Day 10: Cruising the Greek Isles, Part 2

It is just about midnight on the Celestyal Olypmia.  I am sitting in a lounge trying to compose a more sufficient blog post about our to days at sea.  There are a couple of problems which I cannot control.  The first is that my magic wifi device doesn't work at sea.  The second is that the ship's wifi, which I just purchased, is lagging and probably will not allow me to post pictures, let alone this entry.  Regardless if it posts tonight, or if I get it out there tomorrow, I am hoping that I can give proper credit to the day's we've experienced.

By now, some of you have surely researched the Olympia.  I will give you a quick recap.  It is a ship that holds about 1600 passengers, but I think we only have about 500 tonight.  There are 9 major decks and the 9th includes two pools and a dance floor.  The lower decks have a casual dining facility which included a buffet and a more formal sit down area.  The whole ship is 21 plus for alcohol which makes our job here a little less stressful.  The ship also contains a theater and about four lounges.  Each day, we get a print out of the activities that are available for us.  These have included origami lessons, zumba classes, and many more.  I am not sure how many kids have participated in them, but they are free for us.

When we boarded in Athens, we had quick instructions from John about the boat.  Our trip to Mikonos was lovely as well.  Most of us went to bed really early because we had a 4:15 am wake up call.  In order for us to avoid Turkey, we got off the boat at an island called Samos.  It was small, but EF had coordinated breakfast on the island for us.  About 10 of us took advantage of a ship excursion to see the Temple dedicated to Hera and the rest of the island.  Our guide, Irene, was wonderful.  When our tour had completed, we found ourselves on the site of the birthplace of Pythagoras.  It was really cool to know how much of an influence he has had on modern mathematics.  We also found our two groups reconnected as we waited for our ship to return.  Some of grabbed lunch, while others went swimming in the sea.  The visit was long, and we had awoken really early, but it was nice nonetheless.

When we boarded the ship, we found that they had held a late lunch seating available for us and many were thankful for having something to eat and a quick nap.  We had an evening visit at Patmos.  I didn't disembark, but I've heard the island was beautiful as well.  [Side note: I've switched lounges because the lights were turned off in the one I was sitting in.]  After dinner, many of the kids went to bed.  They had had a really exhausting day.  Others, however, seem to have unlimited energy.  These kids are somewhere on this floor dancing.  We have a visit to Crete scheduled for tomorrow, but John has told us that many shops will be closed because of the upcoming Greek Easter.  Our evening visit to Santorini shouldn't be impacted by the holiday.

The kids are having such a great time.  It is refreshing to see.  Many times, on tour, they hit a wall, but this trip is a little different.  The cruise has refreshed some of us.  It is a little different for me in another way too.  On a traditional tour, the kids are stuck together the entire time (not meant as a negative), but for the last three days of this tour, they have an entire ship to explore in small groups.  While some of the unity might disappear with this style, there are positives too.  I was chaperoning a makeshift dance earlier with some other teachers.  A bunch of our kids were dancing and a bunch of other passengers were there too.  The cultural exchange was neat to witness and I don't think our kids will soon forget it.

Well, I think I am done for the night.  It is still not the post I want it to be, but it is the post I've come up with.  I will probably spend a few more minutes trying to actually post this entry, lol.  I am also not confident in a post tomorrow.  I will definitely make some Facebook comments, but the next true post might be on the flight home.  Thank you for the kind words these past 10 days.  I really appreciate them and watching my counter go up each day really provides some motivation.  It has been an absolute pleasure to work on this trip.

Day 9: Cruising the Greek Isles, Part 1

This will be short. We are only in port for a few more hours.  Most of the kids are still in Mikonos, but I brought a few back early so they could get some extra sleep before tomorrow's jam packed day.

The Group at Mikonos

Renting pictionary only to find it is in Greek.

I am only putting up a couple of pictures from Mikonos. I will spend a little bit of time writing up Mikonos, Samos, and Patmos tomorrow.  As many of you are aware, our boat stops at the island of Samos very early tomorrow morning.  In lieu of spending a lot of time talking about how our day went and recapping today's short visit, I will take some time tomorrow evening to write something more significant.

I can tell you that all are well, we made it without issue, and everyone seemingly loves our boat.

The boat is only at about a third of its capacity, currently holding only about 500 hundred passengers.  There are a lot of food options, including tea time, and entertainment options. It is not as luxurious as some other boats, but it serves our needs well.

Have a great night and I will see you sometime tomorrow!!!

