What Back to the Future Part II Got Right and Wrong...

My favorite part of the Back to the Future trilogy is the first half hour of Back to the Future Part II where Doc and Marty travel to 2015. Seeing them in the past was fun, seeing them in the Wild West was eh, but seeing them in the future remains, for me, the most entertaining and memorable part of all three movies. With 2015 a mere hours away, let's take a look and see how well the movie reflects reality.

The Right Stuff

1. Watching multiple TV channels simultaneously. When Back to the Future Part II came out in 1989, there were only a limited number of cable channels available. We were many, many years from multitude of Discovery channels, SoapNet, SyFy and whatever the hell the RT is. So when Marty McFly Jr. comes home and turns on six channels on his flat-screen TV... some of which had channel numbers in the hundreds... this was a far-fetched view of how we might watch TV in the future.

Since then, everyone has hundreds of channels (and flat-screens). Picture-in-picture came... and basically went. And watching multiple shows simultaneously isn't a fantasy anymore... several years back DirecTV debuted their Game Mix feature that let you watch eight NFL games simultaneously. Although why anyone would want to do that is beyond me.

2. Pervasive advertising. When Marty is in 2015 Hill Valley, a video screen pops up in the town square and starts playing an advertisement for converting regular cars to flying cars. Today, omnipresent video advertising is a legit factor in our lives.

Old standard billboards are starting to be replaced by video billboards. TVs are cheap enough that companies are putting them everywhere, and blasting us with advertisements. And, again, there's the Internet, where we're constantly looking at video ads on our screens.

And I, personally, am okay with that. I like the video billboards that tell me what song different radio stations are playing. I like when I'm in line at the grocery store and there's a TV screen running sports scores and celebrity gossip headlines underneath an advertisement for diapers. And I like when a mall kiosk ad switches so you have to go, "Wait, did I just see that there's a new Zac Efron movie coming out? Damn, now it's already on to an ad for Cinnabon... and I don't have to be informed about Zac Efron. Win-win!"

3. Video conferencing. Why were people in the past so obsessed with video conferencing? It's in every science fiction movie and book and on every future predictions list. Video conferencing has to be the number one thing science fiction begged for... we got... and then we all instantly got over.

We have free video chat capability now and we don't really use it. And you know why? Most of the time, we humans look like shit. It happens to all of us the first time we video chat -- we turn on Skype, connect with our friend, turn on our laptop's built-in camera... and recoil in horror at ourselves. The lighting is bad and the angle the camera shoots you is somehow worse. It's hard to focus on a conversation when all you can do is remember how much work it takes you on a day-to-day basis to be presentable to society.

So, yes, it's 2015 and we humans can Skype video chat whenever we want. But we don't. And for those who do... at least 90 percent of those video chats are primarily about one person trying to convince the other person to get naked.

Other correct predictions: a baseball team in Miami, video games without hands, and cameras everywhere.

The Wrong Stuff

1. Hoverboards. Of everything from BBTF Part II that we're not going have in 2015, this is definitely the biggest disappointment. We don't have hoverboards. The technology just isn't there yet.

According to Hovertech, an R&D company that focuses on developing hovering products, without either an engine or a track, there's no way to currently make BTTF Part II-style hoverboards.

2. Flying cars everywhere. I've written about this topic before, but in BTTF Part II, there were flying cars everywhere. Even though there are prototypes for flying cars, the reality is that we probably will never have flying cars and I'm okay with that.

3. Food hydrators. Another thing science fiction always has a hard-on for: Compact food. Whether it's meals in pill form, strange nutrient supplements or, like in this case, food that needs some kind of rebigulator, there's eternally an inexplicable obsession with tiny food.

As it plays out in Back to the Future Part II, a tiny Pizza Hut pizza is inserted into the Black and Decker Hydrator, and then, seconds later, out pops a full-size, steaming hot, half-pepperoni, half-green pepper pizza.

Yyyyyeah, that's not happening in real life any time soon. And even if it was available... would you really want this? We're starting to realize that eating food that's jammed with chemicals might not be the smartest long term decision... how many unnatural elements would be involved in making a two-inch diameter pizza one hydration session away from edible? 

Other incorrect predictions: thumbprint currency and keys, laserdiscs, people working out while they eat, and auto-dry/auto-tailored clothing.

Still to be determined

There's one last prediction that is still to be determined: the Cubs winning the World Series. Part of this prediction is still incorrect. The Cubs cannot possibly play the Miami Marlins in the World Series because they're both in the same league, but will 2015 be the year the Cubs break their 106 year losing streak?? My belief is that come October, we'll be adding this prediction to the things BTTF Part II got wrong list. Sorry, Cubs fans. I just don't see it happening this year for you. Or maybe that's just the obnoxious Yankee fan inside me which won't allow any team other than the Yankees to have a chance. Go Yankees!

Nah!

Maneuvering Through the Disability Minefield

One would imagine that when someone has a legitimate disability, there would be all sorts of assistance available from the date of disability and yet, that's not entirely accurate. I've learned much about how disability insurance works and how much it screws people who are most in need of assistance.

First, let me say, I'm not some Pollyanna who believes that everyone who applies for disability has a legitimate claim. There are those who are trying to get a free ride in this world, but I'd like to think they're in the minority. Okay, so maybe I'm a wee bit of a Pollyanna. It's interesting to note that, nationwide, a whopping 70% of initial disability applications are denied.

Here are some things that I learned by applying for disability:

1. Many people have to apply several times and/or fight with the SSA before their disability is approved. There are a few 'automatic' approvals, such as if the applicant has a terminal illness. These cases are "fast tracked" and the person is almost immediately granted disability status. For example, yours truly. Within a couple of weeks of applying for disability, I received notification of approval of my disability claim due to my case being fast tracked. But that is the rarity. Most people have to wait months and months, in some cases, years, before their disability claim is decided upon.

2. If your disability claim is approved, you better have at least six months of financial support you can tap into, because all disability cases are subject to a five month waiting period before benefits begin. Erm...what? Yes, you read correctly. Applicants who are approved for Social Security disability lose the first five month of benefits. I suppose they want to make sure that the applicant is truly disabled and that they won't be able to go back to work in the intervening five months. There is a supplemental insurance but if you have any assets, you can forget about tapping into the supplemental insurance. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a sibling who is willing to let them come a crash in their house. I'm not certain what people with limited incomes do during the five-month waiting period.

