Athens --> Istanbul

[filling in for regularly scheduled blogger Dear Jacob, who is recovering from the excitement of our new house in Istanbul. We are here and ready to report on the doings of Turkish cats and old ruins tomorrow.]

The Oracle at Delphi

Blogger of the Day: Elizabeth

Finally, we tore ourselves away from monitoring the kittens in the back courtyard of the apartment building and made our way out of Athens. Peter intrepidly navigated Athens traffic (and, worse, the rental car counter) while the rest of us tried to make out Mount Parnassus through the heavy smog of the city. After we got to go through the toll plaza twice due to a bout of car sickness the first time around, we headed through a lengthy zone of industrial agriculture to get to the mountains of the peninsula. Before we even arrived at the Oracle we were confronted with many mysteries. Why were there so many ski supply stores having end of winter sales? Where were the actual ski areas? How did the stores know that Peter would be passing by and put out their hundreds of wood-fired ovens to taunt him?

When we arrived at Delphi, we had to act fast since the site was still on shortened hours due to it being the end of winter. ("When will winter be over?" we asked at the ticket desk. "Maybe tomorrow!," the man replied cheerfully. Argh.)  But we had plenty of time to enjoy the treasuries where each city-state placed their offerings to the Oracle, the beautiful views down through the valley as we hiked up to the Oracle, and of course, the Temple of Apollo itself, where the Oracle sat in a tripod, accepting offerings of goats and bulls and returning frothy gibberish in response to questioning. Though Ezra was surprised when the guard hurried over to tell him that there was strictly NO DANCING in the Theater of Dionysus, everyone agreed that the trip had been worth all the struggle it took to get here. We even still felt this way after getting lost on the way back to return the rental car. Many new neighborhoods were seen this way, and many Athenian taxi drivers got a glimpse of New York driving. And when we got back home, we (well, some of us) were happy to see that the kittens were still there.

The Agora

Blogger of the day: Isaac 

Today our family visited the Agora and the Acropolis museum. The Agora was the marketplace and meeting place for many citizens of Athens. The reason it was so interesting was because many of the things we take for granted like measurements of weight and time, jury trials, and depiction of important leaders on coins started there. The exhibit showed many of these early materials. My dad also pointed out to me the way that the Greeks decided who would come to the jury and plead their case and who could not come to plead their case. What they would do was take a stone slab and put ranks and columns of slots for names to be slid into. Then the judges would randomly put either a white or black marble on top each row. Next the judges would turn a crank and when they stopped a white or black marble would fall in front of the columns and those people were either rejected or accepted to the jury. Also the Athenians created the measurements of time. They would measure time by fill a jug of water with enough water to last however long they wanted it to last. Next they would unplug the bottom and let the water run and when all the water was gone whatever they needed timed was done. After we visited the Agora, we payed a visit to the Acropolis museum. There were all kinds of cool stuff there!  From statues that went around the Parthenon to the history and artwork in the Parthenon. I also watched a video that explained the construction, statues and damage that was done to it. The construction had about 50 total columns in or around it. There was also an east and west side to the Parthenon. They were mostly separate from each other and had no communication with the other.There were many statues that ran along the inside and outside of Parthenon. The most famous was probably the sculptures in front and behind at the east and west tops. There were pictures of the gods and goddesses, heroes and villains, kings and animals. The most decorated was probably the goddess Athena because the structure was made for her. The damage done to the Parthenon was catastrophic. First a fire lit by the Turks burnt much of the building. Second a explosion blew much of the middle away and finally there was much theft of the master sculptures. The British liked the marbles that surrounded the top of the Parthenon so much that they took them all away. As I walked home from that educational experience I knew that the Parthenon really was amazing. 

[ed.-- apparently some people were more excited about the Acropolis Museum than others.]

A day on the rocks

Blogger of the day: Ezra

Today I went on a LONG hike on the island of Hydra to a remote beach. When we finally got there, the shore was not sandy at all. It was so rocky. I went to the ocean - it was SO COLD. A man from Scotland told us there were sea urchins in the water and I was like sea urchins!?!?!! I saw five and that's not all. We saw a tide pool and I saw a leg under a rock. I thought it was a water gecko but it was a crab. We quickly ran to tell our dad and found another activity to pass the time. We played Sand mummy. That was fun because once we emerged from our sandie tombs, we ran around screaming and yelling. It was a long hike there and a long hike back, but the ice cream helped me recover.

 

A day at the beach

Blogger of the day: Peter

If this were the Amazing Race - Family Edition, I think we'd clearly be favorites to be in the top 3. I'm not sure we'd win - the fuss arguments would slow us down and Dear Jacob must have one daily freak out. Yeah, we'd probably lose the million bucks due to lost time with Dear Jacob taking on an alien personality in:

* A metro station - preferably in the turnstile or the escalator -- and definitely during rush hour;

* A museum's entrance - preferably when we're trying to sneak him in as an UNDER 4 year old -- "Yes, he IS large for his age," we say sheepishly); OR

* At a customs checkpoint --"We swear his name is Jacob and not Mr. Silly Pieman. No, he doesn't think you are funny looking. You know those shows about difficult American children, yes? Well, he is one of them. We're bad parents. We accept that. Now, may we enter your lovely country?"

