Washington DC

DC was definitely a highlight! We were joined by Angelo in DC and enjoyed three nights exploring the Capital.  We toured several of the Smithsonian museums including Air & Space, American History and Natural History…kids loved it…..

 

The next day we had a tour of the Capital via our Congressman Eric Paulson’s office which was fairly interesting, especially when a Chinese man joined our group not realizing it was a tour for residents of Paulson’s ward.  He did ask the best questions and made the intern really nervous which I found amusing.  The intern kept saying to me, “I don’t know what to do, this has never happened before!”.  I tried to give him various solutions (i.e. we could all run and hide from him) but he preferred to just let it play out.  It got awkward at the end when we had to go back to Paulsen’s office and the man realized he was on the wrong tour.

 

 

The kids unanimously agreed that their favorite thing in DC was the Spy Museum where we spent hours exploring the exhibits.  

 

 

Afterwards we took part in a tour where we had to act like 'secret agents' and help recover some lost fictional weapon.  It was a bit cheesy but overall the kids had a good time.  I personally felt the best part of the tour was the two other adults that attended.  One was a grumpy matronly woman and the other was a middle aged man who had seen fitter days but clearly felt he had missed his calling as a CIA agent; both took the tour WAYYYYY too serious.  At one point, we had to run from some fictional bad people and the man literally shoved Melina out of the way.   The woman had a daughter in charge of 'scanning' (clearly it was a 'pretend' situation) secret documents the group found; she was literally yelling, 'hurry up and scan'.  I started laughing so hard and I couldn't stop...it was so bad that the naughtiest of my children (no names) was trying to get me to stop and was embarrassed by my outbursts.  It was soooo funny!

Hemorrhoids & Nudity - All in One Day! By: Michael Giovanis

Today was quite interesting. I woke up this morning to discover I have hemorrhoids which apparently only old men get. So yeah....fun times. I’m sure all of you are craving details and pictures but I think I will leave you in suspense for the moment.

 

We were still at the Greennbrier Resort in WV, so I joined my family for a tour of…. “THE BUNKER”, which is a formerly super-secret bunker to house all of congress, I’m sure a few people reading this wished only one side was saved, but that’s not really a good idea in the long run. I wouldn’t want to live in a country run by only democrats or a country run by only republicans. It’s located under the resort, which is pretty amazing because I have no idea how someone didn’t accidently stumble in and start playing junior detective. The facility is actually rented out by a secret shadow company named CSXIP now, who officially use the bunker as a data storage area, which is also apparently the reason we couldn’t bring any electronics down with use. It is also the reason they have hazmat suits, self-containing breathing apparatuses and chemical spill cleanup kits hanging around for the workers.  Okay, maybe I started playing junior detective myself, but I am still a little suspicious.  

 

Greenbrier Resort:

 

 

 

 

After the tour we had a frantic half hour of packing and left to drop off my dad at the airport. After dropping my dad off we started our four and a half hour drive to Asheville. Nothing to interesting there, but the scenery was awesome. We also found a giant NASCAR track that can hold 160,000 people, but it was literally 100 miles from the nearest large settlement.

 

Then we arrived in Asheville, our clerk-a man who looked like a rapist slash serial killer-checked us in. My mom decided to take advantage of the disabled and got us a handicapped accessible room because it was bigger. Unfortunately, it smelled like dog urine, so we got moved to an even better room on floor 5. After we got settled we ventured out into Asheville, a unique journey to say the least. It started off normal until we hit downtown. Now, imagine if an Ungrateful Dead concert was happening and the Beatles and Nirvana were the opening act. Now imagine the variety of people who would attend this concert, which is the populace of Asheville in a nutshell. To sum it up I saw (or experienced): I man dressed as a nun ridding a hot red double decker bicycle, a man with a five foot Mohawk, a dog with jewelry, and a woman with no top on protesting womens freedom rights. Of course I got a picture with the topless woman, though she did charge me a dollar.  

 

 

I was also asked if I wanted to see a man’s penis while waiting at a cross walk, I laughed and gave him a thumbs up and he drove off kind of startled. Just to be clear he was most likely inebriated slightly, he was not the rapist clerk. All in all an interesting day.