3. After the qualifying disability, the applicant starts receiving Medicare insurance after 24 months of disability! As annoying as the five month waiting period is, this 'rule' is the most aggravating. People who have a disabling illness need health coverage more than anyone else. The 24-month waiting period for Medicare is insane. Most likely, I won't even see 24 months of disability. I would like to give huge thanks to Obama and the passing of the Affordable Care Act, which means that I can get medical coverage, but why do I have to pay out of pocket for my healthcare coverage, when I'm disabled? If this illness had happened before the ACA, I would have been screwed!

4. Dealing with the Federal Government's healthcare website was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I managed to log in, answer all the questions, and decide on my coverage in less than an hour. Of course, the same cannot be said about the health insurance company who is taking their sweet time to send me my insurance information!

All in all, I have been fairly lucky when it comes to dealing with the disability minefield. One of the upsides of having a terminal illness is that I only got hit with a little bit of shrapnel, but I can see why people might get annoyed and frustrated when they are attempting to get their disability approved. It seems to me that some of these rules are detrimental to the health and well-being of the individual applying for disability. At minimum, they need to eliminate the 24-month Medicare waiting period. Ah, well, I suppose it could be worse.

Best Final Lines from the Movies

With the release of the third Hobbit movie (The Battle of Five Armies), I decided to catch up on the Hobbit movies by viewing the first two movies back to back. I had seen the first movie (An Unexpected Journey) months ago, but hadn't had the opportunity to watch the second movie (The Desolation of Smaug). As I didn't remember the first movie well, I figured I'd have a Hobbit marathon. What an enjoyable way to spend 5 and a half hours!

With the final line of TDoS, Bilbo Baggins gasps: "What have we done?" as Smaug, the dragon, goes soaring off to begin his attack on Lake Town. I thought to myself, "that's a good closing line."

This thought got me thinking about all the great last lines of the movies over the past century or so. There have been so many incredible and indelible last lines, that I decided that it was time to list what I think are the top 10 final lines from a movie. Here's what I came up with (in no particular order):

• "I do wish we could chat longer...but I'm having an old friend for dinner. Bye." Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), The Silence of the Lambs
• "Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), Casablanca
• "Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads." Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd), Back to the Future
• "I'll go home and I'll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day." Scarlett O'Hara Butler (Vivien Leigh), Gone With the Wind
• "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. And like that - poof - he's gone." Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey), The Usual Suspects
• "You see, this is my life. It always will be! There's nothing else - just us - and the cameras - and those wonderful people out there in the dark. All right, Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my close-up." Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), Sunset Boulevard
• "That'll do, pig, That'll do." Arthur Hoggett (James Cromwell), Babe
• "There have been tyrants and murders and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it. Always." Mahatma Gandhi (Ben Kingsley), Gandhi
• "Love means never having to say your sorry." Oliver Barrett IV (Ryan O'Neal), Love Story
• "And oh, Auntie Em, there's no place like home." Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland), The Wizard of Oz

Did I miss your favorite final line? Let me know.

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Oppressed Reindeer

One of the most beloved holiday stories is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Many people are unaware that it started out as a poem in 1939 distributed to the customers of Montgomery Ward (do you remember that store?). The head of Monkey Ward's marketing department asked copywriter, Robert May, to write a cheery Christmas story for the shoppers. May decided to write about a deer because it was his daughter's favorite animal at the time. The poem became a huge hit with the shoppers. Eventually Montgomery Ward gave the rights to the poem to May. In the 1940s, May's brother-in-law wrote the treasured song that we all know and hear ad nauseam for months. In 1964, Rankin-Bass Productions got their grubby mitts on the story and adapted the tale into a stop-motion Christmas special. Filmed entirely in Japan with all sound recordings done in Toronto, the show drastically altered the original telling of the story and has been enchanting children and terrifying adults ever since. 

As a child, I loved watching Rudolph each year and would eagerly plop myself in front of the television in order to be delighted, but now as an adult, I find the story really disturbing. Here's a breakdown of the problems with this story:

1. Santa is a complete asshat: In our world, Santa is a revered legendary folkloric character who kindly brings toys to all the boys and girls and goes around with a hearty "ho ho ho". But in the Rankin-Bass world, Santa is an angry, disability-hating, self-centered, slave-laboring jackass!

Let's start with his treatment of Rudolph as a newborn deer when he sees Rudolph's nose glowing:

Santa: Great bouncing icebergs.
Donner: Well I’m sure it will stop as soon as he grows up, Santa.
Santa: Well let’s hope so if he wants to make the sleigh team someday.

Nice support there, Santa. (I'll get to Donner in a bit.) Plus Santa berates Donner for covering Rudolph's red nose with a faux black nose, but not because it's wrong to hide who you are. No, he tells Donner that he should be ashamed for perpetrating a ruse and trying to get one over on everyone. People will say that Santa came around in the end and grew as a person, but Santa should not have to -- he's flipping Santa! Except, does he really grow? He only accepts Rudolph and his nose because he was in a bind with the snowstorm. He uses Rudolph for his own selfish purpose.

How about Santa, the grueling taskmaster? The elves, of course, have to work long hours in order to get ready for Christmas. I'm sure they don't get paid but they still have time to create a relatively nice song to sing to their fat overlord ("We Are Santa's Elves") and how does this a-hole respond: "Hmm. Well, it needs work. I have to go." Leaving the co-dependent Mrs. Claus to clean up after her douche bag husband.

Give me the Santa Claus from Santa Claus is Coming to Town (video) any day!

2. The reindeer are misogynists and jerks: First up, Comet doesn't let the girl reindeer play in the reindeer games, nor do the girls get to ever dream of pulling Santa’s sleigh (unless another billion children are about to miss Christmas and Santa’s only option is to slum it by asking Clarice for help).

Second, Rudolph's glowing, squealing nose is weird as shit, but why do the other reindeer find it terrifying? What about a glowing, squealing nose makes other reindeer's pupils shrink and their bodies convulse? And why does it mean the poor bastard can't 'play in any reindeer games'? He's the best at flying after provocative Clarice comes onto him. They're total jerks!

