The Gods Must Be Crazy: 2

Now it is time for Part 2 of the Athens, Greece posting. The Athenian Agora!! (the site of the original bumping and happening part of town for the ancient Athenians).

First up - the dogs. I thought Greece was known for having a lot of cats running all over the place (which they do), but I wasn't prepared for the plethora of dogs all over the place! They are smart too. I had one follow me across the street. He waited till I started crossing then he knew it was safe (aka he wouldn't get hit by a car) and followed me. It was kinda funny. But anyway, they sleep all over the place. How many can you spot in this photo?


The most important street in ancient Athens was most probably the Panathenaic Way. It was the route the citizens took in the celebration up to the Acropolis to honor Athena every 4 years.


Statue of a bull - one of the gravestone markers.


Statue outside what they think was a gymnasium. The first motivational poster!! (j/k)


This is the Temple of Hephaistos.
Once known as the Theseum (temple of Theseus) - now generally agreed to be the Hephaisteion (temple of Hephaistos), where Hephaistos, god of the forge and Athena, goddess of arts and crafts were worshipped together. It was built between 460 and 420 BC (delays because of building programme on the Acropolis, and the Peloponnesian War) of Pentelic marble, and is the best-preserved Greek temple. The sculptural decoration showed labours of Heracles, labours of Theseus, and battle of Lapiths and Centaurs, and inside were statues of Athena and Hephaistos.


Theseus, as you may or may not know, was the one to defeat the Minotaur. He was supposed to change the flag on his ship from black to white on his return home if he was successful. He forgot, and his father Aegeus saw the ship returning with the black flag flown. He got so upset, thinking his son was dead, and threw himself into the sea. That is why it is known as The Aegean Sea today.

See, I really was there!! Although it looks a little more like Miami Beach than Greece with the palm trees! haha
This was taken in the Kerameikos.


And you can't leave before paying your respects to the dead.

The Gods Must Be Crazy

Much overdue, I am now doing Part One of my Athens, Greece post. I am pretty interested in Greek myth and architecture, so there will be some fun and interesting facts to go along with the pictures :) Enjoy!

First off, my view from the plane. It was raining when I landed, so my first glance downward was that of... Clouds!

Ah, beautiful... the color of the water is breathtaking!


So I land and get my luggage and make my way to the Metro. My hostel is right near the Acropolis, so I ride the Metro to the Acropolis stop. When I surface, it is raining and I have to maneuver my rolling luggage on the "sidewalk" dodging holes and trees and oranges. Yes, oranges. The streets are lined with orange trees, and there are fallen fruits all over the place. Some cars are even dented by them! I find my way to the hostel and finally get all checked in. I then find out that everyone is going to a near by bar to hang out. It being a Saturday night, I join them. I met some girls that were on spring break from SDSU (small world) and a guy from Canada. (whom I release my charm on and he bought me all my drinks for the evening, hehe)

The next day, a Sunday, and all the attractions and museums in Athens are FREE!! Being the student that I am, I can't wait to take advantage of this great deal. But there are just a few problems. 1) It's raining out. 2) I left my umbrella in the office in Prague. So I put on my jacket with a hood and figure that it can't be raining THAT badly and that I'll be ok. WRONG! I get to the top of the Acropolis and I am soaked to the bone. Seriously. And it's raining so I can't get any good pictures because I have water spots on my camera lens. NO! So I go back to the hostel and peel off my clothes and lay them on the heater to dry. I guess I'll have to try again in the morning.

The next morning is beautiful - and I am off to the Acropolis again!


I had to pay this time, but whatever. Twelve euros for 5 archaeological sites. Not too bad. Plus, now I have a cool looking receipt that I can cherish forever.

The Acropolis!! (acropolis means upper city)



The entrance to the Acropolis, the Propylaea. Built in 432 BC. (And all the other people that got soaked the day before):




This structure is the Erecthion. It marks the spot where Poseidon and Athena had their contest over who would be the Patron of the city of Attica. Each god would offer something to the city, and then the citizens would choose which god gave the better gift. Poseidon thrust his trident into the rock and a spring burst fourth. Athena touched the ground with a spear and an olive tree grew. The citizens chose Athena - where does the best olive oil come from??

These figures are called "caryatids" - maidens that are holding up the structure.


The Parthenon!
Built in the 5th century BC - the Parthenon is probably the most recognizable structure in the world next to the golden arches of McDonalds. (darn you Ronald!) It was built to give thanks to and honor Athena - the Patron Goddess of the city.


