As days go by

okay, so i am doing my best to play catch up. Here are some BRIEF highlights of the last two days. Part one: Athens (the Agora and Acropolis)


This is just a cool random building we saw on our way through town.

The Agora was like the town center/marketplace in ancient Athens and there are many, many cool things about it, but the best picture i took the whole morning was just this little old yellow Greek flower. PS- at the Agora we went up to Mars Hill where Paul stood and preached to the crowd regarding their wickedness and corruption.

Ah, the big daddy- the Parthenon. The inside of the collums actually was filled with gravel and a lead center and that is why it is still so intact today. Well, that and the fact that for whatever reason, the Ottomans didn't tear it down.

These are two of the guys in our group just admiring the beautiful city view from the top of the Acropolis- they weren't even talking, just sitting and awing. (and then i took their picture)

Okay so Wednesday was the windy-est day ever- and it was definitely complicated by the fact we were at two of the highest places in the city. When we got to lunch in the afternoon I caught a glimpse of my poor windblown self in the WC mirror and it was frightening!

Part Two: Corinth (Canal, and Ancient Ruins)

This is the canal of Corinth that connects the Agean sea to the Adriatic Sea so that ships may shortcut the Peloponesian Penninsula. This shot is looking towards the Adriatic sea and the whole thing is sooooo deep and amazing!

This is a great (and of course ancient) mosaic floor depicting Dionysis- the god of wine. This example highlights the artisans extremely high skill level because he managed to make the god look drunk (as you would expect him to be) but also after viewing the mosaic for a few minutes, you feel dizzy when you look at the ground. Genius!

Two words: Toe-tal Validation! I happen to notice that all of the statues in the museum at ancient Corinth (at least those which still had their feet) had toes like mine! Yes!!!!

After touring Corinth (also amazing) we went to a shop where they make certified replicas of museum pottery artifacts (since you can't take home the real ones!) They are all hand made and painted by a man who is the 5th generation of his family to run the shop. This is a handmade replica of a cup from 1500 BC found it Crete. It was one of my favorites, but alas it was 60 Euros (too much!)

One of the funniest and cutest things about Greece is that there are animals EVERYWHERE. Seriously- in all the shops, in all the archaeological sites, hanging around the restaraunts, sleeping on the sidewalks and sometimes in the street! This is just a fun picture of one of the very cute cats at the restaraunt where we ate lunch today. Tomorrow we are off to Vergina to see Philip's tomb and then onto Thessaloniki!

sleep on it...

yeah, so here i am in Greece and i think my jetlag is definitely getting the better of me. It is 3AM here and i am fo sho' not sleepy at all. darn. So, rather than just lay there in bed, i decided to be constructive and post a few pics i have taken so far. tomorrow will be a big day for sightseeing, so you can look forward to the requisite number of pictures of old things. but for now... some fun... and maybe some sleep.

there are all these small brown birds that seem to live in the international terminal at JFK. they fly all around and eat crumbs and are actually quite entertaining. the strange thing is that noone makes any sign that they see them or are aware of them. everyone just ignores them like they aren't there. except me. i take pictures of them.

when we arrived in athens and boarded our tour bus it defintely reminded me of another tour bus in my past... : ) however, our bus is very big and new and tall. i get to sit in the front and looking out the front is very fun because you are so high up. the drive into town was mostly non-picturesque but i liked the look of this truck.

and this contruction company sign is really cool looking!


ah, the international language: starbucks. we did not go in. we just took pictures like goofs. however, i might go back tomorrow to see what things they sell- just out of curiosity...

this is my lovely bedroom. i was very pleased to get in it and take a shower. too bad i always forget that overseas the hotels don't give you washcloths... that's my only complaint. oh yes, that and completely pointless movies on TV (they are the only things in english).

and this is the nice view out on my balcony. i went out there to investigate when i woke up at midnight and was bored. oh! i just found some more channels on and CNN and BBC world are covering the state of the union address, sooooo at least i can watch that and keep up.

: ) kalinikta! (that means goodnight, but who knows how to spell it!)

they call me Cuban Pete...