Third, Donner is completely ashamed of his son and his shiny nose. So much so that he decides to cover it:

Rudolph: It’s not very comfortable.
Donner: There are more important things in life than comfort: Self respect. Santa can’t object to you now.

Again, nice support, Dad. Donner should have told Santa to shove it and that he accepts his son no matter what, but nooooo. Of course, Donner is also a misogynistic bastard. Donner has a minor epiphany when he realizes he has to go out looking for his son, who ran away and is now missing at the ripe age of one year:

Narrator: Now you can bet old Donner felt pretty bad about the way he had treated Rudolph.  And he knew that the only thing to do was to go out and look for his little buck. Mrs. Donner wanted to go along, naturally.  But Donner said no, this is man’s work.

Ah, man’s work. Of course, that didn’t stop mom and Clarice, god bless 'em, from heading out on their own anyway. Though Clarice’s blow for feminism almost gets her eaten by the abominable snowman – message received, little girl.

Then Yukon Cornelius comes to rescue, slays abominable while perishing himself (or so we think), and what does the narrator inform us?

Narrator: Well they are all very sad at the loss of their friend, but realize that the best thing to do is to get the women back to Christmas town.

Yes, the vulnerable women. Then again, Santa wouldn’t have cared a lick about getting the women home at all – they don’t pull sleighs.

3. The Elves: First, is it Hermy or Herbie? I seriously do not know the name of that elf. He's called both Hermy and Herbie throughout the story. So this character's deepest desire is to become a dentist and the elves ridicule him for this dream. Yet, there's a nine-foot tall elf and no one says "boo" about that. The head elf is also not exactly a traditional elf and he treats Hermy/Herbie like shit. What kind of message is this sending to the viewer? Why is the head elf such a bully? Why can't they accept that someone might not want to work in a sweatshop for their entire life?

4. The Island of Misfit Toys: What was wrong with the doll? She looked normal enough. She isn't. She wouldn't be on the ‘Island if Misfit Toys' if she was. Check it out. Rudolph tells King Moonracer, the ruler of the island, that if he ever gets back to the North Pole, he'll give Santa the 411 on the Misfits. Christmas Eve, when the doll thinks Santa isn't going to show, she goes on a crying jag and accuses Rudolph of having promised to help them. Okay, a) he never made any damn promise and b) Rudolph doesn't run Christmas, Santa does and he's a complete bastard. What I take from this scene is that the dolly's issues are psychological. She's a depressive nutjob.

What is wrong with the spotted elephant? I would have loved to get a spotted stuffed elephant! Why didn't the Charlie in the Box just change his name? You can do that. It's quite easy. What about the water pistol that shot jelly? Just empty it of the jelly and fill it with water. This stuff is not brain surgery. Stop asking Santa to fix your problems - he's a bastard.

5. Rudolph: Now don't get me wrong, I love Rudolph. What I don't get about him is why does he agree to guide Santa's sleigh? I mean, when someone treats you that way, all they deserve is a swift hoof in the nuts. I'm serious. Hey, Santa. Guide your own damn sleigh. Then when you crash in the Andes you can eat your sexist reindeer to survive. After all, nobody likes a skinny Santa.

Here's wishing everyone a happy Festivus.

(Editing credit: Tom Smith)

Home Sweet Home (A Reflection on the GToE)

At 4:00 am Saturday morning, the telephone in my hotel room in Athens rang to wake my sorry butt up. It occurred to me that most of my friends in the States hadn't even gone to bed yet and I was just waking up. Ugh. 12 minutes later I walked out of my hotel and 2 minutes after that I was entering the Athens airport. My 6am flight took off on time and arrived in Rome 2 hours later (7am Rome time), where I had a four and half hour layover. Ugh! By 11:30am, my flight to Philadelphia had taken off from Rome and landed around 3:00pm (Philadelphia time). I did not sleep a wink the entire flight. My brother very kindly picked me up from the airport and took us home. I needed to stay awake until a reasonable time to try to adjust to the Eastern time zone. I made it until 10:00pm: 25 hours straight of being awake. Of course, then I was wide awake at 2:30am and couldn't get back to sleep. Ugh! I also feel like something my brother's cat dragged in, pounced on, ripped to shreds, ate, and vomited back up. Plus, it's freaking cold! So yeah, not a great travel day.

On the plane ride home, I was thinking about my trip and how wonderful it was, but not just because I got to see some beautiful cities and amazing sites. Yes, seeing the Sistine Chapel, Hagia Sophia, the Acropolis, Blarney Castle, and everything else that I saw was amazing, but that's just a part of what made it a great trip. The thing that really made this trip special was the people that I met along the way. Just a little sampling of the melange of characters I met: in London, the friends of my friends, Jen and Bill, made me feel like a long time friend and a part of their circle. My Irish tour guide of Cobh and Blarney Castle was quite a character who looked like an over-sized leprechaun and was the nicest person that I met in Dublin. My new Norwegian filmmaker friend who is ultra talented and made what could have been a horrendous trip one of the nicest. In Prague, I met a woman from New Mexico who has issued me an invite to stay with her wife and her, if and when I get to Albuquerque. The two sisters from Pakistan who shared their food with me in Paris - just because. My roomies in Venice who were like old friends that I hadn't seen in ages and the medical student from Chicago who was wickedly entertaining. Everyone at the hostel in Istanbul - it was like a family get together. The retired couple from Maine that I met during my walking tour of Athens who had just finished their 27 month Peace Corps stint in Tanzania. There were so many more people that touched my life while I was away that I would be here all day writing their stories. Even more amazing were the people that I entrusted my story to (about why I was traveling for two months and my plans for the next few months) were incredibly supportive of my choice and applauded my "spirit and bravery" (their words, not mine).

As I said the other day, everyone should take time out of their life to do a trip similar to mine. While it is a bit lonely traveling alone, you also meet the most amazing people when you do. Now, was it all hearts and roses? No, but mostly it was fantastic. Along the way I lost and/or had to replace: 4 scarves, 2 hats, my favorite pen, my cheap umbrella, my new suede boots (bought in Milan), my yellow overboots from Venice, and, of course, my beloved Nikon camera. The only loss that I'm a little chuffed about is the new boots. Not that they were very expensive (30 euros), but they were really comfortable and lovely. I stupidly left them in a bag the shuttle van in Istanbul when I got to the airport, along with those 'lovely' rainboots.

