Sunday morning we started early so that we could attend a biking tour of London. I like biking tours because it is not only easier to bike then to walk, but you get to see many more interesting things in a shorter period of time! We saw the Changing of the Guard, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, and Big Ben, to name a few.  After the wonderful tour had ended, we took the tube home where we started packing for Greece.

The next day, we boarded the plane for Athens. After checking into our hotel, we went for a walk around the area where we were staying, and found a Marks and Spencers just like England! We woke up the next morning early and went on a free walking tour around Athens. On the tour I learned about the different columns that the Greeks used to build their structures, the most popular style is the Corinthian column, where there are lots of curly ques and waves at the very top of the column. The simplest is the Doric column, this style is a series of square plates that start small and grow to a large square. The rarest type of column is the Ionic style column, which consists of two swirls on either side of a triangle. My personal favourite style is the Ionic column, because it combines simplicity with complexity!

On our 2nd full day in Athens, we went for a food walking tour of the city. On the tour we tasted Koulouri (what locals have for breakfast), halva (a sweet Turkish desert adopted by the Greeks), and many smaller tastings of Greek olives, Feta cheese, and assorted meats. I really enjoyed learning the back stories behind some of the foods, and about the controversial authenticity of certain “Greek” foods. For example, did you know that Baclava, regarded as a Greek dessert, is actually Turkish, adopted by the Greeks during the time the Turks ruled here!

We (my family and I) have found that we really do love Greece, and I am looking forward to tomorrow, as we fly to Milos, the first of five Greek island stops. Milos is a beautiful paradise that has many costal rock formations sand caves. I am most looking forward to swimming in the crystal clear warm water!