Greece

Greece was a brief stop in Athens and then some lovely island hopping, with stops in Paros, Mykonos, Syros, and Santorini. Lots of hiking, eating, stomping ruins on Delos, and some hellish seasickness on the ferry from Santorini back to Athens for me. Eric, as ever, was a jolly sailor. Aaaaarrrr.

The meal above was a happy find when we kept climbing this hill one hot morning, famished, thinking we were out of luck for brekkies, and voila. Oh, and it came with some view.

On Santorini, we hiked from Fira to Oia (at the tip). Then, of course, we had lunch.



Ouzo in the making at Brettos in Athens.

Lausanne Switzerland and the Swiss Alps

Trina joined us for Dippies! at Cafe de L'EvecheRue Louis-Curtat 4Lausanne, Switzerland. I include the address because this is the best fondue in the world: Fondue a la Mode de la Chateau de Gruyere. Repeat that until you've memorized it and then get thee to Lausanne, for the definitive Gruyere cheese piped with whipped creme, which you stir into it for the most velvety, musky, delish fondue ever. Paired with this Valais wine, ooh la la. Seriously, it is thebiggest reason we went back to Lausanne (Lausanne is actually quite lovely with a nice seaside and is a pretty walking town), and Trina traveled from London to meet us there.

Fondue goodness photos courtesy of Trina Roy.

Munich Germany and the Bavarian Alps

Munich was one of the most beautiful cities we've visited, and has been voted the most liveable city in the world by Monocle:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2007/jul/07/saturday.travelwebsites

(Although some Bavarian peeps I've talked to in the US say "meh.')

But seriously, you can't go wrong with amazing Bavarian Alps, the legendary Mad King Ludwig and his castles (which were Disney's inspiration for castles and underground grottos and such), nekkid sunbathing in the park, and beergardens, like the one below. Note the oompah band in the bandstand.

In Which the World's Biggest Kid Finds a Luge in the Bavarian Alps

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

I . . . well, I . . . [hands clasped behind me, stubbing big toe into the ground] . . . I lost another camera. In my purse, along with my Treo 650 PDA/cell phone.

I left my purse (but not my eyeglasses nor wallet, thank goodness) at a bus station in Kamari on the island of Santorini in Greece. We took the bus to Fira, then took a taxi down to the port at Athenios, where we were to catch a ferry for Athens at 5 p.m (then catch a plane to Rome the afternoon of the next day).

At 3:50 p.m., I realized my purse was missing and we ran to the Port Authority police. There, a very dedicated young officer and his friend, through numerous very serious phone calls in Greek, miraculously found out that a couple had gone to the police in Kamari with my purse. These Samaritans then got onto the bus for Fira with the understanding that they would take my purse to the Fira police. The Fira police, once they had the purse, would call the Port Authority, and have it delivered to them. By 4:45 p.m. we had not heard back from the Fira police, and we agreed we had to get on the ferry to Athens. The officer and his friend consulted each other for a few minutes, made more serious phone calls, then said that if they get the purse that night, they could have it delivered to my hotel in Athens by 10 a.m. the next morning. The officer even gave me his personal cell phone number. Fabulous. Except that by the next morning, the Fira police still hadn't heard anything about the purse. So the officer promised if he got it he would have it shipped to our home in California. They were so helpful that I have no doubt that if he gets it he will send it to me. I'm just not holding my breath.

So that's why the following posts, up to Rome (where I am now and have bought yet another camera), contain no pictures from my camera. My angst over the hundreds of pictures from Europe knows no bounds. I couldn't make a turn on a trail in the Swiss Alps without taking another picture, and the pictures of my nephew Antoine are proof positive that he is the most adorable young man (of four years) in Paris. If by any chance the camera gets shipped home, I'll repost with pictures. Until then, you'll have to use your imagination.

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Update!

A lovely couple (he a retired pastor) found my purse at the bus stop in Kamari. They took it to the bus company, thinking I might return for it, but the bus company would not take it. So they took it to Fira, but the bus company there wouldn't take it either and the police department was some distance away. The couple found my mother's contact info (under Mom and Mel) in my PDA address book, and seeing that my mom and stepdad live very close to them in Washington, they took my purse home and contacted Mom. All four had a lovely lunch together yesterday, and my mom now has my purse, which she is shipping to me. Happy ending. Yay for the kindness of strangers. And moms and stepdads.