As for the future, my plans are as follows: deal with making myself a PA resident so I can get healthcare, find a new oncologist in Philly to get an update on my health, and to start planning my US driving tour, which may or may not commence in January. Meanwhile, I'll keep blogging about random other stuff as the mood hits me.

To everyone who followed my travels through Europe, I thank you for taking time out of your busy day to share in my travels. I hope you enjoyed my braindroppings.

Ancient City Center, Ancient Library, and a Massage (Day 60 - GToE)

It's the final day of my Grand Tour of Europe. I head back to the States from Athens at 6:00am tomorrow morning, connecting through Rome and finally arriving somewhere mid-afternoon. I'll give a reflection of the entire trip in the next day or two but overall what an amazing way to spend 2 months. I recommend everyone do this at least once in your life. Plus I can very proudly say that I did not miss any daily blogs on my travels.

Today was a glorious weather day...naturally. My last day and it's beautiful blue skies with mild temperatures. <shrugs> What can you do? Not wanting to completely waste the day, I decided to do some touring of some more ancient ruins. Starting with...

Ancient Agora: If the Acropolis is the ceremonial showcase of Ancient Athens, then the Agora would be its city center and the heart of the city. For about 800 years, Agora was the hub of all the commercial, political, and social life in Athens, as well as its religious life. The Agora was the place to shop -- to buy clothes, dishes, or to get your wagon wheel fixed. You could make an offering to the gods at a temple during the day and then go see a play or a concert that night at the odeon. Unfortunately, not much survives from Agora, except one very well-preserved temple and rebuilt stoa (a covered walkway or portico used in public spaces). They have a pretty neat little museum (located in the rebuilt stoa) which showcases all the relics found on the site. Some of the interesting treasures I saw today were: a baby's commode (photo), an ancient "voting machine" (after all Athens was the birthplace of democracy), a kelpsydra ("water thief) - a water clock used to time speeches at council meetings (the speaker had exactly 6 minutes before the water ran out - I wish Congress had something like this), a couple of barbecue grills, and even some children's toys. On the second story of the stoa were some interesting statues and a fantastic view of the Temple of Hephaistos.

Located about 500 meters north-west of the Acropolis, The Temple of Hephaestus (photo above and right) is the best-preserved Greek temple in the world, although it is far less known than its illustrious neighbor. The temple was built in the 5th century BC in a district which contained many foundries and metalwork shops. It was therefore dedicated to Hephaestos, the god of metal working. The Temple of Hephaestus was designed by Ictinus, one of the architects who also worked on the Parthenon and it housed two bronze statues: Athena and Hephaestos. Approximately half the size of the Parthenon and less elaborate, the temple managed to survive for centuries because it had been converted into the Church of Agios Georgios (Greek's patron saint). During to Ottoman occupation, the Turks kept the church open but permitted services only once each year. At least they didn't destroy the building, although there are some bullet holes sustained mostly during the War of Independence. This temple is magnificent.

After leaving the Agora, I happened upon Hadrian's Library. Hadrian was a Roman emperor who  was an ardent admirer of Greece, so much so that he sought to make Athens the cultural capital of the Empire and ordered the construction of many temples in the city - The Temple of Olympian Zeus being one of them. Hadrian's Library was created by Hadrian in AD 132. The building followed a typical Roman Forum architectural style, having only one entrance, a high surrounding wall with protruding niches at its long sides, an inner courtyard surrounded by columns and a decorative oblong pool in the middle. The library was on the eastern side where rolls of papyrus "books" were kept. Adjoining halls were used as reading rooms, and the corners served as lecture halls. The library was seriously damaged by the Herulian invasion of 267 and repaired by the prefect Herculius in AD 407-412. As with so many things, there isn't much left of the building.

I then returned to my hotel to pick up my bags and headed out to the airport. Now, I'm not going to spend the night sleeping on the airport floor. Because my flight is so early (6am), I decided to treat myself to a night at the Sofitel Airport (a 5 star hotel which is a mere 50 meters from the airport) with a big comfy queen-sized bed, a gloriously decadent shower, and a spa where I could indulge myself to a much needed massage. Yes, it's an expensive evening but after 59 days of living in hostels and sharing bathrooms, I feel I deserve this treat. I knew that my body was achy and sore for the past few weeks, but until I got up from my massage, I didn't know how much I was hurting. I feel so much better now. I just wish that I had brought a bathing suit with me. There's a gorgeous indoor pool here. I just finished having an overly indulgent late lunch/early dinner in the fine restaurant on the 9th floor and now I'm going to curl up on my luxurious bed and watch some television and/or read.

As for Athens, I sort of feel the same way about Athens that I did about Naples. I feel a little sad about Athens. Due to the crushing economic problems that Greece has, the city is suffering terribly. Currently Greece has a 25.5% unemployment rate and young people continue to be the most badly affected, with unemployment in the 15-24 age range standing at 49.5%. Whether it due to boredom, frustration, or just ignorance, much of Athens has been "tagged" by vandals and it just seems like the city needs a good polishing. Athens is not as bad as Naples. The major tourist attractions (the Acropolis, the Plaka, Syntagma Square, etc.) are all beautifully maintained, but the rest of the city looks old, tired, and in need of sprucing up. Even in in the affluent areas of the city, graffiti is rampant. It would make Plato and Socrates very sad if they saw the state of their city.

My final day of photos can be found on my GToE photo site.  I am equally happy and sad to be heading home.

Donkeys, Stray Cats, and More Rain (Day 59 - GToE)

You might remember my mentioning that Istanbul has quite the stray cat and dog problem. Turns out, so does Athens. Lots and lots of dogs and cats are running loose all over Athens. Again, makes me sad and it's a strike against the city. 

Today, I went to explore one of the Greek islands. My first two choices would have been either Santorini or Mykonos, but both are pretty far and need a few days to explore. I had only one day, so I chose an island approximately 90 minutes from the Athens port of Piraeus via high speed hydrofoil: Hydra (pronounced: EE-drah).

