Athen, Greece

I got back on Saturday from a 10-day trip to Greece. We spent three days in Athens and mainland Greece, two days in Mykonos, two days in Santorini, and the rest on the flight. The trip was rather exhausting but well worth it. Overall, Greece is a lively country with a rich history. Did you know there are more tourists than locals for most of the year in Greece? According to our tour guide, many Greeks only work for six months and the rest of the year, they go back to their island and relax. In general, Greeks are pretty laid back. But, if you happen to walk by a restaurant or cafe, don't be surprise if waiters try to pull you in. Competition between different vendors for tourist business is fierce! One thing I found annoying about Greece is the lack of non-smoking places. There are smokers EVERYWHERE (restaurants, hotel lobbies, cafes, streets...). Aside from that, Greece is definitely a place worth visiting. I have tons of pictures so I'll separate them by specific places.

Let's start with mainland Greece, in particular, Athens.

Mycenae (fortress-town of the Aegean civilization, located 90-km southwest of Athens)

View from the highest point of Mycenae

Theater at Epidauros

Changing of the guards in front of the city hall

Poseidon Temple

One of the MANY sleeping dogs in the city

Statue of Poseidon at the National Archaeological Museum

Dennis and the pigeons

Corinth Canal

View from our restaurant (which was literally next to the water)

Theatro Dionysiou (part of the Acropolis)

Erechtheion (part of the Acropolis)

Parthenon (part of the Acropolis)

View of Athen from the Acropolis

1896 Summer Olympics stadium

I believe I'll upload pictures of Mykonos and Santorini another day. Stay tune.

Back to school time!

You know school has started when you're walking to the bus stop and you see a sea of students waiting there. To make matters worse, when the bus arrives, you have to squeeze yourself in because there are so many students on the bus. Did I mention it's still hot in Taiwan?

Moving on to a more pleasant subject, I saw Mamma Mia and the Dark Knight last week. Talk about movies at the opposite ends of the spectrum! Mamma Mia was lighthearted and happy while the Dark Knight was, well serious and depressing. However, I thought both movies were fantastic and I highly recommend them. They were both very touching, though in different ways. Oh, definitely see the Dark Knight on IMAX; the picture was incredibly beautiful.

All in all, this summer's movies exceeded my expectation; definitely better than last summer.