Adventure Continues - By Sophia Giovanis

Hey friends. My mom is making me do this so I will do my best. Ok, where do I start…..how about at the Greenbrier, when me and my sister had an attempt at singing R-E-S-P-E-C-T during Karaoke night. Well, it turns out we only know the “R.E.S.P.E.C.T. find out what it means to me” part. Epic fail. So after a few people sang, my brother and sister had an idea that I should sing “I Dreamed a Dream” and after some pressuring I did. I guess you could say I did well; at least that’s what my parents said. My parents also said Michael is fine; turns out he has hemorrhoids… In the end it was fun, and my brother and sister are super supportive, gotta love them! Kinda…

                So today we were in the car for around 5 hours, no break. I would kill myself if I where my mom driving that. As I am writing this, my brother just farted so loud, that can just give you a clear image on how the car ride went. Fun, I know. We finally got to Ashville, North Carolina. Please don’t get it confused with Nashville, Tennessee like I did. Its super fun here, mostly because more than half of the population here are hippies. For example I saw a topless women sitting on a bench, a guy pretending to be a nun on a huge bike, and a guy asking my brother if he can see his ho-ha… So fun day so far, can’t wait for tomorrow, we are going to zip-line in the Appalachian Mountains! Well goodnight and goodbye from Ashville. Sophia is out.

Greenbrier Resort, WV - Laser Tag by Melina Giovanis

While at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia we got to play laser tag.  It was held in the indoor tennis courts and we got to play with another family which was really fun accept for one of the daughters who was really annoying. I really didn’t like her.  She kept cheating and then acting like she could get away with it because she was young.  She kept talking in this really high pitched voice.  Serious dislike.

One thing that was really fun was that the guy that ran the laser tag told me and my brother and sister that the resort was haunted and he hated being there alone at the end of the nights.  He told us some ghost storied but he was more afraid then us.  After we were done with laser tag for the night the shuttle took us back to the main resort, but us three sneaked back down and knocked and scratched on the windows and doors.  We could see we really freaked him out and hid in the bushes so he wouldn’t see us when he ran to the office!  He never knew it was us. 

Overall, I think laser tag was one of the best things we did so far!

Philadelphia - Day: Whatever by Michael Giovanis

Well this laptop is blocking my Fun Yuns so I’m going to be brief. Yesterday we went to the Franklin museum which was pretty darn interesting. We went to the spy exhibit and I was amazed at the multitude of tools we use to mess with each other.  I especially liked the laser maze, even if it was meant for children much younger than me. The attendant informed me of this after my third time through. Then we went to a sports exhibit which basically showed everyone that you aren’t as good as you think you are, and the average human is pathetic when compared to a pro athlete.  We also checked out the engineering exhibit which had the potential to be super cool but some of the toys were broken.

We then left and made our way to the eastern penitentiary to drop off Melina, actually it’s a museum. We stopped at this cool Belgian restaurant, which I’m sure my mother has shared countless times already, and but a few pictures up on Facebook. There is a reason as to why I block her.  After lunch we went to the penitentiary which was amazing, but unfortunately the tour guide did not recognize the fact that no one wanted to answer her deep questions about how to reform the politics and social structures of modern day prisons. I wanted to check out Al Capone’s cell and then the escape tunnel, but unfortunately granny Kristen had a heel that was bothering her, and my sister were “too tired from all the walking”. Sometimes I wish I could show them the struggles early humans had in the Neolithic era and then see if they would complain. So we went back to the room where we watched TV. and messed around while my mom got new shoes.  

Later we got some dinner somewhere but I don’t remember it was some hipster place, if you’re curious I’m sure my mom will regale you with the tale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then went to a ghost tour with a melodramatic tour guide.  As it turns out, being melodramatic can’t save a crap tour, so we walked off halfway through.  We decided to take a kind old Jewish couples advice and went to an ice cream shop. I was surprised by how good the ice cream was, it also helped that we got to eat a ton of it.  In my opinion the day was pretty good out of ten.

Day 5 Aventures by Melina Giovanis

Most of our day was spent geocashing, in the water, or eating.  We went on 6 geocache adventures and successfully found 5.  Two were located in Old Mistick Village, one by the old drawbridge in Mystic, one in the seaport and the last was in an old Revolutionary War Graveyard.  The one we found there was the biggest one we found, it was a big box. For any of you who don't know what Geocaching is you should check it out.  It's like going on a treasure hunt in a cool place.