With a population of approximately 2,000 inhabitants, Hydra is greatly dependent on tourism. All summer long, this tiny island hosts a bevy of private yachts and summering tourists. In the winter, it's a pretty, but desolate place. Hydra has a long and proud history of maritime accomplishments, including some critical naval victories during the War of Independence in 1821. Today, Hydra is mostly known for three things: jewelry (the 2004 Olympic medal designer is from Hydra), lots of stray cats (the Hydriots are proud of this), and hardworking donkeys (the island is a car-free zone).  Okay, it's not entirely car free, there are a couple of small trash trucks and an ambulance. All other forms of motorized transportation are illegal, which makes Hydra a very tranquil place to visit. The only noise you hear is the occasional braying of a donkey.

This morning, I awoke to sunny, blue skies. Happy to see the sun, I headed to the metro which took me in 20 minutes to Piraeus and the high speed hydrofoil, which left port at 9:00am. The boat first stopped at the island Poros to drop off some passengers and supplies, before heading to Hydra. I disembarked around 10:40am and beheld the pretty main town of Hydra...also called Hydra (because that's not confusing at all). I decided to follow the self guided walk in my Rick Steves guidebook and strolled around this city. I saw lots and lots of donkeys and was asked if I wanted to take a donkey ride for 10 euros. I passed. There was a pretty little Greek Orthodox church which was surprisingly ornate for such a small town. I checked out Rafalias Pharmacy which was established in 1890 and is considered an institution in town. Vangelis Rafalias, the owner, has kept it just as his grandfather did. It was like jumping 100 years into the past. Mostly, I just wandered around getting lost and petting lots of cats for about 90 minutes and then it happened...the heavens opened up and down came the rain. 

I immediately headed for the Hellenic Seaways office and switched my boat ticket from the 6pm boat to the 12:15pm boat. The boat was running a little behind schedule and didn't get to Hydra until about 12:40. Then on the way back to Athens, it has some mechanical issues and could not run on high speed so I didn't get back to Athens until 3:00pm. Ugh! After that I made my way back to the neighborhood where I'm staying for a late lunch before returning to my hotel. 

Let me talk a little about the stray cat issue. Today, as I was wandering around Hydra, I would stop and pet some of these cats and what I saw were cats desperate for love and many in need of a good brushing/cleaning. One cat (photo) had fur that was terribly matted. I wanted to take it home to give it a good brushing and a loving home. This poor kitty wanted so much love and attention that I ended up petting the poor thing for 15 minutes and probably could have continued for the rest of the day! I'm sorry, but there's a reason why they are called "house cats". No one will ever be able to convince me that these animals are happy wandering around without a permanent home and having to scavenger for food.

As for the rest of today, I will spend it making sure I'm all packed up and all electronic devices are fully charged before checking out of the hotel tomorrow morning. Also, I'll probably either read or watch a movie. Check out all the photos from Hydra on my GToE photo site.

More Ancient Greek Sites and Antiquities (Day 58 - GToE)

Holy cow, only 2 more days before I head home. It seems only yesterday that I was arriving in Edinburgh. Unsurprising, I saw more sites and antiquities from Ancient Greece today. I think anyone planting a bush in their yard will dig up some important rock from the fourth century B.C., which then ends up in a museum. I'm not saying it's not fabulous, but between the British Museum, Italy and Greece, I may have hit a wall on seeing any more ancient relics. :-)

Today started with a visit to two museums. The first was a very brief, yet interesting, visit to the Epigraphical Museum. I stumbled upon this museum when I turned the wrong way when heading towards Athens' Archaeological Museum. The Epigraphical Museum is dedicated to safeguarding, protecting, conserving, displaying, and promoting the conservation of inscribed stone monuments that it contains. It's a unique museum and is the largest of its kind in the world. They have some of the most interesting written monuments in their museum. One of the curators very kindly walked with me and explained how the Greek alphabet has essentially not changed since its inception. She showed and read to me some of the carved stones. It was surprisingly interesting. 

I then made my way to the National Archaeological Museum which is just around the corner. The NAM "is the largest archaeological museum in Greece and one of the most important museums in the world devoted to ancient Greek art. It was founded at the end of the 19th century to house and protect antiquities from all over Greece, thus displaying their historical, cultural and artistic value" (NAM website). The museum traces Greek art from 7000 B.C. to A.D. 500. The way the museum is setup is wonderful because it's set chronologically and you can see the evolution of Greek art from the stiff Egyptian-style to the David-like balance of the Golden Age, to the beautifully sculpted Hellenistic, and finally, to the influence of the Romans. If you remember exactly one week ago, I raved about how great the Naples Archaeological Museum was. The NAM certainly rivals it in the display of the splendid art of the ancient Greeks. There were golden masks, golden baby death blankets, beautiful sculptures, interesting and sad funeral stones, and so much more. I think my favorite was the cheeky Aphrodite, Pan, and Eros statue (photo). If you look closely, Aphrodite is about to hit Pan with her sandal. He must have said something quite inappropriate.

After leaving the museum, what started as a sprinkle of rain, turned into a deluge. I trotted into a local eatery and had some lunch (a pork gyro - yummy!!), which was dirt cheap and then traipsed through a local department store to kill some time and to wait out the rain. Eventually the rain lessened and I made my way to the meeting point for my afternoon tour. 

This afternoon I trekked about an hour outside of Athens in order to visit Cape Sounion/the Temple of Poseidon. According to legend, Cape Sounion is the spot where Aegeus, king of Athens, leapt to his death off the cliff, thus giving his name to the Aegean Sea. The story goes that the Minotaur, a monster that was half man and half bull, was confined by its owner, King Minos of Crete, in a specially designed labyrinth. Every year, the Athenians were forced to send seven men and seven women to Minos as tribute. These youths were placed in the labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur. Theseus, Aegeus's son, had volunteered to go with the third tribute and attempt to slay the beast. He had agreed with his father that if he survived the contest, he would hoist a white sail. Aegeus, anxiously looking out from Sounion, despaired when he saw a black sail on Theseus's ship, returning from Crete. This led him to believe that his son had been killed in his contest with the Minotaur. In fact, Theseus had overcome and slain the Minotaur, but tragically had simply forgotten about the white sail. A very sad story. 

