Greece Part II

From Santorini we flew to Athens.  It was madness!  Remember... I didn't have the hotel information, but I did remember the name.  How bad could it be?  We showed-up in Athens unknown to us right at the beginning of the riots, rented a car and headed into the heart of the city to find the perfect hotel at the base of the Acropolis.  3 hours later (after much excitement) Karen took this picture.

Needless to say, Athens was not my favorite part of Greece.  We got lost getting into and out of the city, but relief was to come...

A few hours North we happened upon this great pizza joint that was as excited as I was to let me walk into their kitchen and pour my own beers.

We spent much of the trip lost, but "the Journey is the Greatest part", right?  This journey was more special than most!

The first glimpses of Meteora are pretty profound.  This is way North in Greece with a major Slavic culture shift from the islands.

This hotel, again, was wonderful!

Kind of a bed-n-breakfeast atmosphere.  The owner sat down with us and encouraged drinking of multiple bottles of their wine and an awful candied watermelon treat.  Karen couldn't eat it, so whenever the owner would turn-around she'd throw it in the bushes which seemed to work until the bees showed-up!  At one point Karen left our room door unlocked and Grandma freaked-out... Karen came to me (enjoying the wine) with concern, so I went to talk to Grandma (not in English).  She just kept making these spitting gestures in disgust of the door being left unlocked, we both laughed (Grandma and I) and she gave me more wine... guess you had to be there.

Meteora is surrounded by amazing Monasteries that you can spend days touring and feeling very close to God.

That's a Greek cat.

We hiked from our hotel to a cliff overlooking the city.  On the way we found pomegranites.  I'm not sure where you're from, but a wild pomegranite is a big-deal to us.

Not sure what these are, but I'm guessing they're not edible.

Wonderful photo and memories.  As you can imagine... self portraits like this require a whole-lot of finger crossing and sprinting!

We found a secret church in the cliffs above Meteora.  This is the kind of place that proves your faith.

A Greek tradition is to bless jewerly and give it away.  We found necklaces and bracelets for each of the kids and prayed over them in our secret church.

That is what I look like when I'm satisfied.  A few days in Greece with the women you love is all it takes to solve the worlds problems.

 

Cheers,

Josh

Me again (Karen):

1. Josh had free reign with the text on this one. (I'm not home to proof it, so I've just got my fingers crossed.)

2. This trip was all the way back in September 2010 (and I'm just getting around to blogging it now) when I was teaching (photography) in Greece.

3. The next photography class that I'm teaching abroad is this coming October in Ireland with Scrapmap and Ali Edwards (and there are still a few spots open if you want to come - just click here for more details.)

Comments

[Peggy]

Great photos - thanks for sharing. I wish I had found the cash to go on the Mykonos trip, it just looks amazing and I really regret not going.

[stephanie]

These are beautiful! Thanks for sharing them - I'd love to view Greece with my husband some day.

[stephanie ackerman]

another great commentary, amazing photos and a Greek Cat!

[Cindy Welch]

LOVE.....

[janel]

Magnificent...I hope you make a coffee table book of this....a tribute to your love and talent. We are going to be in a few of the same places that you are ....just a week ahead.....I will certainly be thinking about you.

[Kathy]

Great to hear from you Josh and good to see you remembered your wonderful trip. I was in Athens for a day onto Santorini about 10 years ago and they were rioting then too and they stood in front of the ferries and we missed out on 2 of our 3 days in Santorini.... Love all the photos and ones where you both are in them. While I've got you I would love for you to bring Karen and the kids to Brisbane, Australia because we would love to meet you and then Karen can do a special course for us here. I'm just saying.... She has lots of fans here! Take care Kathy A, Brisbane, Australia xxxx

[Krys72599]

My husband hates being in photos. I would LOVE to take pictures of us like the two of you did - some "planned" self-portraits that look like candids... The only one he'll let me get away with is one of those snapshots at the end of my arm, and even then he's not thrilled by it.
I don't have a great camera, 9 times out of 10 it's my phone or a point-and-shoot, so while I know the quality won't compare, I want some photos of the two of us together!
Josh, did you have to get used to being in photos? You look so comfortable doing it... Any hints to help me convince my husband a photo won't steal his soul?!?!

[Shelby A.]

I really love that you took so many pictures together on this trip. Vacation photos are so much better with people in them, and yours are amazing! Can you tell me which lens you used for these?

