Greece revisted

I almost forgot that I took this picture. This was a little lesson in fatherhood for me while we were in Greece.

See this classy lady grinding away on a table at an Irish bar on Santorini? Thanks to some good investigative reporting by the LOML, I found out that she and her younger sister were vacationing by themselves in Greece. NOTE: Her younger sister was just to the left of the picture (she was standing at ground level), making out with some other guy. Apparently, they weren’t happy because their dad wouldn’t let them vacation at Mykonos (it’s known as the party island). Good decision dad!

Although I found this extremely amusing at the time, upon further reflection I’d like to change my feelings please. This makes me not want to have a daughter. And if I have one, it makes me want to lock her in the house… forever.

We love you Greece! Let's have a smoke.

The LOML and I had a blast in Greece. Despite the previously mentioned challenges we had with traveling, we chewed that country up and spit it out. Here's a recap:

Athens - If you go to Greece, you have to hit Athens - at least the first time. After arriving (1 suitcase short), we took a 5 hour nap, ate dinner, and then slept for 14 hours. The next day was spent at the Acropolis and touring the city. It's crazy how densely populated that city is - from a distance it look like the buildings are built on top of each other. It's also crazy how dirty it is - enough to overthrow Cairo as the nastiest city I've ever been.

Mykonos - After a few days, we took a boat to Mykonos, which is known as the party island of Greece. We ended up staying at one of the quieter beaches on the island, which was good for our minds, bodies and livers. This place was beautiful - the hotel and the views around the island. We essentially spent 3 days by the pool/beach reading, eating, sleeping and playing rummy (the LOML was showing no mercy and consistently schooled me). On the last night, we decided to end our stay in paradise with warm olive oil massages at the spa - NICE!

Santorini - Our last stop. The hotel we stayed at wasn't nearly as nice, but the town (Fira) had a lot more going on. We kicked it at Murphy's (Irish bar) one night and threw back many malted beverages and shots. We spent a day on the black sand beaches. And on our final day, we hiked to the top of an active volcano, swam in the hot springs and capped it off by watching the sun set at a restaurant on the edge of the island.

All in all, a hell of trip. Highly recommended.

Hang in there!

Only a few more days till we return. Between napping by the pool (vacationing is hard work) and this view (I'm easily distracted), I haven't put much of a dent in the books I had planned on reading. Oh well, I'll have plenty of time to catch up on the plane...

Off to Greece

I cannot imagine I'll be posting too much for the next two weeks. Gus "r" Us needs you, mru!

Hooray Friday!

- My Morning Jacket released At Dawn & Tennessee Fire Demos Package (Amazon link) earlier this month. It combines the At Dawn and Tennessee Fire demos (amazing how that works, huh?) in one neat little 20 track package. From the track listing, it looks like they threw a few live nuggets in there for good measure as well. You can listen to a few of the tracks courtesy of An Aquarium Drunkard here.

- Pearl Jam played their cover of The Who's "Love Reign O'er Me" for the first time live this week in Copenhagen (and it was their first return since the 2000 Roskilde Festival tragedy). This cover ranks up there as one of my Pearl Jam favorites. I am fuel, you are friends provides the live audio here.

- Mid-year favorite lists are starting to hit blogs. Check out Metro D's and MFKWCRG's. The standards are always going to be there (The National, White Stripes, Arcade Fire), but what I always like about these lists are the gems you can find. The best of's from last year led me to Silversun Pickups, Clipse and The Format - for which my ears are truly grateful. Guess who'll be hitting up the music store this weekend?

- The Weather Channel is forecasting low to mid 90s in Greece all of next week, which is where the LOML and I will be vacationing. I've added extra baby power to my packing list - I'm sweating just thinking about it.