Our last day in Greece was a good reminder of how when traveling with kids you need to have realistic expectations. But while you can’t do everything, you can still do lots and it’s important to just remember to enjoy what you can do and the chance you have to share these moments with your kids.
So, our last day. We had stayed out the night before way too late and poor Adam was wiped out. We decided to let him sleep in. But we also had an important date with the market and some olive oil, olives and feta to pick up to bring back. So, Randy stayed behind with Adam and I loaded up Malcolm in the carrier and we hopped in a cab. I had to hustle so there was no time to linger and take pictures. But believe me when I tell you that this market is amazing. There’s meat, fish, nuts, cheeses, olive oil and so much more. And when I say cheese I mean freshly made delicious feta in big barrels just waiting to be purchased, the freshest meat and fish, delicious olives. The minute I got out of the cab I knew that this is Randy’s idea of heaven and he was missing it. But that’s the kind of dad he is. And it’s one more reason to come back to Greece. I spent an hour collecting all the goodies we wanted to bring home with us and then raced back in a cab and dropped off all of the stuff. All four of use got right back into another cab to go to the new Acropolis museum.
This was the whole reason we decided to stay in Athens for the night instead of just heading back home. This museum had gotten great reviews and I was excited to take the boys to the Parthenon at the top of the Acropolis and get some pictures of them in front of the Acropolis. We had three hours before we had to head home back and get ready to leave for our long flight back. Just enough time to see the museum and the Acropolis. I thought the museum was up the hill and right next to the Parthenon, but it was actually was down at the bottom. So, we headed to the museum first and told Adam when we were done we would go on up the mountain to see the old ruins.
The museum was as great as they say. It’s built right over ruins and has glass floors everywhere so you can see all the excavations and ruins right underneath.
Adam, what caught your eye at the Acropolis museum? Oh yeah that’s right- the broom the janitor was pushing, the metal detector and the escalator!
I let Randy walk around for a bit, since he had been waiting for a long time to see this museum and cares more about that stuff than me. I amused Adam but asking him to find the horses in all the friezes and kept him away from anything breakable. Thank you ancient Greece for loving horses as much as Adam.
And then things took a turn for the worse for our overtired toddler. We went outside to the cafe to have a snack and take some pictures with the Acropolis behind us and Adam was not being cooperative. He just did not want to sit and have something to eat and kept insisting we head up the mountain. I really, really wanted to listen to Adam and take the boys up to the top of the mountain and see the Parthenon…but i knew if we headed up there in the hot August sun by the time we boarded that first plane in a couple of hours I would regret it. Ok, I didn’t know it but Randy did and he suggested we go sit someplace and eat instead of walking all the way up the mountain.
Adam of course kept insisting we go up the mountain. So we did what any good parents do and lied. We told him this was as close as we could go. You can see from his face that this was not wholly believed. Sorry Adam, I promise the next time we’re in Athens we’ll go up the mountain and take pictures from the top.
We definitely made the right move. Before we knew it we turned those frowns upside down and enjoyed our last few hours in Greece. Traveling with kids is not always easy, but I wouldn’t change one minute of our month in Greece. It is the only time we’ll ever be in Greece with the boys at this age at this stage in their lives and it was worth every tantrum and sleepless night and sore back from lugging too much luggage (right Randy?) to get to experience this month with the boys and see their faces as they experienced so many new things. They are both at an age where they are soaking in so much and changing and growing.
bosas-from-us.com 