We arrived in Athens early Sunday morning and were greeted by Kevin at the airport for the ride home.
The basic reason for our visit here was not to do more touring but, rather, to visit with our old friends. Kevin and Valerie had lived in DC in the early 1990s, while we were all getting started in our careers and married lives. We sort of grew up together as couples. We knew each other before we had kids and we had big dreams and ambitions.
Somehow, the big dreams and ambitions worked out. By the mid-90s Kevin and Valerie had moved to Germany to purse their dream of a life in Europe. Morgane came into the world just a bit after that. Killian, a few years later. Meanwhile, Jen and I remained in DC pursuing our dream of repairing the world. For Jen, this means repairing it person-by-person. For me, it means repairing government. Sam came into the world about a year after Morgane. Ella followed about a year or so after Killian. And so, we all had these babies that needed attention.
The Copps and Shermans stayed in contact over the years but didnt' see much of each other. But the bond had been established and the fates were sealed.
In 2009, the Copps moved to Athens. So, sensing an opportunity because we were already going to be in Israel -- not terribly far from Greece -- we created the Athens excursion.
The priority, therefore, has been on reconnecting with our friends and we've accomplished that goal in a big way. We've done a fair amount of just hanging out over the past couple of days, eating, drinking, laughing, remembering. Letting the kids get to know each other better. On Sunday, we chilled at the Copp villa in Kifissia, partaking of the pool and Valerie's exquisite eggplant parmesan and stuffed tomatoes.
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| The Copp villa rises above Kifissia... |
Remember: It's Greece so almost every place has an interesting history. Kifissia dates back to ancient times, along with the ancient municipality of Epicephesia. It was the home of the famous dramatist Menander (circa 342-291 BC).[3] Kifissia had become a famous retreat of philosophers during the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian, when the wealthy Herodes Atticus of Marathon, Greece built the Villa Kifissia.
On Monday, we ventured to the beach at Marathon. Marathon (Demotic Greek: Μαραθώνας, Marathónas; Attic/ Katharevousa: Μαραθών, Marathṓn) is an ancient Greek city-state, a contemporary town in Greece, the site of the battle of Marathon in 490 BC, in which the heavily outnumbered Athenian army defeated the Persians. It's also a place known for sponsoring running races of long distances. To wit: The Marathon Marathon :o)
Frankly, we were just there to sunbathe and eat, which we did in quantity. The Shermans learned that beaches in Greece come with seaside tavernas serving all kinds of great fare and encouraging sloth. I should also add that this venture required driving through the hills of the coast and that Mark was, therefore, assigned the task of driving the manual transmission VW Polo while Kevin drove the automatic transmission Company Car. Now, Mark hasn't driven a manual in, oh, about 17 years, so this was an adventure, especially for Jennifer. But, after a few stalls, failures to release the parking break, and the loss of a hubcap it all went swimmingly.
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| "Dude, where's my hubcap?" (Fahrfegnugen!) |
(About that hubcap: Kevin has many talents, among which is a photgraphic memory. While cavorting at the beach, he related that he'd seen the hubcap fly off at a particular spot on the road (the Shermans were oblivious to the episode, preoccupied as we were with operating the manual transmission) and that he would retrieve it on the way back home. Indeed, following our surf time, about two-thirds of the way back to the compound, Kevin pulled the Company Car to the side of the road, turned on hazard lights, waited for traffic to pass, hopped out of Company Car, scurried to the opposite side of the narrow road, and retrieved the VW hubcap. The hubcap, none too pleased about having missed the ride to the beach, ask Kevin "Vhat took you zo long?" Meanwhile, the Shermans were awed, entertained, and thankful.)
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| Athena at Poseidon's temple, Cape Sounion |
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| Copp and Sherman Units descend the promontory to the deep blue sea. |
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| Beware: Seaside tavernas encourage the Mediterranean diet! |
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| Ella and Killian think that life really sucks in Athens. |
On Tuesday, we explored Cape Sounion,a promontory located 43 miles southeast of Athens, at the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula in Greece, on the Aegean. It is the site of ruins of an ancient temple of Poseidon, the god of the sea. After oohing and aahing at the pretty spectacular and simple ruin, the family Copp led the family Sherman down the steep and stony seaside cliff onto the rocks and a into the extraordinarily clear and indigo Aegean waters. Swimming with Poseidon's spirit is pretty cool! Then, more great food at a(nother) seaside taverna down the road and, on the way back to Athens, a stop at the Glyfada beach for a sunset swim, libation, and backgammon lesson.
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| 'Gammon Master Morgane (aka "The Goddaughter") teaches the neophytes |
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| The beach at Glyfada: Enough said. |
These languid, sun washed Athens summer days....
