks if you are not Turkish and you get the chance. Unless they are on strike, protesting, or attempting to rob you, or selling something (which can be like robbing you in Greece), the people are fairly easy going.

Around Athens, the ancient city area of the Plaka is the best. Walking down a dark street (vicambulating nocturnally), you can turn a corner, then suddenly before you is a 2500 year old ruin or monument all lit up like an archaeological Christmas tree complete with sculptural bling. Several bars on rooftops and around the squares have good wine and entertainment, but look out for the wine with the pine tar flavor called Retsina (it's ok to me but lots of people I've discussed with don't like it).

A good day trip out of Athens is the legendary (but still real) ancient Delphi. As in the 'Oracle of Delphi' where rulers throughout history like Kim Jong Il went to listen to a druggy priestess mumble incoherently and real world solutions were applied to the serious issues of the day.I'm fairly sure it is similar in functionality to the Oracle of Bacon at Virginia.

Away from the mainland, the islands are great, particularly Thira (also called Santorini). It seems to be impossible to take a bad picture here, particularly at sunset. I tried... I even used one of those disposable ones and scratched the lens up a bit just to see if a few shots would turn out poorly but no luck. You have all the nightlife of downtown, the unique beauty of the caldera cliffs, and museums and wonderful archaeological sites. Speaking of archaeological sites, I saw this in Minoan Akrotiri. WTF is this? Is it a 4000 year old potty-training device???

Even with all the great aspects, driving was an issue on Santorini. First of all, the road I traveled was directly on the top of the remaining volcano cone sectionwith a 350 meter drop on either side of the road with no trees available to help 'pinball' you down the cliff. Then there were the sudden hair pin turns for some real white knuckle action (and not the good kind, is there a good kind?). On top of all that, the signage everywhere is strange because of the Cyrillic-style characters. So as you might be wondering to yourself 'should I turn left or right' as the truck behind you is bearing down, you also have to read a sign, figure out what the damned words sound like, and then convert them to English all the while not looking over either cliff edge to the right or left.If it was dark when this was happening, I'm sure I'd still be falling.