Lara and Steve come to Greece

Steve wanted me to back up further on the edge of the cliff, but this is as far back as I could get and still smile.

Antonio pulled Dennis over and wanted a picture taken with him. We feel that we have made some wonderful friends.

Antonio and Maria, our good friends at the Dellas Hotel, graciously posed for a picture with Steve and Lara.

The four of us, making memories together in Greece.

We enjoyed outdoor dining in Kalambaka and took this picture in front of the fountain.

Another monastery built in a hole in the mountain. This one is not open for visitors.

A ruin of a monastery in the hillside on the old Kastraki road. It reminded us a little of Mesa Verde in Colorado.

I loved the merry-go-round at the little village of Kastraki. Look like seats and a little seatbelt to keep dizzy kids from falling off.

Another photo op at Meteora.

Steve and Lara in front of the old fortress at the top of the city of Thessaloniki.

We had a beautiful day to see the sites of Thessaloniki.

The Motts arrive at the Thessaloniki airport--a little tired but had an uneventful trip compared to what was to follow. Little did they know they would get to contend with rioting in Athens and an airport closure in Munich because of the volcano in Iceland. We heard that they did make it back home!

Burtons Visit Greece

The clearest view we've ever had of Mt. Olympus.

Mt. Olympus, mythical home of the 12 Greek gods.

Nolan, Claudia and Dennis from a balcony of St. Nikolas Anapafsas Monastery.

A monk doing a little yard work behind the fence of the Holy Trinity Monastery.

The Burtons in front of the Great Meteora.

Remnants of the old Roman road in Kavala. This is believed to be a small portion of the old Roman road on which the apostle Paul would have walked from Kavala to Philipi.

The stream just up the road from the traditional site where Lydia, the first European convert, was baptized by Paul. It is very near Philipi.

The poppies are beautiful and blossoming everywhere right now. This was by the ampitheater of Philipi.

Claudia and Nolan visiting the ruins of Philipi.

There were here in Thessaloniki and here they are in front the infamous White Tower.

Around Thessaloniki

When we first got here, we wondered why we could always hear the pounding of hammers. We thought someone was always building something. It didn't take us long to figure out that it was the women beating their rugs out on their balconies. This was our neighbor across the street, so we got a good picture of her in action. Notice the big paddle she is using.

The beautiful young lady in the photo is Maria, the pharmacist who works in the pharmacy on the ground floor of our apartment building. She speaks English and has been very kind and helpful to us. With her is her fiancee, Peter. This was the day they got engaged. Peter is studying to be an opthamologist.

Just a typical narrow street in the city between apartment buildings. The unwritten rule that seems to govern parking is that if you leave enough room for a vehicle to squeeze past, you're ok.

Part of the old fortifications and castle at the top of the city. Thessaloniki was a walled city for hundreds of years. This part of the wall probably dates to around the 1400's.

Elder Johnson posing in front of a lovely palm tree below a part of the old fortress. You might guess that we don't have weather that is TOO cold for TOO long.

A view of the sea from the old fortress at the top of the city. They would certainly have known if someone was approaching them by sea.

Yes, McDonald's delivers and this is how they do it! It is also how some UPS deliveries are made, as well as a number of other businesses.

P-Day outing to Ouranoupoli

On a preparation day in March we took a little outing to a little village called Ouranoupoli. It is a little village in Halkidiki that is as close as you can drive to Mt. Athos. Mt. Athos is a holy city for those of the Greek Orthodox faith, much as the Vatican is to Catholics. The public is not allowed to visit Mt. Athos. Men may visit to have a spiritual retreat and must receive a special permit from the government. We had lunch at a little restaurant by the sea. This is looking out from our table.

This is SO Greek! We had to take a picture. There are stray dogs and cats everywhere. These two were making their way across the rooftops of the restaurants.

This man is a priest in the Greek Orthodox Church. He was waiting for a ride back to Thessaloniki. He was very friendly and willing to have his picture taken. We couldn't communicate with one another well enough to understand if he lived at Mt. Athos or had just been there for a visit.

We drove to the border of Mt. Athos. It is actually an independent city-state. This man was walking down the road and Dennis asked to take his picture. He just looked so Greek. I'm sure he was scratching his head trying to figure out why we wanted his picture. The backdrop is also beautifully and typically Greek.

These vacant buildings were just inside the borders of Mt. Athos. They were probably used by monks at some time. There are many large monasteries on Mt. Athos and it is home to several thousand monks.

These warning signs tell visitors not to cross the border into Mt. Athos. We thought there might be a big gated entry-way with guards. There are just markers saying that this is where Mt. Athos begins and not to enter. The only way to get there is by boat from Ouranoupolis.

The marker letting you know you have reached the border.

An imposing tower by the sea in the village of Ouranoupolis. It is the landmark structure that identifies the village. It's a museum now and I'm not sure what it was previously. It would have been a good lookout tower to watch out over the sea.

The Greek flag flying by the tower above. The cross in the corner represents the Orthodox Church and we have been told that the blue and white stripes represent the sea and the breaking waves.

A beautiful little village built on a little peninsula jutting out into the Aegean on the drive to Ouranoupolis. I think the name of it is Pyrgadikia.