A Bee-autiful Christmas Tree

Just in case any of you questioned my dedication to Weddingbee, Mr. Star and I made our annual trip to Macy's to add to our christmas tree ornament collection (hey, these things take work when you want to put up your own tree right after moving out of a dorm room!) and this is one of the things we left with:

Fellow Weddingbee addicts: feel free to go get one at your local Macy's now, so I don't feel like the only weirdo :)

Do you ever look at something bee-themed and immediately think, "Weddingbee!" or is it just me?

“Αστέρι” is Greek for Star : Theatre Kids, Unleashed

I saved this post for last because, well, we're the Stars. Honestly, the main reason why we picked Greece as our honeymoon destination is because it is, quite literally, the birthplace of theatre. And we are still theatre kids at heart, even though we're old married theatre kids now ;)

Sure, the food was incredible, the sunsets were to-die-for, and we saw some really amazing ancient sites, but what we were really most excited about was definitely seeing the place where it all began -- showbiz, that is.

Mr. Star insisted on taking about a million pictures of me in front of the Roman Odeion in Athens. I still can't believe that they have performances here in the summertime and we weren't able to see any. How cool would that have been??

This much less well-preserved theater in Athens, The Theater of Dionysus, is the one with much more significance, though. This was the theater where The Greats (you know, Sophocles, Euripides, all those old dead guys) had their works performed for the first time during the heyday of Ancient Athens, the fifth century B.C. It was so powerful for us to be standing in the very spot where the very idea of theatre was created and refined.

I sat for a long time and just imagined what it must have been like to be sitting in those seats over two thousand years ago. Mr. Star played paparazzi.

On our third night in Athens we had our greatest luck and accidentally stumbled on one of the coolest things we could have. On the way back to the subway station in Monastiraki Square, we saw a huge crowd gathered around these four men who were yelling and jumping around. We got closer and realized that it was some really incredible street theatre! What luck for us! We sat down on the edges of the semi-circle and watched them perform for quite some time, even though we had absolutely no idea what they were saying. It wasn't really necessary because there was a lot of physical comedy and masks and...umm...oversized penis humor. There you go with those Greeks and their humor again ;)

Untitled from Kate O'Phalen on Vimeo.

I even managed to sneak a video of it for a minute or two. Sorry that it's sideways, that's my computer illiteracy jumping out to bite you all. But it's worth checking out for at least a second, because these guys were very talented!

Another shot of the theater at Epidaurus. I know I already showed you one, but it really was so astounding that it's worth showing you another picture. And look at that blue sky -- I swear the sky is more blue in Greece!

Of course I had to give 'em some razzle-dazzle! I mean, we are New Yorkers and all...

Singing at Epidaurus from Kate O'Phalen on Vimeo.

Everyone was taking a turn onstage testing out the incredible acoustics. I decided to sing a few lines of Etta James...that's classy, right?

Mr. Star took his turn and he said, "I love you, Kate!!" It was so sweet and REALLY loud. Everyone turned to look at me and thought we were so cute.

We saw some drama masks in the National Archaelogical Museum in Athens and immediately thought of our wedding favors, of course!

Well, my dear friends, that brings us to the official end of the Star honeymoon recaps. I hope that we've inspired some of you to go adventure in Greece, or at least inspired a few of you to go find a Greek restaurant in your neighborhood that serves saganaki!

This picture pretty much sums up how we felt to be leaving Greece:

...But we were excited to be heading home to our little puppy family and to our much-loved apartment in New York. I also couldn't wait to be able to call Momma Star! And I was definitely looking forward to "seeing" the Hive again ;)

Next up, The Weekend Begins. I can't wait to start sharing our wedding with you.

Just to wrap it up, the Star honeymoon recaps are:

Ancient Sites, of Course!

The Colors

Yummy Food!

Getting Around

The Expected Sights

The Unexpected Sights

The Big, Fat Greek Wedding!

The Animals

Sunrise, Sunset

Theatre Kids, Unleashed

“Αστέρι” is Greek for Star : Sunrise, Sunset

Perhaps the most fabulous memories of our "stellar" vacation in Greece are the glorious sunsets. They are so gorgeous that it's worth planning your afternoon around just to catch them from the perfect spot. We did a lot of that in Greece -- just relaxing and waiting for the sunset:

I was all for taking it slow on our honeymoon and we were rewarded for our waiting and optimal sunset-viewing location jockeying for sure. Check out these pictures and tell me if you agree.

This sunset we caught from the balcony of our hotel room outside of Athens. This was the first night we were in Greece, and from then on, we knew we were in for some fabulous sunsets.

Here we are again, just waiting for the sunset in Fira on Santorini. Please excuse my hair, I did a lot of hiding from the sun under that scarf. Doesn't Mr. Star look cute, though? :)

The sun started to descend the the water sparkled like something out of The Little Mermaid. Don't pretend you don't all know which scene I'm talking about...that purple dress Ariel wears is swoon-worthy and that water sparkles just like this!

