London, UK

(see on map) - trin: We only had a few days in London which was perfect. We packed a lot in, revisited old hangouts and saw some new sights. We just love London!

Our hotel was just north of Hyde Park. So, we walked in the park everyday. This is the new Princess Diana Memorial Fountain which is very nice.

In front of Tower Bridge on the Thames.

Believe or not I had never been to the Tower of London. This was a bit off considering I studied abroad here and love novels that take place during the Tudors' reign. So, we spent an afternoon touring the Tower.

We ate a Wagamama everyday and ordered the same noodle dish each time. Yummy.

We also visited the London Eye. Another thing we had skipped as students.

Looking across to another car while at the top.

Big Ben and the Parliament Building from the London Eye.

The final tube stop of the day was Glouster Road where we visited Mike's student housing building, Metro Gate. We had planned to visit his favorite pub, Rat and Parrot, but it was no longer there.

The following day we passed by Big Ben up close on our way to Westminster Abbey.

No trip to London would be complete without a little shopping. We hit up Topshop, H&M and Selfridges. After all that, I only bought one thing. The downside of a year abroad, you can only shop for what you can carry on your back.

We also visited my old neighborhood. My building was under construction and surrounded by scaffolding. So, I took Mike to the internet cafe, now coffee shop, where I spent many hours composing loving emails to him in our early days.

Another thing that has changed in London is that you can easily find a seat in the pub. Due to no smoking legislation many patrons now drink their pints out front.

After a Saturday night out, we spent our Sunday afternoon watching the Red Bull Flugtag competition in Hyde Park. It was the perfect way to wrap up the trip.

Athens, Greece

(see on map) mike: Our Athens trip was rushed to say the least. We took a 6:30 am flight back from Santorini, sped in a taxi to the hotel and put down our bags with just enough time to run out and catch a city tour bus.

Our first stop was the changing of the guards. I'm sure there is a lot of tradition, history, and pride in their outfits but I couldn't help laughing on the inside, I mean really, pom poms on the shoes? I'd rather wear the big furry hat in London.

The tour highlight is without a doubt the Parthenon at the hilltop Acropolis site. Built in the 5th century BC, it is hundreds of years older than any of the ancient sites we visited in South America and Europe. These Greeks had their act together.

Acropolis at night, taken from Plaka, the main tourist dining area.

Outside of the Acropolis and our dinner in Psirri, I had a hard time finding things to like about Athens. The city received a huge face lift before the Olympics but we still found it dirty and uninviting. One cheesy thing we like to do to lift our spirits is grab a bite at an American chain. Chili's, Friday's, Applebee's, even McDonald's seem to do the trick and offer at least decent, stomach friendly, comfort food and a chance to regroup.

Santorini, Greece

(see on map) mike: We were very excited for my parent's visit. Not just because it had been a long time since we had seen them but their trip was very much at the mercy of the doctor's medical treatment plans for my dad's colon cancer. It was discovered during a colonoscopy a couple of weeks prior to our departure and he underwent colon resection surgery just days before we left. This was followed by chemotherapy then lung surgery to remove additional tumors. All and all, both my dad and nurse mom are doing amazingly well. We decided that Santorini, a Greek Island in the Aegean Sea, was a perfect place for some well deserved recuperation and quality family time.

Santorini was once a huge island until a volcanic eruption around 1600BC created its present day backwards "C" shape and enormous caldera. Several towns are spread along the top ridge all with white washed stucco houses and blue domed churches spilling down the hillside towards the sea. We rented a house (enticingly referred to as a "villa") in the most northern most town of Oia (pronounced ee-ah).

The distant towns look like fresh snow.

Renting a house instead of two hotel rooms was ideal. The common space facilitated a lot of hanging out, eating home cooked meals, enjoying the caldera views, playing dominos and catching up.

Oia at night.

This island is amazingly photogenic.

Trin sporting Santorini camouflage.

My dad went to work helping a thirsty plant near our place.

The entire island descends on Oia, literally by the bus load, for sunset shots.

The four nights were awesome, though they flew by. Tomorrow we will return to Athens for a rushed city tour.

Peloponnese, Greece

(see on map) - trin: After landing in Athens we went directly to the main bus terminal where we had our first gyro of the trip. From there we took a bus down to Nafplio.

We had planned to stay there for two nights and then tour other cities on the Peloponnese Pennisula. But, two things happened. One, I got an email from my Dad telling us to "slow down." Two, we had an awesome little balcony which we just loved to sit on. So, we ended up staying five nights. This is a long time for us but we needed it. We were worn out.

Breakfast with tour books on our awesome balcony.

Lunching on gyros and Greek Salad.

Sunset shots on our Nafplio pub crawl.

From Nafplio we took a day trip to the ancient site, Epidaurus. Where we visited the acoustic theater which was built in the 4th century B.C.

You really can hear everything from the back row!

We eventually took a bus across the pennisula to Olympia. It was very long and windy ride. Once there we visited the muesum and ancient site. The birth place of the olympic games and the home of the Temple of Zeus.

Mike racing a older woman with purse in hand across the orignal olymipic stadium. He barely beat her and I laughed so hard. I cried.

We also visited the muesum of the Modern Olympic Games (1896 to present). This is an interesting little exhibit. Photos and results from the early games were posted as well as the official torches and mascots from more recent games. GO TEAM USA!

There isn't much to do in the town once you've seen the ruins and muesums. So, we hired a taxi to the beach for the remainder of the day. The next morning we took the bus back to Athens to meet Mike's parents at the airport.

Tirana, Albania

(see on map) trin: One of the interesting things about overland travel is you end up visiting places you never thought of before. Albania was one of the those places for us. To get from Southern Montenegro to Greece we had two options. One, bus through Albania into Northern Greece. Two, bus to the capital, Tirana and then fly to Athens. We opted for the latter and toured the city for a day.

The center of the city, Skanderbeg Square, is surrounded by the National Historical Museum, Et'hem Bey Mosque, the Clock Tower and various government buildings. In the center is a statue of the Albanian hero, Skanderberg. We walked through the square a couple times which was scary as Albanian drivers have little regard for pedestrians.

Commonly referred to as the pyramid, it was formerly the Enver Hoxha Museum (Albania's communist dictator). Later it was transformed into a night club and now it looks abandon.

We thought is was a cool place to take an 80s style photo.

We basically just walked around the city, drank some cappuccinos when it rained and then walked around some more.

Do you think the McDonalds people are ok with this?

Another funny sign. Why would you show the cute lamb? If you zoom in, you can see a little frown on his face.

We did have one of the best meals of the trip at Efendy. If you are ever in Albania, you should eat here. The meals was awesome and it only cost $30US with wine. The chef is from Turkey and he has been traveling through the Balkans for the last fifteen years adding to his recipes. He is also an opera singer.

The following morning we had cappuccinos with the owner of our hostel before he drove us to the airport. His four year old daughter was with us and he introduced her as "Fiona, like Princess Fiona from Shrek." I wished I had a pair of Shrek ears in my bag. I would have given them to her in a second.