We have now been in Italy for a couple days and will write about our adventures here in our next update. When we returned home from our trip to Egypt I barely made it into the house before experiencing the gift that keeps on giving. We thought we had been fairly careful about what we ate, but if you are doing world travel you will eventually pick up a bug from somewhere. Could be ice, salad or just someone who handled you hamburger without washing hands. We have come to accept that this happens and take it in stride. This though was the worst I have ever had and after 8 days and 5 lbs weight loss (not a bad thing) finally made a trip to the pharmacy (luckily did not need to get a prescription). Two days later I was fine. Leiann got a little bit of it but nothing like me. My symptoms slowed us down for a few days. We had our friend Kris coming to visit us. She had booked an 8 day sight seeing trip, so we went and visited a few places she would see on her tour. We went to the Acropolis museum the most modern museum in Athens and home to many of the priceless statuary from the Parthenon and other sites from around Athens. Many of these had been recovered after having been thrown off the edge of the summit by invading army's, the Persians Venetians and Turks to name a few. It is unbelievable that any of these survived at all. Some are missing limbs or faces, some have been restored or partially restored. At the top of the Parthenon, at the ends, sitting on the massive beams under the edge of the roof, sat statues larger then life of the heroes of Greece, Zeus, Athena and Poseidon being the most important Gods. A couple still sit in their original position, some were stolen by the Brits and one was dropped when they tried to steal it, breaking it into many pieces. (this was the 10 tall statue of Poseidon of which a few pieces have been recovered). On the outward face of the upper beams of the temple square marble plates measuring 3×5 ft displayed all the mythological stories of Greece and her many battles. These were done is what is called strong relief, such that they looked more like statures stuck onto the plates, making a 3-D mural. There was probably a hundred of these, again some original with broken pieces some restored and some just missing. All of the statues and the Parthenon were carved from solid marble. The quality such that wrinkles could be seen on the skin of the figures! Athens has a good subway (Metro) system and we got really good at using it to zoom around town and out to the coast. We had our landlords and one of their friends over for dinner and served them stir-fry, which it appeared was their first exposure to it. It is always nice to meet the people who live in the places we visit and learn a little of the local knowledge and customs. The Greek people are fiercely proud of their country and of their history. They will proudly tell you the world started in Greece! When our friend Kris showed up, as we expected she was worn out and was ready to relax a bit. So the day she came we just did a little shopping, (her and Leiann) sat at a couple out door cafes and watched the world go by and talked about the sights of Greece. She really had been enjoying her visit but these tours tend to try and pack too much into a day so by the end of it you need a vacation to unwind from your vacation. We love to entertain when we get the chance and really enjoyed catching up with one of our very best of friends. After she left we stared planning for our next leg to Italy. We had already booked the apartment a month before, so we just needed to nail down our getting to the airport in Athens and getting to our new place in Rome. This done we took a few more leisurely walks through the “Plaka” (old area of Athens). We ate in a few more open air cafes taking in the view of the Acropolis, knowing we would most likely never see it again. Sad but grateful to have had the opportunity to see this ancient part of the world we now turn back to the west to move forward again in time, to the world of Romans and begin looking forward to our return home after our nine month tour of Europe. Stay tuned for more Chrysalis Adventures as we explore Italy.