Mr. Lavoie, sitting in the Muses Lounge listening to someone play the piano and overlooking Mikonos at night. 

Day 8: All roads come from Athens

Last night's blog post had a fairly unoriginal title, but in retrospect, I am glad I chose such a simple message.  It was a travel day and we were headed to Athens...and so, All roads lead to Athens.

Tonight's title is equally unoriginal, but comes from a more retrospective thought.  As we woke for breakfast and gathered our things for a day in one of the world's oldest cities, I couldn't help but think of how much influence Greece and Athens has been on our nation.  As we boarded our bus, it furthermore dawned on me that today would be our last night at a hotel....our last night in Greece.

We will wake tomorrow morning and finish our packing.  We will board the bus and head to the cruise terminal.  We will board the boat.  Our adventure will continue for three more days and we will see more of Greece, but ultimately, we will wake on Monday morning and be at sea.  We will make port, board a bus, and head to the airport.  Today is our last full day in Greece.  We are taking a cruise that symbolizes our return to home and our return to normalcy.

Greece's influence on us is prevalent in so much of our society.  Many of our words are Greek in origin.  Many of our political systems are Greek by birth. Many of our customs, folktales, and stories are born from Greek thought, ideology, and practice.  I feel as though this trip was full of these influences, even in Italy, and I will be trying to incorporate some of these thoughts as I provide a recap of our day.  I hope you don't mind my indulgences into philosophy.  I also hope, by the end of this post, that you have a better understanding of what I mean.

Our tour, today, started on our bus with a tour guide names Georgia.  Our bus was filled to the max and I had to sit in the very front with her, and so, I had a much different perspective on what we saw.  Georgia was friendly and personable.  She was with us for the entire morning and eventually led us to the Acropolis.

Our first stop, where we could get out and take some photos was the Olympic stadium.  It is at this place that the first "marathoner" reached his capital city to announce "Nike" or victory to the Athenians.  This city is known by its marathon.  The culmination of hard work and perseverance.  Their marathon is in November and it is marked by its hills.  I am sure that many runners find them to be heartbreaking.

Ms. Alongi's shoe...she doesn't know I took this photo, lol

It was also at this stadium that the Olympic torch was lit yesterday.  It will be lit each day in the customary fashion until it reaches Brazil this summer.  This city, of the ancient Olympic games, enters our houses every two years when we watch the winter and summer games.  Our sports come from Athens.

I think this is most of the group in front of the stadium. 

Checking out my selfie-stick with Nick and Darian...Mrs. Morando snuck in too.

From the stadium you could see the Acropolis.  

Another selfie-stick experiment.  You can see how confused I am by this technology in my face, lol.

Patrick, Kerri, and I.  I love the lighting and the Greek flags waving in the background.

We boarded on our bus and continued our tour.  We passed by the parliament building.  In our word, the parliament building is the Congress and it is made of the House of Representatives and the Senate...no doubt because of the Roman influence.  In Athens, the Parliament building also houses a tomb to an unknown soldier...and a changing of the guard ceremony.  I didn't see the changing of the guards, but we did see an exercise in which the guards stretch their legs.

Their Parliament from the bus...sorry for the glare.

A ceremonial guard at his post.

The unique movements by the guards helps keep them fresh for their one hour duty station.

The visit here was really cool.  We didn't expect it.  In addition, their uniforms are really unique.  It got me thinking about past travels.  As a high school teacher, I am fortunate to be able to attend the 8th grade trip to DC every once in a while.  I am slated to go this year, too.  I blog on those trips and I am always impressed with our changing of the guard at the Arlington National Cemetery.  While I'm sure the Greek ceremony is much different, seeing these guys "stretching their legs" with such pomp and circumstance, reminded me of those moments with kids who I didn't know...but who might actually be at the Hotel Savoy with me now.  I don't think that Greece invented this practice, but it definitely reminded me that I'd be headed home soon.

The next few places are a little lost to me now. I know that Georgia explained what these buildings were, but I don't remember all of the details....we just saw too much and I don't take notes while touring.  I do remember that she taught the kids how to tell the different styles of columns that are prevalent in classical architecture.

The two columns flanking this building are built in the Corinthian style.  They are the most elaborate.  The statues are of Athena and Apollo, I believe.

Ionic columns are the style of choice for this building, an Art museum, I believe.  The simple curve at the top is the showcase of this style.

The oldest style, shown here on the library, I think, is the Doric column.  Simple but effective.