In the years 444-440 B.C., a Temple to Poseidon was built on top of Sounion. Poseidon, second only to Zeus in power and importance, was greatly feared by mariners, because storms (which were conjured by a wrathful Poseidon) often led to shipwrecks. Therefore, the Temple was erected to appease the god with the sacrifices that were delivered to the temple. In the center of the temple would have been a statue of Poseidon. Pictured below is a statue from the NAM which may or may not be Poseidon. Found at the bottom of the ocean in a shipwreck, the statue may be either Zeus or Poseidon and at some point would have held the god's weapon in his throwing hand - a lightning bolt for Zeus or a trident for Poseidon. As for the temple, only 15 of the original 34 columns stand today. Interestingly, there is an inscribed name of the famous Romantic poet George Lord Byron, carved into the base of one of the columns of the Temple of Poseidon, which possibly dates from his first visit to Greece, on his Grand Tour of Europe before he acquired fame. Byron spent several months in 1810–11 in Athens, including two documented visits to Sounion. There is, however, no direct evidence that the inscription was made by Byron himself. The inscription cannot be seen by visitors. Due to the terrible weather, the opportunity to take sunset photos was lost today. 

After that sojourn to Sounion, I returned to Athens, had some dinner, and went back to my hotel. Check out all my day 58 photos on my GToE photo site. 

Originally, tomorrow I had planned a three island tour (Hydra, Poros, Aegina) with a tour group, but it got cancelled. So now, I'm going to hop a ferry from the Athens port of Piraeus to Hydra and will explore this island on my own. I need to do something other than ruins for a day and touring a Greek island sounds like the perfect day. Sadly, it's too far to travel to Mykonos or Santorini for the day so Hydra it is.

Zeus or Poseidon? No one is certain.

Καλησπέρα από την Αθήνα (Day 57 - GToE)

Translation: Good Evening from Athens

Okay, before I talk about my first day in Athens, I need to give you my overall review of Istanbul. I really enjoyed my time in Istanbul, but I could never live there...or in any Muslim country. Being woken up at the ass crack of dawn every day with the call to prayer would grate on my nerves. But I will say that the Turks are some of the nicest people (notable exceptions are the carpet salesmen). Well, actually the carpet salesmen are nice, but annoyingly persistent and you just want them to go away. I would recommend a visit to Turkey, but I seriously don't think anyone needs more than a couple of days there. 

Now, let's talk about Athens. It's been a wish of mine for many, many years to visit this city. You see, no other city has contributed more to the civilization of mankind than Athens. It is the birthplace of Socrates, Plato, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and many others. It is the place where humanism and democracy were born. The intellectual light that Athens created will always be alive and now I'm here. Score!  

I arrived in Athens fairly late last evening (9:00pm) and didn't get to my hotel until after 10:00pm. But I did luck out with my hotel/hostel. It's actually both. It's a hotel that has a few rooms set up as dorms. My four bed dorm room only has 1 person in it: me. Whether it stays that way during my entire stay, that remains to be seen. After a fairly good night's sleep, I woke, ate some breakfast and made my way to the metro to meet up with my Athens walking tour that I booked months ago. I've been on quite a number of walking tours over the past 2 months and this tour was the best by far. Guided by Greek native and fully-licensed guide, Artemis, I learned so much about Athens and Greece and the amazing history here. I thought I was fairly well versed in Greek history, but it still was an incredible learning experience.

The tour started in the Syntagma metro station. Whenever they excavate an area to put in a new metro station, the archaeologists invariably find ruins, so instead of removing the ruins and bringing them to a museum, they turn the metro station into a mini-museum. Genius! Then we walked over the the Parliament building in order to see the changing of the guards. Athens changing of the guard is on par with Arlington National Cemetery and not Buckingham Palace. These guards (known as evzones) keep watch 24/7/365 over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. At the top of each hour, they perform a series of synchronized movements which are fun to watch. Even more interesting are their uniforms which have a rich traditional history. 

Next we walked through the National Gardens, past the Zappeion conference center, to reach The Temple of Olympian Zeus, which is a humongous ruined temple that was dedicated to Zeus, king of the Olympian gods. "Construction began in the 6th century BC during the rule of the Athenian tyrants, who envisaged building the greatest temple in the ancient world, but it was not completed until the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD some 638 years after the project had begun. During the Roman periods it was renowned as the largest temple in Greece and housed one of the largest cult statues in the ancient world" (Wikipedia). This temple was actually twice the size of the Parthenon. Only 16 columns remain of the original 104, 15 standing and one lying on the ground where it fell during a storm in 1852. The statue has long since disappeared. This ruin is immense and beautiful. 

Next was a short bathroom/snack break, in which I had a little taste of the most delicious Greek yogurt with dark cherries. Okay, I know I raved about Chobani in a posting awhile back, but the Greek yogurt we have the U.S. is just not the real thing. If you want to truly taste the most delicious Greek yogurt, get on a plane!

We then headed toward the Acropolis. Okay, for those who don't know: The Acropolis is the hill where the most important Greek ruins are located. On that hill are the ruins of the Parthenon (the largest temple), the Temple of Athena Nike, the Propylaia, and the Erechtheion. The entire Acropolis complex was dedicated to the goddess Athena, who according to Greek legend, beat out Poseidon in becoming the patron god of this city. The legend states that Poseidon created a salt water spring by striking the ground with his trident, symbolizing naval power. However, Athena created the olive tree, symbolizing peace and prosperity. The Athenians, under their ruler Cecrops, accepted the olive tree and named the city after Athena.

As we began our climb up the hill, we made a few stops along the way. The first stop was the Theatre of Dionysus. This ancient open air theatre was used in festivals to celebrate the god Dionysus and seated 17,000 spectators. Some of the most famous playwrights of Ancient Greece had their plays performed here: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and others. At this moment, it is nearly completely unrestored which I think makes it more interesting. There are a couple of sections that for safety reason needed to restoration but otherwise it's in amazing shape for something that's been around since the sixth century B.C.

Next we viewed the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, another entertainment venue. While the Theatre was used for plays, the Odeon was strictly for musical entertainment. At one time, it had a roof which has since been lost to time. But a good portion of this site has been restored because it is still used as an entertainment venue today - during the summer months. With a capacity of 5,000 spectators, this venue has seen performances by Maria Callas, Frank Sinatra, Luciano Pavarotti, Yanni, Elton John, Andrea Bocelli, Diana Ross, Liza Minnelli, Placido Domingo, and so many others. It's an amazing looking site and I'm kind of sad I've never seen a concert there.

