Well, as long as history includes the last 72 hours:
Two days ago we visited the National Archaeological Museum here in Athens. Quite a nice collection of Cycladic, Minoan and Mycenaean artifacts, as well as Geometric, Classical and Roman-era Greek stuff. The only detriment we noted was that a) the museum smelled like they allowed smokers in there about a week ago and they haven't aired it out in about 35 years; and b) the docents were asses. Long story on that one, but I'll save it for later. Suffice it to say that if they have a "don't video this statue" sign, then don't even point your camera at it, even when it's not recording. On a side note, I never understood why some statues shouldn't be taped. Flash photography I understand - video, I do not. I mean, I would even entertain the idea of purchasing a book of some sort in the museum shop. The only one they had that was of any quality cost 100 euro, and weighed about 10 kilos. Anyway.
We visited Cape Sounion yesterday. Awesome sight, and the drive was nice too: beachfront almost all the way. There at the Cape is the Temple of Poseidon, strategically placed 190m above the waters of the Aegean Sea. Didn't quite get to stay until sunset, but we got some nice pics anyway. And we looked for Byron's named carved into one of the columns, but couldn't see it. I did spot a few that were dated as early as 1813. Graffiti seems to be prevelant no matter the era.
Today we visited Epidaurus and Mycenae. Not a great day for travel because the weather has turned chilly and overcast. However, the bright spot is that on overcast days, photo color is more true. Anyway, Mycenae was particularly interesting for me because I studied that culture and period in college. It was pretty damn cool walking amidst walls that were built in 1400BCE - and even touching the walls! Epidaurus was ok, but because the rest of our travel group got cold we only spent about 30 minutes there. I did take some cool video of the "acoustically perfect" amphitheatre there. I'll say this. It's probably not acoustically perfect, but it's acoustically interesting.
Anyway, tomorrow it's on to Delphi, and then Monday we're headed home! Here's some pics:
1. Here we have gold funerary mask, excavated by Schliemann in Mycenae. He thought it was Agamemnon, but it's apparently some unknown dude who died 300 years before Aggy.
2. The Cyclopean walls of Mycenae. These blocks are pretty large and hefty.
3. The amphitheatre at Epidaurus. Steph's about halfway up. I, being a man, went all the way to the top. :)
4. A picture of the Corinth Canal. I did forget to mention we went there too. BTW, there's a stand on the roadside where you can get good leather there.
5. The Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion.
We've had a fine couple of days. Strolling around Athens, always keeping an eye out for the Acropolis. Yesterday we got up late (3pm!) and went to Lykavitos Hill and surveyed the land until sunset. Then, it was off to Plaka to find someplace for dinner. Lately we've been haunting this place we call the Watermelon, because the name in Greek looks like that word. Anyway, today we are going to the National Archaeological Museum. Tomorrow we'll tool around for a bit then head off to Cape Sounion to check out the Temple of Poseidon. Saturday is Epidaurus/Mycenae; Sunday is Delphi. Monday - back home. I'm hoping to get some more authentic Greek food at some point...By the way, Steph has actually eaten some Greek food which is quite a step forward from the box Mac & Cheese of late. See ya soon!
Pix from top:
St. George's l'il pocket church, atop Lykavitos Hill.
Greek military in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Greek military-types removing the flag at sundown from Lykavitos Hill.
Here's a view from our hotel room balcony. Ignore the Weeble Wobble - it's a long story. Anyway, you can peep the Acropolis in the background!
Well, we made it to Athens! The flight was uneventful, and as usual I got about 2 hours of sleep. Local time is 7 hours ahead of EST, so I called Mom & Dad at 6am for a nice wake-up. :) Our hotel room has a view of the Acropolis, which is pretty darn cool. Maybe more later - internet access ain't cheap around here... so we are in the room and going to take showers etc and then hit the town!
Here are two pumpkins I carved for Halloween this year. The first is a skellyton with a bat. Not a bad carving job for my first detailed carving. The second is a ghost in front of a tombstone. It was kinda difficult to carve this guy because the punkin was about 14" tall, and 9" wide. Basically, tall and skinny - with a 2" rind. So detail carving was a bit of a challenge. Not bad for my second detailed carving.