These three buildings also reminded me of home, but here, there is a direct influence.  A quick visit to this website will show that the neo-classical approach to buildings is alive and well in Washington DC.  I vaguely remember chatting with some 8th graders about column style and name on previous trips.  The buildings of ancient Greece employing these columns are from 500 BCE.  The capital buildings are not that old, lol.  Seeing these old ones, made me think of the new ones. I hope the visit resonated with the kids too.  I know most of them have been to DC (with the Middle School, another school, or on a family trip).  We need to see the world to understand who we are and how we got there.  It is the very embodiment of the travel philosophy I've adopted, "One Must Travel To Learn."

It was strange for me to be having these thoughts at that moment.  Tucked into the same square, we saw two statues.  The men are familiar to you all, they are among the greatest thinkers in all of history.  On the left, I believe is Socrates...and across from him, Plato.  Philosophy starts from within, but some of the first to reason, from a different view than religion, were these men.  Their thoughts have been influencing ours from the times they roamed these streets until we roamed these streets, and their thoughts will continue influencing people long after Eurotrip16 has completed.  As philosophers, however, these statues carry meaning, but they weren't just amazing thinkers.  As the simplest explanation, the man on the left is a teacher.  To the right, a student.  They represent the things that are possible when teachers and students explore their world together. 

Socrates and Plato

Our bus tour came to an end and we took off on foot.  Our next stop was the ancient acropolis.  I've mentioned before that I am more than a little afraid of heights, but I have another common fear...that of large crowds.  As we got off the bus and headed to the Acropolis.  I recognized that my two fears were about to collide.  The Acropolis sits on the highest point in Athens.  To get to it, one would have walked through the ancient Agora, or marketplace.  As we left the safety of the bus behind us [Side note: I'll probably be embellishing a bit from here on out...no one was in danger] and headed up the hill.  There were hundreds of other groups on site with us.  Little Greek kids, Japanese tourists, passengers of mixed heritage from ample cruise ships, and thousands more...all piling up on a little path towards a giant hill.  As we marched like ants up the winding path, I couldn't help but remember that the name for being afraid of crowds is Agoraphobia...fear of the marketplace.  As we reached higher and higher elevations, I couldn't help but remember that the name for being afraid of heights is Acrophobia....fear of the Acropolis?

As with most vertical challenges I face, I grin and bear it.  As with most crowded situations, I put one foot in front of the other and move forward. The Acropolis was no different and my discomfort shortly subsided to awe when I reached the tops.  I've reminded parents to check out their kids pictures many times on this trip...and this is no exception.  Here are some that I took along the way:

It's spring.  New olives are growing. 

Ms. Alongi getting the perfect panoramic pic.

Like Pompeii, an ancient theater revamped and ready for new performances.

Georgia chatting with us about what we are seeing and we were headed

The long and winded path filled with other Eurotrippers hoping not to trip.

The Parthenon.  

Even the Conga line started in Ancient Greece.

Mr. Bemis proudly representing his Pittsburg Steelers...even though their last season was ruined, much like these buildings

Lexi and I...traveling from DC, to Normandy, to Baltimore, and Greece.  

Nice photobomb Dalia!!!

After the tour, we made our way down into the city.  We broke off for lunch and for shopping.  As we walked through the markets looking at all of the trinkets and t-shirts, I kept on bumping into kids. I usually ask them if they are having a good time, but it was clear that they were.  Their smiles were radiant.  We've been so very fortunate to have this group of kids on this tour.  They are bonded together and lent a helping hand whenever needed, mostly without prompting.  One of my first posts reminded how good it was to be a Sachem...and today, it was a good day.

After lunch, we went to the Archaeology museum. Pictures weren't allowed in most places, but it was pretty cool to walk through the place, built above a recently discovered part of the Ancient city.  The floors are glass and you can see the dig site developing.  History is all around this city.  Wherever you walk and even some places you can't.  I was reminded again of Boston, home...and that walkability of that city.  I take kids to the Freedom Trail every year (mostly) and I try to remind them that history is everywhere.  As we walked the trail, I show them local connections to Saugus and I try to emphasize how old everything is.  The stuff we are looking at in Athens is 2000 years older than the oldest things we see in Boston.  It is baffling even to me.  The time is not truly comprehensible.

Here, at the Hotel Savoy, the time is comprehensible.  It is just about 1 am.  The hotel lays in a city called Pireas.  It is about 8-10 miles away from Athens, but with traffic it can take about an hour to travel.  It has a large commercial section and a small seafront.  We arrived from the city and had dinner about 7:30.  I don't have pictures, but I don't think you are missing anything.  Don't get me wrong, it was a fine meal, but it wasn't spectacular.  Some of the chaperons and kids took a little excursion to the port.  While there, they stopped at a little restaurant and rearranged the tables.  Roughly 16 of them sat, chatted, and ate.  They remembered their favorite places on this trip and they shared some laughs.  The commonality among them is that they are all Saugonians...which makes them, kind of like, family.

