Butler Family Travels

So, the ferry people decided to strike for another 48 hours. Amazing little story of how God protected us once again. I tried booking cheap, non-refundable tickets from the Santorini Island to Italy 3 times, but it wouldn’t work. That is because we weren’t going to Santorini afterall. We’ve rented a car and we’re on our way to see a different side of Greece! Rebekah is navigating very well despite that it is all Greek to her. We’re making our way around the Peloponnese, camping along the way.

First, run out and grab 2 gyros for the kids from a stand around the corner. Leave them in the hotel room with a laptop and those 2 gyros. Then you leave hand in hand and stroll down the tiny marble streets that cascade down from the Acropolis. Cafes are everywhere, literally falling down the steps. Look for the one that has the most people laughing and talking loudly (in Greek). Sit down under a heat lamp and join the party. It may take 15-20 minutes for a waiter to show up. When the beer still doesn’t arrive, wait for the next waitress. Order a very dark beer and plate of Dakos. Dakos is barley bread soaked in olive oil and topped with finely chopped tomatoes, feta cheese, more olive oil, olives, oregano, and capers. Split that since there will be more food to try. Enjoy the mood and lights. It’s probably colder by now so ask your hubby and then waitress if you can move inside by the fire. Next, order a spaghetti dish with white sauce, bacon, mushrooms, and cheese and an aptly named jug of wine. Sit by the fire for 1.5 to 2 hours and eat very slowly. By the time you leave at 11:15 you’ll see that EVERY last table and chair is full of happy Greeks. You’ve picked the right place! Before returning to the hotel, make sure you take a walk to enjoy the view of the Parthenon and other relics lit up like light bulbs. Whatever you do, don’t be in a hurry!

I was taking a picture of Levi standing in between 2 pillars on the Acropolis (with his Kendama in hand) when out of the blue a lady in a suit whistled and yelled at me to stop. “Not allowed. Be respectful!” I hadn’t gotten the memo. In Greece one is not allowed to pose with statues and pillars. Busted!  A few hours later we were walking along in Ancient Agora and, like any one with tired legs, both Jeb and Levi sit themselves down on blocks of stone. Uh oh. They were the bottoms of columns. Whistle again. This guy was bit nicer about it and gave the thumbs up as soon as they jumped up. Busted again! After walking through these amazing places, however, and seeing the damage done by invaders and thieves (including governments), it is no wonder they are so protective. I would be too! Note to future travelers to Greece: It is also illegal (with seriously huge fines) to pick anything up and take it away. Hands off, people!

The downloads are for freeeee. They are informative and very well done. “Now walk down this lane about 100 feet and you will see on your left side a statue of Athena… As you walk, let Rick describe to you a typical scene of that day… Music… ” As you look through these pictures from our 3 days of touring Athens and all future great cities in Europe, please know that we really are a happy, well-adjusted family. The headphones and I-pods in are no way a sign of us being anti-social. We start the audio-guides at the same time even. Cumbaya… and the rest is history.

We flew from Tel Aviv in the middle of the night and arrived in Athens, Greece early in the morning on Thursday. Sunny and warm with clear blue skies! Wanted to hop on a public bus into the city, but, guess what? They are on strike! No can do. A 30 minute taxi ride later and we were walking through the squares and streets looking for a place to stay. Our strategy worked this time. Got a super duper deal at the first hotel we walked into. It’s a great place, centrally located and has a killer roof-top garden with amazing views. Skip ahead… Our plan was to hop on a ferry tomorrow morning to Paros Island, but guess what? They are on strike. No problem. We’ll go to the Archeological Museum tomorrow instead of today. It’s free on Sundays. That saves us $50. Maybe that was part of the strategy?!  The strike will end sometime and then we’ll go. Or, who knows, maybe we’ll end up somewhere else entirely. The only other result of the political unrest that has affected us is the amount of political/slogan graffiti on the walls. Such a shame…unless of course it is done artistically and then it makes great pictures. Travel Tip #16: (You missed the ones in between since I’ve been kinda busy.) Have a no-stress strategy and absolutely no agenda. Oh wait, I think that was tip #2?

One of the neat things we did last week was volunteer at a first century living historical village in Nazareth. Rebekah dressed up in first century-style clothes and learned how to spin wool and make rugs. She also hand-stitched a bunch of doll clothes for the dolls they sell in the gift shop. Jeb and Levi worked with the carpenters to make a huge stack of benches and tables for their school program. I did all sorts of things – stamp bags, paint, clean glass show cases, and decorate with burlap (my favorite part).  

