Day 1

Today is the day...we all (well, almost all) gathered at Athens Gate, the amazing hotel we are staying at in Athens. Most of the group traveled together from Mpls today, while others met us from other parts of Europe and still others joined us as the evening progressed. We had a few passport glitches (and are still waiting in hopeful anticipation...especially her mother who with sadly came on without her...for Bridgette to make it with new passport in hand from Chicago), some delays and such ...but all in all the group survived the trip and seemed to have a fun time getting to know each other better. From the airport we traveled in a luxury bus which seemed wider than the streets we drove on, down into Athens major, enjoying the countryside, covered in hills (not something runners always love seeing) and speckled with what appeared to be olive trees. As we came closer to the city we began to see houses and the streets became busier (and tighter!). We arrived at the hotel around 4pm (8am Mpls time) and a few of us gathered for a 30 minute run. It felt good to get a feel for the climate, but the uphill both ways aspect of the short run was a bit intimidating :) The group gathered at the Rooftop Restaurant (on the roof of our hotel) and enjoyed a simple meal of delicious Greek food, including sweets, local beer and of course ouzo, the local liquor that everyone is talking about! We socialized and enjoyed the view as dusk feel and the lights turned on at the Acropolis, lighting up the Parthenon which is 15 minute walk from us and the Temple of Zeus that is literally across the street from our front door! It is amazing to be settled into this town, surrounded by structures that were built over 2000 years ago! After dinner, some went to bed, some hung out chatting at the bar and one large group of Bolder American Tourists set out to find a local place to sit, enjoy the company and have a few drinks. After wondering around this busy, lit up city for about 30 minutes, we found a nice small place to gather and toast to our trip!