Next, we moved up the hill to view the Propylaia, which is the entrance to the site, and the Temple of Athena Nike. Then we entered the site via the Propylaia and there it was...

The Parthenon! The structure known as the Parthenon is technically the third Parthenon. The current building was started in 447 BC and was completed in 438 BC. Do the math. That's a mere 9 years to build a massive structure and unlike other structures, the Parthenon was not built by slaves but only by Athenians. The Parthenon lasted intact until 26 September 1687 when it was partially destroyed. The Ottoman Turks were storing gunpowder in the building and the Venetians, in trying to overthrow the Turks, hit the building with a cannonball causing an explosion and destroying a good portion of the structure. Restoration of the Parthenon and other Acropolis structures began in 1972 and has been on-going ever since. The plan is not to restore it to its pre-1687 condition, but to make it structurally sound as Athens is prone to earthquakes which could damage the buildings further. Because of the on-going work, every photo I took (sadly) contains some sort of machinery or scaffolding. Oh well.

The Erechtheion is a temple that was created to honor both Athena and Poseidon, because the Greeks didn't want to piss off a Greek god so they honored Poseidon with a portion of this temple. This temple is probably most famous for the Porch of the Caryatids which has six draped female figures (caryatids) as supporting columns (see photo). I have seen many, many photos of these six statues. Under this porch is said to be the burial places of the mythical kings Cecrops and Erechtheus. It is also said that on the north side of the temple are the three strike marks of Poseidon's trident which flowed the salt water spring; in addition, the place where Athena's olive tree grew is behind the temple, if you believe those myths.

That completed the Acropolis portion of the tour. After heading back down the hill, the group then toured the magnificent Acropolis Museum. This new museum (which opened in 2009) holds all the artifacts from the Acropolis. The museum is the size of the Parthenon and lies on the ruins of Roman and early Byzantine Athens. The building is designed with glass floors so that visitors can see the ruins below grounds. The upper floor has the same layout of the Parthenon in order to showcase the temple's frieze and other items in the way that they were intended. The museum also has the original statues from the Porch of the Caryatids, which were moved indoors to protect them from the elements. The ones on the Acropolis are copies. Sadly, there is a large amount of items from the Parthenon in the British Museum in London. The Earl of Elgin pretty much stole a bunch of statues and portions of the frieze to decorate his mansion before selling them to the British Museum to pay off his debts (the Elgin Marbles). Greece has repeatedly tried to get these items back but to no avail.

After all of that, I headed over to the Plaka region to have a late lunch/early dinner, which was so yummy. I then walked around town for a little bit and went up to a rooftop location in order to take a photo of the Acropolis at night, before making my way back to my hotel. It was a very full and very exciting first day in Athens. The weather was so-so today; extremely overcast and a bit chilly on the hill. Tomorrow the weather is calling for rain all day, which is terrible as I have an afternoon tour planned for the Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon. <grrr> Oh well, it cannot be helped.

All of my day 57 photos can be viewed on my GToE photo site.

An Uninteresting Day in Istanbul (Day 56 - GToE)

It's just past 2:30 pm and I'm sitting in the lobby of my hostel, waiting for my shuttle to the airport. That's how uninteresting this day was. Remember when I said I wanted to cruise the Bosphorus Strait but was told that the tour started too late for me to make it to the airport. Well, that was incorrect. One of the hostel workers was incompletely wrong about that point. The pick up for the tour was 8am with my return at 1pm. It was actually perfect timing. So that's what I ended up doing today, but it turned out to be kind of a waste of 35 euros. I suppose it was nice enough but it also wasn't the most interesting. Also, it was pretty hazy today which made it difficult to actually see the skyline as much as I would have liked. Eh, live and learn.

The tour started in the Golden Horn which is a waterway which splits the European section of Istanbul - the Old Town from the New Town. Then it cruised up the Bosphorus passing by all the bridges in Istanbul. At the last bridge, the boat turned and came back to the Golden Horn. Then we took a small van to the top of Pierre Loti Hill (named after a French novelist who called Istanbul home) for some photo opportunities before coming down the hill via cable car. We then rode along the city's walls which kept the city nearly safe for 1600 years (only being breached twice) and then finally stopped at a leather/fur store for some shopping (that was a snoozefest and a waste of 20 minutes of my life). That was the entire tour. See, not really worth the money or time, but I guess it gave me something to do.

I suppose the most interesting part of the day was meeting a young couple of Kazakhstan who were taking a few day in Istanbul. Don't ask me their names because I've already forgotten them. For the wife, this trip was the first trip outside of her own country. That seems incredible to me that at the age of 29 she had yet to travel to another country. That was very American of her. The other strange thing is this is day 3 of a 5 day trip and they spent the first two days shopping. Perhaps that's usual but I find that weird. I don't go to foreign countries to shop. But they're young (late 20s/early 30s). I learned a lot more about Kazakhstan than I ever knew. Oh by the way, the Kazakhs do not find Borat amusing. Hmmm... go figure.

I decided against going to the Grand Bazaar mostly because I have a feeling that 4,000 shops and an untold amount of people would just piss me off. So I picked up some lunch (my final Turk kebab), ate, and watched the world go by the window of the hostel. I leave shortly for Athens, where I will conclude my Grand Tour of Europe.

Feel free to check out my limited and rather crappy Day 56 photos on my GToE photo site.

Istanbul's Most Impressive and Opulent Sites (Day 55 - GToE)

You know what's really sad about Istanbul? The amount of stray dogs and cats on the streets. There's an estimated 150,000 street dogs in Istanbul. That's just breaks my heart, particularly as I'm sure many of them have rabies or other diseases. So not only are they homeless, but they're also potentially dangerous to humans who are dumb enough to pet them. There are an untold amount of cats roaming around. The cats are mostly very sweet, but I just hate seeing them all over the place. That's one strike against Istanbul. 

