I know it's been a while since my last post - I have been very busy! To get the last few weeks to you in time, I am going to keep it short and sweet. But, don't worry, there will still be lots of pictures. :) We will start off with Saturday, May 18.
I mentioned a surprise in the last post, so here it is (for those of you who did not see it on Facebook of course) ... Megan and Jonathan got engaged in Switzerland! We went on a lovely walk through the vineyards along Lake Geneva. When Jonathan found the perfect location, he got down on one knee and of course my sister Megan said yes.
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| The family, strolling through the vineyards, before the proposal |
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| Mom did a good job of hiding from afar to take this picture after the proposal |
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| Typical Michael |
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| Jonathan was a bit more relaxed after the proposal |
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| That's me, congratulating Megan afterwards :) |
We had a celebratory family dinner Saturday night and spent the next couple of days doing fun things in Switzerland.
Scott and I visited the capital city, Bern, and had a great day together. Bern is a cute medieval city, with its famous clock tower dating back to the 13th century.
On Tuesday, Michael, Megan, Scott, Jonathan and I boarded a plane for Athens, Greece. We spent just one night and one day there, before splitting up to visit islands of Greece. To make the most of our time, we took a walking tour of the ancient city, the Acropolis, and the surrounding ruins.
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| Roman columns atop an entrance to see the Temple of Zeus |
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| Part of what remains of the Temple of Zeus |
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| Changing of the guards at the parliament building |
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This McDonald's is bulletproof (yes, bulletproof!) because it is a symbol of Capitalism
and is often targeted during riots in Athens |
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| In Athens, stray dogs are owned by the city, so they are free to roam (and sleep in the middle of the street) |
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| The Temple of Hephaestus, the most well-preserved Greek temple |
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| The Acropolis, from afar |
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| Scott and me, with the Acropolis in the background |
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| An ampitheatre (if I remember correctly) If anyone knows its name, please tell me! |
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| The Temple of Nike |
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| Me, inside the Acropolis with the entrance to the city behind me |
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| The Erechtheum at the Acropolis |
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| The whole group at the back of the Parthenon (the front was under construction) |
After one day of sightseeing in Athens, Michael, Scott and I flew to Santorini, Greece and enjoyed the rest of the week there. I was excited to celebrate my birthday in Santorini, since I've seen nothing but gorgeous pictures of that place. And it was really nice! Unfortunately, there were heavy winds there for two of the days, and we were unable to enjoy our cliff-side pool for some of the time we were there. We had plenty else to do though! One day we hiked up the volcano. Another day we went to Kamari Beach, a warm black pebble beach with clear blue-green water. We also went to Oia for my birthday dinner and did a wine tour of the island. All in all, we had a wonderful trip and made lots of memories!
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| Enjoying drinks by the pool on the night of our arrival in Santorini |
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| Michael, with the view of Fira in the background |
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| View of the volcano and the Aegean Sea from our hotel |
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| Me, on the boat trip to the volcano |
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| Scott, hiking up to the volcano |
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| Michael and I at the top of the volcano |
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| The famous blue domes of Oia |
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| Another blue dome in Oia |
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| My shirt matches the blue domes :) |
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| Oia is famous for its sunsets |
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| Lovely sunset from our restaurant to celebrate my birthday |
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| Beautiful night in Oia with the moon reflecting off the Aegean Sea |
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| Wine tasting in the barrel room of a Santorini winery |
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| The tour guide explained all the different grapes to us (Santorini is home to the oldest grapes in the world) |
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| Scott photobombed a picture of Michael (it was the theme of the trip) |
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| Yummy gyros (with fries, haha!) |
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| Michael, enjoying the view of the Caldera |
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| Scott, Michael and me in a modern vineyard after the wine tour |
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| Me, with the town of Fira and the Aegean Sea in the background |
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| Michael and me, enjoying the pool |
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| Scott and Michael, catching some rays |
On Saturday, we flew back to Switzerland and relaxed until Scott had to leave on Monday, May 27 (Memorial Day in the USA). I was so glad he was able to visit for two weeks, we had such a great time traveling all together!
Stay tuned for the trip to Spain and Portugal!