[borcherding]

I absolutely LOVE everything about this post! My favorite part was the story about the jewelry and secret church. AWESOME!! And the pictures? Well, they are just WOW as always!! :)

[Abby Ronnebeck]

What Beautiful Photos!!!
You've graced my desktop all week!

[Karen Aldrin]

WOW, your most amazing photos too date. I have pinned both of the Greece blogs for when I get to visit the Country. Inspiring, thanks x

[Martha]

These Greece pictures make me even more excited to be in your class in a few weeks. I can't wait to take such magical pictures. Also I need to get a remote timer pronto!
Martha

[♥Debbie]

Wow, what spectacular photos! Enjoyed reading about your adventure, finding the secret church, exploring off the beaten path. This post was definitely worth waiting for! Looking forward to more! :)

[martha hernandez]

karen, great pictures again! love the stories you guys are sharing. i so want to go to greece now.
karen, what lens are you using for all of these pictures? did you use several or one basic one?

[Lrodgers2009]

What beautiful pictures - thank you for sharing them on your blog. Karen you continue to inspire/encourage us (prior students) with your photography! And how cool to have Josh narrate the trip - well done!

[Kelli]

It looks so lovely and relaxing there!

[Stephanie @ La Dolce Vita]

sigh - you are making me so "homesick" for greece! These are lovely. You captured the feel of the countryside so well. And those monasteries are amazing. My dad stayed at one a few days and has some amazing photos. I SO need to go back. Great getting josh's perspective on things. These were great posts!!

[Comfypjs]

Hahaha! The last line where Josh says, "That is what I look like when I'm satisfied. A few days in Greece with the women you love is all it takes to solve the worlds problems" cracks me up! Were there other 'women' there or just you Karen? Typo, I'm sure but funny none the less!

[Comfypjs]

Oh, I forgot to mention the photos are absolutely gorgeous!

[magasin new era]

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[Authentic Jordan Shoes]

Ooooh I love the boat shots...such great light! And my favorite is the one of Coley on the boat with his shades, and Courtney in the background. That one is special.

[Rhonda]

These are awesome pictures! Thanks for sharing! It makes me want to sneak off to Greece with my honey!!

[lunettes de soleil femme dior]

El artículo vale la pena leer, ¡Muchas gracias! Voy a seguir sus nuevos artículos.

[Sara Mangan]

These pictures are amazing, Karen. Now I just need to convince the hubby that we need to go to Greece!

[Jo-Anne]

Great follow up to part 1 maintaining the stunning wit, amazing commentary and absolutely fabulous photographs. Favourites are the one of the bell, the car captured in the road mirror, your reflection in the Meteora world heritage site sign and all of you two together! The one of Josh behind the wheel of the car is priceless! When I read you picked up a car at the airport and drove into the city I thought you were crazy! Took my other half a week in Athens to get up enough nerve to drive out of the city and even then he almost ran down a traffic policeman (following the traffic light instead, as you do) and driving down a very narrow one way street and discovering the side mirrors of our car were spring loaded as they hit all the parked cars down either side of the street. We also adored Meteora and visited a couple of the monasteries and the nunnery. Such an amazing place. Didn't discover that 'secret' church - but maybe that's why its secret!

[Pam]

Omgosh! I am in awe at these photos, I think I find a favorite and then scroll down and find another one I am jaw dropping over! Amazing! I have to say that while I never miss a blog post of Karen's (and I've been reading since Annie was a wee little baby) I think Josh should get more guest posts because it's been fun reading from his perspective! You two have to be the most fun couple I've never met!

[suew]

love all these photos and so wish I could do the trip to Ireland!!!

[Jacki]

Wow. These are breathtaking. I thought you said you weren't a landscape photographer- these are some of the best landscapes I've ever seen. I love the foreground elements, framing, compositions, and they all ooze with creativity. They are gorgeous!

[Faithchops]

"A few days in Greece with the women you love is all it takes to solve the worlds problems." There's one little letter in that sentence that changes everything. ;)

[new era baratas]

Articolo spettacolare, ha quasi tutto quello che ho bisogno di trovare. Grazie per aver messo lo sforzo e il tempo per scriverlo. Vi prego di continuare distacco. La prossima volta cose ancora più eccitante.

[Melinda~]

How did I miss this post?? I seriously do not have words to accurately describe how beautiful these photos are! Im just blown away. Karen A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.!!! Oh and the self portraits...you are just genius girl.

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[Rachel C.]

I love that Josh is writing these posts. I'm glad you guys had such a great trip together.

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