So long Kenya… Hello Greece!

Last Sunday we bid goodbye to Kenya as we boarded an early flight from Nairobi to London via Amsterdam. We were a little sad to leave, especially some of our new found friends. After about 16 hours of travel we made it to our hotel in London where we enjoyed a brief overnight stay before boarding another plane bound for Athens. We were both anxious to get there especially since our flight the day before allowed us good views of Crete and parts of the Peloponnese.

At the airport we were warmly greeted by Merkouris (whose wife Sophia is the granddaughter of my, Keith, great-grandfather’s sister). Merkouris and Sophia welcomed us into their home and have made us feel like royalty the last few days. We have spent our evenings on their balcony talking, laughing and enjoying some of their amazing home cooked Greek meals. They even took us out walking in the evenings for some fresh air and to see some of the sights in Athens.

Our days have been filled with tourist activities, but hey, it is what you do when there is so much to see. Our first day exploring Athens included traipsing around different ancient sites and eating lunch at an outdoor café. Once again, did we say the food is great in Greece! We enjoyed another wonderful dinner with Merk and Sophia that evening, and then we all went in to the center of the city to see the Acropolis at night. The Parthenon is pretty impressive when it is lit up at night. Day two exploring Athens included the brand new (open for 2 days) Acropolis Museum, the Acropolis itself as well as the Ancient Agora (or commercial area). Today, our 3rd day touring the city, we spent at the National Archeological Museum and looking around an ancient burial site.

It is hard for us to describe how much we have seen and the degree to which these have impressed us. It makes you feel very small in the grand scope of history when you are in the presence of antiquities that are over 3000 years old. It makes our 28-30 years of life seem like nothing.

We are looking forward to tomorrow when we leave the city for Keith’s great grandfather’s village. More to come.