I’m missing my Apollo something fierce. I’m not sure why it’s hitting me today — are we ever sure of such things? Most of these shots are from this year and are taken in the kitchen. For some reason, during his last months, that’s where he hung out.

I really miss you, buddy.

The girls. There’s a version of this on Exposure.

The rest of our Grecian holiday was spent in Athens and Santorini. We went from historic site to major monument, from meal to splendid meal. Greece was hot, but less so than the southern US would have been, and we had some great experiences that we’ll be talking about for years to come.

The day after we visited the Acropolis, we hit up some of the other sites surrounding it – well after we slept in. We needed it, so we got a late start getting to the Athens Archeological Museum. It was huge – overwhelming, really. We spent several hours in there before needing lunch, which we found just around the corner. After, it was a walk, mostly down and through the Plaka – where we picked up a few souvenirs – to Syntagma Square to catch the changing of the guards. While I do recommend seeing it, it was a bit silly, like something out of a Monty Python skit.

From Syntagma, we walked south through Zappion Gardens down to the Temple of Olympian Zeus. While someone on Foursquare says that it will take less than five minutes to see, I spent more time and walked around. While it essentially is just a couple of columns in the middle of a field, I liked the spending a minute to consider what it once was. Be sure you stop by Hadrian’s Gate on the West side of the park, sitting literally on the street. We ended the day by doing our laundry and listening to bad karaoke at the adjoining sports bar.

The next day, we got an earlier start and began our day at Keramikos Cemetery. They had a cool little museum and the site was very tourist-free. Next, we walked back through the Plaka and had lunch before checking out the Roman Agora and trying to find Aristotle’s Lyceum. Todd’s book pointed it out, but it was essentially just a field that seems to be cursorily excavated. Since we were near it, we checked out the Panathinaiko Stadium, but didn’t go in. By that time we were a bit tired and thirsty, so we made our way back to a familiar bar for a pitcher of Mythos. We ended the day by having a walk around the southern part of the Acropolis and checking out a film at on open-air theater just to the west of the Acropolis.

The next day we had to get up early to get to Piereas and catch out boat to Santorini. The Blue Star Ferry on the way out was great, since we had our own cabin. I think we slept though most of the voyage. Santorini was magical – just what everyone says. I’ve never been anywhere like it. The port is at sea level, and the road just criss-crosses up the steep cliff – at least a thousand feet, if not two. Our villa was on the less-crowded east side of the island – in Perissa. Santorini was our time to relax – our vacation from our vacation, so I didn’t the many photos. On our last night, we tried to get to Thira for a sunset, but we had a bus snafu and didn’t make it in time. All of the photos I got from Santorini are from the port minutes before our departure. Even though I didn’t record it on film, we did have a great time on this island. Check out Selene restaurant for a great meal and stunning views.

Check out the Athens gallery and the small Santorini gallery for more.