Greece Entries
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Thessaloniki by Night
Friday, March 26th, 2010Tyler spent the entire day staring into his computer screen programming while I ran around town running errands: mailing a package home, picking up yarn for another knitting project, stocking up on f...
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Loose Ends in Thessaloniki
Thursday, March 25th, 2010We're staying in Thessaloniki for a few days to make our final preparations for Eastern Europe. Tara is tying up loose ends, sending out postcards and packages, while I'm trying my best to catch up ...
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Dude, Where's My Car?
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010Today we had to decide between taking a busy highway to Thessaloniki, or winding around convoluted back roads which would triple our time in the saddle. We chose the highway, and when we were about ...
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Boxcar Willie
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010Today's "ride" featured a lot of pushing and plenty of bleak-looking skies. Thankfully, the dark clouds that loomed overhead for the entire day only threatened to rain, and the terrain we practicall...
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On a Roll
Monday, March 22nd, 2010Today was our longest on record, 110 kilometers or about 70 miles. This is double the distance we usually plan to cycle in a day. Thanks to gorgeous sunny skies and a gentle downgrade leading to th...
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Nature Hike to Metéora
Saturday, March 20th, 2010With the intention of visiting a Metéora monastery or two today, we woke up early and packed a backpack with food, water and our guidebook. We set off on foot saying, "I am thankful for good health...
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Flat Roads to Kalampaka
Friday, March 19th, 2010Since we've arrived in Greece, we haven't seen many cyclists. In Athens especially, bikers seem to steer clear of the city, except for a few brave souls who speed around helmet-less amidst the smog ...
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Macro Love
Thursday, March 18th, 2010Flowers make me happy. I don't care if it is cliché, they just do! When we got our first camera I was thrilled when I realized I could finally capture the beauty I see in them. When we get home I...
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That Damned Squeak
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010I love waking up to the sound of the ocean. Even more than that, I love waking up to sunny weather. This morning, I got both. When things go well out here, it really is almost more fun than I can ...
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Snoozin' & Cruisin'
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010We are getting very lax about leaving free camps bright and early. I used to set the alarm for the crack of dawn, wake up the instant the phone started buzzing, and hurredly wake Tyler so we could b...
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Out n' About
Monday, March 15th, 2010Somehow, some way, no matter how ho-hum the scenery or the day, there is always something interesting to see, no matter what. Maybe we are easily fascinated, or maybe we just know how to look, but i...
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24 Hour Rule
Sunday, March 14th, 2010My parents have a rule that says: If you do something routine-altering for a few days, you get a day afterwards to recover and re-adjust to life at home. It's called "The 24-Hour Rule", but the long...
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Maintenance
Saturday, March 13th, 2010Today, I replaced the chains on our bikes. According to bicycling community legend Sheldon Brown, you can gauge their level of wear by using a ruler. You're supposed to measure from the center of o...
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Miwa & Sergei
Friday, March 12th, 2010For the past two weeks we've been waiting for our Russian visas in Athens. Saving us from the great expense of a hotel have been the kind, generous, and funny, Sergei and Miwa. We connected with th...
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Athens General Strike
Thursday, March 11th, 2010I had trouble getting to sleep last night. As rest eluded me, I lay awake for what seemed like hours, staring at the ceiling with anticipation. It was late when I finally drifted off, and quite ear...
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Athens Graffiti & New Camera
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010I was a little overwhelmed by our new camera when we picked it up from Greek customs two days ago. At first glance, it looked like the flight deck of a 767 to me. Even more ridiculous (in the confi...
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Greek Economic Crisis
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010Signs of the economic crisis occurring Greece are easy to find in Athens. We frequently pass police in full riot gear, we've seen several protests during our short time here, and taxes have risen (o...
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Greek Customs
Monday, March 8th, 2010Wow. I really thought Tunisia would win the award for most inefficient postal service on our trip but today, Greece easily stole the crown. Here is what it took to receive our new camera: Ou...