This tour is wrapping up and we will soon be headed home, to our real families.  We will sit, and eat, and share our favorite memories.  We will tell tales of faraway places and mystical islands.  We will chat about signs in foreign tongues and confusing conversions of currencies.  We will discuss how this trip changed our outlook on life and ourselves.  We will recognize how much we appreciate the comforts of home.  We will be glad to be home...but, from a different viewpoint, we will also realize that while the language and money are different, this place is much more like home than we have ever thought.  We will realize that even though some parts were strange, or even uncomfortable, we will long to come back...come back to where it all started.  All roads come from Athens.


Mr. Lavoie, half expecting the desk clerk to ask me to go to my room...at least he hasn't asked me to turn off the lights for him.

Day 7: All roads lead to Athens

Wow, what an odd experience.  All is well, but we've done nothing but travel for the past day and most of us are more exhausted then when we finished touring through Rome.  I suppose it is the change of pace that caught us off guard.  Tonight's post will be a combination recap of Day 6 and some things that occurred today.  It is probably going to be a little bit disjointed, but hopefully, you will all enjoy it.

I think the basic premise of this post is summed up in the title.

All roads lead to Athens.

While that is not necessarily true, Athens was our destination as we left Sorrento on Tuesday morning.  Our driving time was lengthy, but we had a planned stop in the little town of Alberobello. This destination, as I implied on Facebook, was truly a dream come true for Signora Morando.  As a little girl, she had wanted to visit, but it wasn't until this trip that she was able to make her dream come true.  The village was super cute.  The village is known for the unique homes built there called "trulli."  They are conical structures made of stone.  We entered and were instantly enamored with the town. John gave us a time to return from lunch and we were off. A few of us, two tables, chose one restaurant in the town square. The had meal deals on their menu and it looked like it was the kind of place that catered to tourists...it wasn't.  We sat and ordered.  Most of us got pasta, panini, or pizza.  Shortly after we ordered, a group of Italian boys sat down.  They ordered too.  About 10 minutes later, the boys received their food.  They ordered mostly pasta, panini, or pizza.  It seemed like forever before our food arrived, and the other table of Saugus kids, waited even longer.  John has stopped by to chat and recognized that we wouldn't make our meeting time.  He said not to worry about it, but to try to eat quickly so we wouldn't miss the tour.  We did the best we could, but all told, we ended up wasting about 30-40 minutes waiting for our food...and then eating it.  The restaurant even messed up our order taking even more time off of the clock.  While it was frustrating, we didn't let it ruin the rest of our day or the tour of Alberobello.

The group in front of the Trulli homes.

The homes were unique in their decorations and capstones.  Most people are Catholic, but for those who are not religious, they had a point on their capstone.  These homes date back hundreds of years.

Many of the Trulli are little shops selling souvenirs, meats, and other items.

Bianca and Pranaav hanging out in Alberobello.

Jeff and Pedro petting one of the local puppies roaming the street.

There are lots of these homes scattered along the hillside.

Amanda catching me taking a picture.

Gabbi and Emily

Walking through the village.

Signora and Pranaav.

At an observation deck overlooking the city.

We eventually had to leave this charming little village.  Our overnight ferry awaited us.  It wasn't that long of a drive, but we did hit a little bit of traffic.  John was great at explaining the different steps that we would have to take to board.  It was a little intimidating, because of the wind whipping across the port, but we all made it safely on board the ship.  The ship was actually much nicer than I expected.  A few years ago, we traveled across from Ireland to Wales.  It wasn't an overnight, and the ship was nice, but we ended up sleeping on chairs...this time, however, we had our own rooms complete with bathroom and shower.  The quarters were tighter than most of us would like, but they were serviceable.  We met for dinner and were served a meat patty.  I promise you that most of the kids who tried it said it was good, but then word got out that it was lamb.  At that point, many stopped eating, lol.  If it was lamb, it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't outstanding either.