This is us with the one we found near Olde Mytick village:

 

We then attempted to paddleboard from a riverbed in Old Lyme out to the ocean. We rented 2 paddleboards and a kayak.  Sophia and I were on the paddle boards and mom and Michael were on the kayak.  It didn’t go as well as we hoped.  The tide was low and the riverbed had very thick mud.  We (meaning me) got stuck in the mud on the side of the river and mom and Michael had to kayak to me to help.  Michael and I switched places and mom and I got the kayak unstuck and started paddling up the river.  Michael was not so lucky.  He had to spend a lot of time to get the board unstuck, which was very frustrating for him. Finally he was free and made his first attempt standing, just as a speedboat came flying in ignoring the no wake zone and Michael wiped out.  He was officially done and wanted it to be over.  Sophia had already made it successfully to the ocean and back on her paddleboard but had a blister from the effort.  I was mad that mom had made me switch with Michael so I wasn’t talking to her.  Finally, my mom said that was enough and that we were going back.

 

Sophia, Mom and I made our way up to the canal where we had rented them only to find Michael was still trying to steer his paddleboard and had basically given up, sitting on his board letting the tide take him in naturally.  We landed on the bank and Sophia and I jumped into the kayak to rescue him but he refused our help and just floated back in on his own.  Overall….fail…

 

Day 4...Geocaching

Michael and I's day started early again with a visit to University Connecticut....beautiful campus and surroundings, but BU is still the front runner.  Afterwards we picked up the (much rested) girls and headed to the beach to relax and toss a frisbee around.  After nearly decapitating a couple of toddlers…more than once…we realized that either we were all way too competitive or lacked the basic skillset necessary to play successfully.

We headed to Mystic where we dined at the somewhat famous restaurant Mystic Pizza, which was lame.  Good pizza, however an establishment centered on a less than mediocre 80s chick flick just screams desperation, but for some weird reason we couldn’t resist. 

Afterwards we made our way through the quaint river town where I spent some having wine at an adorable restaurant on the riverbed while the kids immersed themselves in ‘geocaching’, which is a really fun activity similar to a treasure hunt (if you’ve never heard of it you should check it out at: http://www.geocaching.com/).  I love my kids, but a quiet moment with a beautiful view and a good glass of wine finally made me feel like I’m really on vacation.  And then they came back….love them…but it really was nice. 

Day 3-Interesting Day by Sophia Giovanis

                Okay, where do I start? How about this morning. Michael attended a tour of BU (Boston University) which, apparently to the taxi driver we met the night before, is a college of ‘sex, parties, and  “learning”.’ Their tour was from 10-12. While Mom and Michael where doing that, me and my little sister Melina, where sleeping in, eating a ton, and watching TV. Paradise right? Well…..sort of. It started off awesome until my hormones took ahold of me and, well, it ended up with me and my sister throwing shoes at each other. Luckily I said sorry before I was pinned down in a coma; she’s pretty tough. Anyways, my brother and mom came back around 12:30 and by that time Melina and I had cleaned the whole room and were packed up ready to leave.   There were no bruises or evidence of our war.

                Next thing I knew we were in the car headed out for wherever we were headed too. Which started (at our insistence) at Mickey Ds! God bless that place. I know it makes you fat, but, I mean, come on its good! After my mom made Melina and I get a 5 piece chicken nugget (ugh we wanted 20…) we were off to Plymouth Rock.

                We got to Plymouth Rock after an hour and a half drive in traffic out of our way, only to find the monument and surrounding area closed off by police because of a dumdum of a guy who apparently left a suspicious bag and had been arrested. This caused a bomb squad guy to check it out and no one could get near.  So we walked around and we found this beautiful garden. Not so beautiful that we needed a picture but my mom is very aggressive with her photo taking so we all complied.

 After that disappointing visit we drove another hour and a half to get to where I am writing to you now, Warwick, Rhode Island. Beautiful beach and average restaurant.  Just finishing dinner and then going for a late swim.  I think I am going to survive today!

                Thanks for reading and I will keep you posted!

