The Parthenon, the Parthenon, the Parthenon ...

Bonjour mes amis,

On Friday, June 18th, we purchased the all-day (hop-on, hop-off) bus ticket to tour Athens, a super deal. All the time, we couldn't wait to get to the drop off for the Acropolis and its majestice Parthenon. We were not disappointed.

You have to have a sense of the landscape to capture the beauty and the fullness of the experience. The Acropolis (where the Parthenon is the major feature) sits high on a hilltop in the center of Athens, visible from just about everywhere. It, literally, looms over the sprawling metropolis that is modern day Athens.

They tell you NOT to try to treck up the steps and incline to the Acropolis in the middle of the summer heat. It's simply too hot. We compromised with 11:00 a.m. thinking (correctly, we think) that many of the earlier tourists would already have left or be on their way down and that the crowds and the heat would be manageable. This seemed to be a good decision.



The climb up (a combo of steps built into the rock and inclining walk ways) took some time but it was all wonderfully worth it. At the top, indeed, is the Parthenon with its 46 majestic columns reaching towards the heavens. Built between 447 and 438 BCE (before the common era), it has been rebuilt muliple times (still not completed); yet, still, some of it is apparently original. The rustic look with massive pieces of rock and stone everywhere is difficult to fathom without seeing it first hand.

The other edifices (in varying stages of restoration ... although I don't think the intent is full restoration) are all about. The entire Acropolis area is probably something like 400 yards by 200, or smaller. And all about (on all sides) is the city of Athens with amazing views.

The Parthenon really captured our spirit and imagination. It is spectacular and more--the kind of experience that words simply cannot capture. It's the combination of thousands of years of history ... what all of that implies ... and the contrast of this ancient phenomenon in the heart of a bubbling urban world of the 21st century. All the time, there it is--the Parthenon, with its awesome specter.

In a word, we were overwhelmed.

Later, we spent a few hours in the new (just opened a year ago), splendidly designed Acropolis Museum. About a half mile from the Acropolis on the lower ground, it was constructed "over" all kinds of ruins, much of which can be seen beneath the transparent flooring, an awesome experience in itself. You're walking along the entrance to the museum, or on one of the display floors inside, and you are walking atop this transparent (some kind of very, very, strong glass or synthetic something) flooring beneath you. Its architecture is stunning ... the Greeks are very proud of this museum even though many of them have yet to actually step inside it.

We enjoyed our two days in Athens very much ... the dining in the local restaurants was good ... we visited some of the nearby beaches the following day, which were mostly beautiful ... but, for us, it was the Parthenon, the Parthenon, the Parthenon, a MUST-see if you ever get the chance.

Tomorrow: our overnight boat trip to the Greek island Rhodes and the town of Lindos, where we are spending three days.

A bientot for now ...

Off for ten days in Greece and Turkey

Bonjour tout le monde,

Our Thursday morning flight from Marseilles to Athens, Greece was at 8:50 a.m., which meant we had to get up at 5:30 a.m. (never an exciting prospect for Yvette and me), get to the bus station in Aix (about a fifteen minute walk), catch the 6:40 a.m. Airport bus to the Marseilles airport etc.

However, when we were ready to leave our flat (it was probably about 60 degrees or so), it began to rain. So, quickly, with umbrella in hand, I was off (ten minute walk) to the taxi spot in the town center to hopefully find a taxi. I found the taxi (the driver did not seem to be in a good mood) and we were off to pick up Yvette and our luggage and head off to the bus stop.

At the prompting of our daughters, we were traveling (light) with two backpacks ... but they were not necessarily "light" in terms of what they weighed.

Once we arrived at the Marseilles airport, things went pretty smoothly ... time for a light breakfast ... and soon our plane was off for the hour and a half flight to Munich, Germany where, it turned out, it was somewhat cold (low 60's, but with a chilling wind). When we landed in Munich, we had to take a shuttle bus from the plane to the terminal (a few miles it seemed). And to board our flight to Athens, once again we had to shuttle from the terminal the plane.

The two and a half hour flight to Athens went well. I had the middle seat between Yvette (window) and a young lady from Norway who was headed for a wedding of a friend on some
Greek island. When we arrived in Athens, stuff began to happen.

To begin with, it was a sweltering 90+ degrees outside. Secondly, with all of the turmoil recently in Greece, there was a huge strike of the metro workers and the city bus drivers, which meant there would be no bus service until 5:00 p.m. (it was 3:30 p.m. at the time). However, as the 5:00 p.m. hour arrived, it soon became apparent that the buses were not running every ten minutes, as advertised. In fact, they were hardly running at all and there were mobs (I means mobs) of people standing curb side, upset and eagerly awaiting the next--or any--bus. Finally, we decided to shell out the $50 for a cab.