This is the Theater of Herod Atticus. It was built by the Romans in 161 AD, and it is still used today.


And this is the ancient Theater of Dionysus. The first stone theater and home to Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides and Aristophanes.



The city of Athens - view from the Acropolis...


So ends part One - stay tuned for the Ancient Agora!!

Everyone Loves..

Puppies!!! Yes, it's true. You can't help but to raise your voice 10 octaves and talk in "baby talk" when you see a cute little puppy. So this post is dedicated to my sister's new bundle of joy. She (along with her 2 new roommates) just got a puppy this past Monday. So needless to say I have been over there visiting and getting in as much puppy time as I can before I move to Minneapolis. (sorry Dixie, you're cute too!!)

But there is just one little problem, they don't have a name for her yet!! Maybe after you look at these adorable pictures you will think of the perfect name for her. Let us know!! Just a little guideline for you though, I don't think they want to name her a "people name".

Enjoy, and get your high pitched voices ready to say "Awwww" :)

Back in Cali

I'm Back!!! That's right, I am now back in San Diego. I will be here for a couple weeks - then I move to Minneapolis in April for my next internship and "agency experience" for school.

I am looking forward to just relaxing for a bit and not having to lug my luggage around for a couple weeks! I arrived late Thursday night and my sister picked me up from the airport. I stayed with her that night and the next day (St. Patty's Day) we surprised my parents. They didn't know I was back home yet.

First up was my dad. My sister went home and took the dog for a walk, then I came back with her. We wanted to fake steal his truck, but he was outside so that wasn't going to work. Also, we may have given him a heart attack, and that wouldn't have been good.

Then it was time to surprise my mom. I hid under the covers on her bed so when she came home from work she would see my sister's car in the driveway and think I was her. Then when she said "Christy, what are you doing?", my sister would say "What?" and walk out of her bathroom. At which point my mom would be confused, and I would throw the covers off and yell "Happy Birthday mom!!". She was so shocked! It was great. She couldn't believe that we pulled it off. We can keep a good secret :)

So we went out to The Red Lobster (mom's favorite place) for dinner. I got the coconut shrimp, yummy. Then we came home and had a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. My sister and I got her a massage for her birthday. She got one on her cruise and loved it, so we thought she deserved another one.

Now I am trying to get my bearing back on what day/time it is. I gained a day flying back here from Europe. For me right now it is about 6:30pm, and in Cali the actual time is 10:30am. Hopefully in the next couple days I'll be back to the norm.

Here are some pictures from the weekend in the Czech Mountains. I tried the giant inner-tube, the snow mobile, and even made my very own snow angel!!

Last Week in Praha

It is here - my last week in Praha. I am trying to get all my ads executed and hopefully in to the school on time to be entered into the competition (darn One Show, you haunt us all!).

There is still snow on the ground, and I am looking forward to the almost 60 degree weather of Greece in a few days. Never thought I would say that 60 was warm!

My next location will be Minneapolis, MN. I will be "interning" at Carmichael Lynch there and taking two classes at the Miami Ad School location there. After that (if all goes as planned) I will be in San Fran to finish my book and *gulp* get a job!

It's hard to believe that I have been in Europe since October of last year. It has all gone by so fast!

I will try and post some pictures of this past weekend (we went to the Czech mountains with the agency and had good times. I even made my first snow angel and rode down the snowy hills on a giant inner tube!)

That's the update for now, more to come soon.

Hi Mom - I'll see you soon!

Why "French Kiss"?

I found this online and thought it was funny.
Do people actually think their "souls intertwine"??

What's the origin of the term "French kiss"?

A French kiss may feel like a sexy maneuver (especially to hormonal teens), but it's not very romantic to watch. Ever witness a couple playing tonsil hockey in public? Unless someone's going off to war the next morning, there's really no excuse.

So how did this slobbery smooch get its name? As far as we can tell, it stems from the stereotype that the French are a morally casual people. Wordorigins.org, which specializes in these sorts of questions, says the term dates from at least the 1920s but doesn't know exactly who coined the phrase. The site goes on to draw parallels to other adult-only phrases like "pardon my French" and "French postcards." Ooh la la!

IdiomSite.com says a lot of the same things (i.e., the phrase comes from uptight prudes who believed the French were promiscuous). Several sites and dictionaries mention "soul kiss" as a synonym. Apparently the act of sticking your tongue into the mouth of another person is so intense, your souls intertwine. Hmm, we must be doing it wrong.