Greece w/ Mom (Corinth, Athens, Kos)

Mom and I had a great time in Greece!  We both flew into Athens, and met at the airport in a flurry of excited cries, hugs and kisses.  I hadn't seen her since I left home in January, ten months ago, and she came to travel with me on her Thanksgiving Break.  


While waiting for her flight to arrive, I looked in my Europe Lonely Planet Guide (purchased for $5 from another traveler in Italy) and found a hotel in Athens we could stay at. Using the Guide, I felt like I was cheating, by not directly trusting God for a place to stay. But I figured it would be OK, and my Mom would appreciate the plans. One hotel boasted of a nice rooftop patio with a great view of the Parthenon and complimentary breakfast, so I called and made a reservation.  


After Mom arrived, we picked up her luggage and headed across the skyway to the train/metro and bought two tickets to downtown Athens. The last time Mom saw me, I wasn't so travel savvy and I had fun demonstrating my newly acquired skills. On the train, we chatted about flights, mom's last week of school, and my time in Italy. We laughed like old friends, and I remembered how much I like having someone around who really knows me.

We got off of the train and walked up the stairs to the exit.  My mom had extra luggage with her, because she brought some "additional supplies" for me at my request.  New clothes and some candy!  We came out into a big square with trees and a fountain, and asked directions to the street we needed.  A few people tried to help us out.  We walked past the buildings and restaurants and headed up a side street.  We walked past a local Greek restaurant, and I said, "We should eat here tonight, to celebrate our first night in Greece together."  We kept walking, looking for our hotel.  

After some backtracking and turning more corners, we found the sign and walked in the old front doors into a small lobby with stairs that led up to a desk.  There was an older man sitting there, and I introduced myself, saying I had called for a reservation earlier that evening.  He gave us two keys and told us we were up on the 2nd floor.  We rode an old elevator up and walked out onto a narrow floor.  We found our room, nothing extravagant, plain walls, two twin beds, and a small bathroom.  But just having my mom there with me made it a palace.

We put our suitcases down, and my mom showed me all that she had brought for me.  It was like Christmas.  I had traveled with the same clothes for the past eleven months; the same khaki zip-off safari pants, capri black quick-dry pants, three shirts - pink shortsleeve, red longsleeve; and a few things I had traded or picked up or given away along the way.  

When I saw three pairs of pants - a pair of jeans, blue corduroy, and a brown khaki, I was so excited.  Yes, they were mine, they were not new, but it felt like new to me!  My mom had brought a change of season clothes, it was now fall time in Europe and I wouldn't be home until Christmas, so I would need some warmer things.  She brought 

I tried everything on and modeled it for my mom.  It was like a shopping spree.

We got ready, I wore my new cute outfit, and we walked back to that small family restaurant we saw.  It was so so so fun to be with my mom in Greece.  We looked over the menu - lamb, shiskibobs, Greek salad (olives, fetta cheese), and plain yogurt with honey for dessert.  We had a great meal.  And the owner and his twin brother were so kind and pleased that we were visiting their restaurant.

The next morning, mom and I went up to the rooftop for breakfast.