Several nights, we just grabbed souvlaki pitas and sat on these benches in Fira by the cliffs to catch the views. At the time when Mr. Star was taking this picture I was all like, "Dude, put down the camera and just come enjoy yourself!" In retrospect, I'm glad he snapped this shot because it's one of my faves.

We watched the cruise ships with day-trippers sail away into the sunset. Are you ready for the real sunset porn (here's to you, Mrs. Mouse!) ?

If it's at all possible, I would HIGHLY recommend trying to schedule your ferry trip either to or from Santorini so that you are onboard during sunset. We had the most unbelieveable views of the sunset on our way back to Athens. First, everything was bathed in a golden light.

Then the sun dipped behind the island of Ios as we sailed by and it looked truly biblical to me.

The sun got a little lower and it was the most vivid red setting sun that I've ever seen.

And then the sun finally set and the sky was awash in gentle pastels. Ah, I get emotional just thinking about how beautiful it was. And very romantic, hint hint ;)

The sunsets truly are more beautiful in Greece than just about anywhere else I've been. I was sad to see our last and the only thing that made it okay was that I knew we would be coming home to an amazing sunset view of our own:

Very different, indeed, but every bit as beautiful to me!

Stay tuned for the next -- and final -- installment of the Stars in Greece!

If you're following along, the Star honeymoon recaps are:

Ancient Sites, of Course!

The Colors

Yummy Food!

Getting Around

The Expected Sights

The Unexpected Sights

The Big, Fat Greek Wedding!

The Animals

“Αστέρι” is Greek for Star : The Animals

It's no secret that Mr. Star and I are huge animal people. I mean, we had one of our dogs serve as our ringbearer and I run my own small dog boarding business. So wherever we are, we are on a constant lookout for cute animals -- we just can't help ourselves.

What we weren't expecting (more with the unexpected-ness in our travels!), was the vastly different attitude there is towards animals in Greece. Whereas here in the U.S. we make attempts to capture and domesticate stray animals (or at the very least maintain feral cat colonies), in Greece it is considered perfectly normal and acceptable for stray cats and dogs to roam the streets and countryside as they see fit. As it turns out, these animals are cared for by the locals and seem to be well-fed and happy. We didn't think they were suffering in any way, but of course wanted to take them all home and give them love! We decided that if we moved to Greece, between the two of us and what animal suckers we are, we'd have to have a whole farm full of adopted semi-stray animals :)

There were large stray dogs everywhere. EVERYWHERE! This was just ouside of the entrance to the Acropolis. They looked happy, though! Just look at that guy.

We felt even more badly for the donkeys on Santorini. They carry people up those 500+ stairs between the old port and Fira all day long. I would have loved to ride one, but felt too bad about making one carry my butt up the mountainside!

A stray dog and her puppy in Vourvoulos (where we stayed) on Santorini. We tried to give them crackers from our hotel room and they didn't want them, so they weren't hungry by any means! But when I say there are stray dogs everywhere, I mean it...

I fell in love with this teeny tiny kitten that lived at our hotel on Santorini. One morning she even came into our hotel room and fell asleep on our couch. Until the hotel manager came looking for her and scolded her for being so forward, haha.

This kitty just came right up to us at dinner our last night on Santorini. Even after two weeks, we still couldn't get over how many animals were just chillaxing everywhere!

This was probably my favorite animal sighting of the whole trip. We were driving to Epidaurus to see the theater and got stuck behind an old truck full of chickens. We just turned to each other and were like, "I guess we're really not in New York anymore!" It was very funny.

We were also surprised that we hardly saw any wildlife the whole time we were there (besides cats and dogs, of course!), because we spent a lot of time in rural areas and driving through the countryside and never saw so much as a deer or a raccoon or anything! Do they have those in Greece? I don't know, but we sure didn't see anything!

Do you get excited by the animals you run across in your travels?

If you're following along, the Star honeymoon recaps are:

Ancient Sites, of Course!

The Colors

Yummy Food!

Getting Around

The Expected Sights

The Unexpected Sights

The Big, Fat Greek Wedding!

“Αστέρι” is Greek for Star : The Big, Fat Greek Wedding!

Of course, when you're as obsessed with weddings as I am, even though you're on vacation (and already married!), you can't stop thinking about weddings.

The Greeks love their weddings every bit as much as we do, if not more. While we were on Santorini, we saw THREE separate weddings! I love how they do weddings there, with the whole island getting involved practically. They drive a parade of cars carrying the bridal party and family members through the streets of the villages, honking and making a huge, celebratory ruckus. Then they end the night with a good round of fireworks. I love how they make everyone on the island know that someone is marrying the love of their life that night.