But with all of his episodes, we try and remind ourselves that he is only 4 and that we are asking him to move quickly and follow blindly. But you should know that he has moments where he absolutely charms everyone and we find ourselves at the front of the line or the recipients of heart-soaring praise ("Traveling with THREE boys? And they're so well behaved!"). He has his stellar moments - moments that would definitely make us top 3, for sure. Today, for example, would go something like this on the show:

"Elizabeth and Peter, welcome to Vouliagmeni, a poplar beach tennis (they're maniac about their Kadima-like rackets) destination for Athenians. You are the 3rd team to arrive. Enjoy your day at the beach and sleep well. Tomorrow's segment of The Amazing Race - Family Edition will be one to remember - day trip to the island of Hydra."

Older boys in the background wait as Jacob enjoys the calm and really BLUE waters. He definitely earned a day at the beach!

After we go to the beach on Long Island, we always stop at Marvels. Best soft serve - period. So it wasn't Marvels, but the tradition lived on. A great day at the beach.

Acropolis

Blogger of the day: Dear Jacob

Today Hedgehog did exploring. The first thing he did was go on the first adventure: doorstep. Then he went on the subway. Hedgehog stood on the window. We walked up the whole entire world. We saw a tree. We saw the Greek flag. It was in the acropolis. I saw the Parthenon.  We saw a beautiful sight of the view. We saw the ocean. We walked up high steps. The stairs were very slippery. The cars in the street were very fast. 

Arrived in Athens

Blogger of the day: Elizabeth

It's a short post today. Not much happened today except a train to a train to a plane to a train to Athens. I'm sorry to say that multiple people had fuss arguments at various points. However, we are set up in Athens at last and have soothed ourselves with spanikopita made by the landlord's mother and the promise of souvlaki to come. 

One week finished! 

Villa Borghese aka "Bernini Day"

Blogger of the Day: Isaac

Today we visited the Borghese Museum and surroundings. The museum had a lot of interesting sculptures by a sculptor named Bernini. What was amazing about his sculptures was that they looked so real. For instance, a bed that he sculpted looked like you could lie down on it and be comfortable. That real! There were also many paintings (most of Christianity and Christ) in the museum. One painting was of David and Goliath. In the painting, David is holding the head of Goliath. Except that the face of Goliath is the person who painted the picture! [Ed. note-- Caravaggio].  The reason for that is because the person who painted this had killed someone and was forced to flee Rome. He sent the painting back to the Pope because he thought it symbolized him being punished for his crime. The Pope accepted and he was allowed to come back. He died of Yellow fever before he got back!

After the museum, my brothers and I played stick wars in the park. Nothing much happened there except that Ezra and Jacob had a fuss argument in which both were unhappy. For the past few days I have been listening to baseball radio. As I told my parents, "I won't be able to go 2 months with no baseball."

Basilica di San Clemente and Italian National Monument

Blogger of the day: Ezra

We went to the Basilica. The cool thing about it was it is a bunch of churches stacked on top of each other. On the very top is a church that you enter that was from the 12th century. The way to get under that church is you go to a ticket booth and you buy tickets (kids are for free) and you go down steps and you find yourself in a big hallway. This is the church from the 4th century. Then you can go down another flight of steps and you're in a Roman street. There is a Mithraic temple here with an altar and also a house with a spring of water. 

It smelled bad underground and the walls were slimy. It looked creepy with the dim lights and the dark. We saw some open spaces where houses used to be if they were still standing and some cool designed floors (with mosaics). I can't believe how small their houses were. 

After that we walked up to the Altare Della Patria [or the national monument to the first king of Italy --ed.]. This was a big white building with a lot of stairs and we climbed halfway up. We didn't go to the top because the elevator cost €17.50!!! I saw a really good view that showed me a lot of Rome. We also saw a nest with sea gull chicks. They were so cute!

I also saw the ruins where the gladiators trained. You should already know where they fought from the other blogger's story. 

This is a picture of me and my brother Isaac at the middle of the monument. 

From Keats to Shelley to Roman baths

Blogger of the day: Peter

I know that Dear Jacob blogged about the trip to the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican
Museum yesterday, but how could we not post this photo of the two boys with the
 Pope? We've been joking about this photo for the last 24 hours. Doesn't it look like
Isaac and Ezra were finalists for Vatican Idol, but that Isaac was declared the winner?
Must have been his rendition of "Some Nights" by fun. It's a favorite around here.
At any rate, like our cousin, Gabe, wrote in response to this photo,
"I can't tell if I find this awesome or terrifying. Cannot look away."

Me, either. 