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Museums & Madeleine
Sunday, March 7th, 2010There are numerous free museums in Athens and we've been making a point to visit as many of them as we can. Earlier this week, we visited the Museum of Popular Greek Musical Instruments. The colle...
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Athens Animals
Sunday, March 7th, 2010There are lots of stray cats and dogs running around Athens. Actually, to be more accurate, they are usually loafing around. Here are two such loafers: And then there are other animals... thes...
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Athens Markets
Saturday, March 6th, 2010Apart from buying groceries and cooking, we've spent the majority of the last week cooped up in the apartment staring into our respective computer screens, working away. In a welcome change of pace,...
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Buskers of Athens: Part #2
Friday, March 5th, 2010One of the few things Tara and I really like about big cities are the buskers. We love going out for a walk here, if only in the hopes of stumbling upon a good musician. Athens doesn't disappoint! ...
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Lemon Cake
Thursday, March 4th, 2010Having a real oven has been fantastic and I've been taking advantage of it as much as possible. So far I've made an almond cake, a chicken pot pie, and this lemon loaf. There are several lemon tr...
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Buskers of Athens: Part #1
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010During our walk around Athens yesterday, we ran into lots of buskers. We only got recordings of two of them, but I think we'll capture a few more over the next week. There were numerous accordion...
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Mailing Our Passports
Monday, March 1st, 2010Traveling abroad in the fluid, flexible way that we do often makes for an exhilirating and rewarding lifestyle. We rarely have to be anywhere at a certain time, and we are free to choose our own iti...
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Arriving in Athens
Sunday, February 28th, 2010We arrived bright and early in Piraeus, exited the ship with ease and head out for a morning ride to Athens. Thankfully it was Sunday, and early enough so that traffic hadn't picked up. We rode ...
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Hania Waterfront
Saturday, February 27th, 2010Note: Hania can also be spelled "Chania," (like Hanukkah and Chanukah) because we don't have adequate letters in our Roman alphabet to accurately evoke some Greek sounds. Many towns are spelled nume...
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Short Ride to Chania
Friday, February 26th, 2010It was another bright, clear day on Crete. We awoke sore and tired from yesterday's climbing, glad we had a short day ahead of us. After a grocery/pastry run in a sleepy nearby village, we hit the ...
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Climbing in Crete
Thursday, February 25th, 2010I drift in and out of sleep, in a very cozy morning haze. I think I hear a truck crunching over gravel... probably Pietro off to milk his sheep. Before I drift back into unconsciousness, the though...
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Pushing Through Paradise
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010We were thankful for the shelter of our tiki hut this morning when we discovered it had rained in the night. We really and truly no longer take having a roof over our heads for granted! Since the a...
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Donkey Day
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010Leaving cities is always hard. There is inevitably some navigation difficulty, as well as a handful of surprises like one-way streets, delivery trucks taking entire lanes, people double-parked hapha...
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Cretan Lyra Love
Monday, February 22nd, 2010Here on Crete, lyra music is everywhere and I love it! I haven't been this enamored with a type of music since I was a in middle school and discovered the sounds of Ireland. We danced to Cretan mus...
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25 Years on Earth
Sunday, February 21st, 2010As of this morning, I am 26 years old. I am now officially exiting my 20s. Wow. How did that happen? We spent a relaxing afternoon at the hostel working, reading, talking to family and cooking. ...
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Family Remedy
Saturday, February 20th, 2010Last night I went to bed with a hurty, swollen feeling on the left side of my neck, but I didn't think much of it. When I awoke this morning, I felt wretched. When I tried to talk, it sounded as if...
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Settled in Rethymnon
Friday, February 19th, 2010Our ride yesterday was a quick 20km jaunt into a ferocious headwind. Knowing we only had a short way to go made the wall we were riding into mostly a non-issue. The brief struggle ended, quite plea...
