The Parthenon, Cyclades, and Commies Commies Commies!

Communists?  In Crete?  Well, it is Labor Day, but I guess I was still a bit surprised.

Yes, we're in Crete now, after a bit of island hopping.  I've just uploaded some pictures of Greece, which include shots of Athens and the Cycladic islands of Paros and Santorini.

Being in Athens, we just had to go around and see a bunch of the old ruins, including the Acropolis, the Ancient Agora, and the Temple of Olympian Zeus.  I was surprised at how much restoration work was being done.  They remove entire freizes to museums, and build replicas on the original site!  Truly bizarre.

From Athens, we took a ferry to Paros, a sleepy island with a camp site right across the street from the beach.  We're definitely in the off season (Patty bravely swam the frigid waters.  Well, briefly, anyway).  However, this means we almost had the place to ourselves.  The weather was very pleasant, and accommodations were cheap.  We shared the campsite with a 70-year old Scottish drunkard, whose wife teaches at an international school in Switzerland.  He spends a few months a year sleeping in a tent, drinking ouzo and cheap wine, and soaking up the sun.

If we weren't on a schedule to get to a wedding in Crete, we'd have spent a little more time there, exploring the island.  As it was, we spent only one night before heading to Santorini, a stunning volcanic island with a giant caldera and cliff side towns consisting of closely clustered, whitewashed buildings.

Our first evening in Santorini was Patty's birthday, so we splurged on a nice dinner at a cliff side restaurant in the village of Ia with a perfect view of the sunset.

We did a fair amount of hiking around Santorini, taking in the unusual vineyards, with grape vines growing in a spiral shape to resist the wind.  Also, we spent a few hours sunbathing on the red sand beach, with sand made from the surrounding red volcanic rock.

Next step, a cushy 250-euro-a-night resort for Christina and Leo's wedding.  This should be quite a contrast from our other accommodations to date!