...I'm the king of the rumba beat!
Sooooo, on Friday I went to the FMEA (FL music educators association) conference in Tampa to meet and re-meet some people for work. I had a lovely time reconnecting with friends and professors from music school. After the always entertaining FSU Alumni reception, we went to Columbia in Ybor City. Now, for those of you who are unaware, Ybor (pronoucned EE-boar) is a cool old area of Tampa made famous by a Cuban cigar plant that brought in commerce and development. Now it is an area of restaraunts, nightclubs, and artsy people and is quite fun. The Columbia restaurant opened in 1905 and has great Cuban food and fun flamenco dancers! It's no NYC, but for my little corner of the world, this is Culture!



These dancers were very difficult to photograph! It was a great, entertaining show, but I guess photographic-suitability was low on the priority list. Check out the two-faced lady on the far right!


Castanets are soo cool! Sorry for the blurryness on her skirt. A bald guy had his head in the way and I had to make him disappear!

I love this picture! It's so very flamenco! Especially the kind of bizarre don Quixote painting in the background (wait, bizarre don Quixote... is that an oxy moron?)

why are the pictures always taken AFTER you stuff your face? Anyways, everyone looks lovely. Go noles! (oh yes, and PS- wooden spoons are highly reflective and must be removed so as not to blind casual passers-by.)

Hooray for music teachers! I had a really good time catching up and hearing all their great tales out of school. And in case you were wondering, it was found that teachers' conversations are not all that dissimilar to those of their pupils. (we talked about unflattering haircuts and myspace.) Haha!!

it's not unusual...

(...to be loved by anyone... do do-do-do-do doooo) everytime i think of that song i picture carlton dancing on fresh prince. well, anyway- these pictures are a little mismatched, but for my life that's not so unusual! Enjoy!

yeah, so over the holidays (i think this day was Dec 30th) Lindsey (Muscroft) Vandalee (yeah, i don't know if i spelled that right... sorry guys!) and her new hubby Don came down to La Florida for some fun and sun. This coincided with my wicked sinus infection/bizarre sickness, but fortunately I made it over to see them for a little bit. This picture was taken shortly after Lindsey beat me in pool (but it was sooooo close, i tell you!) Please don't mention the fact that she lives in michigan and still makes me look so pasty. anyways, good times.


this is my much beloved turtle, JP. His official name is John Paul Michaelangelo Dellagato. But actually i think he is a she. oh well. he/she's cool with it.

JP is a red-eared slider (of the chinatown sliders) who i adopted from my friends will and christian. He's probably twice as big as when i got him almost a year ago (about 3 inches long) and i've read they can live for more than 50 years and grow to be as big as a dinner plate! whoa!

and this.... THIS is Lucy. Lucy is my roommate Casie's dog of whom I am sometimes guardian. She is a boxer and is super funny. She likes to crawl around under my bed even though its only 6 or so inches off the floor! I still don't know how she fits under there but its always pretty funny to see her head poking out. Okay, well more pictures to come, I'm sure!

what are you doing new years eve?

Well, I'm glad you asked! My roommate Casie and I went to a couple parties in lovely Lakeland. The first one was a cocktail party at Jack and Rachel Plating's totally cool house. I'm all dressed up and ready, so let's go!

Karis and Rachel (the hostess) looking glamarous.

Steven, Heather and Me swanking it up. We are so snazzy!

Jack (the host) sported his new year's hat. And from the look of this photo, you'd better not hate on it.

Movin on out to the backyard to check out the sweet projection system the was set up on the side of the house next door. We watched part of the New Year's Rockin' Eve and that's KT Tunstall singing, you guessed it, the "whoo-hoo" song.

We were lucky to catch a few early fireworks through the trees from the backyard! How pretty!

Then we moved it on over to 2442 to toast in the new year with Holland (King of the bad champagne) -okay, so only one of the bottles was gross. Unfortunately, in this picture Holland is not yet aware he is holding a sample from the bad bottle. Oh yes, and kudos to Allie for the jerry curl he's sporting.

2007 plus 2 minutes: the mighty six (five of them anyway) posed it up before retiring for the evening (ha, yeah sure...)

Robbie, (King) Holland, Allie, and Andrew- so far enjoying themselves in 2007 (well, maybe Holland's enjoying it a little too much)

So, it was a great night out for the Joyiner Roomies. (Yes, for anyone who hasn't heard, my roomate's last name is Joyner!) We had a fun, friend-filled, and festive 2007 Eve!

Happy 2007!!!