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Meta Morning
Thursday, February 18th, 2010It was very windy as we broke camp this morning in preparation to head to the nearby city of Rethymnon for a few days of rest. While stuffing our tent into its drybag, I spied a ladybug scurrying ac...
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The Little Things
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010In our "normal" lives, both Tyler and I are known for our easy-going demeanor. Our friends have even jokingly referred to us as "zen masters" on more than one occasion. While it is fine and dandy t...
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Coasting in Crete
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010We found a thin layer of ice crystals covering everything outside this morning. Thankfully the sun soon melted away the frost, showering the Lasithi Plateau with glorious, warm light. As we packed,...
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Lasithi Plateau and Dikteon Andron Cave
Monday, February 15th, 2010Last night when I downloaded our GPS tracks I was surprised to find that yesterday was our third biggest climbing day of the trip! The only two rides that topped it were Julierpass in Switzerland an...
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Celebrating Sunday
Sunday, February 14th, 2010I would never have imagined this to be true, but many of our favorite days involve slowly climbing mountains. As long as we bring copious amounts of food, start the day with a positive attitude, and...
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Knossos and the Coast
Saturday, February 13th, 2010Our first stop of the day was the ancient Minoan palace of Knossos, located about 7 kilometers from Iraklion. We got a late start, arriving around 10AM, just in time to meet a group of cycle tourist...
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Heraklion Archeological Museum
Friday, February 12th, 2010Tthough most of the day was spent working on our respective projects, Tyler and I did take a break to visit the Heraklion Archeological Museum. While I was in college I took a class called "Greek My...
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Working in Iraklion
Thursday, February 11th, 2010We spent more or less the entire day behind our computer screens. Though I managed to get quite a bit of work done, even more flooded my inbox during the course of the evening (read: business hours ...
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Clean and Dry
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010We disembarked groggily from our early ferry arrival in Heraklion around 6AM this morning. Thankfully there were no intensive searches as we left-- we just wheeled away into town. It was very refre...
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What Traffic?
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010After one last dirty parade through the lobby of our Corinth hotel, we rode off under grey but mercifully dry skies heading east along the coast. Our destination for the day was Piraeus, the port to...
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Exploring Acrocorinth
Monday, February 8th, 2010Unlike yesterday, when grey clouds and drizzle made us focus solely on giant potholes in the road and the muddy water that filled them, today the sun shone brightly and we were able to appreciate the...
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Wet and Dirty
Sunday, February 7th, 2010"Wet and dirty is my favorite thing, my favorite thing, my favorite thing! Oooooh wet and dirty is my favorite thiiinng... at least I am not cold!" - sung jovially by Tara as we packed up camp this ...
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What Matters
Saturday, February 6th, 2010We awoke excited about our plans for the day. Last night I'd discovered that just ten kilometers away was a town with a rack and pinion railway leading into the mountains. Our guidebook said it was...
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Exploring Again
Friday, February 5th, 2010Panniers full of food from a shopping spree yesterday, we cycled away from Patras under bright blue skies, lazily spinning our legs as we watched the coming and goings of everyday life in Greece. Ab...
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Partying Patras
Thursday, February 4th, 2010The first five minutes of earth-shakingly loud techno music BLASTING into our Patras hotel room at 11:00 AM was kind of fun. (OOH DANCE PARTY!) After the five minute mark the novelty had worn off a...
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It's All Greek to Me
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010Tara is unofficially our designated communicator when it comes to foreign languages. That isn't to say that I don't speak; in fact, I try really hard! I'm not shy about using the phrases I know, bu...
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Καλημέρα!
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010After a relatively decent sleep on the thinly carpeted floor of our ferry's reception lounge, I woke up in the early morning hours to the blaring of Greek TV. I needed to stretch my legs so I took a...
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Ciao Bella!
Monday, February 1st, 2010Though the day dawned brilliantly, the sun wasn't providing much in the way of warmth. Amidst millions of shimmering dewdrops in our churchyard free-camp, we groggily blew into our chilly hands and ...