I happened to snap a few pictures of one of the weddings that we stumbled upon, because their receiving line was so long that it ran into the public square in Oia and we happened to accidentally walk right through it practically. They had at least 300 guests, the whole village was overtaken!

This was unfortunately the best picture I could snap of the bride without being too creepy and stalkerish. She had one heck of a statement dress! And sooo sparkly! Most importantly, she looked very, very happy.

Gratuitous detail shot! I loved the huge candle lanterns she had lining the public square and walkway up to the church. And what gorgeous flowers!

This was the stunning church they got married in. And a storm was rolling in, so the sky was absolutely magical.

Part of their firework send-off. What a celebration!

Back in Athens, I couldn't believe how many bridal stores there were! Most of them were more high-end than this one that I happened to grab a picture of, but there were definitely more wedding salons per capita than there are here, even in NYC! I was so impressed.

And as we walked by this window display at a men's apparel store right by our hotel in Athens, I couldn't help but smile and think of our wedding. And wonder when I was going to stop thinking in terms of purple :)

What places have you been reminded of weddings when you were least expecting it?

If you're following along, the Star honeymoon recaps are:

Ancient Sites, of Course!

The Colors

Yummy Food!

Getting Around

The Expected Sights

The Unexpected Sights

“Αστέρι” is Greek for Star : The Unexpected Greek Sights

Now that you've read about many of the sights in Greece that I expected to see, let me share some of the things that I wasn't expecting...here goes...

One of the very first things we saw as we came out of the metro station on our first day in Athens was this sign. We were both like, wait, we did not just spend 12 hours traveling to see a SUNY school!

One of the biggest things that surprised me about Athens was how sprawling a city it was. We live in New York, so I guess I expected Athens to be...smaller? But even though there were few skyscrapers to speak of, I found the city's size to be quite impressive! According to my guidebook, 40% of the population of Greece lives in Athens, so I guess that's not surprising! In case you're a dork like me and were wondering, less than 3% of the population of the United States lives in New York City :)

We were also surprised to find a Roman toilet astonishingly well-preserved. Almost two thousand years later, who would have thought that an Athenian toilet would be one of the few pieces of the Roman Agora still standing? Not I.

We also weren't expecting the extremely sexual nature of Greek humor. I guess we probably should have, given some of the famous Ancient Greek pottery that you always see, but it still surprised and amused us, what can I say? Hey, we are the same people who took pictures of a Roman toilet...

I couldn't help but chuckle at the number of pizzerias we saw. For some reason, it just seemed odd to see pizzerias in Greece, but Italians probably think the same thing about American pizzerias!

I found this restaurant on Santorini to be particularly amusing because it seemed to be an eatery with a serious identity crisis going on. It advertised itself as a Mexican restaurant and even had a huge (we're talking 20 feet tall) cactus out front, but then had signs all over saying that they served Barbeque food with potatoes. Huh?

Mr. Star didn't want Chinese in Greece either...

One day on Santorini, a rain shower rolled in during the afternoon, and the streets were almost instantly turned into practically rivers! Many of us tourists hit out in shops because the streets all became unwalkable! [Note: I am fully aware that this picture is extremely unflattering, that just shows how much I love you all]

(Photo Credit)

By far the most surprising thing I found in Greece was that nearly no one takes credit cards. And the few places that do almost all use the old ka-chunk credit card machines that were out of fashion in the U.S. before I was old enough to have my own credit card! When the rental car agency guy busted one of these bad boys out, I started having elementary school flashbacks (which is the last time I remember seeing my parents using one of these things!). Just a heads-up so you don't expect to be able to go cash-less in Greece!

What is the most unexpected sight you've encountered on your travels? Please share! :)

If you're following along, the Star honeymoon recaps are:

Ancient Sites, of Course!

The Colors

Yummy Food!

Getting Around

The Expected Sights

“Αστέρι” is Greek for Star : The Expected Greek Sights

Whenever I go to a foreign country, I try to go in without any expectations at all. Inevitably, I end up failing at that because we all have these visions of faraway places in our heads that we can't force out or forget -- they are safely tucked away after being absorbed from dramatic scenes in classic movies or vividly descriptive passages in our favorite books.

Greece is no different. While I tried to be as open-minded as possible about the experience that Mr. Star and I were about to embark upon together, there were many sights we saw that were entirely expected on my part.

Brightly-colored buildings, for one

Crumbling columns

A view from the mountain road of a gorgeous string of islands

Farmland stretched far as the eye can see

Cosy and rustic tavernas

The wild sea

Back alleys with a delightful air of secrecy

The white and blue striped flag

And pieces of artwork (like this famous Akrotiri fresco) straight from the pages of my Art History textbook

It was all so very "Greek" and romantic.

Did you see the "expected sights" in the places you visited on your honeymoon? Stay tuned for the "unexpected sights" next!

If you're following along, the Star honeymoon recaps are:

Ancient Sites, of Course!

The Colors

Yummy Food!

Getting Around