One more photo...

Just one more Santorini shot...

Post from Athens and Santorini

June 26, 2007

Hi, all! We arrived in Santorini yesterdayafter a few days in Athens. While a bit warm, the people were great and we had a great dinner at the Hotel Grand Bertagne with a great view of the Acropolis (which was closed on strike). But we’ll get there on our way out of Greece in 10 days or so.It was a smooth trip to Santorini though it is in the middle of a heat wave. It’s unbelievably beautiful and the hotel is great – hanging on to the side of the cliff several hundred feet in the air facing the not-so-dormant volcano. The kids love the pool here and the local town, Fira, is a bit touristy but a lot of fun. Anyway…

Hey, wassup, this is KK in Santorini. I’m at a hotel with more then 3 pools. It’s so cool. My brothers are being really obnoxious. Well, we are at a amazing, giagantic, obnoxious (because of the brothers) hotel. Santorini was blown up by a volcano. The food is dead or alive good. Pools have a nice heat. And we got lucky because we got a better room at the hotel then we were suppose to and I’ll talk about the room now. It has a tiny kitchen.4 rooms for the whole family. There’s a Jacuzzi in one of the bathrooms. And overall I’m having the time of my life.


K2 here with breaking news. Our hotel is giant, fun, and stupid (because of my younger brother who smells like a dung beetle). The hotel has 3 pools, steep steps to the rooms, and computers. The sand here is black because of volcanic ash. We got lucky and we got upgraded to a presidential suite. I had a great time here so come to Greece sometime this summer.


KI-
We are now on the island Santorini, an island in Greece. Our hotel is beautiful because it is built into the cliff. It has a Jacuzzi, many rooms and a terrace. There are multiple pools and a wonderful view.

These past two days have been filled with with swimming and sleeping. We stayed in today because it was so hot, you could get a sunburn in the shade! We went into town today for a little and it is great because it is also built into the cliff.

Cradle of democracy

Yesterday we arrived in Greece after a perfectly on-time and uneventful flight. Athens seems a bit more modern than Istanbul.
Istanbul's airport is MUCH nicer and more modern than JFK, however!!
We saw the Archaeology Museum yesterday and we were going to see the Acropolis today. But there is a one-day strike of the workers there (welcome to Europe!) -- so we will see the Numismatic Museum and the Parliament instead.
Will post photos later!! ( Check the Istanbul posts for new photos added today.)
The kids are doing great with the food -- lamb meatballs, shish kebab and chicken schnitzel are the current favorites. Having a great time so far.

Tomorrow we head for a place which is thought to be the location of the lost city of Atlantis . . .

Finally in Istanbul

After a cancelled flight, our 36 hour (door-to-door trip) was less painful than you might imagine (thanks to cousin Hali for putting us up (and up with us) for an emergency overnight stay in NYC.
Anyway, here are some photos and initial impressions of Istanbul:

A market street:




Ancient underground cisterns near Topkapi Palace (sideways, sorry!):












Blue Mosque at night with birds (bats?) swirling aroung the minarets:












Mosaics in Topkapi


KK on ferry to Asia (Uskadar):
June 21, 2007

This is KK writing. I was in NY at the airport for more then 7 hours. It was really annoying, like my brothers. Only if a stupid cargo door wasn’t jammed. But the next day we went back to the airport, got on the plane and the flight was fun. There were games, movies and seats that let us sleep lying down on the airplane. It was, what’s the word, very, very, roomy. We also got there at 2:00 A.M. Turkish time, which is 7 hours ahead. That same day I woke up at 12:45 P.M. We gathered with my dad’s friends at like 1 or something. The friend’s son was 6 ft 7. He was double my size. And where ever you go there is a stray cat (NO HOME) but, most are kittens. And some are dogs also.

‘Ey. ‘Dis is K1. To begin, we were stuck in ‘da bloody airport for seven hours and then they finally tell us it’s canceled. The next day, we go to the plane and we’re on for 12 hours tops. It was spacious and really fun. There were movies and very fancy meals like ravioli with many spices and grilled shrimp. Once we got to Istanbul, I immediately noticed many differences, like the taste of the air, and the language. We went to sleep at dawn for 2 reasons. First, the trip was very long and second was because of jetlag, or the distortion of your usual sense of time and the time zone of the country you're in. Just after we got in bed, we could hear the call to prayer singing from the mosque, it's a very different country.

First day, we wake up at noon and we meet some of me dad’s friends. As my first time in Istanbul, I notice something very different…there are stray cats and kittens everywhere. You can’t go any where without seeing a stray cat or the occasional dog. They treat us to lunch which was shish kebab and baklava, or pastries infused with honey for dessert. We go to the home of the sultans, Topkapi Palace, and we explore it. We then take a break at the hotel. We went to a royal styled restaurant and I had meatballs and baklava for dinner and dessert.

I am K2. Today in Turkey I saw the old market where there are hundreds of shopping stalls and stuff. Yesterday I got to see the Sultan’s palace. I saw a bunch of cats and a display of fancy ancient weapons at the palace and everything was covered with diamonds and colorful jewels.

We are on to Athens tomorrow AM! Keep checking and email us if this is working! Regards, C and M

Pre-Trip Testing

Just over a week till we start the Adventure. Here's a photo from a smaller adventure last year (in the remote wilderness of West Virginia, USA). This trip will be a bit more challenging, we think, the food and languages somewhat stranger.

I think we will do a "Where in Europe are the Triple K boys?" game with hints about the city or region we are touring.
So -- the first hint is:

What is the name of the fabled ancient city where it takes only 15 minutes to travel between Europe and Asia by ferry?