Today was all about visiting Istanbul's top sites: Underground Cistern, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia (eye-ah soh-fee-ah), and Topkapı Palace (tohp-kah-puh). Up until this past summer, I didn't know all that much about Istanbul, but then in July, I read Dan Brown's latest novel, Inferno, in which the last third of the book is set in Istanbul. It was one of the reasons that I wanted to make this trip to Turkey - to see the locations from the book (Hagia Sophia and the Cistern). Of course, now that I've visited them, I might have to go back and re-read the novel. 

After a terrible night's sleep and being woken up to the Muslim call to prayer at 6:30 am (which occurs five times a day), I was a bit of a grumpy-pants today. But I ate some breakfast and headed out to explore Istanbul. I actually didn't go very far from my hostel. All the sites listed above are about an 8 minute walk from my hostel and are 3 minute walks from each other. I started in Sultanahmet Park which has Hagia Sophia on one end and the Blue Mosque on the other, with a very pretty fountain in the center. After crossing the main thoroughfare, I saw the Golden Milestone, which is a milestone which the Byzantines considered the center of the world. Around the corner from the milestone is...

The Underground Cistern: this vast underground reservoir dates back to the sixth century A.D. and was built to meet the needs of a fast-growing capital city and to provide water in case of a shortage. The cistern covers an area about the size of two football fields and has a forest of 336 columns. The columns are a variety of styles due to them being recycled from earlier Roman ruins around the city. At the far end of the cistern, there are two Medusa heads lying on the ground - one sideways and one upside-down - which have been squeezed under the pillars. At the other end of the cistern stands a stage. The cistern is used as a occasional concert venue. Out of everything I saw today, this cistern just might be my favorite. Maybe because it is so unusual. After seeing so many similar sites (churches/mosques and palaces) over the past 55 days, this site made a very nice change of pace.

Upon leaving the cistern, I walked across the road in order to visit the...

Blue Mosque: Considered one of the world's finest mosques, I was intrigued to get a look at the inside. Built in just seven years (1609-1616), the mosque is technically called the Sultan Ahmet Mosque for the ruler who financed it, but tourists know it as the Blue Mosque because of the rich blue color of the handmade ceramic tiles in the interior. The Blue Mosque has six minarets which is unique. Only one minaret is required for a mosque, but sometimes sultans liked to show off their wealth by adding a few more. After touring the outer and inner courtyard, I made my way the visitor's entrance, removed my shoes, covered my hair with my scarf, and entered the mosque. What awaited me was a intensely decorated interior. In the mosques, women and men worship separately. The main hall is reserved for men, while the women use an area behind barriers at the back or the upper galleries. Humph. More than 20,000 ceramic tiles were used to decorate the mosque. It's quite a spectacle of vibrant color.

I headed back out to check out the Hippodrome, an area which was used for chariot races in the 4th century. There I saw an Egyptian obelisk, the Column of Constantine, the facade of the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum (which used to be a palace), and a German Fountain. (You reply, "A what?") Yep, a German fountain stands in the middle of the historic section of Istanbul, which is just a little out of place. The fountain was a gift from the German government to commemorate Kaiser Wilhelm II's visit to Istanbul in 1898. It was then time to visit...

Hagia Sophia: This site is fascinating. Hagia Sophia has the distinction of being the only building to have been used for three different religions: Greek orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Islam. Built between 532 and 537 A.D.,it served as the seat of the Greek orthodox church for 900 years, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. The building was a mosque from 1453 until 1931. It was then secularized and opened as a museum in 1935. This structure is massive. There is a crazy mixture of religions all throughout this museum, a blending of East and West. Christian mosaics sit next to Islamic wall hangings. It's interesting to note that Islam does not allow icon within their mosques, so any mosaic or other artwork that featured humans were covered over with whitewash and plaster, which actually helped preserve much of the artwork within Hagia Sophia. Hagia Sophia has a legend within its walls: The Column of St. Gregory. This column is a supposed miracle worker. For centuries, please believed this column "wept" holy water which could cure afflictions such as eye diseases and infertility. How does it work? If you place your thumb in a section of this column and if it comes out feeling damp, your prayer will be answered. I placed my thumb in the hole and it came out dry as a bone. Typical. Also located within the complex are the tombs of the sultans and their families. 

It was time for some lunch. I walked across the road to a restaurant where I had some delicious hummus and a perfectly prepared chicken kebab. So tasty!!  Next it was onto...

Topkapı Palace: This large palace was the primary residence of the Ottoman Empire's sultans for approximately 400 years (1465–1856) of their 624-year reign. This palace is unusual for its various styles of architecture due to it being built over time by different sultans. It is a massive site that rivals all the great palaces. The palace complex consists of four main courtyards and many smaller buildings. At its peak, the palace was home to as many as 4,000 people, and covered a large area with a long shoreline. It contained mosques, a hospital, bakeries, and a mint. Of course, no palace from this region would be without its Harem, which was the first section that I toured. The word "harem" refers to two things: the wives, favorites, and concubines of the sultan; and the part of the palace where they lived. What I learned was that the Harem was not the site of a round-the-clock orgy, but a carefully administered social institution that ensured the longevity of the Ottoman Empire. 

Here's how a harem works: The sultan was the head of the household, a role he shared with his mother (the "mother sultan"). The sultan could have up to four wives, with the first one being considered the senior, most influential wife. Also living in the Harem was a collection of several hundred concubines - female slaves who kept house but were not sexually active with the sultan. From among the concubines (his "harem"), the sultan (or more often, his mother or wife) might select up to four "favorites", with whom he could become more...um...shall we say...familiar. The sultan could only have sex with chosen women, not with anyone he wanted. Every night he spent with a woman was written down. When a sultan died or was replaced, the new sultan's mother (who was almost always a member of the previous sultan's harem) was the only one who could stay. Wives and favorites had to leave the Harem and were given a house and a healthy pension.

After visiting all of these sites, I was utterly exhausted, so I headed back to the hostel to rest. In a bit, I'll head out to catch some dinner. Check out my Day 55 photos on my GToE photo site.

Tomorrow, I had planned to cruise the Bosphorus, but it turns out that it would take too long. I'm not certain now what I'll do tomorrow, other than a visit to the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market. My shuttle to the airport is at 3:00 pm so I have to come up with something else to do tomorrow. The Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market won't take too long. Hmmmmm...