My Greek Trip Part Deux

Santorini

Well, I had hoped to have some ongoing blog posts during my Greek trip BUT my power cord fried 3 days after I got to Greece and I was regulated to quick e-mail and Facebook updates at hotel computers and internet cafes.  Anyhow…thought I would do a quick wrap up of the highlights:

Old Town on Corfu

* The Greek Islands were fantastic.  We spent 3 nights on the Island of Corfu and then one night on Santorini. In its history Corfu has been ruled by the Greeks, the Turks, the Romans, the French, and the British…and it shows.  Beautiful architecture from all of the above have made their mark making it a very cosmopolitan place.  Santorini is almost so beautiful it is beyond words.  Our tour guide informed us that Angelina Jolie has just bought a place there…and you can understand why.

Palm Sunday devotion

The cliff top Monastery

* We got to spend Palm Sunday visiting the the cliff top monasteries of Kalambaka.  Huge rock outcroppings jut straight out of the earth in the most peculiar way and of course, the monks thought it would be a good idea to put monasteries up there.  I can just see the builders back then going, “You want to build a monastery up THERE??”
But I got to lead a devotional for the students we brought on the trip on a balcony overlooking a steep cliff.  I explained the importance and meaning of Palm Sunday and the reason for Christ’s entry into Jerusalem that Passover week.

* Because it was Holy Week and Greek society is highly observant of Easter, every night when I retired to my hotel room there would be another classic Christian themed Easter movie.  I fell asleep most nights to the cool sounds of Jesus of Nazareth ( Michael York’s portrayal of John the Baptist is my all time favorite), The 10 Commandments, and Ben-Hur.

* Again…the FOOD…the FOOD…the FOOD!!!  I really put on 2 Kilos  this trip (which my wife immediately noticed when I arrived home).  The trip we go on eschews cheap cafeteria or fast food.  Every one of 3 meals a day were full of olives, cheese, bread, and meat.  Yep, Tammy has me on protein shakes now.

Our hotel on Santorini!

Anyhow, I feel incredibly blessed to be part of this trip.  Of course after being responsible for 27 students 24/7 for 2 weeks straight I think I need a vacation 🙂