Today, we got away from the Pope and visited a Protestant cemetery where Keats and Shelley are buried and then visited the ancient Roman baths of Caracalla. We arrived at the cemetery just as the heavens were about to open up. We found sanctuary under an overhang and ate dried apricots and crackers while we waited for the rains to stop. While snacking and waiting, we noticed a sign that reminded parents not to leave their children unattended in the cemetery. Who would do that? I'm going out for milk. You wait in the cemetery until I get back. That seemed absurd. But then the boys got restless. Jacob began digging in the puddles that had formed and Isaac was throwing pebbles at a grate, missing wildly and nearly hitting other visitors who had sought refuge nearby (Ezra was willing to eat all of our food -- he gets hungry when he is bored!). So we allowed them to run up and down a hill. You wouldn't believe it, but the caretaker came out, in the rain, to see if the children belonged to anyone. This must be a real problem for them! The rain subsided and we found both graves. After paying our respects to these two influential poets, we set out to find the ancient baths. We had read about them in the guide book and I had been pushing for them more than any other person in our group, but I do think that what we discovered was so worth it. The baths at Caracalla were AMAZING!! The size of the ancient structure alone gave us some idea of what these public meeting places must have been like. The mosaics and some of the capitals/columns that have been preserved were also a sight to see. We remarked that the rain that came earlier in the day really gave us a better idea as to what the mosaics must have looked like in the bath house. They were bright, colorful, and simply gorgeous! I'm rereading the word 'bath house' but that doesn't do it justice. Imagine something like the Coliseum or a football arena or an opera house. It was that big! We spent a good part of the afternoon exploring the site before heading back to our apartment. Elizabeth and the boys had some pasta and pizza for dinner and after getting them squared away with the pizza, I met up with my cousin, Paul, and his girlfriend for a drink at the Piazza de Popolo. We caught up for a bit and bid farewell. He's off to Nice, France in the morning to accompany an orchestra as the narrator for The Carnival of the Animals (Le carnaval des animaux). It was really nice to spend some time with him. Tomorrow, Ezra will continue the chronicling of our trip together. Two days until we start all over in Athens. Wish us luck!  

Ezra and Jacob posing in front of Keat's grave. We placed a stone
on top of the headstone to mark that we had visited him.

Vatican museum, Sistine chapel and St. Peter's

Blogger of the day: Dear Jacob ( he insisted he be called this?)

We saw God touching Adam's finger. I liked it. I loved it! It was crowded. We saw Saint George killing the dragon and then we saw it again. A lot of people were there. We loved seeing the beautiful pictures.

Mt. Vesuvius of Doom

Blogger of the Day: Elizabeth

Today we left Rome to venture further south. A luxurious ride aboard the bullet train to Naples and a cramped ride aboard the commuter rail to Herculaneum (plus about ten minutes of "walking"/dodging motorcycles) brought us to the ruined city. All were fascinated by the well-preserved frescos and mosaics and two-story structures; many were also pleased to have a chance to run around and play with sticks. We spent a full afternoon exploring the site and imagining life in ancient days (well, Jacob mostly sat inside the ovens and imagined being the witch in Hansel and Gretel) and then found some delicious pizza in the Naples train station for dinner before heading back to Rome. Was gelato consumed when we got back there? Yes, yes it was.

The Churches

Blogger of the day: Isaac

Today we visited 3 churches. The Pantheon, the San Luigi, and the Santa Maria Sopra Minerva (I'm just going to call it S.M.S.M.). The S.M.S.M. had a famous sculpture by Michael Angelo. He was a really famous sculpture. In the Pantheon It was exactly 142 feet big! There was also the grave of a famous painter named Rafael. There was also a huge hole in the center of the dome. In the San Luigi there were mostly Gothic things. That's because it was a Gothic temple. It is so much different than S.M.S.M. and the Pantheon. As I finish writing this it's 10:07 in Rome.

Day Two: The Coliseum and the Forum

Blogger of the Day: Ezra

Today I had ice cream. Also, I went to the place that gladiators fought to entertain the emperors. The gladiator place was really broken down. A lot of people took pictures. My mom asked me, "Would you rather be stepping where Roman generals and emperors' footprints were at the gladiator place or would you rather step in the Chinese generals' footprints were at the Great Wall?" I said I'd rather be on the Great Wall.
[N.B. from transcriber: Ezra fell asleep while thinking of other things that had happened during the day. Jet Lag!]

Here is a picture of my family at the Roman Forum:

Pesky Pigeons in Peter's Piazza!

Blogger of the Day: Peter

We're here! So while we understand that Rome wasn't built in a day, I would like to take a page from Isaac's journal. He wondered why they couldn't have at least built sidewalks that were a bit wider than a foot across?! 

As we work through our checklist for the trip, we've accomplised two important ones today:

1.  A trip to the gelateria. The boys were very pleased with this discovery. Chocolate and stracciatella. Yum! 

2.  Long walks through a new city. We actually walked around the entire Vatican, which Elizabeth pointed out as the first country she had ever walked completely around!

More to come for sure. Not sure who is up tomorrow, but welcome to our blog! 

Piazza de San Pietro and Jacob doesn't notice  the enormous structures or the thousands of people on pilgrimage.  No sir. He locks in on a pigeon and spends a great deal of time in pursuit of this city staple. We always want to know what would happen if he were to actually catch the nasty bird. 

T -24 hours