Tools used:
1 plastic scoop spoon
1 coping saw blade in a plastic handle
1 awl (for marking my template).
(note: if you want to see larger pix, check my photo gallery - link on the right!)
Why? Well, I've been busy. Two gigs a week plus travel, then there the whole vacation thing next week. I haven't even had time to get excited about going to Greece.
Eh well, hopefully it'll hit on Sunday. When we're packing. Right before the flight.
:)
So Derrick, Tony, Chris and myself went down to Macon last night to see Widespread Panic (awesome show, btw). While driving back to ATL, somebody who shall remain nameless (Derrick) had to pee really bad. We bypassed one exit off of I-75 because it only had one gas station listed on the sign. We figured our chances were poor at 2AM with only one gas station. So, we opted for the next exit. Unfortunately, it had only one gas station, which was 1.1 miles from the highway. "What the hell," we said and forged on through the darkness. Let it be said that the area between Atlanta and Macon is not too dissimilar from the area in North Georgia where Deliverance was filmed. It turns out there is a state park off of this road, which means it's pretty much deserted. We passed a lone deer on the way in. So we pull up to the gas station which is closed. It's basically a wooden clapboard shack, with a nice sign advertising their copious amounts of bait and tackle wares for sale. To our astonishment, the restroom was open and lit, so we stopped off and recycled the refreshments we consumed earlier. One of us stood watch, naturally, for fear that local would stop by for a midnight romp wit' dem city boys. We did not get any boiled peanuts either.
One cool thing about leaving San Fran is the promise of a fresh seafood dinner at Fisherman's Wharf. Here's the view from our table. Ah, there's nothing like the stench of diesel and halibut!
Here I am, crossing the Golden Gate again. This seems to be getting Old Hat. Speaking of which, I wonder why people always refer to something that is worn out and crappy as "old hat". I have a few old hats and they are actually just now getting to be broken in.
Picture of some flowers taken by my walking path this morning.
The hotel gym was packed this morning so I decided to do my laps around the hotel area. The problem: it's 50 degrees and I have shorts and a T-shirt. But the area around the hotel is pretty cool - tall hills, marshy lowlands and canals. I had no idea. There's even a big ol' boat sitting out here!
I just bought this phone a few weeks ago for use in San Francisco, specifically because my Sprint phone gets zero reception in the client office where I am. I don't even carry this phone around normally. And, wouldn't you know it, when I take it out of my bag after arriving in my hotel room, the screen is busted. This really blows. Luckily, it's a very cheap phone and easily replaceable. And, I didn't even pay for it to begin with. :)
You might've read in an earlier post about my new series in Bathroom Wall Graffiti, the first post of which was from Northside Tavern. Well, here's a shot of the band that was playing that night. Your typical old-skool blues band. The lead dude played off/on slide on a 60's Gibson acoustic while the bassist played an original Silvertone - Yep, just like yours pop, except his still had the "Silvertone" plastic logo on the headstock. :) He complained that it was hard to keep it in tune.
The band wasn't that bad, just not much variety in their selections. Mostly I-IV-V blues in major scales. I think it was their first time with the drummer as he didn't know a lot of their turn arounds and exits, but he did well enough. They also featured an accompanying trombone which was a welcome twist. All in all, a good night.
What you're looking at here is a 1952 Gibson Les Paul, Gold top. Not a player's guitar, but a collector's. It's worth probably somewhere around $15-18,000, and it includes the original case. I got to play it just a bit, but not amplified. This guitar belongs to Bill (arm pictured) who is a coworker. He was loitering around my cube the other day waiting to talk to the dude in the cube opposite mine. I said just have a seat in my lobby, there are magazines to read. Incidentally I just remodeled my cube "Office Space"-style by removing a half wall that blocked a window. I have a conference room in my cube now. :)
Anyway, Bill perused my mags, one of which was Vintage Guitar. Bill mentioned that he had an old Les Paul, and I must've started drooling as he said he'd bring it in to show. He did, and I'm showing you now. Bill got this when he was seven from his father's bud who played in a band. Man, that's a lucky sumbitch right thar...
