2017 Adventures in Greece

Our two weeks in Greece were AMAZING...surpassing our expectations in every way...the kids traveled like champs, the jet lag going over was non-existent, the food there was better than in our dreams, the sights were absolutely stunning and the people we met made an impact on us that we will carry with us for a lifetime. 

Our trip over was smooth sailing (we won't even mention the 45 hour trip back...other than to say we are all still recovering). 

We left Memphis mid afternoon and flew to Philadelphia. After having just enough time to grab some dinner, we left Philly at 8:30 p.m. 

The Philadelphia airport had the coolest displays throughout. 

The kids were allowed to stay up and watch one movie, but then we made them get some rest and tried to get some ourselves. That's Case's head under the blanket in James' lap. Emery's head is down by my lap. And then there is the Asian guy with the sleep mask. The Asian guy, James and the kids got some good rest. However, I was up the whole night. I might have grabbed a 20 minute power nap but no significant amount of sleep. I could NOT get comfortable enough to sleep. So I mostly watched movies. 

After the seven hour flight, we landed in London. It was around 9 a.m. London time. 

Once again we had just enough time to grab a bite to eat and then it was back on a plane for the last (somewhat brief 3 hour) leg from London to Athens. We saw some beautiful sights from the air, including the Swiss Alps. So cool!!

Flying into Athens

And then after 18 hours of travel...we made it!! It was around 5:30 p.m. Athens time.

Our first stop was dinner and it was unbelievable. A feast!! Two or three kinds of salad, lamb cooked all sorts of different ways, potatoes, greek yogurt and honey and more! We were stuffed, but it was so worth it! 

Alex explaining how the meat is cooked

Case loved the Greek yogurt with honey

After a great first night's rest, we headed out to get acquainted with our new surroundings. It was about a 10-15 minute walk to the metro from our apartment, so we got a lot of great exercise in every day, which we needed to work off all the food we were eating.

Our apartment was super nice. Wish I had some pics of the inside.

We spent most of every weekday at the church in Omonia. The church is on the second floor of the building. 

After making our way to the church on day one and meeting many volunteers and refugees, we headed out for a walk across town. We went through the Central Market and bought some olives.

The meat market was a learning experience for us all...especially the kids. 

We ended day one near the Acropolis for a lovely dinner. This is a pic of the ancient Roman Agora (I think that means market) of Athens. 

One afternoon after we left the church, we decided to hit the Acropolis museum. It is at the base and has some stunning views of the Parthenon. 

Then we wandered around and stumbled upon the Temple of Zeus. 

We became experts at navigating the metro system. 

A few days later we hit the Acropolis and Mars Hill. It was an absolutely beautiful afternoon!

The view from the top was fantastic! And boy, was it windy up there! 

Temple of Zeus in the background

View of Mars Hill from the Acropolis

Climbing Mars Hill

View of the Acropolis from Mars Hill

Have I mentioned how grateful we were to have shared this adventure with James' parents?? Such great memories!!

Then on Saturday morning, we got up before dawn to go on a one-day cruise to three Greek islands. None of us were thrilled to get up so early, but it was worth it. Such a beautiful day! And you can't go to Greece without going to some islands, right? 

First stop, the island of Hydra. This was the smallest of the three islands we visited and my personal favorite. No cars allowed. Only donkeys. Pulling up on the boat the view was stunning!

Next stop: the island of Poros (after enjoying a delicious lunch on board the ship while in route).

And then the third stop: the island of Aegina, the land of pistachio farms (we enjoyed some tasty pistachio ice cream while there) and the home of the Temple of Athena. 

On the last leg of the cruise, they had some entertainment. Emery joined right in with all the crazy European tourists! This is just one of many videos captured of her showing off her moves. She would have gone all night, I think. So hilarious!!

Sunday night we stayed at the Hilton Athens and the kids spent some time in the pool. It was one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed in. Super luxurious. 

Shower caps mandatory!

Amazing views of the sunset and the Acropolis from our rooms and the rooftop restaurant.

View from our hotel room

One of my personal favorite excursions was our trip (about an hour) to the Temple of Poseidon. It's located on a cliff overlooking the Aegean sea. It's quite an impressive sight. Case was super excited since he is currently reading the Percy Jackson books. I now know that Percy Jackson is one of Poseidon's sons. That was news to me. 

We watched the sunset and then enjoyed another amazing Grecian dinner on the ocean. 

Case with his Percy Jackson book at the Temple of Poseidon

He wanted me to take this one and send to his teacher. :) 

Oh, how I miss that view! 

This is sort of random, but we loved this dessert place where we would get lukumades... some sort of Greek donut-like things with gelato. Yum-o!!

While we enjoyed many lovely sights, sounds and tastes of Athens, we spent most of our time at the Church teaching conversational English classes to refugees, mostly from Syria but a few from other countries as well. The church has hundreds of refugees in and out throughout the week. They come for a number of reasons including the English classes, legal counsel, meals that the church serves twice a week, medicine, clothes and other necessities. But most of all, I think many come for the fellowship and community they receive. The church has become like family to many of them. And most are Muslim. It's amazing to see. The organization we went through is called Let's Start Talking. 

James reading with Wisam

Henna tattoo's from one of Debra's readers

Emery was thrilled to get one too.

Everyone over there (Greeks and refugees alike) just went crazy over Emery. I kept telling her it was her blonde hair. They aren't used to seeing little blonde headed girls. Everyone was hugging her and kissing all over her. Total strangers. All the time. Even one Greek woman on the metro. Emery sat in her lap (upon request) and then she hugged and kissed her. Emery just went with it. I was shocked because she can sometimes be so shy. 

Selfie time

Still got the touch, even with Syrian babies! 

What I wasn't anticipating was how attached we would get to the readers we worked with every day. It made it very difficult to leave. We miss them all so much! 

This sweet family from Syria (a mother, father and four children) found out the day before we left that they had been relocated to Finland (after being in Greece for over a year just praying and waiting).  Super excited for them to begin to build a new life there.

Zacharia (7), Roshen (19), Mohamed (21) and Yahya (13)

This is Lailah. She is from Morocco and is one of the most outgoing woman I've ever met. I will miss our daily conversations so much! 

Then there is Adam. A young man from Syria who has a story full of so much sorrow. I wanted to put him in my suitcase and bring him home with me. We are praying fervently that we will see Adam again one day soon.

This is Wisam. Wisam is from Iraq. He too has a story full of so much suffering and sorrow that it keeps us up at night. But even after all he's been through, he is a joy to be around. 

The whole crew on David and Debra's last day at the church. 

Our time with the refugees changed us. We will never be the same. We grew to love them in such a short amount of time. I never imagined how quickly our time there would pass and how difficult it would be to leave. We already miss them so much and are thankful for social media that allows us to stay connected half a world apart. 

And there's no way I could do a recap of the trip without mentioning Eleni. She and her husband, Alex are the missionaries at the church. They are both from Greece and showed us a kind of hospitality that we have never experienced before. Eleni has dedicated her life the past few years to serving the refugees. Her love for everyone that walks through the doors at the church is evident, regardless of cultural or religious background. She only speaks one language: love. 

Dinner at Alex and Eleni's - Case picked a lemon off their lemon tree

It was a feast like no other! 

We love Momma Eleni! 

It was an experience we will never forget. Many continued prayers for all those that we had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know. They are forever etched on our hearts and in our minds.