Laffa bread, a traditional bread in the Middle East, is easy to make if you have an open fire and a cast iron bowl flipped upside down on it. The thinner you make it the better it is. Enjoy it with olive oil, hummus, and zatar! Recipe: 7 cups unbleached bread flour plus another ½ cup in case the dough is little too sticky 1 package dry rapid rise yeast 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons olive oil 3 cups of warm water Combine the dry ingredients.  Add the oil and water and if you are using a food processor process for about 60 seconds until a very smooth, soft, and slightly sticky ball forms. If using a mixer, mix with the dough hook until the dough is very smooth, soft and elastic.  If making by hand; after you add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, mix by hand in the bowl for a few moments until well combined and coming together.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about ten minutes until smooth and elastic.

Bake over open fire pit!

Apologies for our website being down all week!  I think I broke it when we were doing theme updates. Jeb fixed it… imagine that! We are having a great time with Janeane and Jesse Boyd touring around the country. They arrived last week and we have been going, going, going. Fun, fun, fun! Will post more about that later. However, before they arrived we were able to spend a couple of weeks just hanging out with family, helping with projects, and getting caught up. It will be hard for us to leave these sweet kids. We love the Garaways!!!  

Just a little background first – Read (Numbers 20:2-29) in the Bible. Petra was the Capital of the Edomites from whence the King of Edom refused the Israelites passage! We arrived in Wadi Moussa, the town that’s perched on the hill at the entrance Petra, just in time to find a nice hotel, a cheap place to eat, and a killer bakery. We woke up at 5 sharp the following morning with the call of the muezzin from the mosque that was right next to our hotel. Lucky for everyone we fell back to sleep for a bit. It was sunny but chilly on our first day in Petra. There were few tourists around because it’s winter and that means slow season – just the way we like it. We walked all day and even climbed the 800 steps to the Monastery. Petra is incredibly extensive. It goes on and on. It is hard to imagine that this place was bustling with people thousands of years before Christ. So much history – conquering empires, earthquakes, kings and queens, floods, you name it. No problem falling asleep that night… until the wind howled and the rain poured… and until 5 sharp… Lucky for us it actually rained in Petra for the first time in a year and we got to see it all flooding and wet and empty of tourists. I’m not sure how to describe the day and do it justice so I won’t even try. Suffice it to say, we had the place to ourselves and it was incredible. We walked an outer, less-traveled loop (6-8 miles) that day! I’m guessing that our family will talk about Petra for a long time to come. It should be on your Bucket List is it isn’t already. Don’t miss page 2 of the album!

We arrived at the Wadi Rum Visitor Center in the afternoon and were greeted by Nayel, Obeid’s oldest son. He took us in his truck to their traditional Bedouin camp out in the desert, where we would stay for 24 hours experiencing Bedouin life and saturating our clothes and skin in camp fire smoke. Upon arrival at the camp, we dropped our bags in a large sleeping tent. Sweet tea in little cups was served by Salem (the younger brother, cook, and musician) in the main living tent while we waited for the camels to arrive. Lots of laughs were had as we did a loop through the desert for an hour. Such silly animals!  We watched the sunset from a large sand dune across the valley that was perfect for throwing yourself off of. Dinner was unburied from the sand pit that it had cooked in all afternoon… delicious chicken, rice, roasted vegetables added to spreads, salads, pita, and more sweet tea. The evening carried on around the indoor fire with some music, darbuka (Bedouin drum) lessons, visiting, laughing, a bit of hookah later that night, and more sweet tea. It was really cold, but we all slept great under 5 heavy blankets each. We spent the next day driving around the desert in the backs of 2 trucks; kids in one and adults in the other. Wadi Rum, part of an ancient route called The King’s Road, was among others, used by the Nabatean Tradesman. Yup, those same guys who bought Joseph for a good deal and sold him to Egypt. Lawrence of Arabia also spent a lot of time in the Wadi during the Arab Revolt. The desert floor is broken up with large sand-stone mountains. Imagine Glenn Canyon before they built the dam, filled it with water, and called it Lake Powell. Stunning! We could have easily spent many more days there exploring. The only thing missing at the dunes was a snowboard. Next time!