Greece!

Sadly, I have zero pictures to accompany this post. Nada. They were all on my camera that was lost. Annnnnyhoo, I will include the link to the farm that we visited so you can get an idea of the beauty.

Monday 11 May-
We grabbed a very quick bite to eat at the buffet before grabbing our bus number and disembarking the ship. A quick intro to our tour guide, have you seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding? Ok, so our tour guide was eerily similar to the father in that movie, only female! Ginny told us how pretty much every word could trace it's roots back to the Greek language- gymna, gymnas, gymnasium and there you go! Anyway, she was very nice, smoked like a chimney while walking between sites and spoke fluent English, Italian, Greek, and probably another 2 languages. It's just how Europeans do things.
We drove through the a couple of little towns on the the 30 minute drive to the Olympic grounds, and while the little homes were cute and the scenery was nice, there were huge piles of garbage on the sides of the road from all the sanitation workers being on strike after not being paid for 4 months. It was really sad to see. We pulled into an parking lot and walked into the Olympic grounds to begin our tour. Ginny was kind enough to park us under a tree while she told stories of how the ancient Greek Olympics took place- a completely different game than it is now. They were games displaying friendship, goodwill, and a reminder that they were all brothers. We walked around the area, and I truthfully got very little information other then finding where the original olympic torch was lit. We took a walk to the top of where the stadium was, B carrying J and me wearing L in an Ergo carrier, then took a quick look at the Temple of Zeus before hiking back out to the bus. At this point in the tour, I thought the tour was nice but slightly disappointing. However, the tour became a complete success after we arrived at Magna Grecia Estates, a beautiful little farm nestled into the side of the hills outside Olympia. A farm started by a Greek man and his Italian wife over 30 years ago, it's a charming place where the wife and her two sons still run an olive farm, vineyards, and a variety of other fields. From the time we pulled up, we were welcomed with open arms; the youngest son (28 years old) lifted Layla off the bus, we were poured a glass of white wine, and handed snacks. Then, we were quickly led into the dining room where our plaates were already laid out. Fresh olives, bruschetta made with kalamata olives instead of onions on fresh bread, feta cheese, baklava, and, the most spectacular olive oil I've ever tasted. Let me say, I like to dip my bread in olive oil just as much as the next girl in the chain restaurants around the country, but nothing-NOTHING- tastes like good, fresh, real, Greek olive oil. If you have the chance to try some, buy it. Midway through our meal, the staff started performing traditional Greek dances. Before I knew it, Layla had been swept up from the table and was clinging to the neck of one of the waitresses, swinging around the restaurant. She was fairly quickly returned to me, but before I could shout OPA! Joey was in the center of the dancing circle, being held high as everyone danced around him. For a little bit he was ok with it, but then the bottom lip started to quiver and he was back in my arms again. It was such a fun experience, one we won't easily forget. After we finished eating, the owner took Layla to look at the bunnies they have, and then we shopped through all the unique items they offer- besides olive oil, they had jewelery, art work, wine, ouzo, aprons... a variety of little things. We grabbed a last glass of wine, and then sat in the courtyard until it was time to get on the bus. Joey played in the grass, Layla danced around under the olive tree, and we took the most beautiful family photo that I will never see again (sob,sob). It was truly a sad time when we had to load on the bus and go back to the ship. By the time we were back on the ship, it was time for the kids to nap (AMEN), followed by another dinner spent walking Joey around the lounge, and bedtime.