Our hour cab ride into Athens was an exerience. Stavros, the cab driver, was from the island of Mikenos and was very entertaining. He had opinions about everything in his very broken English. He like Italians, Americans and the Dutch but did not have a high opinion of the French or the English. As it turned out, we think his views were all related to money, apparently to the way they tipped or whatever.

Anyway, eventually, we made it to our hotel, a nice hotel in a great location, right in the center of downtown Athens. We dined at a nice, friendly, outdoor restaurant, with World Cup Soccer (all the rage in Europe) on the TV screen nearby. That was the game where France lost 2-0 to Mexico, certainly not good news for our friends back in France.

More tomorrow on our first full day in Athens, a super experience visiting the spectacular Parthenon which sits amidst the Acropolis atop a rising hilltop in the center of Athens. It is visible throughout much of the city. Tonight (Saturday), we take some sort of boat/ship for an overnight (we have a cabin for sleeping) trip to the Greek island of Rhodes for three days in the village of Lindos.

A bientot for now, from Athens.

Stuff happening ... transitions all about

Bonjour, bonjour,

Lots of stuff happening these days. Transition seems to be the word of the day.

At noon today, our friends Gary and Dianne Gerberich left Aix-en-Provence for Barcelona, the next stop in their four-week European vacation.

Yesterday, our daughter Natasha, along with hubby Lawrence and our precious little Annika (nine and a half months), arrived for a week in Galicia, Spain, not far from the northern border of Spain with Portugal. The purpose of their trip is a political science conference that Lawrence is attending.

Can you believe this: they are apparently staying the week in a castle. Natasha said it was beautiful and that, already, Annika was loving it, whatever that means. I guess it means that Natasha is loving it and that Annika is loving being with mom and dad in this stimulating new environment.

I remember my days in Oporto, Portugal, not far from Galicia, and the beauty and majestic aura of a number of the castles we visited (some forty years ago). As I recall, castles are cool. Imagine, living in a castle! Wow! I'm looking forward to seeing Natasha's pictures in the weeks ahead.

After another three hour conversation-partner session (it was almost totally en Francais) this afternoon--always a growing, albeit tiring experience--we are concluding our plans for our ten-day trip to Greece and Turkey which commences this coming Thursday.

Here's the plan: two nights in Athens, taking in the sights of that historic, ancient metropolis (hoping to stay free of the Greek protests and agitation over their recent economic worries), followed by an overnight boat trip (we have a cabin suite which Natasha enthusiastically recommended) to the Greek island of Rhodes where we will be spending three nights in the beautiful village of Lindos.

I have always wanted to spend a few days on a Greek island where they have those beautiful, white homes perched on sun-baked rocky hillsides, looking out to the irresistable azure, ocean waters. Lindos apparently promises such visages.

Next, we take an hour boat ride to the Turkish port town of Marmaris where we jump in a rental car and find our way (a sixty to ninety minute ride) to the beautiful resort town of Bodrum where we'll be spending two nights.

Soon it will be on to Selcuk for our final two nights in Turkey, before flying out of Izmir (over two million population) on June 27th and back to France. Sometime along the way, we will visit the ancient ruins at Ephesus and hopefully gain a sense of that historic site (where the Apostle Paul spent some three years).

All reports indicate that the temperature will be in the 90's or more our entire visit. We're taking our swimming trunks and are thankful that our lodging promises air-conditioning at all our stops along the way.

We'll soon be blogging from Greece and Turkey. For now, a bientot again from Aix.

Trip to Avignon and the mountain town of Sault

Bonjour mes amis,


On Tuesday, our good friends Gary and Dianne Gerberich arrived from San Diego for a four/five day visit. We've been having some great times.


Gary and I have known each other since grade school back in Aurora, Illinois. Back in the day, we played basketball together on our high school basketball team that went 18-6 my senior year.


We got reconnected years later (in the late 80's in San Diego, CA.) when I was pastoring the Community Church of Poway, United Church of Christ (a suburb of San Diego). Soon, Gary and Dianne became members of the church and a short time later, in 1990, I was honored to officiate at their wedding.