Summer 2013 East Coast Trip - Day 1 by: Michael Giovanis

Day 1
Michael here, writing the first return post of our beautiful little travel blog. This time we are taking a splendid trip down the East Coast via car. This may sound like a nightmare to most angsty teens, but to me it presents a wonderful opportunity to see and experience the variety of culture our nation has to offer. We started our odyssey in Portland, Maine (unfortunately the cooler Portland is on the opposite side of the country). It is a surprisingly beautiful landscape, the blending of old civil war buildings with modern day industrialization makes for a startling contrast that is brings a rich cozy, homey feeling to the town. We were scheduled for lobster catching at 5:30, so we left the hotel at around 1:00 to explore the town. We started off with lunch at Olive Cafe, which was a "casual Mediterranean food experience".  The food was quite good and the service impeccable; the owner-a Lebanese man-acted as both waiter and chef, and personally spoke with all the guests. We also saw a man wearing a huge multi-colored sombrero, with tight biker shorts and a bright yellow running shirt. He ran up to a woman and hit her on the butt with his bag and then ran off.

 
We then walked around the various shops until we found a fortune teller. My siblings and I decided it would be fun, but mother clearly has a dark mantra around her because she refused to do it, citing fears of a bad fortune, which doesn’t make sense because she is super old, and it’s pretty much an uphill battle from here on out. Then we got some gelato! I was then forced to choose in-between watching construction workers mill about or go shopping with the Girlz. I chose the former. Construction workers; I thank you for the limited entertainment you provided me. We then meandered down to the wharf and checked in an hour early for the lobster catching. I decided to take a nap on a bench. This is where things got weird, I am still not quite sure what happened, nor have I seen the pictures, but my family thought it would be great to use me as a prop while taking pictures with strangers. From the limited information I have gathered an Australian woman almost gave me a wedgie and a wild bird decided to take a nap on my back, all the while I stayed blissfully ignorant.

 

 

We then went out lobster catching which was surprisingly fun, we also saw quite a few beautiful sites, and hopefully the editor includes some pictures.

 

We then came to shore with our live lobsters and walked straight to a restaurant who cooked them for us; I doubt I have eaten a fresher meal in my life; the lobster still had a hint of seawater when we ate it.

Still hungry, we stopped at a pizzeria, there I met this kid who was reading some pretty cool comics, but since I’m waaaaaaaayyyy cooler I gave him some recommendations. Ok maybe it was the other way around, but at least I don’t live in boring Portland. I now finish this post freshly showered and clean before I get a goodnights sleep. Day well spent.

Desperate Times

Okay...a little surprising event after returning from Elafonosis.  Over the weekend a boat of 60+ illegal immigrants fleeing Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan were rescued from a very small ship next to Monemvasia.  The Turkish captain who was charging ~$1,000 a person was arrested and the passengers are being detained at a building next to my in-laws home which is usually used for a soccer club. Of course I was extremely curious about all of this and wanted to find out what happened so I asked Maria (mother in law) to bring me there so I could snoop.

When we arrived the mayor of the village and police stopped us, however, after some persuasive arguments they said they would allow me to talk to them, but that we should bring something for the 15 children from the boat...like chocolate.  We scurried over to the local grocery store and bought them out of kitkats and twix bars, along with animal crackers and several liters of water.

We were welcomed and the kids set about giving out candies to the kids.  The building they were being housed in was a very small space--about 1,000 square feet, and considering it was about 104 degrees out, the people were sitting outside in the shade hoping to catch some breeze.  I asked if any of them spoke English and they summoned a younger man from Afghanistan who was more than willing to share their story.  Each person had arranged to pay their carrier upon delivery to  Italy and had been on the open watercraft for 6 nights.  The third night on the boat they started having boat problems and ran out of food and water the next morning.  Their captain kept telling them that they would arrive to Italy within hours.  After the 6th night, and with everyone sick, one of the passengers got the captains phone and called the coast guard for help.  They rescued everyone from the ship and brought them to Monemvasia where they were being held, fed and cared for.  CRAZY ordeal!! They were so happy to be safe but obviously worried about what would happen now.  The next day they were being transported to Athens where the decisions would be made.  Their desparation and desire to live where they could be safe is so sad.  One of those 'putting things into perspective moments'.

The three month old baby from Afghanistan that was on the boat...youngest passenger.

