Naxos:

On our way to town

Apollo's Gate Naxos

sunset from our room balcony

The city of Hora where we stayed was a quaint little city that really reminded us of Pacific City on the Oregon coast.  We enjoyed a twenty minute walk from our accommodations to the city center; there we toured an old Venetian castle, Apollo’s gates and swam at St. Georges’ beach.  It was fun to wander around the city and country side on foot.  One little story; we were looking for a particular restaurant that was recommended to us, well, after wandering the streets for thirty minutes we asked a local lady for help who was unable to speak English, she however made sure we were taken care of and found another lady to help us, but she didn’t speak English either, but she knew a little Russian…so through broken Russian, we were able to communicate and she walked us to our Restaurant…well the one she ended up recommending!

Athens:

Athens

Roman Agora

Delphi

From our hotel we were able see the ancient ruins of the Acropolis; we would sit on our “garden” patio and ponder the life of the ancient Greeks.  We started our holiday walking around the Acropolis (it’s a giant hill) and took in the sights and sounds of the city (we also had our first gyro platter).   We took a one day cruise to three islands, visited Delphi and toured the ruins of the Roman forum, Parthenon, Athena’s temple, and Zeus’s temple just to name a few.  We also visited and shopped the Plaka and walked down Aidrouni Street.  One of the girls’ highlights was visiting the National Gardens, there they saw turtles, a small zoo and played at a play ground.  I would have to say it was cool to watch the girls interact with another culture, make friends and play games together they had such a wonderful time.  Of course other highlights were the Greek food and the daily gelato!

Hydra - no cars!

Accropolis from our hotel room patio

Vacation time!

The family was in need of a much needed vacation, we were all feeling the effects of an unending winter. Upon arrival the girls talked our ears off with all their impression of Greece on the way to the hotel.  We heard all about olive trees, Athena and the Acropolis and what they were excited to see and do.  I have to say we picked the perfect time to travel to Greece; with the current economy and political unrest along with the “low season” for tourism, the crowds were nonexistent, the excursions were almost private and we were upgraded at every opportunity.  The people were incredibly friendly and kind to us and we felt very welcomed by the people of Greece.  I believe this trip will rate at the top for us, we had an amazing time.  

Here Drink This (березовый сок)!

This morning my awesome office mate Zhenya brings in a four-liter bottle of what appears to be water….but it’s not water, he informs us (three of us share an office) that it’s birch juice (100% au-natural) and to enjoy a cup.  What is birch juice you ask?!  Well, it’s just what you think it is, its sap from a birch tree.  He promptly pours himself a cup and begins telling us how healthy and great it is.  I’m not totally convinced so I Google it (Google is a life saver when you live in a foreign country) and I find that it’s a very traditional Eastern European drink and in places such as Japan a single liter can go for 50€.  The only time you can get this drink is early spring and the season only lasts at best four-weeks; of course I have to have a cup now!  I take about half cup in my coffee mug, smell it, and slowly bring it to my lips….I never thought I would be taking a drink of birch sap and to my surprise, it really was good, refreshing; it had very little if any flavor but to be on the safe side, I limited my consumption to that half cup as I have no idea what it’s going to do to my body….I was told it would “purify” it….I’m slightly reassured as most of the office has come in to pour themselves a full cup or two!  I'm reminded of a wise question from my dad….if your friends decided to jump off a bridge would you…apparently I would.

I'm a Coffee Addict!

Step 1: Admit it

Hello my name is Tony - I have never really been a coffee drinker; that is until I came to Ukraine.  I would get an occasional mocha or iced mocha pending the season but that was it….regular coffee no way!  Something has definitely changed in my drinking habits here in Slavutich (I’ve drank many things I thought I would never bring to my lips).  I now drink a cup (or two) of coffee every day to finish off lunch and I enjoy a few cups at breakfast on the weekends.  The coffee pot I inherited didn’t come with a permanent filter but uses paper filters; in typical Ukraine style, the filters I NEED are not readily available.  Originally, I luckily found a single box at the local appliance store after searching every grocery store (including the coffee shops)…once I used half of my box I started my search again and apparently there are no paper filters in the country of Ukraine – I have five different people looking for them and have been told I should order a few boxes on the internet...WHAT?!   Well, I’ve used my last filter and I’m praying it continues to hold up as I am now reduced to recycling my last paper filter by dumping the grounds, allowing it to dry, brushing it off and doing a final rinse before using it again (three days now) – yes, I have looked for a reusable filter (unlike everything else in Ukraine these are NOT sold separately...even the paper filters are if THEY HAD THEM).   The only thing that’s worse for me is to spend money on something I already own and I’m afraid if my last filter fails before I can get new filters (shipped if need be), I’ll be forced to buy a new coffee maker…..If this isn’t a sign of a coffee addict, I don’t know what is!

A Dream Come True!

On Easter Ellie had the opportunity to try horseback riding lessons.  When we said "yes" she could go, she was more than ecstatic!  All she kept saying was, "I have been wanting to do this my whole life, I can't believe I get to do this!"

"Best day ever!" shouted Ellie as she enterred the house.  Ellie told us so many things it was hard to keep track.  Here is what she shared...The horse was so kind and gentle.  He was the best horse.  He was black and white.  I learned how to sit, steer, and control my body movements with the horse.  The horse went fast, it felt like I was with the wind!  I can't wait to go again and have more time with the horse and learn more.

Ellie, first English riding lesson!

One happy little girl!

Easter

Christ has risen!  He has risen indeed!!!  That is the common greeting and response in Ukraine on Easter Sunday.  We are pretty traditional and we enjoy letting the children dream about an Easter bunny and a booty of candy that would make Willy Wonka smile.  Trying to keep the girls grounded about the real reason for Easter and from thinking the Easter bunny took requests (like Santa) seemed to be an extra challenge this year….Ry was praying for Peeps and writing the Easter bunny a letter for extra measure.  Yes, we need to work on some priorities, but I thought it was pretty cute!  

The girls were not disappointed thanks to some early planning by Nichole and some extra care sent from Grandma and Papa G.  The girls came “bouncing” into our room at 6:45am asking for us to come downstairs.  Of course at 7:30 they were shouting up to us begging us to get out of bed, what Nichole and I didn’t realize is our sweet girls were waiting for us to get out of bed and take pictures before they would dig into their loot!  Our morning was very nice in which we took time to reflect on the greatness of God’s ultimate gift and spend time with friends and share in good food.  We were even able to hold an Easter egg hunt for the children (like we needed more candy in the house) – I heard multiple times from different children… “this is the best Easter ever!”  I wouldn’t say it was our best, but it was really nice.

April Fools Day!

Ok – here’s the deal, we had alate winter; we only had a skiff of snow in December and even after our return from Paris/London mid January there still wasn’t snow on the ground. Well if you’ve been a regular reader, you know what the winter has been like…a lot of snow and very cold.  Mother Nature seems to have been playing tricks on us.  She continues as we are well into spring and yet on April 1st we wake up to a new, fresh fallen blanket of snow, it melts by late afternoon, but the next morning we wake up to more snow and a warm 24F temperature…so far we’ve had the thaw and new snow over the last five days…..I keep wondering if we’ll ever see spring again; but it makes me worry what this summer is going to hold?!  Oh yeah – and they are supposed to turn off the heat in eight more days– Yikes!!!