Yesterday (Wednesday), the four of us visited Avignon, the site of the shared Papacy (when, for a period of 60-70 years there were two Papacies) back in the 14th century. Avignon is bursting with history and timeless beauty. We visited the gorgeous jardin des Papes (garden of the Popes) high aloft a quaint and scenic hillside. We peered into the cathedrale ... lunched on the plaza with hundreds of others and, in general, delighted in walking the grounds of this historic site.

Avignon exists inside a walled city. As you might imagine, everything is in close quarters ... very narrow streets, sharply angeled turns ... all very interesting and challenging for motoring tourists.

Later that same day, we ventured up the 40-50 miles or so to the mountain-side town of Sault, a small town with some spectacular views of the rural, farmland valleys below. All the way, we were guided in the Gerberich's rental car by a European GPS system. Except for some of the inevitable changes due to new construction or changes in city planning (i.e., one way streets etc.), the GPS did an outstanding job of guiding us along the way.

Over all, it was a wonderful day of sight seeing (something we haven't done much of thus far in our time here). Today we showed the Gerberichs the sights and smells of the local marche (out door market) and assisted them in buying round trip train tickets to Paris on the TGV, the train de grand vitesse (the train of great velocity). This very fast train is renowned in these parts, making its way to Paris (some four hundred-plus miles) in three hours.

Tomorrow, we are all going to Cassis, the beautiful, seaside town just north of Marseilles where we hope to dine down by the water front, port area, visit the nearby calanques (canyon-like areas with waterways at the bottom where, over centuries and centuries, the waters have worn away the rock), and take in the beautiful sights. If things work out, we may do a little wine-tasting as well.

Can't believe it, but in one week we leave for ten days in Greece and Turkey. When we return on June 27th, Natasha and Annika will be arriving (that same day) for five weeks. Can't wait. Lots to look forward to. Lots to be thankful for.

Be well and a bientot from Aix ...

Managing the local buses and some good tennis at a near by club

Bonjour tout le monde,

We're still adjusting to the local bus service here in Aix which, for the most part, is pretty good. We have bus passes (ten trips per pass, all for 7 euros) which you validate in an easy-to-operate machine when you enter the bus. (By the way, as long as you have your dog/ pet in a bag on your lap, they are allowed. So Niko has been riding the buses with us, to the amusement of many of the French.)

However, this morning we learned a lesson: the bus doesn't necessarily stop at every bus stop. In fact, the bus does NOT stop unless someone has pushed the buzzer letting the driver know they want to get off OR, the driver sees people at the bus stop waving their hand for him/her to stop.

We planned on visiting a local tennis club today on the outskirts of Aix, about 15 minutes from here on bus. No problem. I checked the approprite bus schedule (I knew it was bus #13), found the bus stop on the bus-schedule map (about a 6-7 minute walk from our flat) and we were already go. Given that it is Sunday, the bus for this route runs (only) every hour. So, Yvette, Niko and I are at the bus stop, eagerly awaiting the bus. Right on time, we see the bus approaching about 200 meters away. So, quickly, we're trying to get Niko settled in the bag we use for his bus travels. However, to do this, we were somehow bending down and were apparently out of the sight of the bus driver. Sure enough, bus #13 goes sailing right by us, leaving us more than a little frustrated.

Lesson to be learned: no matter anything, make sure somebody is signaling the bus driver to stop when you want to be picked up. The two buses that had come by before that (as we were waiting) both stopped--apparently for people to be dropped off. We just assumed (wrong) that the buses stopped at all of the pick-up points.

So, not to be denied and not wanting to wait another hour for the next bus, we walked ten minutes or so to the taxi pick-up location and spent our lunch money on a taxi ride to the tennis club. C'est la vie. But also, plus jamais (never again).

Arriving at the tennis club (a nice club with 12 clay courts which we need for our aging joints), we were quite impressed. It turned out that there was an interclub match today, with the top team (men's and women's) from the Aix club putting on quite a show against their club opponent. We also saw enough of the "usual" club members playing to think it would probably be a better playing situation for us than what we've found thus far at the city-sponsored club we've already joined (for a small fee).

This week (Tuesday evening or sometime on Wednesday), our friends, Gary and Dianne Gerberich, will be visiting for a few days--from San Diego. They're on a three or four week European trip and have, fortunately for us, decided to include us (and Aix-en-Provence) in their travels. I've known Gary since our grade school days back in Aurora, Illinois. Later, he and I played together on our high school basketball team that went 18-6. Also, the Gerberichs were members of the UCC church I pastored (for thirteen years) in Poway, CA, just north of San Diego. Should be some good times (we haven't seen them since 2002).

Life goes on ... two conversation sessions demain (tomorrow). Still, a long way to go with the French. Mon probleme principal est que les gens parlent trop vite (my main problem is that the people speak so fast).