We gave the kids a curfew and told them how important a good night's rest would be.  The chaperons stayed up, in the cruise lounge, for a little bit, but we slowly went to bed.  I decided to take the last turn at room checks.  I made my rounds at approximately 2 am.  I didn't wait that late because I thought that the kids were up to no good, instead it was a combination of several elements.  The first is that I am usually up late.  The second is that we had had a time change.  It was really only 1 am.  The third is that there was another school group on the boat who were not well supervised...and I was a little nervous of our kids seeing bad behavior and tempting fate.  The fourth was that I was waiting up to hear the announcement of who the School Committee had selected as Superintendent.  

[Side Note: I am involved in a lot of other endeavors of the Saugus Public School system besides teaching and chaperoning trips.  In those other capacities, it is in my best interest to stay informed and involved in the things happening within our district.  I knew all four candidates that had made the final list for the job and I did not envy the committee for the decision it had to make.  I wish Dr. DeRousi good luck and I am sure he will do a fantastic job.]

Finally, I heard the announcement via Facebook and Twitter and decided to go to bed.  The hallways were quiet...our kids were long asleep.  We had a late wake-up call and I was able to get a solid 4-5 hours of sleep, which is my norm.  We had a small breakfast and began to prepare to disembark.  We landed in Greece on schedule and met our new bus driver.

Ms. Payne being super fast in the shadow of the Super Fast II

My morning view.

A mixed group of SHS kids playing heads up with John's Ipad.   

We had finally made it to Greece and to today.

I am sitting in our lobby and it is just past 11:30pm.  Our day in Greece was quite limited.  We had roughly a four hour drive since we landed at Patras.  Along the way, John explained much of the details surrounding our upcoming cruise adventure.  He also remarked at some of the landscape and pointed out important cities.  We stopped for lunch in Corinth.  The restaurant had about 10 options and pictures were included.  Many of the kids ordered the fried calamari.  I did not. I ordered a Moussaka.  I can't really explain it, so I included the Wikipedia link for everyone!!! I really liked it.

There was something about Corinth that I did not like, however.

The canal

I've said it before on this blog. I do not like heights.  I don't let the fear prohibit me from doing things however.  John had showed us this canal from the bus, but he had our driver park so that we might walk across the pedestrian bridge to get a closer look. Underneath us, but closed today, was a bungie-jumping platform. [Side note 2: No one would have been allowed to jump if it was open]  The canal was really deeply cut into the landscape.  It looked like the scene out of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, except higher.  I walked out there, took a picture, and walked back.  Some of the kids seemed to share my fear while others laughed at it.

The kids making their way to the bridge while I've already taken my photo and decided to get back onto solid ground.

Here are some photos from lunch:

After eating, and seeing the canal, we left for the hotel.  We didn't hit much traffic, but the drive seemed to take a long time.  It was probably because of the spontaneous singing that the kids were doing.  The even dedicated a few songs to John...Men At Work's Down Under and the song It's Raining Men.  John was a good sport about it and even sang along.  [Side note 3: the singing didn't really make the drive seem longer, I'm exaggerating, it was actually cute]

We arrived to the Hotel Savoy and went to our rooms. We had dinner and prepared for bed.  The dinner that we had was pretty good, and so, I've decided to share some thoughts on it with you.

It was a stuffed pepper and a stuffed tomato.  The stuffing was rice seasoned with some interesting flavors.  It was accompanied by potatoes.  It was different than I've had at home, but it was definitely a home-style meal.  I find, when on tour, that a home-style meal, every once in a while, really resonates with me.  It made my think of my parents, but my mother in particular.  She is in the process of retiring from a long career at North Shore Community College.  Today was her last Wednesday.  Monday, when we return, will be her last day.  [Side note 4: My groups late return doesn't really bother me because I know she can sleep in]  In many regards, I wish I could be there to celebrate these last few days with her.  She knows, however, how much these trips mean to me and she tells me often how much she enjoys this blog, lol....so to my mom, who I am sure is reading this...I am thinking of you today as you begin your next great adventure.  I get a lot of compliments from parents, grandparents, and family friends of students who travel with me...these compliments are a reflection of the parenting you and Dad gave to me and as I work on these things, I really try to make you guys proud.  I hope I succeed.

Tomorrow, we tour Greece, for real.  I am so excited for what we are about to see. As an historian and a government teacher, this tour really connects with some of my favorite subjects.  I also think of myself as a little bit of a philosopher.  This is a new country for me and I am very anxious to see what it has to offer.

Okay, it is about midnight.  I am going to wrap this up and get a good night's sleep again.  Thanks for your time and continued words of thanks.  We are hitting the last few days of this trip and are getting more and more excited about what is to come.

Mr. Lavoie, retiring for the evening while his Mom is retiring from her career!!!! Congrats again!!!