 

Desperate Times

Okay...a little surprising event after returning from Elafonosis.  Over the weekend a boat of 60+ illegal immigrants fleeing Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan were rescued from a very small ship next to Monemvasia.  The Turkish captain who was charging ~$1,000 a person was arrested and the passengers are being detained at a building next to my in-laws home which is usually used for a soccer club. Of course I was extremely curious about all of this and wanted to find out what happened so I asked Maria (mother in law) to bring me there so I could snoop.

When we arrived the mayor of the village and police stopped us, however, after some persuasive arguments they said they would allow me to talk to them, but that we should bring something for the 15 children from the boat...like chocolate.  We scurried over to the local grocery store and bought them out of kitkats and twix bars, along with animal crackers and several liters of water.

We were welcomed and the kids set about giving out candies to the kids.  The building they were being housed in was a very small space--about 1,000 square feet, and considering it was about 104 degrees out, the people were sitting outside in the shade hoping to catch some breeze.  I asked if any of them spoke English and they summoned a younger man from Afghanistan who was more than willing to share their story.  Each person had arranged to pay their carrier upon delivery to  Italy and had been on the open watercraft for 6 nights.  The third night on the boat they started having boat problems and ran out of food and water the next morning.  Their captain kept telling them that they would arrive to Italy within hours.  After the 6th night, and with everyone sick, one of the passengers got the captains phone and called the coast guard for help.  They rescued everyone from the ship and brought them to Monemvasia where they were being held, fed and cared for.  CRAZY ordeal!! They were so happy to be safe but obviously worried about what would happen now.  The next day they were being transported to Athens where the decisions would be made.  Their desparation and desire to live where they could be safe is so sad.  One of those 'putting things into perspective moments'.

The three month old baby from Afghanistan that was on the boat...youngest passenger.

 

Leaving Monemvasia

As we get ready to leave Monemvasia tomorrow morning, we reflected on the many family moments we have had here.  

The kids meeting their cousins for the first time and our first family dinner together:

The Giovanis men spending some quality time together:

The kids having lunch with their great grandma and her amazing sisters:

We have had such a tremendous time here in Monemvasia.  Although it was not without family drama (after all they ARE Greek!) it has been so nice to spend time with family and enjoy the beach life for a short while.  We are already looking forward to next year!

Island of Elafonisos

After returning to Monemvasia from a short weekend break to Athens (where Angelo and I had an amazing 2 night mini-vacay without the kids!), YaYa took the kids and I to the small island of Elafonisos for the night.

We spent two days enjoying the beach and sun as well as the company of several couples from Austria and their children.  My kids marveled at the 16 year old Austrian boy who drank as much wine as I did for dinner; which is a considerable feat. The boy's parents own a large vineyard in Austria so wine is like water for him; but it didn't stop my kids from openly gaping-the cultural differences make for great amusement!

 

Adventure at the beach

Incredible day at a petrified forest beach...a complete ecological experience as well as some an incredible fun jumping into the ocean!

Sophia was a bit hesitant at first..but ended up taking a jump.

Greece....finally!!

We finally arrived in Monemvasia (Greece) late last night after a very long drive.  We are situated in the most beautiful area to swim and enjoy the sea--but the girls prefer working in their grandparent's restaurant.  So as Michael is jumping from cliffs into the sea with with Angelo, the girls are waiting tables and hanging out with Grandma who is making me laugh with her continuing critique of the people around her....so funny..she's like a sitcom to me!

Caribou Coffee

Went to Asia side today!  Of all surprises....it was loaded with Caribou Coffees....so random.

Spice Market...

The Turkish spice market really knows how to 'spice' things up!  No prescription needed.

Touring Istanbul

Having an amazing time in Istanbul!  The calvary (I.e. Angelo) arrived a couple of days ago...we've had packed days seeing all the sites before our departure to Greece this week.  One day we hired a Turkish tour guide....a very opinionated young woman who my Greek husband found entertaining but factually wrong on many topics...especially about the country Macedonia which Angelo considers a province of Greece.  For two cultures with a tumultuous history, they are so similar in personalities and tastes.

We really enjoyed visiting Hagia Sofie--the original Constantine Orthodox church that was later converted to a mosque after the Ottoman invasion--this place has been a restoration in progress for several decades which has included stripping the plaster away that was used to hide the Orthodox iconic decor. It's fascinating to see the mosque details alongside the Christian/Orthodox icons.