A bientot ...

Signs of summer in Aix-en-Provence

Bon apre-midi, mes amis, (good afternoon)

Summer seems to be breaking upon us here in Aix. It actually broke 80 degrees outside today, a beautiful day of sunshine, with a comforting breeze as well.

This week seems to be a week of transition here. Every day, we see students hurrying off to the train station/ bus depot, headed off to somewhere. At the same time, we see what we assume to be summer students (here, no doubt, to study French or for "who knows what" summer course) along with increasing numbers of tourists. Aix, and Provence in general, is a popular destination--not just for the French, but also for much of Europe ... for Australians and also for some of us Americans as well.

Yvette found a toilettage (a pet grooming business) today for Niko. We've never seen his hair this long. Next Monday, we'll take him to the toilettage for four or five hours. I don't know if dogs ever know when they need a haircut ... but, trust me, Niko needs a haircut, particuarly with the warmer summer weather coming on.

We've been enjoying the French Open on television. The women's finals are tomorrow, with the men's coming on Sunday. Speaking of tennis, we're still looking for people to play with. We've been to the city-sponsored club that we joined about three times, talked to the people that oversee the tennis, etc., but still haven't got it figured out. It may not be the right club for us. But we're going to keep trying.

Yvette has what promises to be an interesting "painting" outing tomorrow. Monique, the local painting instructor (warm personality and seems to know everybody in Aix) whom Yvette is taking classes from, has arranged for a television crew to film her class at an outdoor painting class (they call it plein air, as in the open air) at some nearby mountain destination (montagne Sainte Victoire). Apparently, some famous painters--particularly the impressionists (i.e., Paul Cezanne, for whom there is a museum here in Aix)--have painted at this Sainte Victoire sight.

We're continuing to work on the French. We can communicate pretty much whatever we need to. However, we still have a long way to go.

A bientot for now ...

Tennis and a search for an painting instructor for Yvette

Bonjour mes amis,

Now that we've joined a local city-sponsored tennis club, we're trying to find players to play with. We were told by the staff at the club that most of the players play after 5:00 p.m. because they work, all of which makes sense. So, with that in mind, we took the bus (always an adventure) the two miles or so to the club on Monday, around 6:00 p.m. Aside from a couple of guys rallying on one court, there was no one playing. We rallyed for about 45 minutes, to at least get some exercise, and finally hopped the bus back to our flat ... still wondering how we're going to find an "in" to the local tennis scene. We're going to try again on Wednesday and Saturday.

Today, we spent a couple of hours searching out another "hopeful" contact for Yvette to take a painting class. Monique, the French lady (probably about 55 years old or so) we were looking for, has a reputation, locally, as a prominent oil painting instructor. Apparently, Yvette had been in touch with her via email when we were back in Florida. In any event, we tracked Monique down ... about a fifteen minute walk from our flat.

She has her "studio" in a courtyard sort of area (like a backyard in a way) on the lot where she has lived all of her life. The treed, grassy area (about 30 by 40 yards or so) was surrounded by buildings on all sides, pretty much the way the construction is here in Aix ... but it was a very inviting area and bubbling with a five or six of Monique's art students. From what we could tell, it was an international group. For sure, there were two Australians, one Taiwanese and a couple of French students. They all seemed to be busily working on a painting and "very" engaged. Yvette's thinking about perhaps taking a series of six lessons from Monique which are held on Tuesday afternoons, pretty much for the number of hours you desire.

On another tennis note, we're enjoying very much the French Open (one of the four major tennis championships, along with Wimbledon, and the Australian and US Opens). Top seed and world #1 Roger Federer lost today to Robin Soderling, the fifth seed from Sweden, whom he had beaten in last year's final. At the time, that was Federer's first French title and his 14th "major" over all, tying him with Pete Sampras. After later titles at Wimbledon and, earlier this year, in Australia, Federer stands alone at the top of the tennis pantheon of champions with 16 major titles.

Incredibly (to us), French television cuts for commercials at seeminly random times ... at least two different times (earlier in the week), they've cut in the middle of a tie-breaker (the "first to 7 points" game that decides a set which is tied at 6 to 6). This would be unheard of in the US. I'm curious to discover if they do the same with World Cup soccer competitions. I have a little trouble imagining any TV coverage cutting for commercial break during a "shoot out" at the end of a tied game. My guess that there would be rioting in the streets if that were to happen. Once again, c'est la vie.

That's it for now. A bientot from Aix ...