Our Big Trip started with an early morning wake up. In order to catch our early flight to Newark, NJ, we needed to wake up at 3:30 am. Nik and I hardly got any rest because we were still packing the night before and didn't finish until about midnight. Although we were exhausted, the kids did remarkably well and Kai and Sora both acted as if waking up at four in the morning was completely normal. In fact, Kai was laughing as he walked out of his room. David graciously gave us a ride to the airport and once we were on the plane, Kai amused himself by spotting all the various vehicles on the tarmac. Once we took off, Kai passed out in Nik's arms and Sora passed out in my arms.
"Little Blue Truck right there!"
My little sleeping beauty
The trip from Newark to Harsha's apartment in NYC required an airport tram, train and taxi. Kai thoroughly enjoyed all the modes of transport.
The first of many taxi rides...
In NYC, Ali had arranged a Mom's Night Out for the girls, so while the girls caught up and had dinner at a romantic Italian restaurant, the Usual Suspects managed the kids at Harsha's apartment.
The next day we celebrated Jeff and Greg's birthdays with Chinese takeout, cupcakes and a room full of balloons. I have to say, an empty room with about 30 regular ole' balloons is an exceptional way to entertain a bunch of kids cheaply and easily. Kai and all of the kids loved the cupcakes.
We didn't have much time for sightseeing in NYC, though Kai and I saw the Roosevelt Island Tram while walking down 1st Avenue and Kai enjoyed watching the horse drawn carriages at Central Park.
Hanging out the with Usual Suspects, we spent a lot of time in the parks and playgrounds.. I suppose it's that season of life for everyone.
"Kai-Kai help."
The first leg of our flight to Athens was a red-eye from Newark to London. We were amazed that they actually served food on this flight (one of the perks of flying internationally) and the kids did remarkably well. The kids loved the in-flight entertainment, though they eventually passed out.
TV zombie
Wha-? Ice cream dessert?!
Waiting for our transfer at Heathrow, Kai was impressed by the 6 foot tall bear that you could purchase (your's for the bargain price of £1,652.19) and we enjoyed the airport's great facilities for kids.
Soft play area for kids.. Kai and Sora loved it!
From the Athens airport, we had to take a train into the city and by the time we got into the city, it was already evening. Initially, we ran into some trouble trying to find our Airbnb rental and we ended up asking one of the nearby shopkeepers if we could borrow their phone to get in touch with our host. Fortunately, it wasn't a problem and we finally checked in, unloaded our bags and got some dinner.
The first of many delicious Greek meals
The next day, we went on a free walking tour of Athens. Our tour guide, Bill, was very kind and accommodating; since they took us on a less strenuous route because of the kids, we ended up having a private tour.
Hadrian's Arch
Breakfast at the Temple of Olympian Zeus
Panathenaic Stadium, the site of the first modern Olympics in 1896.
Like many other European cities, Athens has a changing of the guards ceremony. And like all tourists, we took pictures with the guards. In front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, we saw the changing of the guards ceremony, although Kai was mostly interested in the pigeons.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
"I coming, pigeon!"
Greece is primarily Greek Orthodox and we passed by the Mitropoli, the largest church in Athens, although there wasn't much to see since the cathedral is currently undergoing renovations.
Church of St. Eleftherios or "Little Mitropoli"
Modern Athens is built on top of the remnants of the old city and at various parts of the city, you can see places where ancient parts of the city are visible below. Walking through the city was tiring with the kids and by the end of the tour, the kids were passed out.
Tower of the Winds.. not much to see because of conservation efforts
The aftermath
We refreshed ourselves with a lunch of gyros, Greek salad and frappes. Kai and Sora eventually woke up and we got gelato for dessert.
After lunch, we headed to the Acropolis Museum, which is built on top of a large excavation site. One of the neat things about the museum is that in certain parts of the museum, the floor is made of glass so you can see the excavation below you; it could be a little scary at times, but it was really cool! It was definitely hard to really look at any of the exhibits in depth with the kids in tow, but the museum was impressive, nonetheless.
With the Caryatids from the Erechtheion
Impressive changing room facilities at the museum
Photo comedy doesn't stop just because we have kids. :)
The Parthenon Gallery
After the museum, much to Kai's delight, took the Happy Train tour up to the Acropolis. It takes you on a tour through the city, but it was hard to understand the driver's accented English through the PA. It then takes you up to the Acropolis as close as you can get before you need to get out and walk.
We arrived at the Acropolis a little before sunset, which proved to be a good decision since it was less crowded than usual. Kai walked the entire way on his own, and he busied himself collecting rocks and pointing out stray cats. But by the end of our visit, he was exhausted and cranky.
The Odeon of Herodes Atticus
On the steps of the Propylaea
The Parthenon
These are exact replicas of the originals in the museum
"Rocks!"
Meltdown by the end of the day
As the sun set, we walked down from the Acropolis and got dinner at one of the touristy restaurants near the Acropolis Museum, perhaps presumptuously named Gods Restaurant (but hey, the food wasn't bad :P)
We just got back from our Big Trip today. David picked us up from SFO this afternoon and we're pretty exhausted. Even so, we managed to go to small group tonight and at least join everyone for dinner, although we needed to cut out before the study began since we're all tired and jet lagged. I'll write more about the Big Trip later, but for now, I actually need to write a catch up post on a couple of things which happened before we had left.
After church retreat, my parents and Matthew visited for the first time since we had moved into Rock Canyon. Matthew showed off his play dough Thomas building skills.
We also had our small group friends over for an impromptu gathering. It was a bit chaotic with all of the kids running around and Kai was feeling a bit territorial with his toys at first (he was hoarding all of his matchbox cars in his wagon), but a good time was had by all.
Five toddlers on the stairs.. what's the worst that could happen?
All in all, the kids are enjoying the new house.. a few more random pics to post and I'm calling it a night.
And a video of Kai singing the "ABC Song".. he's so cute! :)
